Angel Ariel
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2006
Add me to the list that actually likes MBs, but isn't sold on fp+. We experienced it in November, and while it was not a bad experience by any stretch, we didn't love it. MagicBands were great, though!
Well, he said things that people love, so Toontown might be safe. The other two......
Isn't Tom Staggs an insider?So I have really no idea who to believe, Tom Staggs or the insiders.
Isn't Tom Staggs an insider?
Well, what I meant was insiders with ties to management, which is what Tom Staggs is in, obviously. The people at WDWMagic continue to stand by the rumor of Toontown as being replaced by Star Wars. One "insider" who supposedly has ties to management is WDW1974 at WDWMagic. The people at that site said that Toontown was not a "favorite feature" (the article's phrasing) of the park and that Disney had no qualms about scrapping it for Star Wars. They said that plans could change, obviously, but that right now, Star Wars as Toontown replacement is still pretty likely.
However, there are several things that these people don't seem to take into account. First of all, fireworks. If Star Wars were to go back there, it would have to be closed, as Toontown is. Was the new fireworks show created with the thought of something in its vicinity in the future? Secondly, Iger stated that anything about Star Wars would focus on the new films coming up. Yet, the arguments I've been reading seem to indicate the older films.
What I've heard is that Star Wars Land would swallow up Toontown, Big Thunder Ranch, and extend well into the backstage areas. If you look on Google Maps there is quite a lot of backstage acreage, and Disney has been purchasing land around the resort which could be used for new backstage area, freeing up space for DL attractions.
A couple of years ago Disney bought this nearby 11 acre RV park.
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201309/3643/
By moving support facilities offsite the new Star Wars Land could conceivably be almost as large as the current Tomorrowland.
With the closure of Innoventions, what are the odds that, after the 60th is over, that is where a Star Wars ride will go?
With the closure of Innoventions, what are the odds that, after the 60th is over, that is where a Star Wars ride will go?
You know, while I was at DLR for the 60th stuff, I heard construction on Innoventions. You could smell the sawdust and they were scraping the paint off of the steps near the bathrooms.
I'm not sure that they would be working on it like that if they were just going to demo it.
Exactly. I found pictures of the lower floor almost completely gutted: https://twitter.com/MintCrocodile/status/600700406377779200. So something has got to be happening over there. On the other hand, however, I read from another poster on MiceChat that the booking of special events at the Big Thunder Ranch area has been removed from their booking inventory and cannot be booked after January. So something has to be happening there, too.
And yet, I really cannot see Star Wars anywhere except Tomorrowland, since they already have several things over there, not just Star Tours, but also Jedi Training.
You know, Damon Lindelof made a comment in an interview about Tomorrowland that lambasted the idea of Star Wars in Tomorrowland. It was something to the effect of "Star Wars happened a long time ago in a galaxy far far away... I love it, but I don't want that in Tomorrowland... I want jet packs in tomorrowland!"
I have no idea how reliable Screamscape or even the LA Times are, but the article from the Times about Star Wars and Tom Staggs (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-...eyland-but-no-magic-bands-20150521-story.html) has been referenced on Screamscape:
"Tom Staggs did seem to confirm that Star Wars attractions were still in the works for Disneyland, and that they would be added to the park in a new area, and not as a replacement attraction where some other beloved attraction would have to be removed. This seems to confirm the rumors that management had decided not to add more Star Wars attractions to Tomorrowland, but instead create an all new land for them elsewhere in the park. Such an expansion could displa[ce] some of the backstage area behind Toontown, or certain facilities which might need to be moves elsewhere."
(Just so you know, the original message on Screamscape said "display some of the backstage area" and not "displace". I'm pretty sure they mean "displace", which means "display" was a typo.)
As I said countless times before, I really want to see Toontown saved, which may or may not be the case if this article is to be believed.
On the other hand, however, though the article did mention likely needing to relocate backstage behind Toontown and/or elsewhere, I would think that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do any kind of expansion back there without affecting Toontown in any way. Also, they did not take into account the issue of working around the fireworks. Some have speculated that the Star Wars area could be completely enclosed to remain open while the fireworks are on, but while theoretically doable, it doesn't seem likely. It also brings up the question of what this means for Innoventions.
Mind you, "seems" and Tom Staggs' hints were so vague as to not mean much, so this is open to interpretation. However, it's difficult to ignore people who hint at Star Wars going back behind the park, whether it affects Toontown or not.