Disney's Hollywood Studios (General Discussion)

[JungleSkip]

SWTOR is still up, hope I didn't jinx it

Well, that's already out there and running on its own.

 

[J03Y]

New rumor regarding Star Wars from Screamscape:

sounds interesting. crossing my fingers!

 

[mahnamahna]

Is it bad that I'm not over the moon about this expansion or makeover? It seems like a knockoff of DCA's. If a cheap version of Carsland (with a smaller RSR), and
a Star Wars mini-land (complete with a spinner and M&G's) is all they have planned, then count me out. Disney needs to add an Incredibles E-ticket, that Monsters Inc
coaster I keep hearing about, a full-scale Star Wars Land (with an E-ticket speed-bike coaster, Mos Eisley Cantina, an Ewok village, large-scale dark ride, as well as an elevated high-tech TIE fighter spinner and M&Gs), a Muppet Studios with the old Muppets dark ride concept and pizza parlor, and if they make that Roger Rabbit prequel then a recreation of Roger Rabbit's Toontown like Eisner promised during the Disney Decade. Until, they do something on par with that, USF and IOA will definitely surpass this park and DAK with its rumored
Soarin' Over Pandora in attendance by a large margin within the next 5-7 years. A really nice kiddie coaster is not going to bring back adults or teens. World Showcase has zero E-ticket rides, while Future World has an empty pavillion being used for wine tasting (how futuristic!) If Disney rests on its laurels, within 30 years, the kids of today will pick Universal over Disney for their family vacations. Corny jungle cruises, and journeys into the imagination of TDO's bean-counters just don't appeal as well as saving the day with Spidey or flying over Hogwarts with Harry. I want Disney to succeed, but the only way they can catch up is by new attractions -at all of the parks... and immersive bathrooms don't count lol (looking at that Tangled area in New Fantasyland).

 

[AK-Jake]

But I am very against RSRs coming. I am tired of cloning. That also goes with UNI. I'd much rather a mega-attraction coming that wasn't Transformers ...

THANK YOU. At this point, there is almost NO difference between the attraction offerings between USH and UOR. Once you've been to UOR, besides the Studio Tour, there's virtually no incentive to go to Hollywood. Sure, the rides between the 2 parks may be "clones," but they do have some differences (for example, I prefer USH's Mummy coaster to UOR)...but for the most part, Hollywood has become a UOR wannabe. I would LOVE to see Uni put in some attractions that are unique to USH. I'd love to see Disney do the same. I have no issue with them cloning the occasional ride here and there, but if they need to clone rides for their US parks, clone rides from parks that are OUTSIDE of the US! But that's just me...the little voice.

And yes, I understand the whole issue many people have of not being able to travel from coast to coast or country to country, so they have no issue with clones. That's why I say I don't have an issue with the occasional clone ride dropping in on both US coasts...but to do that with almost every major new attraction they create shows a REAL lack of imagination in my opinion. It makes financial sense, but it just irks me.

RSR shouldn't be clone. It's supposed to be DCA's headliner. The thing that makes it the new park it is. Cloning it diminishes how big of a deal the redo was

Exactly! I'd love to see something BIG and spectacular hit ANY of the Disney World parks...even if it IS only Avatar. But to just keep cloning rides diminishes the unique appeal of each park. And yes, I feel that each park you visit should be different. There's nothing wrong with SOME similarities/ride overlaps, but each park should offer its own unique experience.

Again, this is merely my opinion and it's certainly not shared with everyone.

 

[UNIrd]

I agree. Before it seemed that only screen-based attractions were the ones cloned, which made sense financially like AK-Jake said. But now nearly every major attraction is screen-based and now they're all getting cloned.

 

[Bryce]

THANK YOU. At this point, there is almost NO difference between the attraction offerings between USH and UOR. Once you've been to UOR, besides the Studio Tour, there's virtually no incentive to go to Hollywood. Sure, the rides between the 2 parks may be "clones," but they do have some differences (for example, I prefer USH's Mummy coaster to UOR)...but for the most part, Hollywood has become a UOR wannabe. I would LOVE to see Uni put in some attractions that are unique to USH. I'd love to see Disney do the same. I have no issue with them cloning the occasional ride here and there, but if they need to clone rides for their US parks, clone rides from parks that are OUTSIDE of the US! But that's just me...the little voice.

And yes, I understand the whole issue many people have of not being able to travel from coast to coast or country to country, so they have no issue with clones. That's why I say I don't have an issue with the occasional clone ride dropping in on both US coasts...but to do that with almost every major new attraction they create shows a REAL lack of imagination in my opinion. It makes financial sense, but it just irks me.




Exactly! I'd love to see something BIG and spectacular hit ANY of the Disney World parks...even if it IS only Avatar. But to just keep cloning rides diminishes the unique appeal of each park. And yes, I feel that each park you visit should be different. There's nothing wrong with SOME similarities/ride overlaps, but each park should offer its own unique experience.

Again, this is merely my opinion and it's certainly not shared with everyone.

The only cloned attractions between UOR and USH are Shrek 4-D, Transformers: The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park River Adventure and The Simpsons Ride? And soon to be Despicable Me? That doesn't seem like such a large amount of clones, and as you mentioned, each clone is different in certain aspects than the other. Islands of Adventure only has 1 USH clone, and thats JPRA.

But yes, I don't want to see Cars Land at DHS at all. Cars Land is perfect for DCA because it fits the theme and helped to draw major crowds to a once pathetic park. DHS needs something unique.

 

[Hockeyman55]

The only cloned attractions between UOR and USH are Shrek 4-D, Transformers: The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park River Adventure and The Simpsons Ride? And soon to be Despicable Me? That doesn't seem like such a large amount of clones, and as you mentioned, each clone is different in certain aspects than the other. Islands of Adventure only has 1 USH clone, and thats JPRA.

But yes, I don't want to see Cars Land at DHS at all. Cars Land is perfect for DCA because it fits the theme and helped to draw major crowds to a once pathetic park. DHS needs something unique.

Aren't the two Mummy rides somewhat different and not exact clones?

 

[quickfire609]

Aren't the two Mummy rides somewhat different and not exact clones?

Yes, the Hollywood version is shorter.

Also, USH is one giant clone of UOR or vice versa now, since all of the attractions you just mentioned are...all of the attractions USH has except the studio tour.

 

[Bryce]

Yes, the Hollywood version is shorter.

Also, USH is one giant clone of UOR or vice versa now, since all of the attractions you just mentioned are...all of the attractions USH has except the studio tour.

Oh, hahahaha! I didn't think about it like that.

- - - Updated - - -

Aren't the two Mummy rides somewhat different and not exact clones?

Yeah, our version is undeniably better.

 

[AK-Jake]

Yes, the Hollywood version is shorter.

Also, USH is one giant clone of UOR or vice versa now, since all of the attractions you just mentioned are...all of the attractions USH has except the studio tour.

The Hollywood version is indeed shorter, but it's more of a "coaster" because it skips most of the intro dark ride portions and just goes right into the launch through the underworld. It also lacks the fake ending (that ruins the pacing in my opinion), and has an actual backwards COASTER section in it. I personally prefer it. In that light, it's not a TRUE clone, however, the fact that BOTH US Universal parks have The Mummy to me shows a troubling lack of originality on Uni's part. I personally am opposed to USH putting in their version of WWOHP because it should be used to push Florida's attendance numbers. And sadly, once Potter construction starts, Waterworld is gone (a USH-specific attraction) and in comes--you guessed it--a slightly different version of what's already in Florida! Though in Uni's defense, if the stuff Jim Hill has talked about for Hollywood is true, they're going to offer a few nice changes over Orlando. I welcome that. But it's time for them to drop in a few USH-specific attractions as well.

Sorry to whine...I just think Universal and Disney can do better than take the Six Flags approach to their attractions. /Rant off. :saber:

 

[Hockeyman55]

Disney has clones of Space, Splash and Thunder mountains and I don't consider that a lack of originality on Disneys part. I also think cloning an E ticket ride is a little different that cloning a shuttle coaster like 6 Flags but also understand why companies do that.

 

[Hatetofly]

Revenge of the Mummy

Exterior: Orlando
Queue: Hollywood
Station: Orlando
Story: Hollywood but there both really bad
Dark Ride: Orlando
Coaster: Hollywood
Backwards Section: Hollywood
Ending: Orlando, and I think RoTM in Orlando has one of the weakest endings for any major dark ride built. Well I did until I rode HW and discovered the worst ending ever made.

Anyways isn't there a press conference this month or something?

 

[jtsalien]

Disney has clones of Space, Splash and Thunder mountains and I don't consider that a lack of originality on Disneys part. I also think cloning an E ticket ride is a little different that cloning a shuttle coaster like 6 Flags but also understand why companies do that.

To me there's cloning and there's value engineering. Cloning takes a great ride, and put it's somewhere else with equal or greater execution. This applies to things like Splash, Space, etc., and Transformer. Then there's value engineering: building a mediocre ride in two places at once to cut costs and/or taking a great ride and gutting it while placing it somewhere else. Here's where you'd find the Little Mermaid or the proposed dumbed down version of Carsland. If it's a great ride that we're missing in Orlando, go ahead and clone it. But what I don't want, is more value engineering.

 

[J03Y]

The Hollywood version is indeed shorter, but it's more of a "coaster" because it skips most of the intro dark ride portions and just goes right into the launch through the underworld. It also lacks the fake ending (that ruins the pacing in my opinion), and has an actual backwards COASTER section in it. I personally prefer it. In that light, it's not a TRUE clone, however, the fact that BOTH US Universal parks have The Mummy to me shows a troubling lack of originality on Uni's part. I personally am opposed to USH putting in their version of WWOHP because it should be used to push Florida's attendance numbers. And sadly, once Potter construction starts, Waterworld is gone (a USH-specific attraction) and in comes--you guessed it--a slightly different version of what's already in Florida! Though in Uni's defense, if the stuff Jim Hill has talked about for Hollywood is true, they're going to offer a few nice changes over Orlando. I welcome that. But it's time for them to drop in a few USH-specific attractions as well.

Sorry to whine...I just think Universal and Disney can do better than take the Six Flags approach to their attractions. /Rant off. :saber:

cloning doesn't necessarily equate to lack of imagination. it could just mean that a certain park lacks the unf that the other park does without said attraction(s). granted it's different when they're used for the sole purpose of revenue.

 

[nmu]

Cloning is evitable in a world where the finically climate means that any money BOTH Disney and Universal can recoup from the massive R&D costs to produce an original attraction can be spread across parks. If it’s a hit in one park it’s going to appear in others and there are very few people that will travel to all the parks so I don’t see it as an issue.

As for RSR coming to DHS I think it would be a great addition and fit the theme perfectly if as others have said its part of Pixar Place expansion with the Ratatouille Ride & Restaurant from Paris and that Monster Ink family coaster.

 

[maxairmike]

I'm just curious why they're building what appears to be a water pumping facility just off of Osceola Pkwy. before the World Drive ramp. That's definitely RCID work...time to do some digging.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I'm just curious why they're building what appears to be a water pumping facility just off of Osceola Pkwy. before the World Drive ramp. That's definitely RCID work...time to do some digging.

What does it look like? Could it be a lift station?

 

[maxairmike]

Its hard to tell without pulling off the road and asking them.

Maybe I can attempt to get some pictures next time I have a passenger in the car. They've installed a few decent sized metal pipes and there look to be a few more going in. I put in a request on MAGIC's permit thread to see if the guru(s) over there have any knowledge of what's going on. I'm better at digging up real estate and business deals than permits.

 

[AK-Jake]

I know that there are many on here that are pushing for and expecting the Monsters, Inc. Door-Vaulter indoor coaster to go into DHS (I'm also kind of hoping it happens--I say go with a mega Pixar Studios expansion as opposed to a copycat Cars Land expansion)...but "the site that shall not be named" is reporting that the Door-Vaulter coaster has been chopped from DHS and is on the verge of getting green lit for inclusion into DCA at the Disneyland Resort around 2016 or so. Al's claiming that it will be replacing Muppetvision 3D and also that the majority (or all) of the current Hollywoodland Backlot will be converted into a Monstropolis-themed mini-land. He's also reporting that it's looking like a copy of the Shanghai Tron Lightcyle coaster/ride is being green lit for Disneyland's Tomorrowland later on in the decade. Of course, there's no guarantee this is correct, but he's saying to expect an official announcement at D23 this August.

Also of note, another writer for that site is saying that it's looking like Avatar has finally been green lit and the budget has been increased. These are hear-say rumors...I'm not sold on the Avatar article just yet.

Interesting developments. Thoughts?

 

[JungleSkip]

If it's going to DCA, it'll probably make it's way to WDW.

That being said, the Monsters Door Coaster is a pretty poor ride. People have been talking about it for so long that it's taken on a life of its own and been overrated to the point of legendary status. I'd rather see something else.