Re: DHS expansion -further evidence the Backlot tour is Going bye bye

[doconeill]

I'll confirm what Rescue Ranger has said. The channel guide said it was the show from 2003, so I almost didn't record it, but I'm glad I did. It featured things that are happening right now or just happened in the past year, so it was obviously not the '03 show despite what the channel guides said. The same was true of the Disneyland episode which said it was from '02 or '03 but then featured the new cars land and new star tours in 3d.

Glad I didn't pay attention to the dates and just recorded anyway. I figured they had to have some new stuff worked in or the whole 'Disney week' thing would be a joke

They tweak them every couple of years, but for the most part they are the same production, so they appear to keep the original date.

It's like the vacation DVDs they send out. They haven't really been original in about 8 years, just kind of re-hashed.

Not that the TV programs aren't still interesting with the updates...I've got several I made DVDs of to keep...

 

[RescueRanger]

They tweak them every couple of years, but for the most part they are the same production, so they appear to keep the original date.

It's like the vacation DVDs they send out. They haven't really been original in about 8 years, just kind of re-hashed.

Not that the TV programs aren't still interesting with the updates...I've got several I made DVDs of to keep...

It wasn't just a tweak though. I have seen the original shows many, many times. They may have used a few items from old shows, but the majority of the show was new. However, since they were using the same name as the old shows, the channel guide was picking it up as repeats.

 

[doconeill]

It wasn't just a tweak though. I have seen the original shows many, many times. They may have used a few items from old shows, but the majority of the show was new. However, since they were using the same name as the old shows, the channel guide was picking it up as repeats.

I'll have to check it out then. The last several only had incremental changes, like when they added Expedition Everest, TSM, etc.

 

[uccats97]

Destination American is running the Disney week shows again on Wednesday May 22 from 5pm-3am eastern. I am recording them all this time in hopes of catching the new episodes!

 

[chartle]

It wasn't just a tweak though. I have seen the original shows many, many times. They may have used a few items from old shows, but the majority of the show was new. However, since they were using the same name as the old shows, the channel guide was picking it up as repeats.

I'll have to check it out then. The last several only had incremental changes, like when they added Expedition Everest, TSM, etc.

Destination American is running the Disney week shows again on Wednesday May 22 from 5pm-3am eastern. I am recording them all this time in hopes of catching the new episodes!

anyone know which shows are "new". I would record them all but they would disappear quickly since my wife is recording more Castle's then she could ever watch in a week since TNT is showing like 5 a day. that and all the judge judy's give me just a few days to see something before its gone unless i protect it.

 

[ParrotBill]

I don't know why people hate the hat so much

Because the Studios had a look and feel of the streets of Hollywood... and a place where you could feel as if a live set could be filming at any time.

Add a big cartoon hat? Atmosphere goes to zero.

And the reason it is there is grumbly too... just to block the view of a Grauman Theater replica from all the photos taken every day... because they could not come to terms on that. (so put up scaffolding, and change the theater appearance already!)

 

[chartle]

And the reason it is there is grumbly too... just to block the view of a Grauman Theater replica from all the photos taken every day... because they could not come to terms on that. (so put up scaffolding, and change the theater appearance already!)

the story that they had to cover the front is actually an urban legend

http://www.yesterland.com/removehat.html

but still an eyesore. some sited equate it to the wand on spaceship earth, don't think its the same impact.

 

[Castle2Castle]

I've never really minded the hat, having not remembered my one trip to DHS before the hat made its appearance. Taking the time to view the before and after photos on the Yesterland link, however, I think it would be better to not have the hat -- at least not blocking the view of the Great Movie Ride.

As for DHS expansion and the Backlot Tour, we still ride along for the tour and enjoy ourselves -- particularly going past the Mickey plane -- but wouldn't be crushed if it were removed in exchange for a new attraction(s). Knowing from Marathon Weekend that Disney apparently doesn't mind abandoning a few old ride vehicles on side roads, I don't know that the OP is indicative of anything in itself, but I look forward to any improvements Disney can make to DHS or any of the parks!

 

[ParrotBill]

With great respect to Mr. Weiss, there are no authoritative sources quoted in that web site.

Here another site with a different POV:
http://www.studioscentral.com/column/why-its-there/sorcerers-hat

And I am a huge fan of the Studios, and can most assuredly say that a dispute between the owners of the theater and Disney was very much discussed at the time. I also know many castmembers and at that time those I talked certainly believed there was some truth to it. The generally accepted conclusion is that Disney put 2+2 together - 100 years great excuse to block the view and end the dispute which was costing money in legal defense. The basis of the legal dispute was not guest photos but Photopass photos - which Disney makes money on. So it was argued that Disney was making money on the copied image of the theater, which was viewed as a trademark (not for architectural reasons). It is possible Disney realized this could be an extended dispute and solved it.
http://copymarkblog.com/2011/03/14/the-confusion-over-buildings-as-trademarks/
I think it will be telling if the hat gets removed, what happens - view to theater restored? Or something else goes in its place? or Theater changes?

 

[Shmily1]

The hat is as much the focus of marketing for DHS as the Tree of Life is for AK so I doubt that it will be going anywhere. A whole new branding image (possibly back to the Earful Tower) would have to be started and the whole "Four Parks One World" themed merchandise changed. Sounds like a marketing nightmare to me.

 

[FlipHipster]

The hat is as much the focus of marketing for DHS as the Tree of Life is for AK so I doubt that it will be going anywhere. A whole new branding image (possibly back to the Earful Tower) would have to be started and the whole "Four Parks One World" themed merchandise changed. Sounds like a marketing nightmare to me.

That's been my impression as well. I have always thought the BAH was supposed to be the centerpiece. Hardly even notice the tower anymore. I don't mind the BAH so much but as far as park weenies are concerned the other parks are much more well-endowed. ToL, Spaceship Earth, Castle.....
HS needs a viagra, hopefully Disney doesn't just buy it a corvette instead.

Interesting factoids about the theater photo issues. Seems like I knew that once and forgot about it.

 

[Spacedog1975]

I too think that as far as weenies go, the BAH is fairly lame. Would it be viable to move the earful tower to a more central locale and enlarge it? In terms of expired weenies, Earful seemed to be among the smallest.

 

[chartle]

With great respect to Mr. Weiss, there are no authoritative sources quoted in that web site.

Here another site with a different POV:
http://www.studioscentral.com/column/why-its-there/sorcerers-hat

And I am a huge fan of the Studios, and can most assuredly say that a dispute between the owners of the theater and Disney was very much discussed at the time. I also know many castmembers and at that time those I talked certainly believed there was some truth to it. The generally accepted conclusion is that Disney put 2+2 together - 100 years great excuse to block the view and end the dispute which was costing money in legal defense. The basis of the legal dispute was not guest photos but Photopass photos - which Disney makes money on. So it was argued that Disney was making money on the copied image of the theater, which was viewed as a trademark (not for architectural reasons). It is possible Disney realized this could be an extended dispute and solved it.
http://copymarkblog.com/2011/03/14/the-confusion-over-buildings-as-trademarks/
I think it will be telling if the hat gets removed, what happens - view to theater restored? Or something else goes in its place? or Theater changes?

I tried to find more sources, true or not true, but didn't have much luck at the time.

I'm still believing yesterland more than the post above. They seem to be just repeating the same rumors with no back up. As for cast members, since they are not in the loop when it comes to park decisions they use UL's to fill in the blanks just much as the general public.

A CM once posted the UL that at the contemporary the rooms are modular and can all be changed out in a day with a crane by rolling them out like a drawer. The cm even said this was told to them at orientation.

http://www.yesterland.com/contemporary.html

Yes I know I'm pointing to the same source.

 

[DonnaL]

To above poster who mentioned the tractor which pulls trams at Backlot are open air...I can say for sure in Spring 2011 they were not open air and looked exactly like the one shown in the picture. My son worked the Backlot Tour driving the trams during his College Program during that time and I have several pictures of him sitting in the truck. Actually, most of the people who work the Backlot Tour are Disney long-timers...my son was one of a handful (maybe three) of CP'ers assigned to the attraction..everyone else was either permanent part-time or full-time. IMO it's a great Disney job.....no late nights and extremely few early mornings. I believe the earliest he ever needed to be at work was 7:00/7:30 a.m. and the latest ever would be 8:00 p.m. during the five months he worked there.

 

[doconeill]

I think both the BAH/theater and Contemporary legends generally fall under Occam's razor - when there are competing theories, often the simplest one is the right one.

In the case of the Contemporary, being able to remove the rooms never made much sense...the myth said that the rooms were meant to be inserted and removed at will for easy refurbishment, but the structure settled and the rooms were "jammed".

But they were never built to be removed and certainly not in a day. The resort was built modularly, with the rooms built separately and inserted into the frame, as a time saving measure - they needed to to open sooner than it would take to build the structure, then build all the rooms. Once the rooms were inserted, they then did all the finishing work on the outside...which was not removable on an individual basis. They'd have to tear apart the outside of the CR to even attempt removing the rooms again. Not to mention the structural and safety dangers of surrounding rooms. you have to disconnect electrical, and water services, and reconnect them with the replacement room. There would be nothing saved by doing it that way vs. just going in and remodeling the old fashioned way...in fact, it would likely cost more.

The settling part is likely true - every building settles. It twists and turns slightly. So to assume that the tolerances to remove the room would still exist over time would be an engineering mistake.

Even the documentaries of the building of the CR at the time never mention being able to remove the rooms.

So, Weiss could be correct about the BAH as well. To have trademark issues, Disney would have had to sign a contract for the architecture (if required, which is in question), allowed the contract length to be limited enough that the structure would easily outlive the contract, creating a negotiation stance in favor of the licensor, and not be prepared for it. Doesn't seem likely. And given that the original theater itself has been up for sale several times, they could have always purchased it and ended the issue.

It still could be true, but the legend requires a lot more assumptions than Weiss' version.

FYI, Weiss also found evidence that the legend of the plane inside GMR was the actual plane that appeared in Casablanca could actually be true, despite it's urban legend status...

 

[Spacedog1975]

FYI, Weiss also found evidence that the legend of the plane inside GMR was the actual plane that appeared in Casablanca could actually be true, despite it's urban legend status...

Snopes makes an excellent case for why it cannot be:
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/casablanca.asp

 

[doconeill]

Snopes makes an excellent case for why it cannot be:
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/casablanca.asp

Read the Weiss article on it though.

It isn't the plane from that particular scene, which was a mockup...but there is a scene at the very end that shows the plane actually flying, which certainly appears to be a real plane, of the correct model. And the studio did in fact own the plane that was used in GMR at the time.

So it isn't certain that it is the exact plane, but it certainly could be.

 

[apehat02]

I believe I have read that the Polynesian was constructed in the same method.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_Resort

See the section "Original Design and Construction"

 

[doconeill]

I believe I have read that the Polynesian was constructed in the same method.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_Resort

See the section "Original Design and Construction"

Yes...yet no one ever says the rooms at the Poly were removable.

The mention of mold is the first time I've seen that, but there is no citation, and that section looks like it was edited by an 8 year old

 

[Mnementh]

I care enough about the Backlot Tour that I actually took the time to read through this whole thread, despite it spending more time off topic than on. I'm glad it's going away is just a rumor thus far, though some people did give some good reasons for it to be true. It's always been one of my favorite rides at DHS (especially considering there are only 2 rides in all of WDW that I won't ride and they're both in that park, ToT and RR) and to get rid of it would make only 3 rides worth going on for me, and Midway Mania's lines are too annoying for that to be any fun, so it would really just be GMR and Star Tours. Why even go to DHS anymore?