Back in the day, when the clubs at Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney attracted huge crowds to the dance floor, there was no more exciting place to be than inside Mannequins. A multi-story space that bridged the upper and lower parts of Pleasure Island. It… Read More »Morimoto Asia to bring Japanese master chef’s pan-Asian flair to Disney Springs
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)
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
I have two large complaints about The Swan and Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World. First, they charge a lot of money for parking, which makes it difficult to just drop by and enjoy some of their fabulous restaurants. Second, they were built just a tad too close to EPCOT, so they tend to loom in the background of photos. On the other hand, that also means they’re perfectly situated between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Making them a popular resort destination since they opened 25 years ago.
I’m also a fan of the architecture style brought by architect Michael Graves. Did you know that the Dolphin hotel actually represents a volcano that rose out of the ocean and that the Swan hotel was splashed with the water from the rising volcano. Check it out next time you visit. You’ll see that the causeway between the two hotels represents the water.
It was just announced that the Swan and Dolphin Hotel will be getting the largest makeover in its history. The hotel has launched a multi-phase, multi-year, $125 million redesign project that will transform every guest room in the 758-room Swan Hotel and the 1,509-room Dolphin Hotel.
“As we celebrate the hotel’s 25th anniversary, it is appropriate that we mark the occasion with a renaissance of our room product,” said General Manager Fred Sawyers. “Our guests will continue to receive the level of service and hospitality that comes with a quarter century of experience while enjoying a modern new guest room.”
The transformation, it is promised, will occur without disruption to the guest experience as the majority of guest rooms will be available throughout the process. The hotel’s public spaces, restaurants, meeting rooms, shops, pools and recreational areas will not be impacted and remain fully operational throughout the renovation. Read More »Swan & Dolphin Resort starts room renovation
Aw synergy. It’s that wonderful thing that lets the Disney parks tap into other Disney brands, like The Muppets, to make wonderful cross-promotional marketing music together. Today’s example is actually a pretty successful video featuring the Swedish Chef as he attempts to make a Mexican… Read More »Recipe: Shrimp Tacos from Food & Wine Festival a la Swedish Chef
I don’t talk about him too frequently, but I am proud to have as my grandfather one of the early Imagineers at WED Enterprises. Vic Greene had an impact on a lot of projects, but one that’s near and dear to my heart is the… Read More »Petition to return a lost tombstone to the Haunted Mansion
The passengers and crew of the first Southwest Air flight on their new route from Dallas to Orlando, were in for a big surprise… Walt Disney World flew in the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet and a “Jungle Cruise” skipper, plus a lot of special treats… Read More »Disney and Southwest Air Add Pixie Dust to First Flight on New Route to Orlando
Here’s our latest look at the progress on converting Downtown Disney into Disney Springs. Lots of work going on near the Marketplace, the area of Pleasure Island that will become “The Landing,” and even on the Westside. The Parking garage looks good and the special pedestrian bridges are starting to take shape too. The only hitch for the parking garage is whether Disney can get final approval from the state to build the I-4 off-ramp that leads directly into the garage.
A few new ‘stores’ have been set up near Fulton’s Crabhouse. Looks like a way for a few concepts to get introduced to Downtown Disney crowds without a full store. If these work, they’ll probably move to one of the new shopping districts in The Landing or Disney Springs.
I have not idea why the volcano is undergoing construction again, considering it just opened earlier this year. But the rest of the construction has really started to move toward the final phases.
Below the jump, I’ve added a photo gallery with some highlights and a few details that didn’t make it into the video:
Read More »Downtown Disney Transforming into Disney Springs – October 2014 Construction Update