Progress City, U.S.A.

About a week ago, Matt Hochberg at the Studios Central site posted a thoughtful counterpoint to my “top ten” article about fixing the Hollywood Studios park. It’s understandable that our viewpoints differ on the matter of the Studios; obviously I have a number of significant problems with the way the park has developed, while Matt is not only the creator of Studios Central but also RocknRollerCoaster.com and TowerOfTerror.org. I wanted to reply sooner, but wanted to wait until I could give the subject the attention it deserved. I posted my response earlier today in the comments thread under the original article, but thought I’d crosspost them here too. So, to quote Samuel L. Jackson, allow me to retort!

First, I appreciate the thoughtful analysis, even if it’s dissenting from my post. On most of my trips to WDW, I don’t even bother with the Studios anymore. This hasn’t always been the case, as I used to be really fond of the park. And there are obviously still parts with which I find a lot of merit – I think the front of the park, with Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, is one of the most beautifully themed areas in any Disney park. As a fan of film, and especially classic Hollywood films from the 30s and 40s, the park should be a home run for me. In fact, I think a lot of the problems I have with the Studios come from how much real potential it has to astound, and how it’s fallen short of that goal so far.

I’ll follow the model in their reply, and respond point by point. Their quotes are in italics:

“Each of the four parks has been the victim of grandiose ideas followed by cost-cutting slashes to projects that resulted in a watered down result. Look no further than the original plans for Animal Kingdom (Beastly Kingdom), Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland or Epcot (World Showcase countries, World showcase attractions, Seas pavilion) as starting points. Every park has big dreams and then reality sets in.”

This is true, but I think it hurts the Studios more than the others for a couple of reasons. Most glaring is the fact that Studios was created with the express purpose of being a working production facility. There have been a lot of prominent broken promises at all of the parks, but it’s most noticeable at the Studios because the production facility was such a huge part of the park’s original roster. EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom have had a lot of canceled projects, but they have many many other attractions to make up the difference. If the MK had opened with just 3-4 attractions, and the promise of Western River Expedition, it would have been far more glaring when that attraction didn’t materialize.

A more apt comparison is definitely Animal Kingdom, with its unbuilt Beastly Kingdom, but I think that even that park holds together better despite its overall lack of attractions. In a way, its walking trails are a version of the old Studio Tour, as they can easily soak up a few hours for the guests that are interested in that sort of thing.

The fact that the Studios started off so small, and had a major part of its function wither away, made it that much more of a problem when they didn’t add all the new lands and attractions that were conceived for the Disney Decade.

“If you want to talk about a theme park that started out one idea and became a very different park with a different purpose, Epcot is about as grandiose an example as one can find. Epcot was Walt’s idea for the perfect city of the future and if you look at those plans and look at Epcot today (or even in 1982), they are about as close in similarity as a Ferrari is to a Ford Taurus.”

While that’s true, and it’s also true that EPCOT’s mission has changed since 1982 from education to… whatever… the actual physical purpose of the park remains the same. The pavilions might have changed their content, but there’s still the giant figure-8 layout of pavilions around a central core. Studios has changed its purpose in a much greater fashion – half of the park, formerly closed to guest traffic, was a working studio. Now it’s a theme park. So while the function has changed, the form really hasn’t. That, for me, is why it’s a mess. The new guest areas simply weren’t designed to function that way, and so they don’t have the same effect that traditionally themed areas do.

“That’s a problem if you’re looking to make the park size larger to match the scale of Animal Kingdom or Epcot. I think the mistake is look outside the Studios’ gates when there’s is room inside. Let’s not forget that the Backlot Tour and the former animation areas take up a great deal of space. Now, you can sign me up for bulldozing the Backlot Tour since it’s a shell of it’s former self and I won’t sit here and defend it. In addition, you have plenty of space in the facilities that were built for the animation and production business that never came to the Studios. Instead, those bugalows and offices are used by park management as offices. I’m sure park management can be relocated elsewhere while this area is re utilized for the park.”

I totally agree with this – the Studios has plenty of room to expand within its own borders. There’s a lot of unused or underused real estate remaining from the park’s original setup. My main concern for the future is where to stick large show buildings for attractions, and where to put back-of-house offices without cramming up against the freeway like Disneyland. It’s not a major issue, but it should be kept in mind when planning future expansion.

“I beg to differ regarding the difficulty of navigating the park. It’s by no means perfect (Aside from perhaps Epcot, none of the parks are easily navigated by the average guest) and I think the walkways in Asia and Africa at Animal Kingdom are far worse in terms of getting from point A to point B. Most of the walkways in the backlot area of the park are wider than many walkways in the Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom, which makes it far easier to move around without being stalled by slow moving guests ahead of you.”

Again, I’ll agree that Animal Kingdom has some huge issues involving guest flow and traffic routes. That’s one reason I really frowned on that park for a long time, and it’s still an issue in a lot of respects. The problem with Studios, again, is that many areas that are onstage now were never intended to be guest areas. This means that while they may be efficient in handling traffic, they’re also straight featureless corridors. When you add theming to the buildings, like in the current Pixar Place, it squeezes the space available for foot traffic. And since most of these corridors are the only optimal way of getting from one area to the other, all traffic must go that way.

Again, it’s because those “backlot” areas weren’t meant for guests. Those soundstages are laid out on a grid pattern instead of the hub-and-spoke arrangement that seems to be more efficient for theme parks. Guests were never meant to have to walk around the huge Great Movie Ride show building, etc. That’s what I meant by the need to bulldoze – everything north of Echo Lake/Chinese Theater/Sunset Blvd needs to get knocked down and rebuilt to the standards (aesthetic and practical) of other parks. It’d be better show, and it would be better flow. See, it rhymes! That must mean it’s a good idea!

One last example: The park’s most popular, most visited attractions are both at the end of Sunset Boulevard (three, if they’re showing Fantasmic!). There’s only one way in, and one way out of that area, and it’s a real traffic disaster on even moderately busy days. I can’t fathom why they’ve never opened up a corridor from Sunset Market to the Animation Courtyard. That would so much improve the experience there, and make it much more convenient to get around.

“Outside of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards or Echo Lake, many people do not understand the theme the Backlot area. Like a real movie Studio, the Backlot area of the Studios is set as if you are looking through the viewfinder of a movie camera. … The attractions are set up like movie sets and just like a movie set, you don’t need to have some “overarching theme” between the two beyond the movie studio stuff we see between (guard stations, archways, billboards, etc). Hollywood Studios’ Backlot is designed to be the way it is not out of cheapness or lack of vision, but because it’s modeled after Hollywood movie studios.”

I have to disagree here, and say that it’s completely out of cheapness. the Disney-MGM Studios park was built in an extremely short time on a small budget, to beat Universal to the punch, and I see these “soundstage” elements as an easy cop-out to save some money. I have no problem with the idea of a “live set” on the New York Street or what used to be the backlot; when there was the pretense of actual filming it was fun to see how perspective worked with the city backgrounds or the residential street false-fronts. But it doesn’t work, for me, with the “theme park” side of things. Setting Star Tours on a soundstage, for instance, is an enormous cop-out. I thought so the first time I went as a kid – I didn’t know what they were going for, with C-3PO’s coffee break area and bulletin board off to the side. Are we going to Endor, or are we watching people make a movie about people going to Endor? Introducing the “working set” idea creates a whole extra layer of stuff to get between the guest and the experience. Cramming all these big-box attraction buildings in back to back makes it look like Universal, and robs the properties of the rich areas they deserve. Indy deserves an area of its own. Star Wars deserves an area of its own. Not a set, or a big warehouse building, but a fully-themed area.

Now other areas can play by other rules. The Muppets, which you mention, are essentially running their own “studio” so that type of theming makes sense. It also makes sense within the confines of their humor, which is very meta and self-referential. I’ve no problem with that – but I do think that Muppets deserve to have their area all to themselves, and another attraction to boot!

The point of my rant is that I don’t think Disney has done well in the post-”working studio” era of combining those old facilities with the existing theme park. I love movies, and the process of making movies, so these are all concepts that should appeal to me, but they’re so haphazard and poorly defined in the park now, it’s hard to see where they’ve committed to any single idea. The idea of not knowing what’s around the next corner is appealing in a way, but not when what’s around the corner is the Lights, Motors, Action marquee and state fair grandstand or the weird old Hunchback theater building. Hence, again, the need for the bulldozers. Give Lucas and the Muppets their own areas. Either remove the eyesore that is the Sounds Dangerous/SuperStar Television building or re-theme it extensively to match the period look of Echo Lake and the Chinese Theater. Clear out the muck. Add layers of activity, and add water! The backlot is like the Sonora desert.

“I’d love to see the trolley cars come to Hollywood Studios, although that may be easier said than done given some of the challenges, but it’d be nice to see one on Sunset Boulevard, similar to how you can ride the vehicles in the Magic Kingdom from the train station to the hub. Otherwise, I won’t argue against adding more touches, but I do think it has it’s fair share of them (Coke bottle? Singing in the Rain umbrella? The well near Indiana Jones?)”

The Red Car would be hard to add now, with traffic being so bad on Sunset, but if you open up other pedestrian corridors it could work. Imagine a trolley from the entrance, to the Tower of Terror, to the Chinese Theater. Cool.

“I don’t disagree, because I wont sit here and say randomness is the way to go. Rather, I think budgets need to match the dreams that Imagineers have for the Studios, or any park. How many times have we heard about what the Imagineers really wanted to do at a given attraction, only to be curtailed by the necessities of a budget? Any perceived “random attractions” are the result of someone watering down an idea presented to them until it meets whatever budgets they have.”

True, but I’m thinking more of the fact that the attractions now get inserted to any thought or reason why they should be there. Of course, I’m mainly grousing about Midway Mania, because while it’s a fun attraction it has absolutely no connection to the theme of the park. It makes perfect sense in California Adventure, but no sense at the Studios. Why not, instead, a ride like Tokyo’s Monsters, Inc. ride where instead of flashlights you’re trying to film the monsters with movie cameras? That would at least make sense. If you’re going to theme an area to represent a movie studio, like Pixar Place attempts to, that needs to tie in with the attraction. It’s not good enough just to have random rides based on movies put into brick or stucco buildings. I’m not asking them to bend over backwards, just to think a little bit about what they’re doing before they do it.

The article mentions American Idol, but as much as I hate that show I have to admit that at least that attraction has some connection to the theme of the park. Although, for the life of me, I’ll never understand why they haven’t brought back SuperStar Television. With Disney’s obsession for synergy, it would be the PERFECT way to plug ABC shows. And guests would love to get put into Lost, or V, or Desperate Housewives, or whatever is the new hotness. That just seems like an obvious pick, but that’s another story altogether.

Anyway, thanks again to Studios Central for the comments and for reading. I appreciate the dialogue. Again, my main beef with the Studios is that it could possibly be my favorite park if the promise of the entrance plaza held up throughout. My brain lives somewhere between 1928 & 1945, so there were times when those areas along Sunset Boulevard could have been my favorite place in any Disney park. They just need to think about what they want to do with the park, and speak with one voice.

STOP THE MADNESS!!

It’s no secret that I think that the Hollywood Studios (née the Disney-MGM Studios) is in pretty dire straits – that it needs far more money and attention than the other Florida parks to get it up to code. Large swaths of the park need to be completely demolished and rebuilt along a different plan if they’re to meet the current needs of the park and escape the outmoded infrastructure of its working-studio past.

Most of all, the Hat has got to go.

Good news on this front – the Orlando Attractions Magazine has reported on the Imagineering presentation at today’s 20th anniversary celebration, and it seems that certain key Imagineers are just as fond of the Hat as many – if not most – Disney fans. That is to say, they hate it too. Bob Weis in particular seems to have ragged on the accursed Hat a couple of times, with an assist from Eric Jacobson. Tom Fitzgerald was there too, but was probably keeping the lid on his secret plan to replace the Hat and all of Hollywood Boulevard with a giant projection screen and some visible HVAC ductwork.

My proposal: have a hard-ticketed event, with tickets at $250 a pop. Keep the park open all night. Guests get a Disney-branded hardhat and crowbar, and get to tear the abomination down. They could auction off the first whack on eBay. Just sayin.

The next item in our list of what I’d like to see taken care of this year in the Disney parks:

#6 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios… Oh, boy…

What once was, can be again…

Just for fun, let’s torture an analogy. Let’s say that somewhere, just off-campus near Progress City University, there’s an infamous sorority house. These undergrads haven’t gotten the memo that hazing has been forbidden by the administration, and for initiation they make the various Disney resorts stand up on the table and have their “problem areas” circled with red marker. Before they lose their charter, they have a go at Walt Disney World and this is the result:

Oh, Disney-MGM Studios / Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where should I start? Unlike the Animal Kingdom, which is a well-realized concept, lovingly crafted yet incomplete, the Studios is a rampaging Frankenstein’s monster of low expectations, abandoned ambitions and half-finished plans. All of the four Florida parks need serious work and additions, but only the Studios needs a sizable portion to be razed and rebuilt wholecloth.

What’s ironic is that I used to be quite a fan of the Studios. I’ve loved film in general, and the culture of the 1930s and 40s specifically, since I was a kid. The Studios seemed a natural for my tastes. Much of it still is – Hollywood Boulevard remains beautiful, despite the accursed Hat (more on that later). The Sunset Boulevard expansion only increased the scope and theming of the area, and added a couple of much-needed attractions to the park. But once one reaches the replica of Graumann’s Chinese (again, setting the hat aside), the park falls apart. There a number of reasons for this, but the main reason the Studios is such a mess nowadays is that it was once a very different theme park with very different purpose.

In the beginning: EPCOT Center’s unbuilt Great Moments at the Movies

Much of the Studios’ genesis remains debatable, but most fans know the oft-repeated story that its origin came in large part from a concept developed for EPCOT Center. What was to become The Great Movie Ride was conceived first as an attraction for Future World, to be placed in a pavilion between Journey into Imagination and The Land. According to legend, new CEO Michael Eisner saw the designs on a tour of Imagineering and decided that the concept should be expanded into an entirely new park. And so, the Studios were born.

Cynics might point out that the rest of the park Eisner dreamed up bore a striking resemblance to plans for a Universal Studios tour long intended for Orlando – plans that Eisner had seen during his previous stint as president of Paramount. Squeamish about entering the Orlando market on their own, Universal had approached Paramount in the early 1980s about partnering on their new gate in Florida. Eisner was thus privy to all of Universal’s plans for Orlando, and although he rejected the partnership offer as head of Paramount, when he left that studio for Disney he quickly proposed the idea of a studio attraction to combat Universal’s impending presence in Florida. Universal executives were furious – and litigious – but Eisner went ahead with construction of the Disney-MGM Studios and, despite Universal’s long head start in planning, managed to get Disney’s park opened a year ahead of its rival’s.

The park was built so quickly because it was far smaller and simpler than Disney’s other parks. The Studios was not intended as a full day attraction like the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT Center – Eisner was playing it very safe with his first major project as CEO. But when the massive crowds that arrived to see the new Disney park overwhelmed the handful of opening day attractions, it became apparent that the park desperately needed expansion, and soon.

Thus began two decades of fits and starts, of announced and canceled projects, and of Rube Goldberg-like expansion. While I’ll save most of my historical lecturing for the Studios’ 20th anniversary in May, it’s important to see how the problems faced by past expansions shaped the park as it is today. The layout of the Studios is so strange that guests unfamiliar with the park’s past must be baffled by its randomness.

The most daunting problem faced by the Studios is its location. Hemmed in by World Drive on the west and Buena Vista Drive to the north, there’s not much room for expansion. Past blue-sky theories have involved expanding over World Drive to adjoining property, but one assumes that would be an action of last resort. As it stands, the existing areas of the park are so chaotic that there’s plenty of room to expand by razing obsolete buildings and infrastructure and starting over.

The confusing layout and unnecessary backstage areas stem from the Studios original mission – to be both a movie-based theme park and an actual working studio. Orlando had its eye set on becoming “Hollywood East” with tax incentives and lax labor laws meant to lure production to Disney and Universal’s soundstages. When Disney-MGM opened, more than half the park was closed off to guest traffic, and guests were unable to view any of these areas without taking the Studio Tour. The arch to the right of the Chinese Theater was intended to be the gateway to the “real” studio, and aside from the entrances to the Backlot Tour and the Animation Tour, everything beyond that gate was closed to guest access. On the other side of the park, everything south of the Indiana Jones arena was inaccessible.

Turning back time: The area shaded green represents the guest areas and show buildings of the Disney-MGM Studios in 1989 (including Star Tours, which opened soon afterward); the blue area approximates the original backstage and production areas of the park

As production waned, the “theme park” side of the park began to encroach on the “studios” side. The walking part of the backstage tour was slowly whittled down to the point that what’s left – the water tank show – serves merely as preshow for the tram tour. The tram tour has also seen massive cutbacks, and now serves mainly as a way to get guests to the worn-out Catastrophe Canyon.

The production areas slowly have become guest areas, with Mickey Avenue opening up to guests and a series of temporary attractions filling some of the former soundstages. This is the area that’s becoming “Pixar Place”, with Toy Story Mania occupying one former soundstage and the upcoming Monsters, Inc. coaster filling another.

The park today: Guest areas and show buildings in green (includes Catastrophe Canyon); backstage areas in blue

This is where the problems begin. The park’s layout made sense when half of it was a working studio and not meant for guest access. The theme park areas – Hollywood Boulevard and Echo Lake – were laid out and themed like traditional Disney attractions. The backstage areas were not intended for guests and thus do not adhere to the design traditions necessary for adequate guest flow. Essentially, as they expanded, Disney had to “fake it” – creating traffic corridors where there were none before, and trying to link areas of the park together that were never intended to commingle.

Unfortunately, a large part of this transition came towards the end of Eisner’s tenure, when any real spending was out of question. What Disney should have done at this time was to remove the soundstages and various support facilities and start over, laying out new areas along proper practices of park design. Instead, we essentially get rides crammed in to unthemed warehouses, with no access to the space needed for later expansion in more remote backstage areas. There are no visual “weenies”, no overarching theme, and no sense of place in these areas – it’s just a hodgepodge. Without massive demolition and rebuilding it will remain that way. Even if WDI goes in and drops E-tickets in all those old facilities, what we’ll wind up with are rows of parallel streets with rides in contiguous, identical rectangular buildings. Not too inspiring.

Where’s that bulldozer? The backstage former production area in orange – the grid layout is not conducive to good theme park design, and should be removed to allow for expansion. For reference, what’s left of the tram tour is highlighted in yellow, Mickey Avenue/Pixar Place is in red, Toy Story Mania’s former soundstage is in green and the area earmarked for the Monsters, Inc. coaster is in blue.

These are issues Disney is going to have to face soon if they plan on any expansion in the Studios. The eventual disposition of all the former backstage areas need to be decided, and they have to determine what’s going to happen with the vestiges of that era. It’s commonly accepted in fan circles that the tram tour isn’t long for the world, as it occupies the biggest patch of easily re-purposed land in the park. It seems that the tram and Catastrophe Canyon will go the way of the dodo as soon as management opens the purse-strings and lavishes some attention on the Studios, which depending on your way of thinking may or may not be within our lifetimes. Even if Burbank were to suddenly get generous, expansion in this area will have to wait for other projects that are closer to a greenlight, such as Star Tours 2.0 and the planned Monsters, Inc. coaster.

The other legacy attraction that needs addressing is the Animation Tour. This attraction was actually expanded over the years, and eventually altered to incorporate the swanky new building created for Florida’s burgeoning feature animation department. Then, Eisner shut down the successful Florida animation unit and the tour’s reason for being vanished. The attraction is now a sad shell of its former self, with no real animators to speak to guests and the show film changed from the amusing yet informative Return to Neverland to a pointless puff piece from California Adventure’s animation exhibit. The tour has no flow anymore and no real draw, aside from some character meet and greets. Disney animation deserves a spot in this park, and the content and scope of the tour needs to be re-thought. Disney also needs to decide whether they’re going to have an animation unit in Florida again, and if not they need to make better use of the space they’re now wasting on backstage office buildings.

One of the rumors that made the rounds when Disney changed the park’s name to “Hollywood Studios” was that the park would be re-conceived as consisting of a series of themed “studios”. These would be analogous to the “lands” of the Magic Kingdom, and would center around the different properties the shows and attractions were based on. Thus, one would get “Lucas Studios” and “Muppet Studios”, “Pixar Place” and so on. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but I think it’s a far superior way to structure the park than exists now, and provided the layout of the park could be restructured in a more logical fashion I think that this plan would be an excellent and thematically consistent way to envision the park going forward.

So, assuming they take my advice and fix all these critical infrastructure issues, what else does the park need? Well, new attractions. And a thorough refreshing of old attractions. They need to decide if they’re still going to attempt to address elements of filmmaking process – otherwise, vestigial elements like the tram tour and Sounds Dangerous need to be replaced with something relevant to the park’s purpose. I don’t think the production aspect need be eliminated entirely, but Sounds Dangerous still needs to go no matter what.

I’m going to sound like a broken record on this one, but the park needs more dark rides. As of now, it has only two (if you count Toy Story Mania). The only animatronic spectacle of the sort that guests tend to associate with Disney is The Great Movie Ride. Give us more – the history of the park is littered with interesting concepts that remain unbuilt. Again, I’ll talk more about this in May but there’s no reason why, with the realms of film, TV, radio and theatre at their fingertips, WDI can’t create a slew of amazing and amusing experiences.

From the Neverworld files – Mickey’s Movieland

The park also needs more of those small atmospheric touches that make the other parks so unique. It would be a cinch to bring California Adventure’s planned Red Line Trolley to Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard. Who knows – maybe they can find a way to make a studio tram ride that circles the park like the Magic Kingdom’s railroad. Live entertainment should also be expanded – this is the park that’s traditionally known for its epic live shows and those should become a feature of the park rather than something that gets cut first when times are tight.

All in all, the park needs logic. It needs a reason to exist, and a purpose for its now seemingly random attractions. Most of all, it needs a master plan that will determine which of the former production areas are available for future expansion, and will prevent major attractions being built in the short-term that would make long-term expansion difficult.

The romance of old Hollywood is ingrained in the global collective consciousness, and there’s no reason why a park like this can’t be a crown jewel for Disney. The entrance of the park, with its ambient music and wonderful theming, should only be the start of an amazing experience instead of its pinnacle. The Studios’ layout and divided sense of personality suited its purpose and made sense in 1989, but it doesn’t anymore. The park’s goals have changed, and it’s time to make a suitable investment in bringing it up to the standards of its peers.

No. Just no.

One last note – the Hat. Rarely are there things that so unite fandom, that are so universally reviled, as the Hat. You’ll hear any number of rumors as to its purpose, but I continue to be unable to fathom what they were thinking when they built the Hat. Out of scale and completely incongruous with its surroundings, the Hat blocks the carefully designed sightlines down Hollywood Boulevard and the once-spectacular view of the Chinese Theater. It serves no purpose, only sheltering a pin stand, and a rather feeble pin stand at that. It’s hard to believe that it’s plagued the park for nearly a decade, and one can only fervently hope that it will eventually follow the path of its once-feared-permanent brethren, the Hand. The Hat makes me deeply angry. Why not put the Hat as an entrance to a rebuilt Animation tour? Just get it out from in front the Chinese Theater. Seriously. What were they thinking? Ok, breathe…

Seriously. Ditch the hat.

And build a Rocketeer ride. Seriously.

That is all.

Magic Kingdom

We’ve mentioned already several of the rumors regarding the next few years as Disney ramps up for the Magic Kingdom’s 40th anniversary in 2011. If planning continues along current lines, and management steps up with sufficient funding, the park will finally receive a series of refurbishments that will begin to restore it to its long-lost lustre.

First on our slate are the projects that have been confirmed by Disney – refurbishments of the Country Bear Jamboree and the Hall of Presidents. The Jamboree will go dark this fall for a month in order to upgrade the animatronics and give the entire show a well-deserved technical polish. The Hall of Presidents closure, which also begins this fall, will extend well into next year and result in more sweeping changes. While still unconfirmed by Disney, multiple online and personal sources agree that the rehab will not only result in the addition of a new animatronic Commander-in-Chief but also the installation of an entirely new show. The new show won’t feature a speaking role for the current president, but might possibly add a speech from another prominent founding father.

The next tier of projects are those that I feel will definitely appear in the parks barring any disastrous economic situation or major shift in management. These attractions have been confirmed by multiple sources and are generally agreed to be “in the pipeline.” While we know that even solid plans can change, I would wager that we eventually see these projects come to light.

The first of the projects pending announcement is a rehab of the Carousel of Progress. Much like the looming upgrades to the two previously mentioned shows, this rehab would bring new animatronics to the venerable Carousel theatre as well as providing a much-needed modernization of the final scene (no more laserdiscs for you, Grandpa!).

Next door to the Carousel, an extended and long-in-the-making refurbishment will be coming to Space Mountain. After a series of structural issues several years ago, Disneyland’s version of Space Mountain underwent a complete track rebuild. The new track, while retaining the original ride’s layout, provided a much smoother and safer ride experience while allowing the addition of new cars with ride-synced musical tracks. It’s long been known that WDI was working to bring these same changes to Florida, but lethargic and tight-fisted Magic Kingdom management have stymied the plans so far. Still, it appears that the rehab will actually happen next year, with a closing date of January 9, 2009, being bandied about by informed sources. Work has already begun in part – Martin Smith has posted pictures showing that marks have been spray-painted onto the track to tell demolition crews where to cut. The scope and length of the rehab still depend on management, who would rather have a short rehab period than a suitable refurbishment, and we might wind up with only rebuilt lift hills instead of an entirely restored attraction.

Across the park in Adventureland, look for The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management to go the way of the dodo. As we’ve mentioned, it’s extremely likely that a new show will be installed here featuring Lilo and Stitch. Some of the concerns I had voiced here were in part answered by a post on WDWMagic.

“Our version would be far more connected to our previous versions with songs from the original (and jokes at the expense of Iago and Zazu) as well as some Elvis added in there. The show would be a little longer, with a little less telling of what is happening and more singing. And yes, the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room song will start the show off as always.”

The final attraction that seems a lock for the Magic Kingdom is a new Fantasyland dark ride based on The Little Mermaid. The ride, originally intended for EuroDisney and then slated for the Magic Kingdom in the 1990’s, has been redesigned from the ground up for installation at California Adventure by 2011. Knowing Disney parks chief Jay Rasulo’s love of cloning attractions, fans quickly began to suspect that the new E-ticket would be bound for Florida’s Magic Kingdom as well. The story has gained credibility, and major rumor sites agree that The Little Mermaid is on its way to Orlando for the resort’s 40th anniversary.

Rendering of California Adventure’s planned Little Mermaid attraction

The last tier of rumors are those for which there is very little evidence. Of these, the most definite but also most nebulous concerns an upcoming rehab of Tomorrowland. Designed to right the wrongs of 1994’s unfinished remodel, the overhaul of Tomorrowland would bring the entire land under a unifying theme that would not end at Rockettower Plaza. We’ve mentioned rehabs for Space Mountain and the Carousel of Progress, but also look for something new to replace Stitch’s Great Escape when its namesake heads for Adventureland. I haven’t managed to find out what will happen to Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor, but it is my fervent and completely baseless hope that it would at the very least be moved to Hollywood Studios if not shuttered entirely. The new theme of the land remains unknown, but I sincerely hope that many messageboard mavens are incorrect in their assumption it will be based around Pixar’s WALL-E. I loved the film, but think that it has obvious and distinct incongruities with the supposed mission of Tomorrowland. Unlike many, I don’t have a problem with a somewhat fantastical look at the future, but WALL-E is no more suitable a model for Tomorrowland than Mad Max or Planet of the Apes.

Last on our list of possibilities for the Kingdom is a rehab of Fantasyland to bring it more in line with its more visually appealing Anaheim cousin. To accompany the Little Mermaid dark ride, Honor at Blue Sky Disney has suggested that plans are afoot for a rollercoaster-based attraction themed to the mine cars from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. He also predicts a new attraction based on Beauty and the Beast, although he doesn’t say if this will resemble the BATB show originally designed for EuroDisney.

EPCOT Center

Following a series of additions and changes, Disney has yet to confirm any upcoming attractions for EPCOT. One project, though, is continuing under the radar and without official mention. When Spaceship Earth re-opened late last year it was greeted with a wave of criticism for its lackluster touch-screen finale. The spectacular upgrades to the ride’s first half were often forgotten amongst complaints about the somewhat simplistic narration and anticlimactic descent. Disney and ride sponsor Siemens are well aware of the criticisms and the ride has undergone constant tweaking ever since. Without time to install a new finale before the ride was forced to open for 2007’s holiday season, Imagineering crews have been working third shift to slowly prepare the descent area for new and more engrossing show scenes that will finally give the attraction the finale it deserves.

EPCOT thankfully has several attractions that, although unannounced, seem certain to get the greenlight. The most obvious of these is a new film for Soarin’, which has been rumored since well before the attraction even debuted in Florida. LaughingPlace recently confirmed that the process of obtaining permits for the filming had begun.

Last year’s rumors about something being planned for the Japanese Showcase have burbled up again, emerging in some discussion on WDWMagic. While the old Mt. Fuji concept is definitely out, something has taken its place and it has to do with bullet trains. Old EPCOT fans might recall a concept from the mid-1970’s for the Japan pavilion which included a simulated trip aboard a bullet train, during which the train cars would be surrounded by a CircleVision travelogue of Japan. While this original concept is obviously far from what WDI is currently planning, I have strong reason to believe the new attraction at least has roots in this old design.

Concept for Japan pavilion bullet train attraction, circa 1974

The most anticipated of the upcoming EPCOT attractions is the fourth – and hopefully final – refurbishment of Journey into Imagination. Still trying to atone for the disaster of 1999’s Journey into YOUR Imagination, Imagineers have been putting together an elaborate plan to restore the pavilion to glory. While rumors of this restoration have been around for several years, it seems that we might finally see some movement on the project. As Martin Smith explained on WDWMagic, the process has been long for a reason:

Imag needs a rehab. Budget is a joke. WDI hold back. Imag still needs a rehab. Budget is a joke. Seas needs a rehab too. Seas budget is a joke. Seas borrows Imags refurb budget to supplement its own. Seas needs it. Seas is a success. Dark ride is a winner. Imag sees Seas (!) is a winner. Budget grows for Imag. WDI plus plans on the back of Seas and Mexico dark rides. WDI & Kodak know they need to get Imag v4 right. Imag budget grows some more. Ideas are moved around to make Imag ride v4 the best possible. Things finally fall into place.

While the final scope of the restoration has yet to be decided, it appears that the current designs range at least from “good” to “great” – Disney is putting some effort into this rehab and hopefully the Imagination pavilion will once more be a prime destination in Future World.

Easy pal – help is on the way

Beyond this, the future of EPCOT resides in the realm of speculation. It’s widely recognized that a replacement for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is needed but plans for that are tied in with the mysteries surrounding the future of the Imagination pavilion as a whole. The former Wonders of Life pavilion has been gutted of its attractions, save for the Body Wars simulators that are still used for spare parts and – allegedly – as a testbed for Star Tours 2 testing. Yet this large, empty space is begging to be filled – it just remains to be seen what WDI will come up with to use it.

Hollywood Studios

The most sweeping changes over the next few years will likely come to this park as the Imagineers try to give it a coherent theme and look, while fleshing out its roster of attractions. As of now the only confirmed project for the Studios is the American Idol Experience which will open next year. Jim Hill recently reported that the opening date of the attraction had been pushed back into the Spring from its scheduled January debut.

Concept for the upcoming American Idol Experience

For those unenthused about American Idol, there is a roster of attractions that will follow on its heels. A prominent axis of expansion will be Pixar Place, which will first see a new rollercoaster based on Monsters, Inc. Reported widely, including at Blue Sky Disney and Jim Hill Media, the attraction will occupy a replica of the Monsters, Inc. headquarters located in its own “mini-land” of Monstropolis. This addition to the end of Pixar Place might possibly include another, smaller attraction. The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground adjacent to Pixar Place will be rethemed to a bug’s life. The Pixar Place expansions will result in the eventual closing of the Studio Tram Tour (by 2010, says Blue Sky Disney), and eventually Pixar Place will extend across the backlot all the way to World Drive. This expansion, whether a replica of California Adventure’s Carsland (please, no) or another idea entirely, will necessitate the demolition of Catastrophe Canyon.

The other most likely new candidate for Hollywood Studios is Star Tours 2 which, having been hinted at for at least a decade, now seems to be actually gathering real momentum.

There are other, vaguer possibilities for the Studios as well. The eventual scope of Pixar Place’s expansion is unknown, and there still exist real possibilities for another Indiana Jones-themed attraction near the Stunt Show and Star Tours. In addition, Blue Sky Disney has mentioned an upcoming update of the Great Movie Ride and, intriguingly, the possibility of a new E-Ticket “based on a very big film to combat Universal’s opening of Harry Potter.”

Animal Kingdom

Of the four parks, Animal Kingdom is the greatest cipher despite needing the most new attractions. Nothing has been announced concerning future additions, yet only recently did they close the Pocahontas animal show in Camp Minnie-Mickey. Still, it’s known that the park needs greater capacity and there’s still a great deal of unrealized potential in its concept.

Will Mount Prometheus rise at Animal Kingdom?

The most definite idea for Animal Kingdom alluded to recently by those in the know is an expansion based on stories and themes from the works of Jules Verne. This would occupy the niche of “fantastic creatures” once intended for the Beastly Kingdom expansion. Sources are vague, and I would suppose WDI’s plans are very fluid, but common hints allude to two attractions from Tokyo DisneySea’s Mysterious Island area – Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. While it would certainly be a kick to see Mount Prometheus rising from the Florida swamps, part of me would seriously lament the final death-blow to the Beastly Kingdom concept. It’s well known that a great deal of that land’s aesthetic was copied by former Imagineers for Islands of Adventure’s Lost Continent area, but as that segment of the Universal park is now being re-themed to the tales of Harry Potter it would be a great time to see the Dragon’s Tower rise as intended at Animal Kingdom.

Rendering for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Tokyo DisneySea

The only other credible rumor for Animal Kingdom involves the moving of the Festival of the Lion King show from Camp Minnie-Mickey to Africa, as necessitated by the transformation of Camp Minnie-Mickey to a new themed area.

The Fifth Gate

This is where things get dicey. We’ve talked before about what was then rumored to be called “Disney’s Night Kingdom”, a premium-priced adventure experience. I still tend to think this will be more of a premium-priced add-on to Animal Kingdom rather than an official “fifth gate”, but it’s clear the concept persists.

Since the original story dropped, it appears that the concept has been significantly scaled down. Currently called either “Disney’s Animal Trek” (according to Blue Sky Disney) or “Disney’s Jungle Trek” (according to Jim Hill Media), the experience will now operate during the day and will offer less exclusive amenities while retaining the exclusive price tag. I’ve no idea what’s really up with this project, but it’s clear there’s some “there” there, regardless of its eventual scope.

Next stop, Anaheim…

The recent flurry of discussion about future expansion of the new Pixar Place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has borne some fruit. Message threads on prominent discussion boards have resulted in some very reliable sources confirming that WDI is, in fact, working on a new indoor coaster attraction themed to Monsters, Inc. Work seems to have progressed beyond the mere “Blue Sky” phase, with some saying that Disney has already started to contact contractors.

The above image, produced by Disney documentarian extraordinaire Martin Smith, shows the expansion area available to WDI for Pixar Place’s Phase 2. At the top of the image, in white, is the track layout for the recently opened Toy Story Mania! The area outlined in yellow is the current Pixar Place, and the area outlined in red is the former Soundstage One building which has been earmarked for the new attraction. To the left of the buildings is a backstage area which contains, among other things, the wardrobe department. The purple outline shows how far Soundstage One can be expanded without impacting the function of these buildings, while the blue outline shows a possible ride footprint which would affect the backstage areas. More accessible backstage areas are outlined in cyan, and this is where it is rumored that the attraction’s queue area would be set up.

This image, also from Martin Smith, compares the footprint of Disney Studios Paris’s Crush’s Coaster to that of Hollywood Studios’ Soundstage One. The Paris coaster is often mentioned as an example of what Orlando’s new attraction will resemble. While the plot size of the two attractions are roughly similar, Smith says that the Crush’s Coaster building is far taller that the available building in Florida.

In any case, it seems that help is on the way for the beleaguered Hollywood Studios. With the confirmation that this coaster will arrive around 2011 and the increasingly solid rumors of the Little Mermaid attraction for the Magic Kingdom, we now have two of the four speculated E-ticket attractions for the resort’s 40th anniversary. More nebulous rumors say that EPCOT Center might at last receive a worthy restoration of Journey Into Imagination by that time, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s coming to Animal Kingdom. At the very least, it seems that we east-coasters are finally feeling the love from Unca John.

UPDATE: Mention of the coaster seems to have crept into the somewhat-official media. The MTV Movies blog spoke to Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter and asked him about the possibility of a sequel to that film. While Docter mentions that they’ve “thought about it” and have “got a couple of ideas”, he won’t confirm or deny any rumors. The article goes on to state that “in the moment, those ideas are being filtered into a “Monsters, Inc” roller-coaster at the Walt Disney Resorts, which should open in a couple of years.” Now I don’t know what MTV’s source on this was, but it seems like a pretty definitive statement on the issue. I’d say this project is a go.