Dated vs Classic at Disney's Hollywood Studio

[KingEric]

There is a debate about whether an attraction is dated vs classic. With Universal Orlando closing JAWS (discuss here) and most of the original attractions replaced, I wanted to take a look at the other studio park Disney Hollywood Studio to see what people consider classic vs dated.

Feel free to comment on my list and tell me what you think.

(date is when attraction opened and/or received a major refurbishment)

Classic:

• Great Movie Ride (1989)
• Tower of Terror (1994)
• Fantasmic (1998)
• Walt: One Man's Dream (2001)
• Toy Story Midway Mania (2008)

Current:

• Rockin' Roller Coaster (1999)
• Lights Action Motors (2005)
• American Idol Experience (2009)
• Star Tours: The Adventure Continues (2011)
• Disney Junior (2011)

Dated:

• Indian Epic Stuntshow Spectacular (1989)
• Honey I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure (1990)
• Muppet Vision 3-D (1991)
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage (1991)
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid (1992)
• Sounds Dangerous (1999)
• Magic of Disney Animation (1989/2004)
• Backlot Tour (1989/2009)

After compiling this list, I kind of realize how dated the park really is.

[lazyboy97O]

I would say Fantasmic! is dated, Toy Story Midway Mania! is current and Muppet Vision 3-D is classic.

[KingEric]

I would say Fantasmic! is dated, Toy Story Midway Mania! is current and Muppet Vision 3-D is classic.

While there are elements of Fantasmic! That could use some upgrading, I feel that Muppets is very dated with the whole spirit of 3-D and the ending where you see old Disney-MGM with the 90's clothes, and the old Mickey Balloons.

I feel like with new technology they could just make a much better film.

[goofy donald]

While there are elements of Fantasmic! That could use some upgrading, I feel that Muppets is very dated with the whole spirit of 3-D and the ending where you see old Disney-MGM with the 90's clothes, and the old Mickey Balloons.

I feel like with new technology they could just make a much better film.

i feel like muppets needs a little upgrading (and its own mini land) but its still classic, same with Indy, definitively a classic attraction and one of the better stunt shows ive seen

[KingEric]

i feel like muppets needs a little upgrading (and its own mini land) but its still classic, same with Indy, definitively a classic attraction and one of the better stunt shows ive seen

I am torn on Indy. I am glad that they stopped saying that the Indy actor is his stunt double. Part of me loves it, and another part of me cringes a bit at times.

[WDW1971]

-GMR - definitely classic and serves the same purpose as Space Ship Earth, though an update of the animatronics is due and perhaps additions of new, more current scenes (Titanic, Avatar, Harry Potter)
-ToT - classic, no doubt, and will still be popular in the future.
-Fantasmic - a good show and I would consider it classic overall but needs updating (ie HD projections, more special effects, etc)
-Walt is a great addition an should continue, yet I would make the museum more magical and themed - right now it looks like a cheap room filled with Walt memorabilia
-Toy Story - a great ride and will live on into the future like Peter Pan
-RnRC - definitely today but in 20 years will audiences know the band as much as they do now? I guess they will have to change the music every couple of years to keep it current
-Motors Action - good though in 20 years I think it will have run its course. However it does not have the timeless appeal as Thunder Mountain or Space Mountain
-American Idol - probably has another good 5 years but its going to fall into the same fate as Who Wants to be a Millionaire
-Star Tours
-Disney Junior - a good show for the little ones
-Indiana Jones - I actually like this better than motors action but it could use some updating
-Honey I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure - this just needs to leave now, it is so outdated, the movie did not have the longevity of other Disney classics and most people today have no strong emotional attachment to this movie
-Muppet Vision - I love this show and feel that it will get an update (HD) due to the new movie and would not consider it as dated as other attractions in the park
-Beauty and the Beast - good show but this movie deserves a dark ride; probably has run its course and will be replaced once New Fantasyland opens
-Little Mermaid - great show, the effects are cool, the movie is great, the theater is amazing and comfortable and the show is unique (and I wish it were longer) and will probably be replaced once New Fantasyland opens
- Sounds Dangerous - the most dated attraction in the park, get rid of it now
-Animation - the movie/ "animator" interaction is corny and pointless, Animation Academy is my favorite attraction in the park, needs updating/new focus
-Backlot Tour - has potential to be a star attraction in the park but needs to add new scenes and purpose

[KingEric]

Good list.

And I do wonder what they will do when the band members pass away... so what bands could take over Rockin' Roller Coaster?

Ideas?

[WDW1971]

And I do wonder what they will do when the band members pass away... so what bands could take over Rockin' Roller Coaster?

Avenged Sevenfold or Linkin Park!

[toonaspie]

Good list.

And I do wonder what they will do when the band members pass away... so what bands could take over Rockin' Roller Coaster?

Ideas?

Unfortunately it will 99.99% be most likely a Disney-owned tween band.

[Ice101]

I think the Original Post is a bit misleading.

Something that is classic, can become dated as well. I would consider the Great Movie Ride classic yet dated. It seriously needs an update. Not necessarily of the movies, but of the technology. I would also consider Fantasmic! dated as well, and possibly classic.

[MarkTwain]

I would bump MuppetVision over to "classic" and drop Fantasmic down to dated. Disneyland and TDL are now the standards for what a modern Fantasmic looks like, and WDW's doesn't make the cut.

As for the other attractions, that's kind of the problem when you build a theme park off all of your hit franchises... they don't stay hip for long!

I would also say Great Movie Ride is, though a classic it may be, dated from a technological and from an audience appeal standpoint. All of the scenes could use a serious Spaceship Earth-style scene touchup and full animatronic replacement. And as much as most of the movies in that ride should be familiar to audiences, many of them aren't, so some scene replacements might be in order as well... although I would resist switching them to flash-in-the-pan franchises like Avatar (for reasons mentioned above).

And the day Disney adds a Potter scene to GMR would be a cold day in the last scene of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, haha.

[Bronco21]

I think the GMR needs a major update. Not just updates in tech either. It needs new scenes added. Movies such as Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Die Hard, True Grit, Rocky, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl, Bourne 1,2, or 3, or many other movies could replace the dated scenes that 95% of the people who ride it have never heard of much less seen. If disney really wants to increase park attendance a good place to start is increase ride interest in the GMR.

[JtnOrl]

Good list.

And I do wonder what they will do when the band members pass away... so what bands could take over Rockin' Roller Coaster?

Ideas?

They should just replace the attraction at that point, not the band its based on.

[mess98]

Good list.

And I do wonder what they will do when the band members pass away... so what bands could take over Rockin' Roller Coaster?

Ideas?

Make it Cars themed and stick Weezer in there...

[Hathaway Browne]

Looking at the list of dated attractions, I have to agree, but the best part about the majority of those is that they can be replaced or even removed and the land used for something else.