Disney Announces New Toy Story Land for DHS

[rteetz]

Did anyone else notice on the disneyparks blog that under avatar it said "As part of the largest expansion in the park’s history," I hope this doesn't mean that avatar + toystory land + 3rd toy story track + starwars in 2 different parks all together total 14 acres.

No Star Wars itself is 14 acres.

 

[Eoghann]

Did anyone else notice on the disneyparks blog that under avatar it said "As part of the largest expansion in the park’s history," I hope this doesn't mean that avatar + toystory land + 3rd toy story track + starwars in 2 different parks all together total 14 acres.

No I believe that Avatar is the largest expansion in the Animal Kingdom Park's history.

 

[DDLand]

Did anyone else notice on the disneyparks blog that under avatar it said "As part of the largest expansion in the park’s history," I hope this doesn't mean that avatar + toystory land + 3rd toy story track + starwars in 2 different parks all together total 14 acres.

Don't worry! When they say the "largest expansion in the park's history," they mean just DAK. Remember, DAK is a very young park. The two big expansions it's had in its 17 year life, are DinoLand/Asia and Expedition Everest.

Toy Story Land is 11 acres, and Star Wars will be 14 acres.

 

[rteetz]

Don't worry! When they say the "largest expansion in the park's history," they mean just DAK. Remember, DAK is a very young park. The two big expansions it's had in its 17 year life, are DinoLand/Asia and Expedition Everest.

Toy Story Land is 11 acres, and Star Wars will be 14 acres.

How many acres does the backlot tour sit on?

 

[Alice Royal]

I hope Angel Kitty plushies will be sold during the Christmas seasons in Hollywood Studios. Along with Angel Kitty being meetable.

Who in the h-e-double hockey sticks is 'Angel Kitty' and what does it have to do with Toy Story?

 

[DDLand]

How many acres does the backlot tour sit on?

Good question! I'm not sure.

Sometimes I wish I was a tad older so I could've collected some of this stuff over the years.

 

[minnie mum]

Who in the h-e-double hockey sticks is 'Angel Kitty' and what does it have to do with Toy Story?

She's a minor character that appeared in the Short film The Toy Story That Time Forgot. I had to Google it. Think of her as a Disneyized Hello Kitty.

 

[rteetz]

Good question! I'm not sure.

Sometimes I wish I was a tad older so I could've collected some of this stuff over the years.

You and me both! DHS has a lot of empty land right now. Backstage offices and the backlot tour take up a lot of space but I'm just not sure how much space and what that compares to the 25 acres of new stuff coming to DHS.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

So I'm pretty bummed that it's not Pixar. I hope the flying saucers is a dumbo ride, just because we are in baby season right now and there isn't much for us at DHS that occupies our little one. I was actually hoping for a dark ride the whole family could go on together.

TSMM is more family friendly but the kids can't really play until they are about 2....

Hopefully Star Wars is there by the time our baby is 10....

 

[Alice Royal]

She's a minor character that appeared in the Short film The Toy Story That Time Forgot. I had to Google it. Think of her as a Disneyized Hello Kitty.

Well then, PP, if we have to Google it, don't expect merch or M+Gs...sometimes I wonder if certain posters are all the same person...

 

[Eoghann]

The backlot tour area is pretty big. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 10 acres or so. But it's not directly connected to Star Tours.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Asia in animal kingdom wasnt an expansion... It was a "tiered" opening because Michael had to open the gates and cripple the park before IOA opened...

So the only "additions" have been the rollercoaster and Chester and hester

 

[brb1006]

Who in the h-e-double hockey sticks is 'Angel Kitty' and what does it have to do with Toy Story?

She/He was in the Toy Story Christmas special that aired last December.

 

[aprincessatlast]

So It's really a light version of a new land...

That is disappointing on the surface...but to be fair...if they couple it with a well funded Star Wars addition...and continue to work on things as they have in DCA after the major work...

Then it honestly is more than I could have expected from the suits to give to Florida.

Cautiously optimistic...lets talk schedules

It seems like this land is going the way of Avatar in way of excitement on the net.

Why do you say light version of a land? Carsland has one more ride and I would never call it a version of a Land. The detail in the shops and restaurants coupled with the ambiance (music, lights, and meet and greets) the place is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! If they are able to duplicate that in anyway it should be very fun.

I will admit I am a big critic of Disney so I get your skepticism but I must admit for once I feel like one of those lone wolves who were excited about Avatar!
I think it will be great!

 

[rteetz]

The backlot tour area is pretty big. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 10 acres or so. But it's not directly connected to Star Tours.

I know it's not I'm just trying to see if there is a net gain in space with the expansion or if it will be all on existing space in the park.

 

[DDLand]

You and me both! DHS has a lot of empty land right now. Backstage offices and the backlot tour take up a lot of space but I'm just not sure how much space and what that compares to the 25 acres of new stuff coming to DHS.

This is purely my own conjecture, so take it as such.

It looks like the Toy Story Land is primarily based around small "mini lands," the slinky area, Buzz Lightyear Area, the Al's Toy Barn Area, Woody's Roundup, etc.

This presents a big opportunity to allow different areas of immersive theming, but also allows expansion easily in the future. If they want to add a flat in the future, they can choose from a variety of preexisting themes and drop it in. If they want to go further there's a lot of flexibility to build new mini areas through expansion. This is one land where I think it will be easy to upgrade and flesh out further. This is also another reason why I think they went this route too. Instead of recreating Cars Land, where they're stuck within a literal interpretation of RS, they can build whatever they like in the area. A similiar theme within Star Wars Land, in which they went completely rouge and didn't base the construction off of any existing planet in the movie.

I am thinking of one problem with Slinky though...

World Drive is adjacent to Slinky, is it going to be visible? That would really stink...

 

[Eoghann]

I know it's not I'm just trying to see if there is a net gain in space with the expansion or if it will be all on existing space in the park.

I've seen "possible" layouts that would expand beyond current park boundaries, but I would have to imagine Disney would avoid that if at all possible because of the additional costs. If they were to close Muppets & Lights, Motors then that area plus Backlot would easily give them more than 14 acres.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Any speculating where toy story land will go? From looking at the concept art and google maps I was wondering if it would go behind the current TSMM. Seems to be the old costuming department, maybe some other workshops and some employee parking.

I was looking at this too, and I expect you're right. From the concept art, the current TSMM must be in the lower left corner. The question is which side faces the rest of the TS Land. If it's the current entrance, then the new land would require the demolition of GMR and a good deal of the area around and including Echo Lake. That's unlikely since it would shut down even more of the park than is (or has been announced) already. If instead it's the back of the current TSMM building, then the new land would cover areas that are occupied by LMA, the former Backlot Tour, some work facilities, and employee parking areas. This also makes sense when considering the work to add a second track to TSMM -- the construction can also include a new queue area entering from what is now the back. Also, the entrance to TSL shown in the lower right of the concept drawing would be around where OMD is now.

In thinking about how Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land will be phased in, it seems like things are further along for TSL -- already expanding TSMM and already have concept art for what the land will look like (as opposed to the much more conceptual drawings accompanying the SWL announcement). According to Wikipedia, Cars Land at DCA was announced in concept in October 2007 as part of a larger expansion, with Cars Land being the final phase of that expansion. Final concept art and rides were announced in September 2009, and Cars Land opened officially in June 2012. It appears that today's announcement may be more closely aligned with the 2009 Cars Land announcement than the initial 2007 announcement of the full DCA expansion. Assuming it takes the same amount of time to complete (3 years), this would have TSL opening in 2018. Toy Story 4 is slated to be released in 2017, so maybe they will try to accelerate completion to match (or maybe they'll keep it separate to generate more buzz, who knows).

My guess is that they will wait to complete the SWL expansion until after TSL is done so they have some attractions for small kids open before closing down Muppets and the HIStK playground. Since those areas may well be at the entrance area to the new SWL, it would probably be another year or two before SWL opens, putting it in 2019-2020. I'm basing this on another guess that the expansion will include land currently south of S. Studio Dr.

Of course this is all just speculation on my part. I'm curious to hear other theories.

 

[Eoghann]

It appears that today's announcement may be more closely aligned with the 2009 Cars Land announcement than the initial 2007 announcement of the full DCA expansion. Assuming it takes the same amount of time to complete (3 years), this would have TSL opening in 2018. Toy Story 4 is slated to be released in 2017, so maybe they will try to accelerate completion to match (or maybe they'll keep it separate to generate more buzz, who knows).

With Avatar scheduled for 2017 (I think still?) they might actually be happy to have a 2018 opening.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

With Avatar scheduled for 2017 (I think still?) they might actually be happy to have a 2018 opening.

Good point. I hadn't thought about the staging of expansions in the various parks -- Frozen (and Soarin') at Epcot in 2016, Avatar at AK in 2017, TSL at DHS in 2018, SWL in 2019-2020. Makes sense.