Earful Tower to be Removed from Studios

[rteetz]

I am very bummed about this.

But I guess what I am wondering is....why scrap it completely? Disney is (supposedly) all about nostalgia. So, why can't they disassemble it and put it up somewhere else in the park, or even just somewhere else on property. It just seems odd to me that they would get rid of a HUGE part of Disney World history without a second thought.

I understand that things have to close and attractions have to come down...but I still don't get why they don't try to save the really important stuff.

The park no longer represents a studio which is why they had the tower.

 

[AngiTN]

Can we even guess when they might be closing these things?

The date given is 4/2

 

[HopperFan]

Just saw this response on the Blog announcement.
I guess this is flat out wrong since there are now other closures announced.

Closing of IJ is announced?

HAHA
At least Disney consistently gives out all kinds of variations of information to keep everyone on their toes.

How about this, my DS says the guy is probably telling the truth ..... "it's not closing in April." That doesn't mean it's not closing.

And how about right after he answered this question the Sentinel announces the closure of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, Studio Grill, Monster's Meet and Greet which I assume includes Watto Gratto.

BELIEVE NOTHING anyone says. Every day is subject to change.

Closing of IJ is announced?

Funny how they just posted advertisements for stunt people for the IJ Show. And if they are making another movie do we really think it will disappear any time soon?

 

[JReneeW]

The date given is 4/2

Oh! For all of those things! Thanks for the clarification. I'll be sad to see some of those go.

 

[Planogirl]

What a shame if this is true. That tower is probably the cutest of all of the icons.

 

[Redcon1]

Disney should lower the price to hs.. Or give a free hopper because it's insane to expect people to pay that much to visit a construction site

Maybe give away a free hard hat...with Mickey ears!

Does anyone know how wide the base of the tower is? Is it wide enough to straddle the road leading into the Studios parking lot, whereas cars can drive underneath it, sort of a gateway?

 

[TippeeCanoe]

The announcement makes me sad. Could they incorporate it into Disney Springs somehow so it won't be completely lost?

 

[mmackeymouse]

The park no longer represents a studio which is why they had the tower.

Wellll...I mean there are still a LOT of things inside that park that are film-themed. Attractions, restaurants, the entrance...I just have a hard time believing that they will be re-theming everything inside the park.

I tend to believe that film elements will still be very present in whatever the park becomes going forward. So, I think the tower would still be relevant.

But, even if not, there is historical significance with that tower. It was one of the very first things built. It was the original icon of that park. I think there is enough historical significance and enough nostalgia in the piece that would relegate it to something more than a pile of scrap metal. Re-locate it to All Star movies. Re-locate it to WWOS. Heck, re-locate it anywhere. (and before anyone says, "Do you know how much that would cost?"...I can take a guess and trust me, Disney's got it.)

 

[gummyfisho]

this and the animation class leaving are the 2 biggest bummers for me regarding this makeover.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I wonder what the new Park Icon will be - a Giant Darth Vader perhaps?

 

[wilkeliza]

Wellll...I mean there are still a LOT of things inside that park that are film-themed. Attractions, restaurants, the entrance...I just have a hard time believing that they will be re-theming everything inside the park.

I tend to believe that film elements will still be very present in whatever the park becomes going forward. So, I think the tower would still be relevant.

But, even if not, there is historical significance with that tower. It was one of the very first things built. It was the original icon of that park. I think there is enough historical significance and enough nostalgia in the piece that would relegate it to something more than a pile of scrap metal. Re-locate it to All Star movies. Re-locate it to WWOS. Heck, re-locate it anywhere. (and before anyone says, "Do you know how much that would cost?"...I can take a guess and trust me, Disney's got it.)

While Main Street USA is suppose to be nostalgic nothing else in the park really is suppose to be that way. DHS (or whatever they rename it) was suppose to be about making movies. I wonder how many people currently going to DHS even know the darn tower is back there unless they know exactly where to look and went when you could see it on the tour.

I loved the water tower while it was there but it is Disney's decision on what stays and what goes no matter how nostalgic it may be to me.

 

[wilkeliza]

I wonder what the new Park Icon will be - a Giant Darth Vader perhaps?

Currently it is the Tower of Terror.

 

[BrianL]

Well, I dunno, I never felt like the Water Tower was a great icon. I mean, compared to the Castle, Spaceship Earth and the Tree of Life, it's pretty underwhelming. I didn't hate the hat, but I did hate its location. Right now the Water tower is barely visible form guest areas. It was a big part of the backlot tour and with that gone, there is no point in keeping it. I think this points strongly to an eventual rename of the park.

The current icon of DHS is the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

 

[AngiTN]

The park no longer represents a studio which is why they had the tower.

Curious, How does a water tower signify a movie studio?
We have a water tower in our town. We don't make movies there.

 

[TippeeCanoe]

Curious, How does a water tower signify a movie studio?
We have a water tower in our town. We don't make movies there.

From my limited reading about this, there used to be water towers all over Hollywood on studio lots to quickly put out fires that started, back in the 30's and 40's.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

This does make me sad about the Earful Tower. It always brought a smile to my face, still does just saying Earful Tower. After the BL tour ended, I was always happy to spot it while on ToT. So I am sad to see it go. I also hope they move Mike and Sulley somewhere else to meet, love them. This redo of MGM, whoops, HS is getting more painful by the day. I am excited about what is coming, but in the meantime....

 

[BrianL]

From my limited reading about this, there used to be water towers all over Hollywood on studio lots to quickly put out fires that started, back in the 30's and 40's.

Yes, movie studios all have water towers on site for fires and also water/flood effects and such. Studios used a lot of water (also reclaiming it when possible). Some studio water towers are quite famous, particularly the Warner Bros. one (and not just because the Animaniacs live inside of it).

For those that will miss the Earful Tower, you always have Paris. Walt Disney Studios Park at DLP also has an Earful Tower as its park icon.

 

[DebbieB]

But I am a little bummed that they do not just shut down the entire park and do the makeover without the intrusion of guests getting in the way. They could probably cut the construction time in half if they simply closed the park.

I don't think it would cut the construction time in half. None of the construction is on Sunset Blvd, so ToT and RnR can remain open. Also GMR and possibly Toy Story are not in the construction area. They can also keep the area around Little Mermaid and Star Wars Launch Bay open without affecting the construction. The construction can be done behind walls.

 

[AllysonL]

I'm very excited to see where this park goes... I'd love to see it turn out like DCA (even though I've never been there, it looks so fun!)

 

[Day-Day]

There is no mention in the earlier posts what "LMA" stands for nor is it listed in the forum's list of common abbreviations. It took me a while but I think it stands for Lights Motor Action stunt show...