Re: DHS expansion -further evidence the Backlot tour is Going bye bye

[doconeill]

I thought I'd just point out that according to reports Lights, Motors, Action is a selectable Fastpass+ experience for the upcoming guest tests June 20-26. So if that was going away to make room, it won't be before then.

The Backlot Tour did not appear to be an option...

 

[AThrillingChase]

I care enough about the Backlot Tour that I actually took the time to read through this whole thread, despite it spending more time off topic than on. I'm glad it's going away is just a rumor thus far, though some people did give some good reasons for it to be true. It's always been one of my favorite rides at DHS (especially considering there are only 2 rides in all of WDW that I won't ride and they're both in that park, ToT and RR) and to get rid of it would make only 3 rides worth going on for me, and Midway Mania's lines are too annoying for that to be any fun, so it would really just be GMR and Star Tours. Why even go to DHS anymore?

DHS was and is disney's more adult, thrill park. TOT and RR are two of my favorite rides in WDW. And TSMM is pretty close. I rode it at least 6-7 times a few weeks ago during my trip. Once with a FP and the rest I never waited more than 20-25 minutes. We rode early or late. Myself and my family still love DHS, it was a big hit for the ambiance, shows (we still had fun on the backlot tour, its alright but I won't miss it) and rides. I can give a million reasons to go, but it just plain sounds like this park isn't your thing. But hey, thats why they have 3 more! And it leaves more room for me (thats my TOT face)

 

[Reddog1134]

I tried to find more sources, true or not true, but didn't have much luck at the time.

I'm still believing yesterland more than the post above. They seem to be just repeating the same rumors with no back up. As for cast members, since they are not in the loop when it comes to park decisions they use UL's to fill in the blanks just much as the general public.

A CM once posted the UL that at the contemporary the rooms are modular and can all be changed out in a day with a crane by rolling them out like a drawer. The cm even said this was told to them at orientation.

http://www.yesterland.com/contemporary.html

Yes I know I'm pointing to the same source.

Reposting an earlier post from myself:

"If I'm reading the info correctly, only buildings constructed AFTER December 1st 1990 have architectural copyrights.

Since Graumanns was built in 1926, no one would have a claim on it's look or design. So the assumption that Disney had to block the view would be false.

However, I'm not a copyright lawyer so if anyone here is an expert, please chime in.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ41.pdf "

 

[Castle2Castle]

It's always been one of my favorite rides at DHS (especially considering there are only 2 rides in all of WDW that I won't ride and they're both in that park, ToT and RR) and to get rid of it would make only 3 rides worth going on for me, and Midway Mania's lines are too annoying for that to be any fun, so it would really just be GMR and Star Tours. Why even go to DHS anymore?

IF they got rid of it, it would be to replace it with one or more new attractions, which, depending on whether it suited your tastes, would leave you with the same net attractions or possibly increase the number of attractions available to you at the park. And where the crazy lines at Midway Mania are concerned, additional new attractions would help to pull some of the crowds away, making it a more manageable wait time for more guests. Reading up on and having discussions about Disneyland/DCA, it seems that's the experience out west, with the greater number of attractions in DCA keeping their Midway Mania from being quite the consistently long waits as are at Hollywood Studios.

 

[Spacedog1975]

Honestly Toy Story Midway Mania would benefit from what they did with Dumbo at MK. Double the attraction and add much more interaction in the queue.

I missed it on my last trip as I never got to the park early enough to fast pass.

 

[Castle2Castle]

Honestly Toy Story Midway Mania would benefit from what they did with Dumbo at MK. Double the attraction and add much more interaction in the queue.

It could, but I imagine it would cost a good deal more, and take up more space than what was involved in doubling Dumbo. Also, with the experience of DCA and TSMM (30 min wait according to Mousewait just now), new attractions in the park could have a similar impact on reducing wait times for TSMM while also providing new drivers for the park's attendance as a whole. Business wise, I think you get more value for your money building new attractions than doubling up TSMM.

 

[DCTooTall]

It could, but I imagine it would cost a good deal more, and take up more space than what was involved in doubling Dumbo. Also, with the experience of DCA and TSMM (30 min wait according to Mousewait just now), new attractions in the park could have a similar impact on reducing wait times for TSMM while also providing new drivers for the park's attendance as a whole. Business wise, I think you get more value for your money building new attractions than doubling up TSMM.

I'm one of the people that personally believe that the ONLY reason Midway Mania has such crazy lines at MGM is because when you think about it, It is the only attraction (besides GMR which many people skip because it's now hidden behind the BAH or they feel it's too dated... or the stripped carcus of the Backstage Tour), which younger kids can really ride.

The Rest of the park is shows, or attractions which have a much higher thrill level and height requirement which makes them unsuitable for younger kids or the ride adverse.

The park has a major lack of true Family rides (on top of it's general lack of rides) which is why the one 'popular' and 'modern' family ride in the park gets hammered with Fastpass runners and long lines thruout the day. DCA has a lot more options, even before it's recent re-do, for a family to enjoy together which has always helped keep it's TSMM lines shorter than the florida version.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm one of the people that personally believe that the ONLY reason Midway Mania has such crazy lines at MGM is because when you think about it, It is the only attraction (besides GMR which many people skip because it's now hidden behind the BAH or they feel it's too dated... or the stripped carcus of the Backstage Tour), which younger kids can really ride.

I wouldn't say that's the ONLY reason. Hourly rider capacity is perhaps an even bigger issue. TSM can only handle 1000-1200 people per hour. Omnimover rides and something like Star Tours (with 6 ride vehicles) can accommodate more than twice as many guests per hour.

If TSM could handle more riders, wait times would be closer to the 15-20 minute standby we usually see at the likes of Space Ranger Spin.

 

[DCTooTall]

I wouldn't say that's the ONLY reason. Hourly rider capacity is perhaps an even bigger issue. TSM can only handle 1000-1200 people per hour. Omnimover rides and something like Star Tours (with 6 ride vehicles) can accommodate more than twice as many guests per hour.

If TSM could handle more riders, wait times would be closer to the 15-20 minute standby we usually see at the likes of Space Ranger Spin.

True, but if we are comparing the West and East coast versions of the attraction, I doubt the ride capacity is that much different.

1k-1.2k PPH isn't a really low ride capacity when you really think about it since there are a lot of attractions with that "low" a capacity number. The problem is that in MOST parks with attractions that can only handle 1-1.2k per hour, that attraction isn't in a position that it's being asked to handle almost the entire load of a subset of guests visiting by itself. In most other parks you'll have a couple 1-1.2k pph attractions, as well as a couple "high capacity" omnimovers or other style attractions to help spread the guest load. At MGM however you end up having all those guests who are drop/thrill adverse, either do to preference, height, or medical condition, almost exclusively heading to the one attraction because there isn't another "ride" which they can truly enjoy.

 

[doconeill]

True, but if we are comparing the West and East coast versions of the attraction, I doubt the ride capacity is that much different.

1k-1.2k PPH isn't a really low ride capacity when you really think about it since there are a lot of attractions with that "low" a capacity number. The problem is that in MOST parks with attractions that can only handle 1-1.2k per hour, that attraction isn't in a position that it's being asked to handle almost the entire load of a subset of guests visiting by itself. In most other parks you'll have a couple 1-1.2k pph attractions, as well as a couple "high capacity" omnimovers or other style attractions to help spread the guest load. At MGM however you end up having all those guests who are drop/thrill adverse, either do to preference, height, or medical condition, almost exclusively heading to the one attraction because there isn't another "ride" which they can truly enjoy.

Didn't TSM lose capacity a while back, apparently due to the addition of gates in the loading area or something like that? I want to say I heard it dropped to around 900...

 

[pilferk]

Reposting an earlier post from myself:

"If I'm reading the info correctly, only buildings constructed AFTER December 1st 1990 have architectural copyrights.

Since Graumanns was built in 1926, no one would have a claim on it's look or design. So the assumption that Disney had to block the view would be false.

However, I'm not a copyright lawyer so if anyone here is an expert, please chime in.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ41.pdf "

I'm not a lawyer...and late to the party, in general, but you are correct.

A previous poster said they thought the violation would NOT be because of architectural copyright law...but I'm not sure what other possible violation could exist.

You can't copyright or trademark the exterior of a specific building built prior to 12/1/1990. You can modify the image and add elements to CREATE a trademark. But in that case, simply using the picture of the building would not encompass infringement.

 

[Spacedog1975]

It could, but I imagine it would cost a good deal more, and take up more space than what was involved in doubling Dumbo. Also, with the experience of DCA and TSMM (30 min wait according to Mousewait just now), new attractions in the park could have a similar impact on reducing wait times for TSMM while also providing new drivers for the park's attendance as a whole. Business wise, I think you get more value for your money building new attractions than doubling up TSMM.

I'm one of the people that personally believe that the ONLY reason Midway Mania has such crazy lines at MGM is because when you think about it, It is the only attraction (besides GMR which many people skip because it's now hidden behind the BAH or they feel it's too dated... or the stripped carcus of the Backstage Tour), which younger kids can really ride.

The Rest of the park is shows, or attractions which have a much higher thrill level and height requirement which makes them unsuitable for younger kids or the ride adverse.

The park has a major lack of true Family rides (on top of it's general lack of rides) which is why the one 'popular' and 'modern' family ride in the park gets hammered with Fastpass runners and long lines thruout the day. DCA has a lot more options, even before it's recent re-do, for a family to enjoy together which has always helped keep it's TSMM lines shorter than the florida version.

I wouldn't say that's the ONLY reason. Hourly rider capacity is perhaps an even bigger issue. TSM can only handle 1000-1200 people per hour. Omnimover rides and something like Star Tours (with 6 ride vehicles) can accommodate more than twice as many guests per hour.

If TSM could handle more riders, wait times would be closer to the 15-20 minute standby we usually see at the likes of Space Ranger Spin.

I stand by my reasoning that DHS would benefit by doubling the capacity of TSM. I'm not disputing that the lack of alternative attractions drives more people to TSM, but pure and simple, it's a hugely popular ride. There are plenty of alternatives at MK, but Peter Pan and Winne the Pooh regularly have 2 hour waits.

In an ideal world, they could build UP and double capacity **and** introduce new attractions to the park. They've already shown that they can swap and update the TS:MM theming on video very quickly, so if the ridership diminished too much, they could build it back up again by randomizing the gaming or creating a seperate experience on both floors.

 

[DCTooTall]

I stand by my reasoning that DHS would benefit by doubling the capacity of TSM. I'm not disputing that the lack of alternative attractions drives more people to TSM, but pure and simple, it's a hugely popular ride. There are plenty of alternatives at MK, but Peter Pan and Winne the Pooh regularly have 2 hour waits.

In an ideal world, they could build UP and double capacity **and** introduce new attractions to the park. They've already shown that they can swap and update the TS:MM theming on video very quickly, so if the ridership diminished too much, they could build it back up again by randomizing the gaming or creating a seperate experience on both floors.

Notice how the 2 rides you picked at the MK are both the Fastpass attractions?

That kind of brings up another very big factor that plays into the wait times for the attraction.... and one that I fear may become even bigger with FP+

 

[Spacedog1975]

Notice how the 2 rides you picked at the MK are both the Fastpass attractions?

That kind of brings up another very big factor that plays into the wait times for the attraction.... and one that I fear may become even bigger with FP+

While fast pass might generate wait time, it's generally in response to wait time. While both of the MK attractions are fast pass capable, they don't typically clear out of their allotment early in the AM like TSMM does.

I doubt you'd see a meaningful change in the wait time for any of the three attractions if you removed the fast pass option.

 

[Mnementh]

IF they got rid of it, it would be to replace it with one or more new attractions, which, depending on whether it suited your tastes, would leave you with the same net attractions or possibly increase the number of attractions available to you at the park. And where the crazy lines at Midway Mania are concerned, additional new attractions would help to pull some of the crowds away, making it a more manageable wait time for more guests. Reading up on and having discussions about Disneyland/DCA, it seems that's the experience out west, with the greater number of attractions in DCA keeping their Midway Mania from being quite the consistently long waits as are at Hollywood Studios.

You do raise a good point, though it would still take me a little while to get over the loss of the ride, as it did when they decided to remove Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Mr. Toad's was one of the first attractions I used to think of when I thought of MK when it existed there and, believe it or not, the Tour is one of the first things I think of at DHS, behind GMR. I don't know, maybe I'm just boring.

 

[Spacedog1975]

You do raise a good point, though it would still take me a little while to get over the loss of the ride, as it did when they decided to remove Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Mr. Toad's was one of the first attractions I used to think of when I thought of MK when it existed there and, believe it or not, the Tour is one of the first things I think of at DHS, behind GMR. I don't know, maybe I'm just boring.

The tour used to be a big part of what I thought of at DHS, but as it was in 1991. It just does not hold up now in its diminished and aging state.

 

[StephyDee]

The tour used to be a big part of what I thought of at DHS, but as it was in 1991. It just does not hold up now in its diminished and aging state.

When I first went to MGM in 96' (and again 8 mos. later in 97'), I remember loving the tour and all the things they'd show, do, etc. When I saw it again in 2009, I realized. While it gave me some serious nostalgia (especially since it had been my first time to WDW since 97'), they skimped out on a lot of what they used to have in the tour, and I was just.....so underwhelmed. It made me a little depressed that it got that way. I now don't have the desire to see it at all. That hardly happens to me with a disney ride....EVER, so for that to happen is pretty bad.

I wish there was a way to reimagine the tour, put new film elements in there, or perhaps more current film props, set pieces, things of that nature, to give it some freshness or relevancy, while still keeping the spirit and meaning behind the tour. I'd rather have that than it just looking more and more depressing. At this rate, the only thing they'll do in the ride is Catastrophe Canyon, and bill it as a 'water ride'.

 

[GAN]

Seeing it now, compared to what it was, is depressing.

 

[101disneyfan]

The Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing on January 4, 2014 to reopen on March 1 for a two month refurbishment.

Herbie needs a new coat of paint.

 

[mcd2745]

The Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing on January 4, 2014 to reopen on March 1 for a two month refurbishment.

Herbie needs a new coat of paint.

Why? Just put it out of its misery already.