Just Close Hollywood Studios And Start Over

[Mikie]

I agree with some PPs that it likely couldn't close because it would overcrowd other parks. AND I have a few of my favorite attractions in all of WDW there, so I could enjoy at least 3/4 day no problem. However, I do feel sorry for newer guests who don't know the park well going to the 4th gate and expecting the Disney Experience of MK, AK and Epcot (I know two of these have their own lovers and haters) and finding there's a lot less to choose from, a lot less you can stable upon and enjoy, a lot less "atmosphere" especially with anticipated new closures. I know what I'm getting if I decide to head for my favorites and skip past empty buildings or quiet streets, but a newbie would be getting gypped!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I don't understand Disney's strategy. They closed Backlot Tour last year...and have done nothing with it. Same goes for all the other things they've closed. If they're just going to sit vacant why not keep them going until you are really ready to go.

 

[wvaspartan]

Dont think I would agree to close the park but what they should do is make it an add on park whereby if you purchase a single park pass (or multi day single park per day pass) that DHS is thrown in...it just doesnt have enough to be worth paying the full price that they are charging at the moment but would be fine as an add on.

 

[JimmyV]

I don't understand Disney's strategy. They closed Backlot Tour last year...and have done nothing with it.

It's like when a landlord has to allow numerous leases to lapse and those leases don't line up. The earliest lease to lapse sits empty for the longest time. But once the building is completely empty, major renovations can take place. The Backlog Tour area is going to be something big but Disney needs more areas to close before it can begin. Makes one wonder if LMA will be next to close.

Dont think I would agree to close the park but what they should do is make it an add on park whereby if you purchase a single park pass (or multi day single park per day pass) that DHS is thrown in...it just doesnt have enough to be worth paying the full price that they are charging at the moment but would be fine as an add on.

Love this idea. Have a valid ticket? Come on over to DCS (Disney's Construction Site) for a few hours without burning an additional admission.

 

[dogdangling]

They need to start announcing things soon, this thread is testament to how many people are frustrated with what's happening at DHS. Imagine them closing the same percentage of rides at the MK with no announcement of what's happening and letting the dust build up on the rides there would be uproar, but it seems perfectly acceptable to let the studios suffer which is sad because I love the look and feel of the park.

IMO keep the park open, close off the old backlot tour side including lights motor action and get some work started and tell us what's going in.

 

[Moonwolf]

I don't understand Disney's strategy. They closed Backlot Tour last year...and have done nothing with it. Same goes for all the other things they've closed. If they're just going to sit vacant why not keep them going until you are really ready to go.

I have a question. Do we know nothing is going on back there or have we just not heard news of anything going on? I have a feeling that Disney has gotten burned one too many times (Fantasyland, Mine Train, Avatar) when they announce something before they start construction that they are keeping news of any planned work in HS close to the belt so they don't get complaints on why things are taking so long. That's what Universal has been doing (Diagon Alley and Kong were/are partially built before their official announcements) and it's been working for them. Unfortunately since Disney does have the reputation of announcing things early the lack of announcements is hurting them as well so it's kinda a lose-lose situation. But maybe they figured the questions of "what are you doing?" are better than the complaints of "why aren't you doing it faster?".

 

[tlmadden73]

It seems pretty obvious that the old "Studios" portions are going to be closed off and renovation will happen behind there.

The animation building closing makes sense since it is "set back" from the other attractions.

We'll probably see Lights, Motor Action close soon .. and that means the whole back half (past Toy Story) of the park will have nothing in it.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see Muppets and Streets of America closing soon too. (Why have an area to show you what they use to film cityscapes if they no longer have a backlot tour or don't even have any attractions based on making movies?) ABC Commissary will probably be closed and re-themed as well.

I don't see any of the old "studios" portions of the theme park surviving. We'll have a theme park with old Hollywood theming (entrance and Tower of Terror areas) .. and then either a Star Wars area and/or a Pixar themed area.
The "making of" movies theme will be no more. (It is essentially already gone except for the two stunt shows).


While there is still some things to do there .. there will be some very disappointed guests at how little there is. (I count 5 rides (3 of which little kids can't go on) and 6 shows?) Frequent visitors will probably skip it all together or just hop out of there after going on the three big rides.

But .. when you consider all the shows they still have ... most "first timers" will be more than happy with the experience because they'll get to do everything with ease.



What they should do is just give anyone who goes to Hollywood Studios a free hopper to another park that day.

 

[dogdangling]

But closing attractions for months without announcements still brings questions of why it's taking so long

 

[delyrium]

Disney park fans tend to forget that there are plenty of guests who haven't yet burned themselves out on the attractions, and want to see everything. For first or second timer's there's still a whole day's worth of stuff. I'll be going for our second time, during the late August heat, and with the mid-day break and the Frozen stuff, it's not likely we'll be able to fit in everything we want to do.

Hopefully there will be an announcement soon that gets people excited.

 

[luvdisney87]

DHS is our favorite park and was my sister and her family's favorite when they went for the first time in April. We love TOT, RNR, and TSM. Plus it has two of our favorite restaurants. I love the live performers and just the general atmosphere there. We probably wouldn't do a Disney trip if it closed since we spend a lot of time there.

 

[DisneyFive]

Add me to the group that thinks folks WAY overblow the idea that HS is a shell of a park. I've mentioned this in other threads, but in the last 5 years HS is nearly identical.(but I do think that's a problem) Backlot tour is the biggest attraction that hasn't been replaced with something else significant. The other few closures were for minor attractions anyway that weren't very popular, and some of them were replaced with newer attractions. I think folks are just tired of the same shows, and I get that, but it's not like HS is gutted. That just plain wrong IMO. For a first time visitor especially, HS is easily a day park if not more. Shoot, even for us it's more than a one day park and we've been there many times now and seen the shows multiple times each.

Now, having said that, can someone point me to an article on the closure of the animation building? Does this impact the animation academy? That would be a major downer for us, as it's a highlight every trip and we typically do it more than once in a visit. ...and it will also start to bring our opinion at least a little closer to those so down on HS.

Dan

 

[atricks]

If you include Animation and One Man's Dream, that means 5 Attractions at DHS closed within the last year, price is $97 for one day admission. Nothing to replace it has been officially announced, and rumors point out anything there would take 2-6 years to show up. Major or minor attractions don't matter when there's not much else to soak it up so the main remaning attractions get even busier.

It's just not worth the price of admission right now. My best suggestion is to make anyone using a 1 day park ticket for DHS to make it open for Epcot as well (sort of a limited, epcot/DHS only park hopper), at least until the rut of closures stop and new areas open. (Animation and one man's dream aren't the last of the rumored closures either) Disneys poor planning over the last decade shouldn't be taken out on guests.

 

[Ambear]

I agree with shutting it down and fixing everything. I was amazed at how hard it was to find air conditioning on that horrible section near the muppets. There's just nothing there. The street looks like something you'd find at an amusement park like six flags.

 

[John93]

I agree - they need to just shut this thing down and start work ASAP. ToT, RnR, and TSMMM are a lot of fun and they will be missed, but I am willing to give those up for two years so that this park can be great again. Will they lose money in the short term? Yes, but with a brand new park they would make it back in 3 years.

Now is any of this realistic? No. This park is 100% staying open during all construction. No questions asked. They don't care how it looks or sounds - those E-Ticket rides will remain open. Proof of this? I was at MK last week and they had blatant open construction areas with material everywhere. There were several areas around the hub like this. If they don't care about you seeing it in MK, they sure as heck don't care about you seeing it in HS!!

 

[nilla]

After reading the headline, my initial reaction was to remember Dr. Evil rolling over in this chair and saying, "How about no...?"

 

[wvaspartan]

Add me to the group that thinks folks WAY overblow the idea that HS is a shell of a park. I've mentioned this in other threads, but in the last 5 years HS is nearly identical.(but I do think that's a problem) Backlot tour is the biggest attraction that hasn't been replaced with something else significant. The other few closures were for minor attractions anyway that weren't very popular, and some of them were replaced with newer attractions. I think folks are just tired of the same shows, and I get that, but it's not like HS is gutted. That just plain wrong IMO. For a first time visitor especially, HS is easily a day park if not more. Shoot, even for us it's more than a one day park and we've been there many times now and seen the shows multiple times each.

Now, having said that, can someone point me to an article on the closure of the animation building? Does this impact the animation academy? That would be a major downer for us, as it's a highlight every trip and we typically do it more than once in a visit. ...and it will also start to bring our opinion at least a little closer to those so down on HS.

Dan

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2015/06/updat...-12th-2015-latest-details-on-character-moves/

Yes the Animation Academy and everything associated with it will close.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

First of all... not going to happen.

Second, there's really no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. One half of the park is potentially unaffected by the plans, and in that half are some of the best rides in all of WDW, a few quality shows, and a terrific spectacular.

Work goes on in AK, so where's the need to shut down the entire HS?

Agreed. The crowds in the other parks would become unmanageable on many days and they would never just close down a park.

 

[mickeymom629]

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2015/06/updat...-12th-2015-latest-details-on-character-moves/

Yes the Animation Academy and everything associated with it will close.

 

[DisneyFive]

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2015/06/updat...-12th-2015-latest-details-on-character-moves/

Yes the Animation Academy and everything associated with it will close.

Thank you!

Dang it, this is a huge downer for us! (and I'm sure for many). That building was always a nice respite from the rest of the park, to cool off and chill for a bit doing the animation academy and maybe get an autograph or two. My wife and kids are going to be pretty sad when I share this with them.

This certainly impacts how much time we need at HS... starting to get converted to be more down on HS, but it's still our 2nd fav at this point. We'll see how we feel after our trip this fall.

Dan

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think they are going to put the Pixar stuff in there first. From what is rumored, it seems like it could be relatively quick to put that in (Carnival type rides along with the expansion of TSMM). With Animation closing and probably being torn down, that part of the park can then be opened up to traffic from the main entrance and from Sunset.

I do wonder what is going to happen to VoTLM? Something tells me that is on the chopping block too. Maybe they will turn that building (OMD and Mermaid) into a mega Pixar gift shop.

When they are done with that, my bet is then they start on the Star Wars stuff on the other side of the park and that is when we will see Muppets close, along with AMA and Streets of America. That will be ready in the year 2025