This next park opened in 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios. Eventually, the park was renamed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Considering that now the park isn’t even a studio anymore, it’d probably be best to rename it. I’ve heard this name pop up a few times, so I decided to go with it. Welcome to…
Disney’s Hollywoodland is a representation of the Hollywood that we always thought was, but wasn’t exactly, but still was. Again, gone is the “Studio” angle: now it’s just about riding the movies (Universal, eat your heart out!)
The first thing to change about Disney’s Hollywood Studios: the park entrance. The images, except for the one representing Star Wars, will all be replaced. The Lights, Motors, Action! image will be replaced with one of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the one representing American Idol Experience will be replaced with one representing Mickey’s Philharmagic (more on that later). The one of Woody, Buzz, and Jessie will be replaced with one featuring Toy Story Midway Mania!. The one featuring The Little Mermaid will be replaced with one that represents one of the park’s newest attractions… Themed to Cars (but again, there’ll be more on that later)…
Not much has changed about the first section of the park, Hollywood Boulevard. The only real change, besides what comes to the attractions, is the removal of the stage in front of the Chinese Theater. Kind of deletes the purpose of getting rid of the hat, doesn’t it?
Inside of the Chinese Theater is The Great Movie Ride, now freshly-refurbished (the ride-through is courtesy of DisneyManOne):
Walking into the theatre, at first, guests may not realize that some things have changed. The area still appears to be nothing more than a movie theatre with a couple of glass cases scattered about holding old movie props. But, as guests get closer to the props, they’ll soon realize that not all is as it seems; the props seem to be “alive”, allowing guests to see that this is no ordinary theatre…here, the movies come to life. As guests move through the queue, the first prop they’ll find is the carousel horse from “Mary Poppins”. Enclosed within a glass case, the horse is still magically moving up and down and back and forth, just as it did in the movie. Continuing past the horse, guests then come across the “Mighty Thor’s” costume, and right next to it is his magic hammer, from “Thor” and “The Avengers”. While Thor’s costume is being held within a glass case, it appears the theatre staff has had a bit more difficulty with his hammer…it’s so heavy that it’s fallen through the bottom of the case! The glass has been removed, and all guests can see is the very bottom of the hammer handle poking out of a hole within the base of the case. Posted on the outside of the case is a hand-written not reading, “Too heavy—can’t lift up. Please help!” Persistent guests who attempt to pull the hammer out might find they have about as much strength as the mighty “God of Thunder”. Further in the queue, guests will find the treasure chest that holds Davy Jones’ heart, from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. If they listen closely and touch the case, they’ll be able to hear and/or feel his broken heart pulsating beneath the glass. The final prop found in the queue, just before guests step into the theatre, is the great Sorcerer Yensid’s hat, made famous by the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” scene in “Fantasia”. Every now and again, if guests are paying attention, they’ll notice the hat twinkling with magic.
Entering the theatre room, guests will note that nothing about this room has changed, save for the new pre-ride film with TCM host Robert Osborne. Moving back and forth through the switchbacks, anticipation builds as guests begin to wonder which scenes the Imagineers could have chosen from the new films being represented in the ride. Heading onto the load dock, guests will still step onto a typical Hollywood soundstage, dressed up to appear as though guests are looking out to the original “Hollywoodland” sign and neighborhood."Ready when you are, C.B.!"
Once all are aboard their "traveling theater" cars, we pass under a shining marquee advertising "A SPECTACULAR JOURNEY INTO THE MOVIES" and enter a completely black and white set with older piano music playing in the background. Standing in front of some trees on a stylized dirt road is an AA figure of Charlie Chaplin in his most famous role, the Little Tramp. Leaning on his cane a bit and tweaking his mustache, he looks at the guests and smiles. Behind him the screen featuring the trees and background starts to change, and we are treated to a brief montage of some of Chaplin's most famous roles, from "The Gold Rush" to "The Great Dictator". As the tram moves forward, the AA figure of Chaplin waves goodbye at guests as they make their way to the next scene.
In our next scene, we enter the world of movie musicals. And what better way to introduce the movie musical than with Gene Kelly, performing the iconic title song of "Singin' in the Rain", swinging from a light pole, umbrella in hand, amidst a rainy Hollywood evening. From there, we find ourselves on the rooftops of London, as cutouts of chimney sweeps sway back and forth, and Mary Poppins and Bert sing "Chim-Chim-Cheree".
From here, the guests then exit the rooftops of London and then arrive into the dull, gloomy and dangerous streets of New York City. Garbage litters the streets, as the buildings rust and mold in decay. Flickering street lamps and hotel signs faintly illuminate the area. As the vehicles round the bend, they soon come face to face with Vito Corleone, the head of the Corleone family and the most powerful mafia family in all of New York City, as the guests enter a scene from "The Godfather". Corleone whispers into the doorway of an illuminated building, where he talks about "landing a hit" and that it will "be an offer that they can't refuse".
From here the guests then proceed into an open city street, surrounded by old, run-down abandoned warehouse buildings. The vehicles are stopped by a red stop light just before entering the next scene. All of a sudden, a gangster by the name of Mugsy appears and questions are tour guide on what they are doing in this part of the city. Before anything else can ensue, a car pulls out of a tunnel to the right of the vehicle, as gangsters from within, start firing towards Mugsy and the vehicle. Mugsy's assistants, who happen to be audio-animatronics, continue to fire at the gangster. iLoud gunshots ring throughout the room. As the shots land, sparks fly from light poles and the buildings. Our tour guide quickly makes it out of there, as Mugsy and the gangster continue to shoot. As soon as Mugsy has had enough, he actually enters the vehicle. He shoots out the red stop light and from there, hijacks the tour, telling the guests not to do anything funny or someone may get hurt.
From here, we enter into a southern western theme, on the desert outskirts of a ghost town. On the right, in a scene out of "A Fistful of Dollars", Clint Eastwood stands outside of an old saloon. Just across the way, on the left, surrounded by a vast desert, John Wayne, atop a horse, greeting the audience from a scene from "The Searchers". We proceed through the town, which is seemingly peaceful, up until a shoot-out then begins between the bandit hiding behind the sacks of wheat and the copper on the balcony. The vehicles then proceed into the next scene.
To the left, down one of the ship passages, guests will spot "Alien" actress, Sigourney Weaver, as Warrant Officer Ripley, with gun in hand, looking quite frightened. Ship mechanics and fluids are seen oozing behind her, as a rattle is heard just ahead of the vehicle. From above the vehicle, plumes of smoke start to emit from the ceiling, as a huge alien monster descends down from the ceiling, starting to claw at the guest, as intense lighting illuminated the monster. In another plume of smoke, the alien will then dissapear from above. Continuing this "sci-fi" section of the ride, guests will enter a small area themed to "Star Wars". In space, a small model of the Death Star will take up occupation in the ride, as an immense battle ensues in space. The scene utilizes heavy use of LED star effects, lasers and projections. Tinkling stars illuminate the space atmosphere, as lasers emerge from the Death Star and surrounding ships. Darth Vader's voice booms throughout the dome.
Soon, we find ourselves in the ancient temple from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The temple is filled with ancient hieroglyphics, and flame-flickering torches. To the right, Indiana Jones is seen lifting up the ark of the covenant. The entire temple room is filled with moving snakes, slithering and kissing at the guests. The vehicle then proceeds into the next temple chamber, where the gangster spots a priceless jewel atop a stone temple altar. The sides of the temple are adorned with hieroglypics, destroyed artifacts and mummified corpses. The gangster tells the guests to remain where they are, as they don't think a few extra bodies in the temple would seem amiss. As the hijacker makes their way up the stone steps of the alter, a narrator informs that the jewel is cursed and those who attempt to defy the curse will surely pay their lives. As the gangster reaches for the ruby jewel, a "statue" God to the right of the jewel comes to life, warning the hijacker. They disregard the God's warning and reach for the jewel. Upon doing so, plumes of orange smoke arise around the hijacker, completely engulfing them. A loud shriek is heard. When the smoke dissipates, the skeletal corpse of the gangster is seen, reaching for the jewel. The temple God then disposes of their garments, revealing to be our original tour guide, who then comes back to the vehicle and resumes the tour from there, saying that anything can happen in the movies.
Guests will then proceed into a newly renovated horror scene. To the left, a scene will be recreated from one of the first original horror films, "Nosferatu", a film based on Dracula. The scene features the sillhouette of the vampire, Nosferatu, climbing up a staircase to await their victims, in one of the more iconic scenes from the movie. The horror film then segues into a scene from "The Shining", as the vehicles stretch into an abandoned hotel room, dishevled, as the lights flicker. From a busted hole made through the door, an audio-animatronic Jack Nicholson appears from within the hole in the door, axe in hand, to scream out his famous line, "Here's Johnny!"
Fortunately, our next section is much lighter and softer: a tribute to Disney animation. Replacing 1/4 of the Tarzan scene, to our left, we see an AA of Ariel, aka "The Little Mermaid", leaning on a rock and looking out to the right at Prince Eric’s Castle. As the wind blows, she recreates the famous scene from the film. “I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something’s starting right now... Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be part of your world!” As she sings the last note, she lifts herself up on the rock and the tide crashes behind her. Then, replacing the other 3/4 of the Tarzan scene, the vehicle then travels under a rock arch formation and into the middle of the African savanna. Green grass pedals float back and forth as guests look upward to a familiar sight—Pride Rock. Guests see Rafiki embrace Simba atop the rock formation as an instrumental rendition of “Circle of Life” plays in the background. “The Lion King was one of the feature films to be released during the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s.” Animatronic giraffes, pouncing zebras, squealing monkeys and other animals cry out loudly, their movements graceful as they pay tribute to the newborn heir to the throne. A matte painting behind the animal figures portrays the impressive African landscapes in the distance.
The vehicle travels underneath Pride Rock and into the classic airport scene in Casablanca. Much like the current scene the room is decked out in drab, older colors but it has also been expanded. The entire room has been redone, with the wall opposite of Ilsa and Rick painted to look like guests are in the middle of an airport runway, with fog and lights surrounding them. To the right are still AAs of Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund standing next to the plane, as Blaine quotes the famous lines from the film. Replacing the "Fantasia scene" is a scene from "Titanic". Replacing the projection of Sorcerer Mickey, an AA Rose Dewitt-Bukater lies on a wooden frame, as Jack Dawson holds on from the water below, re-enacting their last moments together and one of the most iconic moments of the movie. Behind them, the great ship begins to sink, after colliding with a giant iceberg.
Exiting this scene, guests find themselves caught inside a sepia-colored tornado funnel. We quickly leave the funnel and find ourselves in Munchkinland, from "The Wizard of Oz". The scene is beautiful, with small houses in bright colors, rolling hills and beautiful flowers. Dorothy's Kansas house has just landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, as her feel stick out from under the house, wearing ruby red shoes. The munchkins soon rise to sing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead", before the Wicked Witch appears herself, in a plume of smoke, taunting the guests, asking them who killed her sister. She threatens the guests with her famous lines from the segment, before disappearing in another burst of smoke.
From here, the guide asks where to go. The Munchkins soon lend a helping hand by offering the guests to follow the yellow brick road, singing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". The guide then steers guest out of Munchkinland and into a forest, where we see Dorothy and Toto, the Scarecrow, Tinman and the Cowardly Lion looking over a distant Emerald City scene, winding down the yellow brick road, leading through a poppyfield.
Guests then enter into a giant dark chamber, where a screen is illuminated with stars. The guide says that they've only taken a trip into some of the greatest movies out there, but there are many more to experience. From here, the screen is illuminated with a montage of scenes from many of the world's greatest movies. While the soundtrack for the segment will remain the same, the clips from the films will be updatesd. At the conclusion of the montage, dark curtains on both sides of the theater rise, to reveal audio-animatronics of all of the stars in the movies that we have seen, as they all take a bow. This was an original plan that they had for the attraction, which they had even started to work on, before budget cuts took place. This refurbishment re-introduces this great ending to the attraction.
The vehicle then proceeds back into the loading and unloading station, as the tour guide thanks them for joining them on their trip through the movies, the stuff dreams are made of!
Also, American Idol Experience will actually get a replacement instead of just being used as a theater for the Frozen sing-along. What that replacement will be, I don’t know. Any ideas?
Hollywood Boulevard
Attractions
1. The Great Movie Ride
2. American Idol Experience replacement
Shopping and Dining
A. Crossroads of the World
B. Celebrity 5 and 10
C. Cover Story
D. The Darkroom
E. Edith and Adrian’s Head to Toe
F. Keystone Clothiers
G. Mickey’s of Hollywood
H. Sweet Success
Tell you what, to make up for how awful that was, let’s talk about the next area of the park…
Obviously the area around Star Tours (which will remain unchanged, by the way) is themed to Endor. The area now inhabited by Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular will be themed to Tatooine. For example, where said Indiana Jones show once stood is a new attraction called A New Hope: Live the Force!, a thrill ride imagined up by the people at Conceptual Theme Park Planning. Below is a ride-through:
The queue takes us through the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance. The two lines (stand-by and FastPass) make their way through various heavily themed rooms of the rebel base. Near the end of the queue, the lines make their way into a smaller hangar bay with an X Wing inside. Various droids are around performing maintenance on the vehicle, causing the wings to open and close and various other movements. The two lines then pass through the next room where there is a large window to the right looking into the briefing given to the pilots before the mission as a realistic projection.
Unlike Harry Potter, the kuka supported vehicle is not a bench. Here it is the cab area of an X Wing fighter, seating 3 per row in 2 rows, with the back row elevated for a good view. The restraint is an over the shoulder like the other attraction. There is a practical effect in the loading area that I am really excited about to increase the realism. Obviously, the vehicle that moves through the attraction cannot be as large as an actual X Wing, instead just the cab portion. However, I want it to seem like you are boarding an actual X Wing. So in the load and unload areas, there is a hidden carousel of X Wing bodies that slot around the moving ride vehicles, making it look like it is a complete X Wing.
The vehicle leaves the load platform and turns left, still with the X Wing body. On a platform around the corner, C3PO is standing, basically giving us the safety spiel while telling us and R2D2 to be careful out there. A this point we begin flying, so the kuka arm pulls our vehicle out of the X Wing body and we turn hard right into a dark tunnel. Before us we see the forcefield of the hangar created with a laser effect and space past it. We shoot out of the base and over the city just as the Star Wars fanfare begins, moving into the first rotating projection dome. I can't decide how cheesy it would be to actually have the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away..." text and the flying title projected on this screen as the music blares, but I'm considering it. We climb high into the clouds and meet up with the rest of the rebel X Wings, and we hear the leader giving us instructions. We fly away into the dense clouds and exit the rotating dome into a cloud of smoke, turning right to face another projection surface, where we hear that we are going the wrong way and end up narrowly missing other flying ships. The vehicle continues to move to its right to another screen where we decide to accelerate to what we think is space, continuing to fly into cloud cover. The vehicle seamlessly spins into a cloud of fog as we enter the next scene. We discover that we have flown right back down into Coruscant with neon covered buildings to our sides and other ships floating around us, unmoving but seemingly flying because of our sharp movements. We quickly move through the city, dodging objects and hearing our leader on the radio asking where we are, and telling us to get back to them on the double. We turn to another screen to show us flying up and out of the city, into the clouds, and then to hyperspace. We turn and fly past projections of the planet below us into the next rotating dome. We are back with the group now.
After some comments, we jump to hyperdrive together but as soon as we stop, we find ourselves in the middle of the battle. We begin evasive maneuvers and separate from the group. We hear though that we are being chased so we are told to try to lose them in the large ice meteor flying by. Yes this is exactly like the scene from the original Star Tours; I think this would be pretty awesome to experience in three dimensions. While still in the projection dome, we fly into the meteor and into the darkness while we turn out into the next scene. We enter into the dark and tight passage of ice crystals and fly through them, dodging both protruding crystals and laser shots from the chasing vehicle. We make it out and turn to a screen to show us making it back to space but then turning and seeing the Death Star below. We get a message as we move to the next screen that we are needed in the trench as a distraction so we dive in towards the surface. We then turn into the highlight scene of the attraction. There are two identical trench scenes that are right next to each other for scene pacing reasons. Our vehicle turns back into one of the two trenches and begins the iconic trench run. We move relatively slowly but the projected side walls make it seem like we are racing by. In addition, there are 3 Tie Fighters on each trench that we interact with. They are also on Kuka arms on tracks to the side. We are able to fly through the trench and dodge the Tie Fighters and laser beam created shots that seem to just miss us. At the end of the trench we fly to the right and turn to a screen showing us flying out and away. We then enter the next rotating dome room, where the main elements of the fight happens between the X Wings and the Tie Fighters.
We exit the room into darkness with just stars around us, moving quickly. We then turn to find ourselves face to face with a real full size Tie Fighter that is also on a motion base so that It looks like it is in flight right next to us. Inside we see a realistic projection of Darth Vader, threatening us. We quickly fly away and into the final set of scenes, which are mostly set in darkness with the star field around us. As we wildly spin around the corners we hear our leader saying that Luke is the last hope to destroy the death star. We turn to the last screen and see the death star in the distance, just as it blows up. We turn into the last rotating projection dome, where we meet with the X Wings and congratulate Luke, and then jump to hyperdrive together. We arrive back at the base and fly into a hangar bay, and come in for a landing on a moving platform. From there we seamlessly turn out into the set of the hangar, rejoin with an X Wing body on the conveyor, and turn to the unload station.
Two shops boasting Star Wars merchandise are set up here, known as Moon of Endor Gifts (which replaces the old Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost) and Droid Repair Shop. The latter also gives guests the opportunity to “build” a droid. Also here is the Mos Eisley Cantina, a recreation of the famous bar where Luke met Han Solo and Chewbacca.
The old theater for Sounds Dangerous is now a permanent home for the Jedi Training Academy. At least, half of the theater, that is. The other half is the theater for the Yoda Experience, an interactive theater show featuring Yoda.
Another new attraction here is Speeder Bike Soar, a roller coaster through the forest of Endor on a Speeder Bike.
Star Wars Land
Attractions
1. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
2. Jedi Training Academy
3. A New Hope: Live the Force!
4. Yoda Experience
5. Speeder Bike Soar
Shopping and Dining
A. Mos Eisley Cantina
B. Moon of Endor Gifts
C. Droid Repair Shop
D. Tatoonie Traders
Next up, it’s time to play the music… It’s time to light the lights… It’s time to meet the Muppets…
Disney’s Hollywoodland is a representation of the Hollywood that we always thought was, but wasn’t exactly, but still was. Again, gone is the “Studio” angle: now it’s just about riding the movies (Universal, eat your heart out!)
The first thing to change about Disney’s Hollywood Studios: the park entrance. The images, except for the one representing Star Wars, will all be replaced. The Lights, Motors, Action! image will be replaced with one of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the one representing American Idol Experience will be replaced with one representing Mickey’s Philharmagic (more on that later). The one of Woody, Buzz, and Jessie will be replaced with one featuring Toy Story Midway Mania!. The one featuring The Little Mermaid will be replaced with one that represents one of the park’s newest attractions… Themed to Cars (but again, there’ll be more on that later)…
Hollywood Boulevard
Not much has changed about the first section of the park, Hollywood Boulevard. The only real change, besides what comes to the attractions, is the removal of the stage in front of the Chinese Theater. Kind of deletes the purpose of getting rid of the hat, doesn’t it?
Inside of the Chinese Theater is The Great Movie Ride, now freshly-refurbished (the ride-through is courtesy of DisneyManOne):
Walking into the theatre, at first, guests may not realize that some things have changed. The area still appears to be nothing more than a movie theatre with a couple of glass cases scattered about holding old movie props. But, as guests get closer to the props, they’ll soon realize that not all is as it seems; the props seem to be “alive”, allowing guests to see that this is no ordinary theatre…here, the movies come to life. As guests move through the queue, the first prop they’ll find is the carousel horse from “Mary Poppins”. Enclosed within a glass case, the horse is still magically moving up and down and back and forth, just as it did in the movie. Continuing past the horse, guests then come across the “Mighty Thor’s” costume, and right next to it is his magic hammer, from “Thor” and “The Avengers”. While Thor’s costume is being held within a glass case, it appears the theatre staff has had a bit more difficulty with his hammer…it’s so heavy that it’s fallen through the bottom of the case! The glass has been removed, and all guests can see is the very bottom of the hammer handle poking out of a hole within the base of the case. Posted on the outside of the case is a hand-written not reading, “Too heavy—can’t lift up. Please help!” Persistent guests who attempt to pull the hammer out might find they have about as much strength as the mighty “God of Thunder”. Further in the queue, guests will find the treasure chest that holds Davy Jones’ heart, from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. If they listen closely and touch the case, they’ll be able to hear and/or feel his broken heart pulsating beneath the glass. The final prop found in the queue, just before guests step into the theatre, is the great Sorcerer Yensid’s hat, made famous by the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” scene in “Fantasia”. Every now and again, if guests are paying attention, they’ll notice the hat twinkling with magic.
Entering the theatre room, guests will note that nothing about this room has changed, save for the new pre-ride film with TCM host Robert Osborne. Moving back and forth through the switchbacks, anticipation builds as guests begin to wonder which scenes the Imagineers could have chosen from the new films being represented in the ride. Heading onto the load dock, guests will still step onto a typical Hollywood soundstage, dressed up to appear as though guests are looking out to the original “Hollywoodland” sign and neighborhood."Ready when you are, C.B.!"
Once all are aboard their "traveling theater" cars, we pass under a shining marquee advertising "A SPECTACULAR JOURNEY INTO THE MOVIES" and enter a completely black and white set with older piano music playing in the background. Standing in front of some trees on a stylized dirt road is an AA figure of Charlie Chaplin in his most famous role, the Little Tramp. Leaning on his cane a bit and tweaking his mustache, he looks at the guests and smiles. Behind him the screen featuring the trees and background starts to change, and we are treated to a brief montage of some of Chaplin's most famous roles, from "The Gold Rush" to "The Great Dictator". As the tram moves forward, the AA figure of Chaplin waves goodbye at guests as they make their way to the next scene.
In our next scene, we enter the world of movie musicals. And what better way to introduce the movie musical than with Gene Kelly, performing the iconic title song of "Singin' in the Rain", swinging from a light pole, umbrella in hand, amidst a rainy Hollywood evening. From there, we find ourselves on the rooftops of London, as cutouts of chimney sweeps sway back and forth, and Mary Poppins and Bert sing "Chim-Chim-Cheree".
From here, the guests then exit the rooftops of London and then arrive into the dull, gloomy and dangerous streets of New York City. Garbage litters the streets, as the buildings rust and mold in decay. Flickering street lamps and hotel signs faintly illuminate the area. As the vehicles round the bend, they soon come face to face with Vito Corleone, the head of the Corleone family and the most powerful mafia family in all of New York City, as the guests enter a scene from "The Godfather". Corleone whispers into the doorway of an illuminated building, where he talks about "landing a hit" and that it will "be an offer that they can't refuse".
From here the guests then proceed into an open city street, surrounded by old, run-down abandoned warehouse buildings. The vehicles are stopped by a red stop light just before entering the next scene. All of a sudden, a gangster by the name of Mugsy appears and questions are tour guide on what they are doing in this part of the city. Before anything else can ensue, a car pulls out of a tunnel to the right of the vehicle, as gangsters from within, start firing towards Mugsy and the vehicle. Mugsy's assistants, who happen to be audio-animatronics, continue to fire at the gangster. iLoud gunshots ring throughout the room. As the shots land, sparks fly from light poles and the buildings. Our tour guide quickly makes it out of there, as Mugsy and the gangster continue to shoot. As soon as Mugsy has had enough, he actually enters the vehicle. He shoots out the red stop light and from there, hijacks the tour, telling the guests not to do anything funny or someone may get hurt.
From here, we enter into a southern western theme, on the desert outskirts of a ghost town. On the right, in a scene out of "A Fistful of Dollars", Clint Eastwood stands outside of an old saloon. Just across the way, on the left, surrounded by a vast desert, John Wayne, atop a horse, greeting the audience from a scene from "The Searchers". We proceed through the town, which is seemingly peaceful, up until a shoot-out then begins between the bandit hiding behind the sacks of wheat and the copper on the balcony. The vehicles then proceed into the next scene.
To the left, down one of the ship passages, guests will spot "Alien" actress, Sigourney Weaver, as Warrant Officer Ripley, with gun in hand, looking quite frightened. Ship mechanics and fluids are seen oozing behind her, as a rattle is heard just ahead of the vehicle. From above the vehicle, plumes of smoke start to emit from the ceiling, as a huge alien monster descends down from the ceiling, starting to claw at the guest, as intense lighting illuminated the monster. In another plume of smoke, the alien will then dissapear from above. Continuing this "sci-fi" section of the ride, guests will enter a small area themed to "Star Wars". In space, a small model of the Death Star will take up occupation in the ride, as an immense battle ensues in space. The scene utilizes heavy use of LED star effects, lasers and projections. Tinkling stars illuminate the space atmosphere, as lasers emerge from the Death Star and surrounding ships. Darth Vader's voice booms throughout the dome.
Soon, we find ourselves in the ancient temple from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The temple is filled with ancient hieroglyphics, and flame-flickering torches. To the right, Indiana Jones is seen lifting up the ark of the covenant. The entire temple room is filled with moving snakes, slithering and kissing at the guests. The vehicle then proceeds into the next temple chamber, where the gangster spots a priceless jewel atop a stone temple altar. The sides of the temple are adorned with hieroglypics, destroyed artifacts and mummified corpses. The gangster tells the guests to remain where they are, as they don't think a few extra bodies in the temple would seem amiss. As the hijacker makes their way up the stone steps of the alter, a narrator informs that the jewel is cursed and those who attempt to defy the curse will surely pay their lives. As the gangster reaches for the ruby jewel, a "statue" God to the right of the jewel comes to life, warning the hijacker. They disregard the God's warning and reach for the jewel. Upon doing so, plumes of orange smoke arise around the hijacker, completely engulfing them. A loud shriek is heard. When the smoke dissipates, the skeletal corpse of the gangster is seen, reaching for the jewel. The temple God then disposes of their garments, revealing to be our original tour guide, who then comes back to the vehicle and resumes the tour from there, saying that anything can happen in the movies.
Guests will then proceed into a newly renovated horror scene. To the left, a scene will be recreated from one of the first original horror films, "Nosferatu", a film based on Dracula. The scene features the sillhouette of the vampire, Nosferatu, climbing up a staircase to await their victims, in one of the more iconic scenes from the movie. The horror film then segues into a scene from "The Shining", as the vehicles stretch into an abandoned hotel room, dishevled, as the lights flicker. From a busted hole made through the door, an audio-animatronic Jack Nicholson appears from within the hole in the door, axe in hand, to scream out his famous line, "Here's Johnny!"
Fortunately, our next section is much lighter and softer: a tribute to Disney animation. Replacing 1/4 of the Tarzan scene, to our left, we see an AA of Ariel, aka "The Little Mermaid", leaning on a rock and looking out to the right at Prince Eric’s Castle. As the wind blows, she recreates the famous scene from the film. “I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something’s starting right now... Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be part of your world!” As she sings the last note, she lifts herself up on the rock and the tide crashes behind her. Then, replacing the other 3/4 of the Tarzan scene, the vehicle then travels under a rock arch formation and into the middle of the African savanna. Green grass pedals float back and forth as guests look upward to a familiar sight—Pride Rock. Guests see Rafiki embrace Simba atop the rock formation as an instrumental rendition of “Circle of Life” plays in the background. “The Lion King was one of the feature films to be released during the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s.” Animatronic giraffes, pouncing zebras, squealing monkeys and other animals cry out loudly, their movements graceful as they pay tribute to the newborn heir to the throne. A matte painting behind the animal figures portrays the impressive African landscapes in the distance.
The vehicle travels underneath Pride Rock and into the classic airport scene in Casablanca. Much like the current scene the room is decked out in drab, older colors but it has also been expanded. The entire room has been redone, with the wall opposite of Ilsa and Rick painted to look like guests are in the middle of an airport runway, with fog and lights surrounding them. To the right are still AAs of Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund standing next to the plane, as Blaine quotes the famous lines from the film. Replacing the "Fantasia scene" is a scene from "Titanic". Replacing the projection of Sorcerer Mickey, an AA Rose Dewitt-Bukater lies on a wooden frame, as Jack Dawson holds on from the water below, re-enacting their last moments together and one of the most iconic moments of the movie. Behind them, the great ship begins to sink, after colliding with a giant iceberg.
Exiting this scene, guests find themselves caught inside a sepia-colored tornado funnel. We quickly leave the funnel and find ourselves in Munchkinland, from "The Wizard of Oz". The scene is beautiful, with small houses in bright colors, rolling hills and beautiful flowers. Dorothy's Kansas house has just landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, as her feel stick out from under the house, wearing ruby red shoes. The munchkins soon rise to sing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead", before the Wicked Witch appears herself, in a plume of smoke, taunting the guests, asking them who killed her sister. She threatens the guests with her famous lines from the segment, before disappearing in another burst of smoke.
From here, the guide asks where to go. The Munchkins soon lend a helping hand by offering the guests to follow the yellow brick road, singing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". The guide then steers guest out of Munchkinland and into a forest, where we see Dorothy and Toto, the Scarecrow, Tinman and the Cowardly Lion looking over a distant Emerald City scene, winding down the yellow brick road, leading through a poppyfield.
Guests then enter into a giant dark chamber, where a screen is illuminated with stars. The guide says that they've only taken a trip into some of the greatest movies out there, but there are many more to experience. From here, the screen is illuminated with a montage of scenes from many of the world's greatest movies. While the soundtrack for the segment will remain the same, the clips from the films will be updatesd. At the conclusion of the montage, dark curtains on both sides of the theater rise, to reveal audio-animatronics of all of the stars in the movies that we have seen, as they all take a bow. This was an original plan that they had for the attraction, which they had even started to work on, before budget cuts took place. This refurbishment re-introduces this great ending to the attraction.
The vehicle then proceeds back into the loading and unloading station, as the tour guide thanks them for joining them on their trip through the movies, the stuff dreams are made of!
Also, American Idol Experience will actually get a replacement instead of just being used as a theater for the Frozen sing-along. What that replacement will be, I don’t know. Any ideas?
Hollywood Boulevard
Attractions
1. The Great Movie Ride
2. American Idol Experience replacement
Shopping and Dining
A. Crossroads of the World
B. Celebrity 5 and 10
C. Cover Story
D. The Darkroom
E. Edith and Adrian’s Head to Toe
F. Keystone Clothiers
G. Mickey’s of Hollywood
H. Sweet Success
Tell you what, to make up for how awful that was, let’s talk about the next area of the park…
Star Tours Land
We don’t have much information about Star Wars Land yet. I assume it’s gonna take the place of Echo Lake, considering that’s where Star Tours is. So, yeah. Let’s begin!
The queue takes us through the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance. The two lines (stand-by and FastPass) make their way through various heavily themed rooms of the rebel base. Near the end of the queue, the lines make their way into a smaller hangar bay with an X Wing inside. Various droids are around performing maintenance on the vehicle, causing the wings to open and close and various other movements. The two lines then pass through the next room where there is a large window to the right looking into the briefing given to the pilots before the mission as a realistic projection.
Unlike Harry Potter, the kuka supported vehicle is not a bench. Here it is the cab area of an X Wing fighter, seating 3 per row in 2 rows, with the back row elevated for a good view. The restraint is an over the shoulder like the other attraction. There is a practical effect in the loading area that I am really excited about to increase the realism. Obviously, the vehicle that moves through the attraction cannot be as large as an actual X Wing, instead just the cab portion. However, I want it to seem like you are boarding an actual X Wing. So in the load and unload areas, there is a hidden carousel of X Wing bodies that slot around the moving ride vehicles, making it look like it is a complete X Wing.
The vehicle leaves the load platform and turns left, still with the X Wing body. On a platform around the corner, C3PO is standing, basically giving us the safety spiel while telling us and R2D2 to be careful out there. A this point we begin flying, so the kuka arm pulls our vehicle out of the X Wing body and we turn hard right into a dark tunnel. Before us we see the forcefield of the hangar created with a laser effect and space past it. We shoot out of the base and over the city just as the Star Wars fanfare begins, moving into the first rotating projection dome. I can't decide how cheesy it would be to actually have the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away..." text and the flying title projected on this screen as the music blares, but I'm considering it. We climb high into the clouds and meet up with the rest of the rebel X Wings, and we hear the leader giving us instructions. We fly away into the dense clouds and exit the rotating dome into a cloud of smoke, turning right to face another projection surface, where we hear that we are going the wrong way and end up narrowly missing other flying ships. The vehicle continues to move to its right to another screen where we decide to accelerate to what we think is space, continuing to fly into cloud cover. The vehicle seamlessly spins into a cloud of fog as we enter the next scene. We discover that we have flown right back down into Coruscant with neon covered buildings to our sides and other ships floating around us, unmoving but seemingly flying because of our sharp movements. We quickly move through the city, dodging objects and hearing our leader on the radio asking where we are, and telling us to get back to them on the double. We turn to another screen to show us flying up and out of the city, into the clouds, and then to hyperspace. We turn and fly past projections of the planet below us into the next rotating dome. We are back with the group now.
After some comments, we jump to hyperdrive together but as soon as we stop, we find ourselves in the middle of the battle. We begin evasive maneuvers and separate from the group. We hear though that we are being chased so we are told to try to lose them in the large ice meteor flying by. Yes this is exactly like the scene from the original Star Tours; I think this would be pretty awesome to experience in three dimensions. While still in the projection dome, we fly into the meteor and into the darkness while we turn out into the next scene. We enter into the dark and tight passage of ice crystals and fly through them, dodging both protruding crystals and laser shots from the chasing vehicle. We make it out and turn to a screen to show us making it back to space but then turning and seeing the Death Star below. We get a message as we move to the next screen that we are needed in the trench as a distraction so we dive in towards the surface. We then turn into the highlight scene of the attraction. There are two identical trench scenes that are right next to each other for scene pacing reasons. Our vehicle turns back into one of the two trenches and begins the iconic trench run. We move relatively slowly but the projected side walls make it seem like we are racing by. In addition, there are 3 Tie Fighters on each trench that we interact with. They are also on Kuka arms on tracks to the side. We are able to fly through the trench and dodge the Tie Fighters and laser beam created shots that seem to just miss us. At the end of the trench we fly to the right and turn to a screen showing us flying out and away. We then enter the next rotating dome room, where the main elements of the fight happens between the X Wings and the Tie Fighters.
We exit the room into darkness with just stars around us, moving quickly. We then turn to find ourselves face to face with a real full size Tie Fighter that is also on a motion base so that It looks like it is in flight right next to us. Inside we see a realistic projection of Darth Vader, threatening us. We quickly fly away and into the final set of scenes, which are mostly set in darkness with the star field around us. As we wildly spin around the corners we hear our leader saying that Luke is the last hope to destroy the death star. We turn to the last screen and see the death star in the distance, just as it blows up. We turn into the last rotating projection dome, where we meet with the X Wings and congratulate Luke, and then jump to hyperdrive together. We arrive back at the base and fly into a hangar bay, and come in for a landing on a moving platform. From there we seamlessly turn out into the set of the hangar, rejoin with an X Wing body on the conveyor, and turn to the unload station.
Two shops boasting Star Wars merchandise are set up here, known as Moon of Endor Gifts (which replaces the old Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost) and Droid Repair Shop. The latter also gives guests the opportunity to “build” a droid. Also here is the Mos Eisley Cantina, a recreation of the famous bar where Luke met Han Solo and Chewbacca.
The old theater for Sounds Dangerous is now a permanent home for the Jedi Training Academy. At least, half of the theater, that is. The other half is the theater for the Yoda Experience, an interactive theater show featuring Yoda.
Another new attraction here is Speeder Bike Soar, a roller coaster through the forest of Endor on a Speeder Bike.
Star Wars Land
Attractions
1. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
2. Jedi Training Academy
3. A New Hope: Live the Force!
4. Yoda Experience
5. Speeder Bike Soar
Shopping and Dining
A. Mos Eisley Cantina
B. Moon of Endor Gifts
C. Droid Repair Shop
D. Tatoonie Traders
Next up, it’s time to play the music… It’s time to light the lights… It’s time to meet the Muppets…
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