Why Hollywood Studios is being rebuilt

[Captain Chaos]

I've a big heart but maybe I'll just read from now on...

No.. don't stop.. please give those of us who understand and actually can read and comprehend your most wise information... we appreciate it!

 

[marni1971]

I said I was taking a back seat didn't I? Oops...

 

[Captain Chaos]

I said I was taking a back seat didn't I? Oops...

The back seat of your pink cadillac? LOL

 

[Californian Elitist]

Common sense doesn't require knowledge of a specific attraction at Disneyland. You'd think for the consideration of the general reader that Miceage would announce half of TL being under heavy construction.

I rode the Rocket Rods several times. Before that I rode the People Mover more times than I can remember, I am very familiar with DL.

I can bet the majority of MiceChatters are DL vets, who've been visiting for years and years and know all about the tragic PeopleMover/Rocket Rods tracks.

If you experienced Rocket Rods, then I don't understand how you can say there's no space. Hell, if you truly know Disneyland, then you should know that the powers that be will make space if they really want to. So if Disney wants to put in this speeder bike attraction where the PeopleMover/Rocket Rods used to be, and there's no space (as you so claim), they will make a way.

Do you think Disney doesn't plan, or something?

 

[Captain Neo]

I said I was taking a back seat didn't I? Oops...

Hey I wanted to ask you. A fairly reliable guy on the Micechat forum said that this Fall Innoventions and Autopia would be closing to make way for a new ride that he has been told will have a Marvel theme. Have you heard anything about this?

I wouldn't have brought it up but he rarely posts rumors and when he does they are correct and usually happen within 6-7 months.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Put it this way.... If a bends taken at 2-3 mph does it need to be banked?

The People Mover route has a lot of turns, in fact it has tons of them, it would be nay impossible to achieve anything approaching a coaster velocity *anywhere* on the track without computer controlled system like on RSR (which also has banked turns). This is why the People Mover route is very un-suited for a coaster.

With Rocket Rods they went through tires every month, they had to use a high friction paint on the track (for accelerations and decels) that is similar to that used on the land deck of a aircraft carrier. Yeah, there are issues!

 

[marni1971]

Hey I wanted to ask you. A fairly reliable guy on the Micechat forum said that this Fall Innoventions and Autopia would be closing to make way for a new ride that he has been told will have a Marvel theme. Have you heard anything about this?

I have heard plenty about this. To be honest I expected it to be further along by now. I can only assume the current land plans have place it in a state of flux.

 

[Captain Neo]

I have heard plenty about this. To be honest I expected it to be further along by now. I can only assume the current land plans have place it in a state of flux.

Fascinating. He made it sound like walls would be going up this Fall so I thought it was maybe a done deal but I could see with all this Star Wars and Monsters Inc. stuff it may have gotten thrown in disarray. It is weird that Disney is ignoring taking advantage of marvel in the non-WDW parks though. It's such a popular brand and huge moneymaker for them

 

[TP2000]

Put it this way.... If a bends taken at 2-3 mph does it need to be banked?

Ooh, I know! The answer is "no, it does not need to be banked".

And if the indoor sections of the PeopleMover track through Star Tours and Space Mountain and America Sings are slow moving indoor show scenes, then those bends and corners don't need to be banked any more than they need to on Winnie The Pooh or Snow White.

But that big section of outdoor track over Autopia, now there's where the action is!

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I can bet the majority of MiceChatters are DL vets, who've been visiting for years and years and know all about the tragic PeopleMover/Rocket Rods tracks.

If you experienced Rocket Rods, then I don't understand how you can say there's no space. Hell, if you truly know Disneyland, then you should know that the powers that be will make space if they really want to. So if Disney wants to put in this speeder bike attraction where the PeopleMover/Rocket Rods used to be, and there's no space (as you so claim), they will make a way.

Do you think Disney doesn't plan, or something?

I waited in line for the Rocket Rods when it first opened, nice partial underground queue, and rode it with an FOLP other times. I also got on Star Tours 2.0 before the general public, yeah I'm kinda familiar with TL at Disneyland.

I know that WDI had plans for a Star Wars spaceship type ride via an all new track above TL. I kinda get how construction works and the costs involved, and it would be more expensive to use the old People Mover route, than to build something new.

I'm talking about *clearance* in the buildings. Unless you propose they try to slow down a "coaster".

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Ooh, I know! The answer is "no, it does not need to be banked".

And if the indoor sections of the PeopleMover track through Star Tours and Space Mountain and America Sings are slow moving indoor show scenes, then those bends and corners don't need to be banked any more than they need to on Winnie The Pooh or Snow White.

But that big section of outdoor track over Autopia, now there's where the action is!

Rocket Rods did what it did by slowing down around the *many* curves on the track. If you want coaster level velocity, then you've got issues, unless you want to build Rocket Rods 2.0, and even then you'd just get acceleration on the straightaways. As I remember Rocket Rods, the big accelerations were at the start (popping a wheelie), and when you excited Innoventions heading over the Autopia, those were the big ones I remember.

 

[SirLink]

Indeed. Fan based. That's where you're being led wrongly. Like I said, WDI had a proposed design for WDW Tomorrowland four years ago.

Is this the domed 50 people compete at once Tony Baxter project that was axed years ago or is this based on those Pony Express tests they did ages ago?

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

If you experienced Rocket Rods, then I don't understand how you can say there's no space.

Not for a Tron Vekoma style coaster, no way, not with that seating arrangement. And of course, no "coaster" as you need computer control for certain sections.

Who would want to sit on a bike when it putters along the old People Route inside all of the buildings? Rocket Rod didn't have many show scenes, (though Tony Baxter had some good ideas that weren't used) . . . I'm assuming Disney will want a complete thrill ride with a motor bike type coaster, not just a couple of accelerations . . .

I'm also assuming they want something with a better hourly capacity than Rocket Rods.

 

[TP2000]

Rocket Rods did what it did by slowing down around the *many* curves on the track. If you want coaster level velocity, then you've got issues, unless you want to build Rocket Rods 2.0, and even then you'd just get acceleration on the straightaways. As I remember Rocket Rods, the big accelerations were at the start (popping a wheelie), and when you excited Innoventions heading over the Autopia, those were the big ones I remember.

Yeah, I remember Rockets Rods pretty well. It was really dumb.

But most of its stupidity came from the very weak storytelling and the complete lack of showmanship along the track. Remember the big highlight of the indoor tunnels through Space Mountain?... About three dozen red party lights stuck into the ceiling. Exotica!

Put compelling show scenes in those buildings that tell a great story, and you don't need to go fast through the Tomorrowland buildings. Save the speedy thrill portion for the huge outdoor loop above Autopia. The only challenge is creating show scenes that work in the confined spaces of those passages and tunnels. You can't have big Pirates or Racers type animatronic rooms, but you could so something neat with lighting and HD like they did with much of Test Track 2.0.

 

[Captain Neo]

Not for a Tron Vekoma style coaster, no way, not with that seating arrangement. And of course, no "coaster" as you need computer control for certain sections.

Who would want to sit on a bike when it putters along the old People Route inside all of the buildings? Rocket Rod didn't have many show scenes, (though Tony Baxter had some good ideas that weren't used) . . . I'm assuming Disney will want a complete thrill ride with a motor bike type coaster, not just a couple of accelerations . . .

I'm also assuming they want something with a better hourly capacity than Rocket Rods.

Were those ever revealed? I could never find info on them. Do you know what those scenes were?

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Yeah, I remember Rockets Rods pretty well. It was really dumb.

But most of its stupidity came from the very weak storytelling and the complete lack of showmanship along the track. Remember the big highlight of the indoor tunnels through Space Mountain?... About three dozen red party lights stuck into the ceiling. Exotica!

Put compelling show scenes in those buildings that tell a great story, and you don't need to go fast through the Tomorrowland buildings. Save the speedy thrill portion for the huge outdoor loop above Autopia. The only challenge is creating show scenes that work in the confined spaces of those passages and tunnels. You can't have big Pirates or Racers type animatronic rooms, but you could so something neat with lighting and HD like they did with much of Test Track 2.0.

Having ridden the People Mover for decades, it was a bizarre combination of nostalgia/brief excitement to ride the Rocket Rods. The only things to see on the ride were the same as the People Mover, only you didn't have the time to enjoy the view.

Don't remember much about the Space Mountain segment. 100% agree that Tron theming would be on the short-list of stuff that would work, flat LED illuminated lines against darkness. If they did a Tron motorbike ride . . . it couldn't be a coaster, and wouldn't offer much thrills and still the dark ride scenes would be limited.

I figure they could use Innoventions for a massive showbuilding, maybe even keep the old People Mover station as loading/unloading, but the track would have to follow a new route. They could do something wild like theme the top of the buildings in TL, and sink pylons down where architecture permitted, thus allowing smoother curves and such. That would probably be cheaper than trying to follow the old track route for . . . nostalgia?

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Were those ever revealed? I could never find info on them. Do you know what those scenes were?

Knowing how Tony Baxter gets story, they were probably pretty detailed/cool. It was one of his regrets with Rocket Rods, probably among many. I don't believe they were published anywhere online, though Tony may well do a book at some point. Disney might claim them as their IP, given he made them for Disney on their dime, so to speak. I don't know exactly what was in them.

 

[Lee]

Miceage says it was a system designed for Tron, figured that it was what is going into Shanghai. It's a sort of fan generated rumor . . . "Shanghai gets a Tron motor bike coaster, so DL will get a bike coaster too, where the rocket rod went and . . . theme it like Star Wars."

You are combining two things here.
The Tron ride in Shanghai is not the same as what was designed for DL. Two different rides entirely, with the one for DL incorporating some of the Rods path. (But, as Martin said....some portions would be much slower and more dark ride-ish than the faster, more thrilling parts. Thus enabling the use of the old route.). I'm actually not even certain that "coaster" is a good description, if its the ride I've heard about...

The Shanghai Tron, if imported here, would be rethemed and put into DHS.

 

[MKeeler]

One thing I never understood with the Rocket Rods change - if you couldn't bank the turns, why wouldn't you use a vehicle like those for Primeval Whirl or Goofy's Sky School. Take the turn a little faster and let the car spin. I mean I understand why they wanted to stick with the initial proposal they had already invested everything in, but I'm not sure why that thought for a replacement wasn't used after it failed.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

You are combining two things here.
.

This isn't my 'mistake', but Miceage.com:

The E Ticket of the Tomorrowland remake uses the speeder bike coaster concept on the old PeopleMover route, originally Imagineered with a Tron theme but now using Star Wars as the storyline for the new ride.

A speeder bike coaster concept originally imagineered with a Tron theme . . . hmmm. Star Wars doesn't have many motorbikes, or motorbike-like vehicles, and of course, a coaster can't be put on the People Mover's tracks, or even through the People Mover's route. It would have to be a computer controlled ride, like TT and RSR, which kinda evolved from TT.

You are combining two things here.
The Tron ride in Shanghai is not the same as what was designed for DL. Two different rides entirely, with the one for DL incorporating some of the Rods path. (But, as Martin said....some portions would be much slower and more dark ride-ish than the faster, more thrilling parts. Thus enabling the use of the old route.). I'm actually not even certain that "coaster" is a good description, if its the ride I've heard about...

Why use the old route? There is enough space in Innoventions for tons of dark ride scenes (more than in People Mover's limited space), use the footings on Autopia/Subs for a new track, or rip out the old People Mover track going down TL from the entrance, and put in a new track that hugs the sides of buildings (heck, they could make a banked turned around the Astro Orbiter!) . . . a whole lot cheaper than structurally changing buildings.

So . . . either a ride is a coaster, or it isn't. 7DMT is a coaster, because you "coast" on certain segments. If the insider folks aren't sure whether something is a coaster or not, then perhaps it is just a blue sky concept.

The Shanghai Tron, if imported here, would be rethemed and put into DHS.

Seems like a lot of stuff is being put into DHS. A Carsland, maybe half a Carsland, maybe a Carsland with different type of E-Ticket, maybe a Monsters Inc. Coaster, maybe Star Warsland, maybe a bike coaster themed to Tron or Star Wars . . .