Filler rides and Hollywood Studios

[Jspider]

yeah so I'm already willing to admit this is probably a horrid idea but...

as I look at the expansion plans for both DCA and WDSP I can't help but feel that they're getting alot of filler attractions (spinners and the like) attatched to their expansion plans.

And while I think that DCA is at least managing to fit them in with a somewhat classy style, WDSP is pretty much just garrishly adding them. However my last experience at WDHS in Florida pretty much left me thinking that it could REALLY use the extra capacity and rides for teh kids.

Sure it is supposed to be a more show oriented park but it seems as though alot of the guests are still itching for more RIDES. GMR is pretty much the only thing that never gets a wait even when everything else has over 200min wait.

Granted I can only see spinners added in with a style worse then waht is happening at WDSP but it would seriously amp up capacity (something that the studios are BADLY missing) and besides unlike when they did a carny zone at animal kingdom, this won't be ruining a beautiful park.

the Studios is already one of the ugliest of the gates at WDW so what's wrong with adding a carny zone to that? the areas are already disjointed for the most part (maybe the Hollywood blvd and Sunset blvd are nice but everything else is just ugly disjointed groups of sets)

maybe they could even just clone that new Toy Story thing they're doing over in Paris?

[tasman]

IMO, the most appropriate kiddie area for DHS would be ToonTown. The studios started out being themed to a romanticized version of the golden age of Hollywood...and ToonTown belongs to that era. Of course there is the current cheap version of ToonTown at the Magic Kingdom...but IMO MK was better in the days before there was any ToonTown so tearing it down would be no great loss.

[ICe101]

the Studios is already one of the ugliest of the gates at WDW so what's wrong with adding a carny zone to that?

I am sorry but that is such a stupid comment. If they were to add to the park then why not improveit. Not make it worse.

[tasman]

^^ Yup that's the mantra of the last Eisner decade..."we've already screwed up some of it...why not screw up some more of it"

[Hazelrah]

I wouldn't want to see carny rides added to DHS (Dinorama didn't do AK any favors), but it could definitely use some smaller scale rides. I think things like the Fantasyland dark rides don't cost nearly as much money as a major E-ticket, are beloved, fit in with the story, and have decent capacity.

Count me in the camp of thinking that DHS is show heavy. This may be a personal preference thing, but shows don't hold a lot of repeat value for me. When I put my armchair imagineer hat on, I always dream of replacing Voyage of the Little Mermaid with an actual Mermaid ride. Or the Indy Stunt Show with the an Indiana Jones Adventure ride. Or Sounds Dangerous with just about anything else.

Also, DHS has problems staying open late precisely because all the shows end at like 5:00. If you're trying to bide time until Fantasmic, you only have a handful of attractions to pick from (AK also has this problem).

[geoffa]

Hazelerah took the words out of my mouth. Firstly at DHS get rid of that darn hat! It ruins the vista that the original layout envisaged. After all it's nothing more than a glorified pin trading store.Completely refurb and, to some extent, update the Great Movie ride. It's look so tired and the number of breakdowns are unbelievable. They have given us a new area in Pixar Studios with the Midway Mania ride and the character meet. Add Crush's coaster like they have at Paris They could expand on that. Get rid of the dismal Indiana Jones stunt show and replace it with a spectacular ride a la Temple of Doom or something along the lines of Universal's Spiderman which for my money hasn't been matched by anything at Disney. Bring back the "Fantasy in the Sky" firework show.
It's bad that you are expected to drag your feet if waiting for Fantasmic and quite often now showings are confined to weekends only. As they say: Build it and they will come.
Neglect it and they will drift away.

[Ride Warrior]

I haven't noticed any filler flat rides at Hollywood Studios. the Indy stunt show isn't a ride, and it has been in place for many years. I do agree that an e-ticket Indy ride would bolster the park's attractiveness greatly. This ride has been rumored as part of a land expansion, and likely will occur. A Spiderman type of a ride has been rumored as well. It is inevitable that this type of a ride system will pop up at at least one of WDW's parks. The Stydios could certainly stand to benefit.

Fantasyland has remained rife with filler flat rides since the early days of both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. What would Tomorrowland be without the Astro Orbitor and the Autopia. Why judge DCA any different ..especially when it's getting rid of Maliboomer, and possibly one or two other flat rides.

Anyway you look at it, It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

[Jspider]

Originally Posted by ICe101

I am sorry but that is such a stupid comment. If they were to add to the park then why not improveit. Not make it worse.

well I was pretty honest in that I know there is something somewhat retarded about my opinion

but I gotta be honest I'm not sure how well Disney CAN fix the studios, Disney can't even make Epcot feel united as a whole, all they've done is retard up the signage and while alot of their other asthetic changes have been great on a individual basis for the buildings they've only fallen apart further when you look at how well they fit in with their surroundings and the rest of future world in general.

the Studios have it even worse, their solution to a park icon was to put a giant hat at the end of one of their few successfully themed streets, even the much praised Sunset Ave has RnRC (a ride that I love) stappled onto it rather sloppely (it doesn't fit it's surroundings feels like a last min addition and really the facade looks like they spent no time/thought on even attempting to make it match up)

As for the actual structure of the park I'm not sure how they CAN change it, they certainly arn't motivated to start a large redesign project like DCA is getting and I've found the studios to be a far ugglier and sometimes worse park then DCA for far longer. (Studios just have the luxery of being a piece of something I already multiday trip to)

The path system is fairly unintuative, I tend to hate how Star Tours try's to hodge itself on the theme (and of course it's not alone on this tenuous theming connection) or how it's area sits next to Muppets and neither really transitions to the other they just sort of sit adjacent in their own self absorbed plazas. The Eco lake is just as bad in design with alot of things that don't really tie together thematically all sitting accross from each other.

the Toy Story ave and Animation plaza are alright if not battlenecked though I suppose (with Midway Mania being a horrid crime of crowding with a nice swirling fortex going on most of the day if it's in any way busy)

the simple odd way that all the parks paths have to work around old sets that made more since when they were part of the movie tour and the odd shape of the Movie ride itself (wich hogs up a large portion of the middle of the park) sometimes I think the reason they're allowing the Movie ride to rot is because of some bizzare theme to let it die so they can harvest it's precious space and maybe balance out the rest of the parks design (unlikly)


It's not so much that I'm saying they shouldn't make the park BETTER as you'd put it but more along the lines that I've given up on this park being pretty. Adding more capacity and more unique things to do can only serve to MAKE the park better, it's just a question of if said additions can also make it pretty.

I've enjoyed many parks that are great fun but not pretty and the studios fits right in line with that. I don't like the Toon Studios idea they've presented in Paris from a looks and theming standpoint (though some might) but I think it's deffinitly working as far as giving the park more to do and making it a more satisfying visit, and at this point since the studios over here have clearly given up on looks I'm willing to make the same sacrifice for the sake of ridecount (heck they can give us the Crush ride to if they feel like it)

With ToT and RnRC already int he park it also seems to make since to me to continue with the slightly more thrilling vibe the park is already giving, so a few slightly carny things with some nice decoration could really beef up capacity while they also add in a nice thrill ride to top off the draw.

[Rocker]

I think I see where you are getting at. When I went to Disney World in 2003, DHS was rather planned out sloppily. And the way they've got it, it is very unlikely that they are going to fix the layout. What I do find a little sloppy is the fact that they have a Streets of America backlot THEY DON'T EVEN USE put onto it. In fact, as I come to think about it, what IS the central purpose of DHS? When it was first built, it was suppose to be about the Golden Age of Hollywood- and now it is just...a random set of all things Hollywood.

When Star Tours was first concieved (it was first built at Disneyland in 1987), they wanted it for Disney World because it was considered a "Thrill Ride" and that was what WDW was lacking- thrills. So the imagineers decided to put it at DHS because it had a movie theme, although I will admit I do think it does belong at the Magic Kingdom.

As for your rant about flat-rides...please, god, no. Disney has already done that with Animal Kingdom and DCA. DHS is a show park, and the rides need to be more up-to-date.

[danyoung]

Originally Posted by ICe101

I am sorry but that is such a stupid comment. If they were to add to the park then why not improveit. Not make it worse.

Can't you find a way to disagree with a poster other than using the stupid word? I don't agree with the OP's idea either, but calling his idea stupid is the quickest way to get a thread shut down.

[kcnole]

I don't like many of the carnie rides that we're just retheming like the to mater spin and things like that. I really wish they would build the nightmare before Christmas dark ride that was proposed many years ago.

[Bryce05]

Originally Posted by Ride Warrior

A Spiderman type of a ride has been rumored as well. It is inevitable that this type of a ride system will pop up at at least one of WDW's parks.

I have been posting about an imaginary second-gate for HKDLR called North American Adventure in the HK forum. One attraction it would have is based on the Spiderman technology, it's called Hollywood Patrol. The ride could fit in well at DHS too I think.

HKDR Second Gate - "Disney's North American Adventure"

[toonaspie]

Originally Posted by Jspider

well I was pretty honest in that I know there is something somewhat retarded about my opinion

but I gotta be honest I'm not sure how well Disney CAN fix the studios, Disney can't even make Epcot feel united as a whole, all they've done is retard up the signage and while alot of their other asthetic changes have been great on a individual basis for the buildings they've only fallen apart further when you look at how well they fit in with their surroundings and the rest of future world in general.

the Studios have it even worse, their solution to a park icon was to put a giant hat at the end of one of their few successfully themed streets, even the much praised Sunset Ave has RnRC (a ride that I love) stappled onto it rather sloppely (it doesn't fit it's surroundings feels like a last min addition and really the facade looks like they spent no time/thought on even attempting to make it match up)

As for the actual structure of the park I'm not sure how they CAN change it, they certainly arn't motivated to start a large redesign project like DCA is getting and I've found the studios to be a far ugglier and sometimes worse park then DCA for far longer. (Studios just have the luxery of being a piece of something I already multiday trip to)

The path system is fairly unintuative, I tend to hate how Star Tours try's to hodge itself on the theme (and of course it's not alone on this tenuous theming connection) or how it's area sits next to Muppets and neither really transitions to the other they just sort of sit adjacent in their own self absorbed plazas. The Eco lake is just as bad in design with alot of things that don't really tie together thematically all sitting accross from each other.

the Toy Story ave and Animation plaza are alright if not battlenecked though I suppose (with Midway Mania being a horrid crime of crowding with a nice swirling fortex going on most of the day if it's in any way busy)

the simple odd way that all the parks paths have to work around old sets that made more since when they were part of the movie tour and the odd shape of the Movie ride itself (wich hogs up a large portion of the middle of the park) sometimes I think the reason they're allowing the Movie ride to rot is because of some bizzare theme to let it die so they can harvest it's precious space and maybe balance out the rest of the parks design (unlikly)

Given the DHS is located in a small area of land surrounded by major roads...there's really VERY little way of fixing or expanding the area. The only thing that the park CAN DO is to stop wasting land and make some more worth out of the space they can salvage. Ex: Streets of America...that whole street with the meet and greet area is wasted space that could actually use an attraction giving the area more traffic. I dont mind the small pathways as long as you are able to get all around the whole park without having to go back one way to get to another (which happened during construction of TSM). That area could use a serious attraction to go along with the theming. I'm not big on the whole LMA show but I cant complain if it's a hit with the tourists. If they're gonna tear down the Studio Tramtour they need to fill it up with something with an actual new E-ticket or something or find a way to enhance the tour ride with something more than just catastrophe canyon. Have the tram go through little events throughout the places it travels to.

As for the theme areas, I know they can try harder to preserve or up the themes alittle more. It's pure laziness to put a blockbuster themed ride in an area that doesnt belong. Putting RnRC in Sunset Blvd kinda bothers me but I guess it was a lack of land issue there. Make Pixar Place/Animation Courtyard more animation-like. Make Echo Lake more unique. etc Not much can be done transition wise.

oh yeah...Get rid of VotLM. Ugh terrible pointless waste of a show! Get rid of that whole building with American Idol and Sounds Dangerous while theyre at it!

[BoogaFrito]

Originally Posted by Jspider

well I was pretty honest in that I know there is something somewhat retarded about my opinion.

Actually, I thought it was a fairly realistic suggestion as to how Disney could add ride capacity (in their current low-budget mindset).

I agree they won't be doing any major overhauling of this park, except for maybe the Pixar area...

[Noctourne]

I don't think there are any filler rides at DHS. However, the park does need more ride through attractions. In December, I went to DHS for a early entry, and nothing was open. I have devised a Muppet themed ride that could take the space currently housing Mama Melrose's, Pizza Planet, and It's a Wonderful Shop. The Indy stunt show could be replaced with Disneyland's Indy attraction, because Lights, Motors, Action is almost the same show, and the planned Monsters, Inc. rollercoaster would fit in the soundstage across from Midway Mania. So, without changing park boundaries, Disney could double DHS's capacity, and stay in the set theme.