News Round Up

[Redarrow5150]

I do not call over $4 billion cheap by any means and don't believe Executives at Disney are going to allow Orlando accountants to be cheap...not there call. Remember Lucas is still alive and they are going to go all out to let him see his creation. I'm fully expecting a type of Harry Potter set up.

Do NOT ever underestimate the cheapness of Team Disney Orlando accountants.

I will not be surprised if DHS gets 3 cheap off the shelf kiddie rides themed to Toy Story and that's it for another decade. Isn't DHS lacking a Dumbo-esque ride?

 

[Redarrow5150]

Not every movie can be a sequel. Some might be better of providing content for ABC stations or cable channels. I think Wreck It is more viable to be a show than another movie.

Considering that Disney Animation Studios barely produces sequels (besides those direct to video sequels by DisneyToon Studios and only 3 direct sequels by DAS), that's not surprising at all. I do wonder if their willingness to develop sequels has changed in recent years though. How long will they follow Walt's ideology in regards of sequels?

Can't say I don't appreciate the fact that WDAS keeps developing original ideas instead of rehashing the one good idea. Though there are a few movies (like Wreck-it-Ralph) that have a lot of potential to be developed into at least one sequel.

 

[Redarrow5150]

Harry Potter has changed the game for Disney and they know they need to step up

While he's off sipping boat drinks, I just have to say.... T.O.T.S.

Kidding aside - there's no doubt something happening, and that's very good. It's the complete 180 on how they've previously managed change under this Mgt. Team and that's what's intriguing.

No artwork, no dog and pony, no managed rumors.....

I'm hoping they've seen they need to get it done and rolled their sleeves up.

I also hope it didn't crinkle those bespoke, Saville Row button downs, too much..

 

[wallrock]

I do not call over $4 billion cheap by any means and don't believe Executives at Disney are going to allow Orlando accountants to be cheap...not there call. Remember Lucas is still alive and they are going to go all out to let him see his creation. I'm fully expecting a type of Harry Potter set up.

The suits in Burbank dictate what happens in Orlando - right down to the last hammer and nail. Given that they've just put some major bank into Paris makes me think there there won't exactly be a spending frenzy for Hollywood Studios, at least for attractions. And Lucas truthfully probably doesn't give a hoot (at least privately) what they do with Star Wars. As for his creation - I seriously doubt you'll see Jar Jar jumping around. The only 'JJ" in this picture has Abrams after it.

I agree that 4 billion isn't cheap, but I believe Disney's long term plan is to recoupe that cost (and a whole lot more) from movies, television and saturation of the market with merchandise - and on a scale that will dwarf what Lucas did (and he was no slouch when it came to milking his creation). Attractions are the lowest on their priority list. I do feel that Hollywood Studios will get something Star Wars related, but I don't expect anything on a massive scale as the park isn't designed for it and they'd rather let the merch bring the crowds in. I'll be the farm there will be items you can't get anywhere else but in the parks.

 

[Redarrow5150]

Putting money in Paris doesn't change what Disney does in Orlando nor what they put into China. They themselves on the conference call said the time to put investments into China was now. Disney didn't buy Star Wars just for merchandise they wanted it for the franchise and that means more movies. Lucas does give a hoot and that's why he sold it to Disney given there track record with buying Pixar, Marvel and now Lucas. I think a massive scale is all relative in regards to how they utilize the space in creating this area.

The suits in Burbank dictate what happens in Orlando - right down to the last hammer and nail. Given that they've just put some major bank into Paris makes me think there there won't exactly be a spending frenzy for Hollywood Studios, at least for attractions. And Lucas truthfully probably doesn't give a hoot (at least privately) what they do with Star Wars. As for his creation - I seriously doubt you'll see Jar Jar jumping around. The only 'JJ" in this picture has Abrams after it.

I agree that 4 billion isn't cheap, but I believe Disney's long term plan is to recoupe that cost (and a whole lot more) from movies, television and saturation of the market with merchandise - and on a scale that will dwarf what Lucas did (and he was no slouch when it came to milking his creation). Attractions are the lowest on their priority list. I do feel that Hollywood Studios will get something Star Wars related, but I don't expect anything on a massive scale as the park isn't designed for it and they'd rather let the merch bring the crowds in. I'll be the farm there will be items you can't get anywhere else but in the parks.

 

[rteetz]

The suits in Burbank dictate what happens in Orlando - right down to the last hammer and nail. Given that they've just put some major bank into Paris makes me think there there won't exactly be a spending frenzy for Hollywood Studios, at least for attractions. And Lucas truthfully probably doesn't give a hoot (at least privately) what they do with Star Wars. As for his creation - I seriously doubt you'll see Jar Jar jumping around. The only 'JJ" in this picture has Abrams after it. I agree that 4 billion isn't cheap, but I believe Disney's long term plan is to recoupe that cost (and a whole lot more) from movies, television and saturation of the market with merchandise - and on a scale that will dwarf what Lucas did (and he was no slouch when it came to milking his creation). Attractions are the lowest on their priority list. I do feel that Hollywood Studios will get something Star Wars related, but I don't expect anything on a massive scale as the park isn't designed for it and they'd rather let the merch bring the crowds in. I'll be the farm there will be items you can't get anywhere else but in the parks.

I actually I think disney will be spending on both DLP and DHS. Paris has gotten very bad they needed the big brother disney to step in and bail them out they had no choice. Paris is and already has been redoing their resorts from the ground up basically. They just opened ratatouille in the summer and the few billion they were just given is to refurb everything and add new things. They want this done quick too, 2017 disneyland Paris is supposed to be finished with improvement from that bailout and then 2017-20 will be walt Disney studios park fixing time. The mark twain River boat in Paris is literally falling apart close to being unsaveable, things like that are what's hurting them. Also those parks disney doesn't own but they again needed the big brother help.

DHS is directly owned by disney of course and is one of Disney's lowest attended us parks. AK is getting its help, DHS is next. They recently closed the largest attraction space wise at DHS being the backlot tour which means they are most likely going to use that area for something big most rumors point to pixar, mainly toy story and cars. The whole park it self needs a bit of rebranding just like DCA did therefore a new name, entrance etc could do a lot to make this a very popular park again. I definitely think at least a billion will be put into his park and it definitely needs it.

 

[Redarrow5150]

Yes and the game has changed. You don't think Universal is looking to expand Harry Potter into other countries? Disney has no choice but to invest in the theme parks especially given the low interest rate environment.

I actually I think disney will be spending on both DLP and DHS. Paris has gotten very bad they needed the big brother disney to step in and bail them out they had no choice. Paris is and already has been redoing their resorts from the ground up basically. They just opened ratatouille in the summer and the few billion they were just given is to refurb everything and add new things. They want this done quick too, 2017 disneyland Paris is supposed to be finished with improvement from that bailout and then 2017-20 will be walt Disney studios park fixing time. The mark twain River boat in Paris is literally falling apart close to being unsaveable, things like that are what's hurting them. Also those parks disney doesn't own but they again needed the big brother help.

DHS is directly owned by disney of course and is one of Disney's lowest attended us parks. AK is getting its help, DHS is next. They recently closed the largest attraction space wise at DHS being the backlot tour which means they are most likely going to use that area for something big most rumors point to pixar, mainly toy story and cars. The whole park it self needs a bit of rebranding just like DCA did therefore a new name, entrance etc could do a lot to make this a very popular park again. I definitely think at least a billion will be put into his park and it definitely needs it.

 

[rteetz]

Yes and the game has changed. You don't think Universal is looking to expand Harry Potter into other countries? Disney has no choice but to invest in the theme parks especially given the low interest rate environment.

And they are expanding Harry Potter universal Hollywood is getting it Japan just opened and other places look to get it as well.

 

[rteetz]

Here is SeaWorlds earnings report they are declining again in attendance. Blackfish continues its affect on SeaWorlds.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-seaworld-earnings-20141112-story.html

 

[Figmentforever24]

Ok lets be clear when I say the 1.6 billion planned for Hollywood Studios is NOT going towards animation, NOT going towards MERCH it IS going to rides and thematic experiences for the park. Now you don't have to believe it, but if you tell yourself that Hollywood Studios isn't getting much....well....go ahead if you life. Also once again the budget for Star Wars at the time is HUGE and is going to be much more massive them most people think. Also George Lucas doesn't give a hoot...of course he doesn't. One reason Disney stopped the HyperSpace Hoopla was to make Star Wars more serious. George has no respect for his own brand, Disney on the other hand plans to treat it with a little more dignity is some respects if you get my meaning. So believe what you will. Hollywood Studios WILL be different by the end of the decade and Hollywood Studios WILL see more then a couple of new rides.

 

[WDWChloe]

Just some food for everyone to chew on while I have the chance to stop by: So its no secret by now that things are shifting over at the Studios. Out of the blue closures, removal of structures, it seems like something is going to happen, and many insiders have said exactly that. (Ok I don't call myself an insider, but I have friends inside who know things and seem pretty accurate about most of their info so I trust them) Anyway the budget for the overhaul of the park is pretty big as you already know, and if all goes well we are looking at a new park by the end of the decade. Now were not talking a few kiddie rides and call it a day type of park. Sure some new B and C tickets are in the works to be added (The rethemed Mater Jamboree ride is a real plan as of now) But you can also expect a couple of new E-Ticket attractions, and this is within the park overhaul budget. The Star Wars plans....which are happening are also getting a pretty big budget as it stands. The Star Wars budget is also REALLY a separate budget so by the end of the decade look for WELL over 2 Billion to be spent in this park alone. Illuminations is receiving some upgrades to the regular show as well as the holiday tag this year. Say goodbye to the Water Cronkite narration as another piece of old Epcot Center heads for the door. Reflections of Earth is also going to see some tech upgrades that will really improve the show in some cool ways. Nothing about the show is going to change though. Frozen is the new thing everyone loves to hate, especially with it moving in to Norway like it did. But in the midst of the despair and the arguments about the thematic elements fitting in Norway, there is some rays of the hope for the ride itself. Obviously the ride is staying a boat ride. The new queue is still going to use the theater space, but the old loading dock is going to be used for show scenes. While load and unload will both take place inside the original unload dock. Also it seems AA's very well might be part of the ride.

Thanks for your updates! I'm excited to see some love given to illuminations, the best nighttime spectacular, imho.

 

[rteetz]

Ok lets be clear when I say the 1.6 billion planned for Hollywood Studios is NOT going towards animation, NOT going towards MERCH it IS going to rides and thematic experiences for the park. Now you don't have to believe it, but if you tell yourself that Hollywood Studios isn't getting much....well....go ahead if you life. Also once again the budget for Star Wars at the time is HUGE and is going to be much more massive them most people think. Also George Lucas doesn't give a hoot...of course he doesn't. One reason Disney stopped the HyperSpace Hoopla was to make Star Wars more serious. George has no respect for his own brand, Disney on the other hand plans to treat it with a little more dignity is some respects if you get my meaning. So believe what you will. Hollywood Studios WILL be different by the end of the decade and Hollywood Studios WILL see more then a couple of new rides.

I definitely believe it will be different. They are going to rebrand the park basically new name, new areas, and possibly a new hub.

 

[rteetz]

A photo update on the Polynesian bungalows

http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/the...ion-at-disney's-polynesian-village-resort.htm

 

[Reddog1134]

Also George Lucas doesn't give a hoot...of course he doesn't. One reason Disney stopped the HyperSpace Hoopla was to make Star Wars more serious. George has no respect for his own brand, Disney on the other hand plans to treat it with a little more dignity is some respects if you get my meaning.

I don't see Disney treating Star Wars any better than Lucas did. If they felt it should be more serious, why have the Hoopla in the first place?

 

[rteetz]

Ok lets be clear when I say the 1.6 billion planned for Hollywood Studios is NOT going towards animation, NOT going towards MERCH it IS going to rides and thematic experiences for the park. Now you don't have to believe it, but if you tell yourself that Hollywood Studios isn't getting much....well....go ahead if you life. Also once again the budget for Star Wars at the time is HUGE and is going to be much more massive them most people think. Also George Lucas doesn't give a hoot...of course he doesn't. One reason Disney stopped the HyperSpace Hoopla was to make Star Wars more serious. George has no respect for his own brand, Disney on the other hand plans to treat it with a little more dignity is some respects if you get my meaning. So believe what you will. Hollywood Studios WILL be different by the end of the decade and Hollywood Studios WILL see more then a couple of new rides.

Also just heard another source from wdwmagic say the illuminations changes that you said are coming.

 

[rteetz]

They have placed the new sign atop the former mannequins at DTD in the soon to be landing area. This building is going to become morimotos.

http://www.savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2014/11/breaking-news-pi-sign-now-has-new-sign.html

 

[wallrock]

Putting money in Paris doesn't change what Disney does in Orlando nor what they put into China. They themselves on the conference call said the time to put investments into China was now. Disney didn't buy Star Wars just for merchandise they wanted it for the franchise and that means more movies. Lucas does give a hoot and that's why he sold it to Disney given there track record with buying Pixar, Marvel and now Lucas. I think a massive scale is all relative in regards to how they utilize the space in creating this area.

Well, how much they put into Paris will have some impact on decisions in Orlando. How much impact remains to be seen as Paris is far from being out of the woods.

I agree on China - there's a middle class growing over there that's going to be bigger than the whole US. That's the future market for them.

And we're going to have to agree to disagree on Lucas' interest in his creation. He sold to Disney not because of their recent acquisitions, but because of the long standing relationship that was there. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the buyout by Disney has probably been in the works for years, probably back to the Eisner days. All that was needed was for George to give the word.

 

[wallrock]

Ok lets be clear when I say the 1.6 billion planned for Hollywood Studios is NOT going towards animation, NOT going towards MERCH it IS going to rides and thematic experiences for the park. Now you don't have to believe it, but if you tell yourself that Hollywood Studios isn't getting much....well....go ahead if you life. Also once again the budget for Star Wars at the time is HUGE and is going to be much more massive them most people think. Also George Lucas doesn't give a hoot...of course he doesn't. One reason Disney stopped the HyperSpace Hoopla was to make Star Wars more serious. George has no respect for his own brand, Disney on the other hand plans to treat it with a little more dignity is some respects if you get my meaning. So believe what you will. Hollywood Studios WILL be different by the end of the decade and Hollywood Studios WILL see more then a couple of new rides.

Disney's 'respect' for the Star Wars brand is in direct correlation with its rate of financial return. I've stated before and will state again that I do believe Hollywood Studios will be getting something Star Wars related, I just don't think it's going to be on a massive scale. Attractions don't turn profit like merchandise does and Star Wars is at the top of its class in that regard.

I've also mentioned that unless Disney is willing to tear up the foundation of Hollywood Studios and make it easier for crowds to move through it's pratically impossible to put something in that will generate a flood of fans coming through the gate. Anyone recall Villians Unleashed? Crowd management was a failure there. If it can't handle an event like that who will honestly believe that it can handle a massive infusion of Star Wars or any other brand? And that's not a single event, but day in and day out.

I personally haven't seen anything official on how much Disney plans to spend in Hollywood Studios. If the budget has been made public then please point me to the article because I'm truly interested - no scarcasm here. If it's around one and a half billion as you claim for attractions I would like to see what extra will go to re-arranging the park, because they'll need it or you won't be able to move in that place.

 

[wallrock]

I actually I think disney will be spending on both DLP and DHS. Paris has gotten very bad they needed the big brother disney to step in and bail them out they had no choice. Paris is and already has been redoing their resorts from the ground up basically. They just opened ratatouille in the summer and the few billion they were just given is to refurb everything and add new things. They want this done quick too, 2017 disneyland Paris is supposed to be finished with improvement from that bailout and then 2017-20 will be walt Disney studios park fixing time. The mark twain River boat in Paris is literally falling apart close to being unsaveable, things like that are what's hurting them. Also those parks disney doesn't own but they again needed the big brother help.

And that's precisely why I think that the spending in Orlando won't be as massive as some think. There's no guarantee that Disney is finished bailing out Paris and if they have to sink more cash in over there they are not going to go on a spending frenzy here.

DHS is directly owned by disney of course and is one of Disney's lowest attended us parks. AK is getting its help, DHS is next. They recently closed the largest attraction space wise at DHS being the backlot tour which means they are most likely going to use that area for something big most rumors point to pixar, mainly toy story and cars. The whole park it self needs a bit of rebranding just like DCA did therefore a new name, entrance etc could do a lot to make this a very popular park again. I definitely think at least a billion will be put into his park and it definitely needs it.

No disagreement that something is needed. But either Disney will go big (and therefore need to spend big) or go average and fit everything into the existing space. I'm inclined to believe the latter due to the big question mark pending in Europe.

 

[rteetz]

And that's precisely why I think that the spending in Orlando won't be as massive as some think. There's no guarantee that Disney is finished bailing out Paris and if they have to sink more cash in over there they are not going to go on a spending frenzy here. No disagreement that something is needed. But either Disney will go big (and therefore need to spend big) or go average and fit everything into the existing space. I'm inclined to believe the latter due to the big question mark pending in Europe.

I agree that they will go average with the backlot that will just be kiddie rides based on toy story nothing big. Star Wars is still a couple years away and I think that's where they will go big with a new e ticket.