Whoa. Stop the presses. Sources are telling local news that Disney has made a deal with Turner Classic Movies that will involve Disney content appearing on the TCM channels and a makeover for the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Turner Classic Movies will… Read More »Turner Classic Movies to sponsor Great Movie Ride in new Partnership with Disney
A few weeks ago, we went over some of the possible scenarios for expansion at Disney’s Hollywood Studios along with completion of on-going and announced projects (Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed it). Yesterday, news dropped of a deal that will make it all possible.
What we didn’t mention in those posts was a rumored mega-land purchase by Disney that some fans were saying was a clear sign of a fifth gate being built. I didn’t want to breath life into any crazy rumors like that, so I ended up not posting that story. However, events have changed my mind.
As Walt Disney said about building in Florida, Disney has the blessing of space. 43 square miles is just a little larger than the city of San Francisco. But what you may not realize is that quite a bit of that area is dedicated to wetlands and conservation. Most of the resort that isn’t are already developed is zoned for conservation (see map below).
Read More »Disney World makes land grab for additional resort development
He’s an alien who knows how to get into trouble. But in the end everything is alright because Ohana means family. Our learn to draw subject this week is Stitch from Disney animated feature Lilo & Stitch. Today we’re led by Character Artist Heather Worley… Read More »Learn to Draw: Stitch
In part one of our look at the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios we examined what changes have already been announced by Disney and those that are rumored to be in the offing. In short, depending on how much money Disney is willing to invest and how fast, Central Florida’s original studios park could be in for a massive makeover.
Before we go any further, I want to repeat, that I don’t have any particular insider knowledge of plans or upcoming announcements. What follows is my learned hypothesis based on available evidence and informed guesses (aka rumors) from sources I trust. Some of this is more speculation than solid info and I’ll try and indicate that when and where I can.
Let’s start with one piece of information that would be a natural result of the changes coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios losing its ‘studios’ theme. The name will have to change. I think there’s one clear favorite for a new name – Disney’s Hollywood Adventure. It captures the shift in theme from making movies, to being a part of them. Instead of learning how the movies are made, we get to celebrate them and all the magic they inspire. This will let the park keep its two main Hollywood themed thoroughfares, expand Pixar Place (which physically is in Emeryville, not Hollywood, but emotionally it’s the same place) and perhaps add on one or two others. You might see some other Hollywood icons come to the park. El Capitan theater, which Disney owns, and the Carthay Theater, which has ties to Disney history and Disney has used as California Adventure’s main icon seem like two likely candidates. But don’t expect them to get too carried away.
Of course, a new name like “Mickey’s Adventure Park” could come out of left field too. That would indicate the park is in for a major re-imagineering. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities, but not the strongest candidate at the moment either.
When people ask me about what’s going to happen at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I have a certain spiel I provide to give some context to the question. This will help set up some of the financial and timeline issues. The budgets that control those are almost always in flux until they’re not, and the attraction opens. Sometimes, Imagineers get creative with budgets and good things can happen too.
This all starts with some things Disney CEO Bob Iger had been saying to The Walt Disney Company’s investors, that after dropping a lot of money on DCA, New Fantasyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland, the capital expenditures (read: theme park expansion) would be vastly reduced for a few years with only Disney’s Animal Kingdom (for both Avatar and the Nighttime show additions) and Shanghai Disneyland getting the funds. If you look at Disney’s stock price right now you’ll see that investors are very happy with the company and expect its value to continue to rise. In their minds, Iger has been a great steward of their money. So they’re probably pretty psyched he’s planning on sticking around for another year or so.Read More »Disney’s Hollywood Studios – A Timeline for the Future (part II)
I’m like most Disney theme park fans, I hear rumors all the time, some of them are more legit than others, but it can be hard to tell which actually have some nuggets of truth. To help with this, I have a rule – I don’t believe anything until Disney actually breaks ground on the project. But that doesn’t mean I can’t speculate about the latest rumors. So, keeping my rule in mind, here’s my latest understanding of changes coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The Sorcerer’s Hat is getting moved. If it’s possible to save the hat (which isn’t a given considering how much steel and concrete when into placing it at DHS) there are a couple of options as to where it will end up. It could go where it should have been placed originally – the Christmas Tree planter in the lakeside plaza out on front of the park. There it will provide a great moment as guests arrive from the bus, parking lot, or friendship boat dock. It can continue to house a store just like the little shop outside of Disney’s Animal Kingdom does. Plus, you’ll be able to view the hat from 360 degrees, which you really can’t in the park. Another likely location would be Disney Springs where it would fit in nicely in the modern west side area.
Moving the hat is rumored to be the first step in what will be a major makeover for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This will likely happen over a period of many years, but the park is expected to get (we’ll try and figure out the order of these later): Star Wars land, Toy Story play land, Cars Land (junior edition), a new parking lot entrance and extra parking spots, a performance corridor for parades, and a placemaking overlay on the order of Disney’s California Adventure (possibly with an entirely new entrance plaza).
Read More »Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Its Unknown Future (part I)
Ding-Dong the hat is dead. A Disney spokesperson has confirmed that Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat will be removed from the center of Disney’s Hollywood Studios as they embark on a change that will re-imagine the central hub of the park. Disney spokesperson Bryan Malenius stated, “Work… Read More »It’s Official: Sorcerer’s Hat Coming Down at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Guests of Disney’s Hollywood Studios will soon find themselves transported to the city of San Fransokyo. After entering the Magic of Disney Animation attraction you will be able to tour the lab from the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and then meet Hiro Hamada and… Read More »Big Hero 6 stars Hiro & Baymax meet & greet coming to DHS
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit this is a little weird. Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas was stop-motion animation, not hand drawn animation. So why is there a ‘learn to draw’ video for the Pumpkin King? Why? Because it’s October,… Read More »Learn to Draw: Jack Skellington