WDW Disney's Hollywood Studios Discussion Thread

With Universal Studios starting to create mini-lands inside their parks (Harry Potter Diagon Alley and Springfield) and rumors of Star Wars and Cars mini-lands coming to Hollywood Studios, could this be the beginning of having themed lands inside of Hollywood-themed parks instead of having an entire backlot theme for every attraction?

For example, could we see Toy Story or Muppet themed lands enter the parks around their attractions? Or will these mini-lands only be created for brand new attractions and slowly take over the park with their theme. By 2020, could Hollywood Studios only have three lands: Radiator Springs, Star Wars Galaxy, and Hollywood?

^I think Toy Story Mania is part of a section called "Pixar Place."

This is a long shot, but maybe they completely retheme Hollywood Studios to an entire park based on companies that Disney owns: Jim Henson, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and PIXAR. That leaves Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster, and the Great Movie Ride to be dealt with. I could see Rock n Roller with an AD/DC soundtrack themed to Iron Man. Tower of Terror, well I don't really know. Great Movie Ride could be updated to just have scenes from Indiana Jones, Star Wars, the Avengers, Thor, Iron Man, etc.

I'm just dreaming again.

I thought it was only the Marvel rights over a few characters that IOA has. It just so happens those characters are pretty much all of the Avengers. I still see Disney finding a loop hole and we will get a Marvel attraction or show someday sooner then when that contract ends.

No loopholes, as jedi mentioned unless Universal stops paying (or Disney forks over a boatload of cash) Marvel will not be making any appearances in the WDW parks other than movie ad wraps on the monorails.

No loopholes, as jedi mentioned unless Universal stops paying (or Disney forks over a boatload of cash) Marvel will not be making any appearances in the WDW parks other than movie ad wraps on the monorails.

The monorail wrap was a loophole. I feel like Disney could find ways to use Marvel. It doesn't really matter, I want a Star Wars land in DHS anyways. Forget about Superhero and go with Jedi..

They could retheme DisneyQuest to the Avengers.

^That would likely still be a violation of the contract because DisneyQuest is considered in many ways to be a theme park. The monorails were acceptable as they never entered the park limits (the Marvel wrapped monorails were never allowed on the Epcot line). Merchandise is the only true exception that is allowed inside of the parks (there has been Thor merchandise in the Norway pavilion for quite some time), as the terms regarding merchandise are totally different.

As much as I love Marvel and hope we can see it come to the Florida parks sometime down the road, I do have a soft spot for what Universal has done with that IP... And more importantly, it means that Florida can focus on capitalizing on that other multi-billion dollar franchise.

I don't think Disney really cares that they can't use Marvel in their parks in Orlando. I'm sure they are making a ton of money off everything else Marvel. They have plenty of things they can use to theme a ride or area and don't need the super-heroes.

^ Agreed, very well put.

Marvel is good, but there are a ton of other things that Disney owns that could bring in the money. I would love to see a total refurb/update to GMR. It's been way too long, and only us older people and film students even know what all those movies are!

That would be awesome. I actually really love that ride system/concept. They could do so much with it!

^That would never happen especially since Disney can't use Marvel in their parks this side of the Mississippi because of USF.

I wouldn't say "never." If Disney really WANTED to use Marvel in their Orlando parks, they could.

IIRC, the Universal license only applies to the comic book versions of the characters. I don't think the movie versions are covered...

I'm referring to that I'm sure there is a price tag that could be paid to allow them to use Marvel. I mean, think about it... They paid 4 billion and got Star Wars. Don't ever rule out anything!

That would be awesome. I actually really love that ride system/concept. They could do so much with it!

I've always thought that ride was due for a major overhaul, they could easily upgrade to some modern movie scenes, update the script etc. and make that thing awesome for a whole new generation.

I know Disney isn't really in the haunt business but I've always thought turning that thing into a walk through maze could be really cool, maybe one of these days .

Saw this earlier which seems somewhat unlikely to happen in full but in part perhaps could be interesting.

 

It’s been less than a year since Lucasfilm was bought, but it looks like their new owners at Disney may have big plans for the franchise at their theme parks.

 

A new report at Theme Park Insider, citing multiple sources, says that an entire Star Wars Land will be added to Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL. Don’t get in line just yet – Theme Park Insider says Star Wars Land is projected to be a five-year project, meaning it wouldn’t open until 2018, though there is a possibility of that being accelerated by a year.

 

Disney of course plans to open a new Star Wars movie every year beginning in 2015 with Episode VII, so regardless of whether it opened in 2017 or 2018, there would be a new Star Wars film to piggyback promotion onto. The Hollywood Studios park is where Star Tours already resides in Walt Disney World, so essentially, Star Wars Land would be expanding onto that. For those familiar with the park’s layout, Theme Park Insider says Disney is currently considering having Star Wars Land either replace the Muppet*Vision 3D theater and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids or, going the other direction, it could be placed where the Backlot Express restaurant and Indiana Jones stunt show currently sit.

 

Cars Land meanwhile will probably replace the Lights, Motors, Action auto stunt show and Catastrophe Canyon, extending off of the Pixar Place area that is already part of the park.

 

Cars Land has been a massive success for California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, giving a much-needed boost to what had been a struggling park for Disney – the lines are still formidable in Cars Land, a year after it opened. With Hollywood Studios similarly suffering from a lack of identity, the one-two punch of Cars Land and Star Wars Land would be pretty massive to say the least.

 

 

As Theme Park Insider notes, the competing Universal Orlando has had a lot of impressive growth Disney would love to combat, beginning with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening a couple of years back and plans for the near future that include the addition of Transformers: The Ride, a Simpsons-themed area opening soon and a major expansion to Harry Potter next year. Walt Disney World does have the strong addition of New Fantasyland to boast at the Magic Kingdom, but Cars Land and Star Wars Land would be even bigger, in terms of attention-getting, franchise appeal, and change the perception of the Hollywood Studios in a major way.

 

Of course, with word of such a major investment of Star Wars at a Disney theme park comes the question… what about Marvel? Disney’s owned Marvel a lot longer, but there hasn’t been any major US theme park presence at the Disney parks as yet. Keep in mind that Disney can’t do anything with Marvel in Orlando or anywhere on the east coast, thanks to pre-existing deals with Universal. But as for the original Disneyland, in California, there was the first step of adding the Iron Man armor display this summer and there continue to be rumors about bigger plans, even while an entire Marvel area is planned for Disneyland Hong Kong.

 

 

This seems as good a place as any to throw in a funny personal anecdote. Last week, I was being helped at the Apple Store Genius Bar by a guy who turned out to be a fellow Disney park aficionado. He told me he’d heard they were going to tear down the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland and replace it with an Iron Man ride. I’m not finding any info online about such a thing in the works, rumor or otherwise, so there's nothing to back up what he said. But if it ends up being true, then damn, the Genius Bar guy knew what he was talking about!

I've ben assuming that we'd either see Cars Land or Star Wars Land hit the Studios in the next five years - never both. I'd love to see that happen, but it's going to be a huge investment!

I could see them just building the Radiator Springs Racer to add to the Pixar land. Then using the rest of the money to develop a really cool Star Wars land.

Saw this earlier which seems somewhat unlikely to happen in full but in part perhaps could be interesting.

 

 

It’s been less than a year since Lucasfilm was bought, but it looks like their new owners at Disney may have big plans for the franchise at their theme parks.

 

A new report at Theme Park Insider, citing multiple sources, says that an entire Star Wars Land will be added to Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL. Don’t get in line just yet – Theme Park Insider says Star Wars Land is projected to be a five-year project, meaning it wouldn’t open until 2018, though there is a possibility of that being accelerated by a year.

 

Disney of course plans to open a new Star Wars movie every year beginning in 2015 with Episode VII, so regardless of whether it opened in 2017 or 2018, there would be a new Star Wars film to piggyback promotion onto. The Hollywood Studios park is where Star Tours already resides in Walt Disney World, so essentially, Star Wars Land would be expanding onto that. For those familiar with the park’s layout, Theme Park Insider says Disney is currently considering having Star Wars Land either replace the Muppet*Vision 3D theater and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids or, going the other direction, it could be placed where the Backlot Express restaurant and Indiana Jones stunt show currently sit.

 

Cars Land meanwhile will probably replace the Lights, Motors, Action auto stunt show and Catastrophe Canyon, extending off of the Pixar Place area that is already part of the park.

 

Cars Land has been a massive success for California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, giving a much-needed boost to what had been a struggling park for Disney – the lines are still formidable in Cars Land, a year after it opened. With Hollywood Studios similarly suffering from a lack of identity, the one-two punch of Cars Land and Star Wars Land would be pretty massive to say the least.

 

 

As Theme Park Insider notes, the competing Universal Orlando has had a lot of impressive growth Disney would love to combat, beginning with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening a couple of years back and plans for the near future that include the addition of Transformers: The Ride, a Simpsons-themed area opening soon and a major expansion to Harry Potter next year. Walt Disney World does have the strong addition of New Fantasyland to boast at the Magic Kingdom, but Cars Land and Star Wars Land would be even bigger, in terms of attention-getting, franchise appeal, and change the perception of the Hollywood Studios in a major way.

 

Of course, with word of such a major investment of Star Wars at a Disney theme park comes the question… what about Marvel? Disney’s owned Marvel a lot longer, but there hasn’t been any major US theme park presence at the Disney parks as yet. Keep in mind that Disney can’t do anything with Marvel in Orlando or anywhere on the east coast, thanks to pre-existing deals with Universal. But as for the original Disneyland, in California, there was the first step of adding the Iron Man armor display this summer and there continue to be rumors about bigger plans, even while an entire Marvel area is planned for Disneyland Hong Kong.

 

 

This seems as good a place as any to throw in a funny personal anecdote. Last week, I was being helped at the Apple Store Genius Bar by a guy who turned out to be a fellow Disney park aficionado. He told me he’d heard they were going to tear down the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland and replace it with an Iron Man ride. I’m not finding any info online about such a thing in the works, rumor or otherwise, so there's nothing to back up what he said. But if it ends up being true, then damn, the Genius Bar guy knew what he was talking about!

Translation - Only five years until you will finally be able to get a Toy Story Mania fast pass in the afternoon.

I am all for a Cars Land for Florida. DHS has been underutilized for years so these expansions are well needed.

There will be no Radiator Springs Racers.

I’ll let that concept sink in for a second. The iconic ride that all of Cars Land was built around will not be cloned in Florida and as disappointing as this seems on the surface, this could be a very good thing as the concept has two strikes against it from the start.

After all... Walt Disney World has already had the same Radiator Springs Racers ride system running since the late ‘90s as Test Track at Epcot. (Strike 1!)

Disney has also just finished pumping several million into that same Test Track attraction at Epcot to reinvent it as an all new version of Test Track less than a year ago. (Strike 2!)

So as much as most Walt Disney World fans want to experience the Radiator Springs Racers, there is too much of a fear that the end result will simply me a “Meh!” from guests as they cross the finish line, as Test Track is not only the same ride system... but one that also goes much faster through it’s high speed finale.

We may not see a RSR, which would suck. But why couldn't they just make the track longer and make the copy at WDW faster so that the race felt like a real race?

^ you should post the most up to date rumor from Screamscape. Where it explains RSR may still be built.

(5/22/13) I’ve got some semi-good news this week for everyone who was disappointed in the concept of a Walt Disney World version of Cars Land without the Radiator Springs Racers. In typical Disney fashion, they come up with more than one plan for any given project… and while there are proposed versions of Cars Land without the iconic ride… there are also versions being pitched that will include a Radiator Springs Racers ride… though with a slightly different layout.

Really though, instead of Radiator Springs Racers, can we use the test track technology to make a Pod Racer ride. I disliked the Pod Racing in the movie but I could see a fun ride made out of it.

I'd love to see the trackless cars put to work on a Cars style dark ride, you'd lose the thrill of the race and speed of racers but I'd love to see one giant radiator springs with tons of trackless cars together, visiting the different buildings and passing many other guests in their trackless cars cruising on the main street, imagine if the characters of cars land instead of being animatronic were also mounted on the trackless vehicles with some in the buildings (such as luigi in the tyre shop) but randomly bumping into Lightning and Mater just wandering around the town.

A guy can dream.

I'm not buying that Disney wouldn't put Radiator Springs Racers in just because they have Test Track already next door. Just look at Universal. with Transformers and Spiderman.

I think they can improve upon Carsland quite a bit. RSR, is stunning, but quite a bit of that is the themed scenery. The actual high speed section could be improved if the cars were actual roller coaster trains. Love to see RSR as a multi launcher coaster with a long layout. DHS could use a new coaster experience. Luigis tires to me would work well with the trackless ride vehicles. The air hockey version is just ok. Maters flat is passable, although I feel it woud work better if guests could rotate the vehicle like a teacup as you go through the mild whip motion of the ride.