So, now faced with the upcoming reality that Universal was going to completely put Disney's own movie studio park out of business, with a helping assist from New Fantasyland dramatically adding to MK's visitation and guest spending... at the expense of Disney's other parks, the decision was made to do something about the weak link. This was about the same time that Avatar was finally taken seriously by WDPR and given the financial commitments it needed to become a legitimate world class product.
It is important to note that the upcoming improvements to Hollywood Studios are NOT on the magnitude of the work done at DCA or even on the magnitude of Pandora. This is a collection of value engineered improvements, mostly cherry picked from an upcoming project for Disneyland Paris that was already value engineered to death because of that resort's own financial difficulties. The snapshot of what is planned for DHS, when I saw it (I heavily caution that there are large gaps in my knowledge and I will point out where when needed), was very much focused on re-using existing infrastructure whenever possible. Kitchens, restrooms, in one case entire dining rooms are all to be preserved while other major work goes on around them. This is a page borrowed from Universal's playbook and it will save them a lot of money. Disney will still find ways to it away elsewhere, but hey, they're learning!
The list of attractions slated to close as part of this overhaul should not surprise anyone. They are also going to be very cheap to demolish and in one case reuse for a new attraction. At the time I received a snapshot of this project, this list included:
Muppetvision
Backlot Tour
LMA
Indy Stunt Show
Honey Playground
There are also some dining locations that will cease to operate in their current form and will be reused in the new development. This list includes:
Backlot Express
Sci Fi Dine In
Mama Melroses
You can use your own heads to figure out which retail locations are going to bite the dust.
