HS announcements to be made at D23

[3DisneyFanz]

Agree. I'm actually at the point I'll believe it when I see it for myself

Not just an announcement but actual work and sticking to the original plan/budget. In recent years a 3 Billion dollar budget would be reduced to 3 Thousand and a roll of duct tape by the time the project actually begins.

 

[kmb584]

What about the Osborne lights? Are they going to stay in the revamped Studios?

We did a VIP tour at the beginning of June and our tour guide said that they were being moved to Sarasota Springs in 2016. I don't know how accurate that is, but he was certain that they were being moved and not removed.

 

[wisblue]

Food for thought. The original construction of the park from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting was 31 months. I think your time line is right on. I have been saying 2020-2021 for a while. But if they closed the park, we could have a new and improved park in half that time.

The original opening of MGM was spurred by a race with Universal to be the first to open a studio based theme park.

While Disney COULD probably complete this faster, they don't have any real incentive to do so. They will get more bang for their buck with phased openings (combined with the opening of the Avatar area at DAK) than by closing the park and then unveiling the whole park in one shot. That kind of big opening would create a huge crush at the park. IMHO it would be better to spread that out. In the meantime, first time and infrequent visitors can enjoy the parts of the park that are operating along with regular guests who will include time in the park to enjoy some of their favorite attractions. Guests who don't think there is enough at DHS to make it worth their while are free to skip it.

 

[wisblue]

We did a VIP tour at the beginning of June and our tour guide said that they were being moved to Sarasota Springs in 2016. I don't know how accurate that is, but he was certain that they were being moved and not removed.

I really can't see that at SSR. While there might be room for them, that would cause a major disruption for people staying there and wouldn't be very convenient for visitors. SSR doesn't have a lot of buildings in close proximity from which to hang the lights either. Maybe he meant "Disney Springs" (Downtown Disney) but I don't think that would handle the traffic well either.

 

[JimmyV]

The original opening of MGM was spurred by a race with Universal to be the first to open a studio based theme park.

While Disney COULD probably complete this faster, they don't have any real incentive to do so. They will get more bang for their buck with phased openings (combined with the opening of the Avatar area at DAK) than by closing the park and then unveiling the whole park in one shot. That kind of big opening would create a huge crush at the park. IMHO it would be better to spread that out. In the meantime, first time and infrequent visitors can enjoy the parts of the park that are operating along with regular guests who will include time in the park to enjoy some of their favorite attractions. Guests who don't think there is enough at DHS to make it worth their while are free to skip it.

Reasonable minds can differ. DCA is still struggling to recover, reputationally from the mess that it became. Look at all the negativity generated by the Avatar construction, the Hub construction and the DTD parking garage. Take all of that and multiply it by 10 and that is what people are going to be saying about Disney's Construction Studios. Just take TSMM as an example. It sits right in the middle of the areas that are going to be rebuilt. For the life of me I cannot see how Disney can safely steer people to the park's busiest attraction when everything to the left, right, and across the street is going to be a construction zone. Disney had the right idea when it completely closed Tomorrowland. I could see Pixar Place being shut down completely for a year.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Reasonable minds can differ. DCA is still struggling to recover, reputationally from the mess that it became. Look at all the negativity generated by the Avatar construction, the Hub construction and the DTD parking garage. Take all of that and multiply it by 10 and that is what people are going to be saying about Disney's Construction Studios. Just take TSMM as an example. It sits right in the middle of the areas that are going to be rebuilt. For the life of me I cannot see how Disney can safely steer people to the park's busiest attraction when everything to the left, right, and across the street is going to be a construction zone. Disney had the right idea when it completely closed Tomorrowland. I could see Pixar Place being shut down completely for a year.

They might have to control the entry into Pixar Place itself. I can't see them shutting down TSMM if they aren't shutting down the entire park.

 

[kmb584]

I really can't see that at SSR. While there might be room for them, that would cause a major disruption for people staying there and wouldn't be very convenient for visitors. SSR doesn't have a lot of buildings in close proximity from which to hang the lights either. Maybe he meant "Disney Springs" (Downtown Disney) but I don't think that would handle the traffic well either.

That's what I was thinking too, in regards to SSR that is. Disney Springs never even crossed my mind. That's why I threw in the "I don't know how accurate that is" -- I just can't see the lights being moved to SSR.

 

[Missyrose]

Food for thought. The original construction of the park from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting was 31 months. I think your time line is right on. I have been saying 2020-2021 for a while. But if they closed the park, we could have a new and improved park in half that time.

MK couldn't take the attendance increase if DHS were shuttered, even temporarily. Not enough people would choose Epcot or AK instead.

We did a VIP tour at the beginning of June and our tour guide said that they were being moved to Sarasota Springs in 2016. I don't know how accurate that is, but he was certain that they were being moved and not removed.

SSR would never ever work for Osborne Lights. I'm guessing Disney Springs is in the running, once it's complete. And the tour guide simply misunderstood.

 

[wisblue]

Reasonable minds can differ. DCA is still struggling to recover, reputationally from the mess that it became. Look at all the negativity generated by the Avatar construction, the Hub construction and the DTD parking garage. Take all of that and multiply it by 10 and that is what people are going to be saying about Disney's Construction Studios. Just take TSMM as an example. It sits right in the middle of the areas that are going to be rebuilt. For the life of me I cannot see how Disney can safely steer people to the park's busiest attraction when everything to the left, right, and across the street is going to be a construction zone. Disney had the right idea when it completely closed Tomorrowland. I could see Pixar Place being shut down completely for a year.

I guess I'll wait to see exactly what they are building and where. Some of the things planned for Pixar Place could be placed in existing buildings that could be accessed from offstage areas. The area where the Backlot tour used to be is already closed off. I'm pretty sure there is already some kind of construction going on relating to the extra track at TSMM. There was some speculation that the beginning of that work was the reason behind the one week FP only event at TSMM. Any work going on in that building (which could also include something else, like a play area similar to what is now at Dumbo) would be invisible to guests.

I trust that the people who are actually doing the planning will come up with something that will be safe. Part of the thing about spreading the project out over 5 years is that they don't have to be working everywhere at once.

 

[DebbieB]

DCA was a total mess when I was there in 2011. Construction walls everywhere. But it was worth it, it is so much better than before. Carsland is probably the best themed area of any park.

 

[sukhakuli]

I didn't think DCA was a mess during construction at all. We're local, so we were there all the time. I was actually sad to see the old DCA go, because it was our favorite park, mostly because it wasn't crowded. Now it's a mess.

If they do put the Indian Jones ride at WDW, I just really hope they don't water it down like they have with almost all other other attractions they copied from Disneyland. Everything at WDW is shorter, has fewer special effects, and missing a lot of fantastic key elements.

I do hope that they put in more attractions, but it seems like lately when they revamp an area it is with one good ride, and a huge slew of dining, shops, and meet and greets.

 

[CerysG]

When is D23?

 

[Missyrose]

When is D23?

Aug. 14-16.

I'll be updating from there on my blog and on this page.

 

[CerysG]

Thanks excited to see what will be happening at HS. Hope some of it will be open when we make our next trip August 2017.

 

[JimmyV]

DCA was a total mess when I was there in 2011. Construction walls everywhere. But it was worth it, it is so much better than before. Carsland is probably the best themed area of any park.

This pretty much sums up my approach to it all. The end result is going to be worth it. And the time period during construction is going to be a total mess. So speed up the end result and get us to that point faster. How do you do that? By not having guests experience a total mess for 5 years.

 

[dokey]

I hope something happens, but until Disney makes an official announcement I won't believe it.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Even if Muppet Vision 3D closes, there's no reason not to hope that a Muppet something, or other will show up in another part of the World. HS is the right place for it..

Really hoping that the last tease about the Imagination Pavilion being redone holds true in the best of ways...with a Dreamfinder and one little spark of inspiration

Still sad to see the Animation Academy and One Man's Dream going away. I do truly hope they show up elsewhere in the parks (in Florida..not overseas!)

 

[gwb]

checked out the website then trieed to check the website's credentials; not very good. They do a lot of rumors with no substantiation.
Best thing to donis not soeculate on a rumor until there's an official announcement.

 

[JimmyV]

MK couldn't take the attendance increase if DHS were shuttered, even temporarily. Not enough people would choose Epcot or AK instead.

The attendance creep wouldn't be as bad as you think. When Tomorrowland closed, about 1/6th of the park attendance was spread out over the remaining lands. If a lot of people who would have gone to DHS go to the MK instead, they would be spread out over all the lands, including the expansion. But most importantly, you neglect to take into account the real issue. Forget about people choosing AK or Epcot. What would really happen is that people would choose US/IOA, and Disney doesn't want that. So instead, we will move about a construction site wearing our newest souvenir ....

 

[DebbieB]

I didn't think DCA was a mess during construction at all. We're local, so we were there all the time. I was actually sad to see the old DCA go, because it was our favorite park, mostly because it wasn't crowded. Now it's a mess.

If they do put the Indian Jones ride at WDW, I just really hope they don't water it down like they have with almost all other other attractions they copied from Disneyland. Everything at WDW is shorter, has fewer special effects, and missing a lot of fantastic key elements.

I do hope that they put in more attractions, but it seems like lately when they revamp an area it is with one good ride, and a huge slew of dining, shops, and meet and greets.

When I was there in August 2011 for D23, they had construction walls up around the front and center of the park. To get to the back, you had to go along the right or left sides. I had been there before but I felt bad because it was my friend's first trip and it was a mess.