WDS - If it was an ideal world...for me anyway

[fizzog]

Just some armchair imagineering for WDS, hope you enjoy.

This first thing would never happen in a million years as Toon Studio is a brand new and seemingly succesful area, but I'm posting it anyway. The idea? Bye bye toon studio. Hello to two lands, the first of which goes from the current entrance to Toon Studio (the statue) to flying carpets. This would be called 'Animation Studios' and would be WDS' animation section with animagique, 'the art of...' and the animator's palette restaurant around where the carpets currently stand, oh and new flooring with more decorations in the middle.

The main toon studio area would become 'Pixar Studios' with a quick changearound of the Toon Town backdrop for it to become the wacky pixar studios, say hello to Ratatouille, well maybe if it endures. If not, Monsters Inc or Toy Story would suit me fine.

This not only makes total thematic sense as it's departments of an idealised snazzy Hollywood Studio but makes up for the seeming lack of clarity I at least felt in Toon Studio.

Hollywood Boulevard would lead into the streets of New York where a Broadway theatre would host a show and there'd possibly be that subway attraction I did a thread on not long ago though due to its proximity and nature being close to ToT it probably wouldn't be on the cards, but other attractions could be put there. This would then take you to a San Francisco street, possibly with an Earthquake attraction (though similarities to Universal might be too much), but definitely a rumble and shake of the set every ten minutes or so, one of those imagineering touches we all love. These would make up the streets of America sets and are the central kind of cluster of the park.

Backlot would become 'Action Studios' or 'SFX Studios' or something to that effect and remain largely the same but with Alien(tm) Encounter residing in between R'n'RC and the sunt show (oh and Armageddon's pre-show would be largely cut with only a short video before the improved extravaganza). Studio Tram Tour's entrance would be relocated here also leaving the tree-ey area behind for the mentioned expansions.

Production Courtyard would become 'Production Square' and be the main production area and somewhat of a hub. It would house Cinemagique, Stitch and a new attraction in between.

Behind the central cluster of street sets would reside 'Tune Studios' containing a Fantasia Attraction (Oh yeah!) and Sounds Dangerous (the technology seems to lend itself perfectly to DLRP's multi-linguality) as well as a shop and maybe counter-service restaurant. There'd be yet more room behind this if it was ever needed.

What do y'all think? I think it would be a themtically and geographically (as in layout) sensible park with exciting and varied sections. But that's just me.

[yesitsme]

Well after you practically begged for someone to come read your post in the Rodent film thread I thought I better come take a look

This is the kind of post/thread I absolutely love, really enjoyed reading your ideas!

I agree with about 50% of what you said the main things being:

• Toon studio doesn't work as the area it is at the moment, I would keep the name though and rename the 'older' area as animation courtyard.
• Carpets should stay as it's one of the few attractions in the studios based on a classic disney animation film. I personally would love Toon Studio to be opened up and for the Japanese version of Monsters Inc to find a home along with a Toy Story Pizza planet restaurant.
• I have always totally agreed with you about adding the street sets, not convinced about the attractions you suggest though, I would still like to see a 1940's Chicago area with the Dick Tracys' Crime Stoppers attraction - of course this could now just be loosely based on classic gangster movies. I'd like to see the right hand side of TOT get some really lush and overgrown gardens stretching along an extended boulevard.
• Totally agree with moving the Tram Tour station but disagree with the name change for the Backlot.
• AE just has to be done! I'm a little concerned it might look too crampt if placed between the stunt show and RRC?

I still think an extremely well themed Star Wars area should go behind Toon Studio/The street sets though! It's such an underused Theme!!!

Also would like to see Muppet vision, not because I think it would be sucessful but purely out of love for the muppets and the attraction!

I wish I had a spare Billion stuffed down the back of the sofa, I'd love to go in and sort out the Studios so that we actually have the 2 best Disney parks and not just 1!

[TDR_Fan]

Originally Posted by yesitsme

I wish I had a spare Billion stuffed down the back of the sofa, I'd love to go in and sort out the Studios so that we actually have the 2 best Disney parks and not just 1!

It would take a lot more than a billion dollars (or euros ) to get Walt Disney Studios even on the same scale as some of the second gates at the Disney resorts, no doubt about that. I think the concept is flawed anyways, so no amount of money would make it appeal to me as much as the themes of other Disney parks.

A billion dollars might very well make Disneyland Paris the best Disney park (it would be a close tie between it and Tokyo DisneySea for me if that was the case), but the same certainly cannot be said for Walt Disney Studios.

And great ideas, fizzog. These would definitely make Walt Disney Studios a decent second gate at the least.

[fizzog]

Well at the moment I think decent is what it should aim for! If it provides fun for a day it's good enough for me. The Muppets really do need to be at WDS, but they'd be a bit oddly placed in the middle of production courtyard. I love the idea of a 40s street set and even if Dick Tracy is forgotten a gangster theme would be good I think, if a little violent :-S. I think the problem with Toon Studios is Cars or Monsters Inc or Nemo aren't toons at all, Mickey and Minnie are etc. The entire theme of toon town and mickey's house in the distance is undermined I think by all this Pixar hence the Pixar Studios and Animation Studios. Flying Carpets could easily be kept in Animation Studios, as long as the restaurant can go in there somewhere

[DLRP_bopazot]

it is nice to see that Disneyland Paris Management and WDI and WDC realized that WDS was even worst than DCA .

but because it was signed with the french gouvernment back in 1986 they had to expand DLRP and open a second gate after 10 years .

if that was me i would built more E Ticket than one Crappy Park .

[pussnboots]

Originally Posted by fizzog

Just some armchair imagineering for WDS, hope you enjoy.

This first thing would never happen in a million years as Toon Studio is a brand new and seemingly succesful area, but I'm posting it anyway. The idea? Bye bye toon studio. Hello to two lands, the first of which goes from the current entrance to Toon Studio (the statue) to flying carpets. This would be called 'Animation Studios' and would be WDS' animation section with animagique, 'the art of...' and the animator's palette restaurant around where the carpets currently stand, oh and new flooring with more decorations in the middle.

The main toon studio area would become 'Pixar Studios' with a quick changearound of the Toon Town backdrop for it to become the wacky pixar studios, say hello to Ratatouille, well maybe if it endures. If not, Monsters Inc or Toy Story would suit me fine.

This not only makes total thematic sense as it's departments of an idealised snazzy Hollywood Studio but makes up for the seeming lack of clarity I at least felt in Toon Studio.

Hollywood Boulevard would lead into the streets of New York where a Broadway theatre would host a show and there'd possibly be that subway attraction I did a thread on not long ago though due to its proximity and nature being close to ToT it probably wouldn't be on the cards, but other attractions could be put there. This would then take you to a San Francisco street, possibly with an Earthquake attraction (though similarities to Universal might be too much), but definitely a rumble and shake of the set every ten minutes or so, one of those imagineering touches we all love. These would make up the streets of America sets and are the central kind of cluster of the park.

Backlot would become 'Action Studios' or 'SFX Studios' or something to that effect and remain largely the same but with Alien(tm) Encounter residing in between R'n'RC and the sunt show (oh and Armageddon's pre-show would be largely cut with only a short video before the improved extravaganza). Studio Tram Tour's entrance would be relocated here also leaving the tree-ey area behind for the mentioned expansions.

Production Courtyard would become 'Production Square' and be the main production area and somewhat of a hub. It would house Cinemagique, Stitch and a new attraction in between.

Behind the central cluster of street sets would reside 'Tune Studios' containing a Fantasia Attraction (Oh yeah!) and Sounds Dangerous (the technology seems to lend itself perfectly to DLRP's multi-linguality) as well as a shop and maybe counter-service restaurant. There'd be yet more room behind this if it was ever needed.

What do y'all think? I think it would be a themtically and geographically (as in layout) sensible park with exciting and varied sections. But that's just me.

I do like the idea of Toon Studio becoming Pixar Studios. I know we're supposed to dread the Pixarification of the parks, but they need to take this not-quite-anything area out of limbo and give it a "thing", a theme, a shared idea. Also, Pixar does more than CGI, they employ a large group of very competent illustrators and other artists whose work is a far bigger throwback to Disney's glory days than Disney's own work circa now. That artwork would make for an excellent source of inspiration for the area.

And it's never going to be Toontown, so that backdrop can go as well.

And please, yes, let them remove Armageddon's pre-show. And spruce up that awful queue.

[fizzog]

I'm fine with Pixarisation if it's something like this, a sensible land in WDS, but not, say, in DCA. I think I'd most like to see the Animation/Pixar studios things out of all my ideas

[nathan detroit]

I have to stand up for WDS at this juncture and say that it is at the very least 'decent'. I may court controversy by saying that its actually quite good.
Where it fails is in comparison to the other second gates around the world which are pretty high standards to measure anything against.
It has its faults and it may only be a day's worth of visit (if that) but it has a lot of great parts that out-strip the sum of the whole. All it needs is some more attention and, as I have said before, it is moving in the right direction.
Anyone who says that they visited WDS and had no fun at all are either lying or made of stone.

[pussnboots]

Originally Posted by nathan detroit

I have to stand up for WDS at this juncture and say that it is at the very least 'decent'. I may court controversy by saying that its actually quite good.
Where it fails is in comparison to the other second gates around the world which are pretty high standards to measure anything against.
It has its faults and it may only be a day's worth of visit (if that) but it has a lot of great parts that out-strip the sum of the whole. All it needs is some more attention and, as I have said before, it is moving in the right direction.
Anyone who says that they visited WDS and had no fun at all are either lying or made of stone.

Well, then put me on Mount Rushmore already. I've had no fun at the WDS, or I've at least been certainly pretty close. The things I like in a theme park are just not there. There's nothing to explore, nowhere to wander around, not a good restaurant, not an animatronic, not even a good shop. Just a bunch of rides and shows inside enormous lunch boxes. Rides that, while fun, make me physically ill, shows that are barely repeatable and require waiting in the worst queues since breadlines. Frankly, the predominant feeling I get at that park is a sense of embarrassment for all the first timers.

I'm sorry, but I really think you're willing to oversee a little too much. There are legions of non-Disney parks that trump the WDS by a landslide. DCA, the traditional epitome of Disney's drop in quality, is so much better that it has an attraction which is miles above anything at the WDS but is virtually forgotten there. I'm talking about Disney Animation.

In short, it is an embarrassment and I refuse to pretend it is not.

(of course, the ToT will add something good.)

[it398]

I personally actually love the Walt Disney Studios. It's not anywhere near up to the visual asthetics of the Disneyland park i admit, but the actual attractions i really like.

My real critisim with the park is really just the way its been laid out. In a way its too well organised. They have made the best use of a small space and incorporated large open walkways which allows for large numbers of guests to move freely and quickly around the park which unfortunately can give the impression of a bland park but it also allows you to go from attraction to attraction much quicker than you tend to in the Disneyland park. For example the top 2 Big thrill rides will soon be the Tower of Terror and the Rock n' roller coaster but they are almost next door to each other. In the Disneyland park Big Thunder and Space Mountain are on opposite sides of the park, thus meaning it could take you a little while to walk across the park and therfore making you feel as though there is more to the park.

I believe that with more "theming" to a particular "land" would also help to break up the park. Right now the whole park gives the impression of a movie backlot. I know thats what they were going for but when you look at the Disneyland park it's not all themed like the 1900's Main Street. The addition of the Toon Studios facades and Streets of America are certainly a welcome addition to the park. Give it another couple of years worth of investment and planning and it will be a truely great Disney park, i have no doubt.

[fizzog]

I love the place, I think it has a special atmosphere and I have lots of fun there, but it undoubtedly falls short comparatively. It does have some star attractions though, namely Cinemagique, Crush and R'n'RC, it's just their surroundings.

[yesitsme]

I don't rate the park as very good at the moment, I don't think it's beyond saving though. It does have some redeeming features, they just need to at least double the size of the place and add more theming.

[pussnboots]

Alright, so we can all agree it has some redeeming attractions. But how many of us have said at one point or another that we could hypothetically spend a whole day in a Disney park without ever going on a single ride? The way I see it, this is where the WDS' problem lies. And it's not just a matter of "theming". If all they did was theme, you'd be left with a lifeless park of nothing but empty facades. Like the new Hollywood Boulevard. I think I'll just let the statistics speak for themselves:

# of restaurants, all categories:
DLP__33
DL___30
Epcot_22
DCA__20
MK___15
MGM__12
WDS__4

# of gift shops
DL___47
DLP__28
DCA__16
WDS__4

[nathan detroit]

Originally Posted by pussnboots

Alright, so we can all agree it has some redeeming attractions. But how many of us have said at one point or another that we could hypothetically spend a whole day in a Disney park without ever going on a single ride? The way I see it, this is where the WDS' problem lies. And it's not just a matter of "theming". If all they did was theme, you'd be left with a lifeless park of nothing but empty facades. Like the new Hollywood Boulevard. I think I'll just let the statistics speak for themselves:

# of restaurants, all categories:
DLP__33
DL___30
Epcot_22
DCA__20
MK___15
MGM__12
WDS__4

# of gift shops
DL___47
DLP__28
DCA__16
WDS__4

That was a good point well made Puss, but I don't agree that the place is the 'car crash' that you describe in an earlier post. Yes, it does not have any explore value but for that go over the road, one of WDS's strengths to me is its polar-opposite-ness to Disneyland.
I agree it needs work and development and generally some TLC, but it is probably the only Disney park in the world that can boast that it definately getting better - reading other forums, the rest (or at least the US ones) are going to hell in a handcart.

[pussnboots]

Originally Posted by nathan detroit

That was a good point well made Puss, but I don't agree that the place is the 'car crash' that you describe in an earlier post. Yes, it does not have any explore value but for that go over the road, one of WDS's strengths to me is its polar-opposite-ness to Disneyland.
I agree it needs work and development and generally some TLC, but it is probably the only Disney park in the world that can boast that it definately getting better - reading other forums, the rest (or at least the US ones) are going to hell in a handcart.

Well, it isn't hard to improve on a car crash, is it, haha.

Look, I do apologize for my pessimism, cynicism and a wide array of other undesirable characteristics I inhabit, but it is very hard and frankly disorienting for me to understand how people can defend this park sometimes. It's like having dinner with a bunch of people who believe O.J.'s hands were clean, or having taken the wrong turn to the buffet and finding yourself at the Republican Convention. Or finding out Budweiser is the world's favorite beer.

But anyway, we're all entitled to our opinions, obviously, so there's no point in me heckling everyone who likes the park with meaningless statistics.