Toy Story Land expansion announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

P_Radden

Well-Known Member
I find it hilarious and sad that only 18 of the 49 items on the "new" DHS guide map are related to attractions or characters - everything else is a shop or restaurant. Of those 18, only 4 (four!) are actual attractions, 11 are shows and 3 are M&Gs. 17 restaurants and 13 shops. Let those numbers sink in. Wow. Here's hoping that TSL and SWGE bring this place back to life and that there are future plans on the table!
Well, even after TSL and SWL are both open, that 4 jumps to a whopping 8.. Add Mickey Mouse ride and we're up to 9, hot damn!
 

P_Radden

Well-Known Member
Theme parks are more than just rides. If you go just by ride count, DHS will have more rides than either AK or Epcot after this Refurb.
You're right and I don't mean to sound ungrateful. It just seems like there should have been at least 1 maybe 2 more in addition to what is coming.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I don’t think Hogsmeade is quite a fair comparison. Much of the work for that was a retheme, including two of the three rides and the major eatery, as well as considering that a lot of infrastructure was already built. Hogsmeade as is from the ground up would have cost more.

That’s not to diminish the work (it saved Uni, after all), but I think Diagon (which is closer to TSL in both cost and overall scope*) is a better comparison.

*I am not saying I think they are matched in detail, but they were/are both “Tear it all down and start over” projects.
TSL isn't even close to the scope of Diagon Alley. Pandora pales in comparison to Diagon Alley.
 

KrazyKat

Well-Known Member
This is the one thing that still puzzles me about this project. I just can't see there NOT being an M&G for Toy Story characters, it's just not clear where it's going to be.
I agree 100% with you. Also, make it a general M&G area with all PIXAR characters they can change up all the time. I mean, the area is already themed to and called PIXAR STUDIOS. You can meet Buzz and Woody (and a Cars character) there now.
 
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JessieLightyear

Active Member
A meet and greet somewhere would have made a lot of sense. Imagine meeting the typical three (Buzz, Woody, and no neck Jesse) but then also being able to meet Lotso, Rex, or the Potato Heads). I know those last ones don’t exist but it would have been a really cool idea.

For a land that most say could use more rides, a meet and greet would help a little. Do we know if the army men will be a meet and greet or maybe streetmosphere?

I still love Jessie, neck-less or not. ;) I agree though, it makes no sense to not have a dedicated meet and greet in the land, especially when the Toy Story characters are so popular. I worry that the statues will "count" as those characters' presence, and only the plussed Army Men will be wandering around. Hope I'm wrong. And also hope they'll bring back Jessie since she's been missing from a real meet and greet for a year and a half now - it'd be a bad call not to put her in the land with the others.
 

FigmentForver96

Well-Known Member
TSL isn't even close to the scope of Diagon Alley. Pandora pales in comparison to Diagon Alley.
TSL - Diagon Alley, for sure.

Pandora - Diagon Alley, personal taste. I personally think EFG is overrated and not a very good attraction and I just enjoy the atmosphere of Pandora more. But that's just my opinion, both are very well done
 

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
TSL isn't even close to the scope of Diagon Alley. Pandora pales in comparison to Diagon Alley.
Apples to Oranges though. Diagon Alley (or JK Rowlings haha!) dictated those intricate details. There was no way around it. Toy Story Land is basically a backyard with a roller coaster but that is what the movies dictate. I still think some are under estimating the details we will see there although I know Star Wars GE will have an abundance of details.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
So the announcement regarding Disneyland Paris really helps put the MGM "fix" into perspective. Both MGM and Studios Paris were broken parks, but Paris is getting three large, intricately-themed new lands, plus other additions like Swinging Saucers for their TSL. MGM is getting a net gain of three rides, two of which are essentially carnival rides.

Disney seems fairly convinced that WDW guests don't demand the same quality that patrons at their international parks do. Rides like Mystic Manor and Shanghai Pirates make this really clear (I still hold out hope Alcatraz will reach that level). And when you look at this newly announced expansion or the changes coming to TDL (or anything at TDL, really) its hard not to get frustrated.

I wonder the degree to which DVC plays into this. My understanding is the international parks don't get the hulking DVC additions that blight the Orlando resort and that DVC points don't work particularly well at those parks. To what extent is DVC an American phenomenon? It seems possible that American tourists' willingness to legally bind themselves to give money to WDW for decades, regardless of the quality of the parks, might account to some extent for management's different attitudes to the US vs the international resorts. There may be nothing to that idea, I'm just a bit curious.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
So the announcement regarding Disneyland Paris really helps put the MGM "fix" into perspective. Both MGM and Studios Paris were broken parks, but Paris is getting three large, intricately-themed new lands, plus other additions like Swinging Saucers for their TSL. MGM is getting a net gain of three rides, two of which are essentially carnival rides.

Disney seems fairly convinced that WDW guests don't demand the same quality that patrons at their international parks do. Rides like Mystic Manor and Shanghai Pirates make this really clear (I still hold out hope Alcatraz will reach that level). And when you look at this newly announced expansion or the changes coming to TDL (or anything at TDL, really) its hard not to get frustrated.

I wonder the degree to which DVC plays into this. My understanding is the international parks don't get the hulking DVC additions that blight the Orlando resort and that DVC points don't work particularly well at those parks. To what extent is DVC an American phenomenon? It seems possible that American tourists' willingness to legally bind themselves to give money to WDW for decades, regardless of the quality of the parks, might account to some extent for management's different attitudes to the US vs the international resorts. There may be nothing to that idea, I'm just a bit curious.
I think the WDW addition is the stronger of the two. Star Wars will be fresh at WDW, whereas at Paris it will be a case of seen it all before years back when at WDW or DL. Frozen and Marvel appear at first glance to be clones of various things from the Asia parks, so the same can be said there.

I think DHS is in a far better position with its unique (to some extent) additions, but we'll see.
 

Jones14

Well-Known Member
TSL isn't even close to the scope of Diagon Alley. Pandora pales in comparison to Diagon Alley.
I agree and disagree with you. Universal got WAY more bang for their buck, but Disney is still building a large land from scratch with multiple attractions for the same price.

Disney being incapable of building a Diagon-level land with that money doesn’t negate that they’re spending that kind of money. My point was that it’s unfair to use Hogsmeade to compare when what was built for Diagon is a better comparison overall, both in budget and in what is being built, rather than repurposed.

Now, final product? Right there with you, although I think Diagon and Pandora are pretty even.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
I think the WDW addition is the stronger of the two. Star Wars will be fresh at WDW, whereas at Paris it will be a case of seen it all before years back when at WDW or DL. Frozen and Marvel appear at first glance to be clones of various things from the Asia parks, so the same can be said there.

I think DHS is in a far better position with its unique (to some extent) additions, but we'll see.

First, thanks for a great forum and website!

I'm not sure I agree about the MGM redo's uniqueness. SWL will almost immediately be duplicated at DL (I actually forget which opens first). And TSL has already opened in two other parks and one of the rides is a reskinned version of a DCA attraction. Mickey will be unique, but I'd be fairly surprised if it didn't make its way to DL pretty quickly - it's entirely possible I'm wrong there, however.

And while I'd prefer rides be unique to one park, I don't have the resources to go to any of the international parks regularly, so I certainly wouldn't mind if Disney wanted to import rides of the caliber of MM or Shanghai Pirates to the states. WDW/ DL duplication annoys me more.

The Paris expansion has problems - I'm not a huge fan of Mission: Breakout or the Iron Man simulator. But the bottom line for me is that the Paris Studios seems to be getting three of the new, IP-based, fully-immersive HP/Cars Land style areas and MGM is getting one.
 

Timothy_Q

Well-Known Member
The Paris expansion has problems - I'm not a huge fan of Mission: Breakout or the Iron Man simulator. But the bottom line for me is that the Paris Studios seems to be getting three of the new, IP-based, fully-immersive HP/Cars Land style areas and MGM is getting one.

Paris isn't getting Mission Breakout.
And no word yet if they're getting Iron Man either
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
TSL - Diagon Alley, for sure.

Pandora - Diagon Alley, personal taste. I personally think EFG is overrated and not a very good attraction and I just enjoy the atmosphere of Pandora more. But that's just my opinion, both are very well done

I don't think anyone in their right mind in here should be saying TSL is better than Diagon. Or many many (many) other lands. LOL

I think Diagon and Pandora are both well done. Personally Pandora is more my speed. I'm just not a Potter-head as much as I enjoy it. I was always behind in that fandom. But they're both well done. This ridiculous (not saying you, just in general) bickering about lands is why we aren't taken seriously. Both lands should be given credit. YMMV on the attractions in both, but I think they did a great job.

This whole fandom war between Uni and WDW has gotten really stale and tired. I compare and contrast too but sheesh. Just enjoy that we are getting these incredibly themed lands (TSL aside, but for some kid somewhere they'll be amazed, not everything is for us, although there are a lot of things they could have done to improve TSL, such as the coaster supports, etc., this is not a land that should have cost so much that they budget cut things to make it even more bare).
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
They called it an Avengers retheme.

But @Casper Gutman was talking about the Iron Man simulator from HKD

Oh ok. So many different things being thrown around lol I suppose I was mixing things up.

For whatever reason I thought the coaster makeover was Iron Man themed but it's all the same, Avengers themed/Iron Man themed. They go hand in hand lol
 

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