While many Walt Disney World Addicts have been known to say, “It’ll always be MGM to me,” it cannot be denied that changes to the park, and closings of beloved areas are causing more and more to see Disney’s Hollywood Studios as no more than a “half-day park.” But Disney has a plan, and while that plan will be revealed more thoroughly at the D23 Expo in Anaheim this August, we can preview a little of what is expected to come.
Rumors indicate that the Disney Parks board of directors has earmarked (see what I did there?) for a huge facelift of the Hollywood Studios park. As many of us have heard, the direction of the park will change from its original focus on movie making, and will instead be more about the movies we love, what they mean to us, and how we can experience them and not just watch them. So, there may yet be another name change to the park. That, we’ll have to wait and see about, but what we can look forward to is an increase in the presence of 3 particular favorites:
- Star Wars – Two new Star Wars themed attractions are reported to be coming, and though we don’t know exactly what those will be, we have heard that the Jedi Training Academy will be moving into an existing building, and will no longer be outside Star Tours.
- Indiana Jones – Yes, we have heard a great deal about the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular closing down, and it will, but Indy will return in a Orlando version of the Indiana Jones at Disneyland.
- Pixar – Lots of us have speculated on the expansion of Pixar at Hollywood Studios, and it seems we were right. Three new attractions are supposed to be headed to the Orlando park, and yes, Toy Story Mania will not only remain, but will be (may already be in the process of being ) expanded.
For those who worried about everything being closed and Hollywood Studios becoming a half-day park, rest easy. Disney will complete this process in stages, with only a few things closing down at a time, and once new attractions have opened more will close down. It’s possible that even now Disney Imagineers are working away in the area that used to be the Studio Backlot Tour, so that new areas and attractions can open with less lag time between the D23 Expo announcement/reveal, and actual opening onsite.
What’s that? You want to know what’s closing? Well, some of it you’re already familiar with, though you may not be celebrating it. The Magic of Disney Animation is already closing. We’ve heard rumors about Indiana Jones for many months. Those are both confirmed. Muppet Vision 3D will sadly be among the casualties of change as well. What will NOT close are the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Great Movie Ride (which recently had some updates), and Star Tours, and Toy Story Mania.
How long the changes will take overall is still unknown. To read more check out this article…
What are your thoughts about Hollywood Studios now? Do you think it’ll still be a park you can love when all the changes are made?
Source Billy Donnelly at This is Infamous
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Is there a date for when the Muppets will be closing? I’ll be going in August and would like to show it to my friend who’s never been that is joining us before it’s gone…thanks!
I really really really hope that they think about a Pixar Character Meal. It is a LONG overdue thing.
Awww…very sad to hear about the Muppet attraction closing. It was always a must-see for us and always made us giggle, no matter how many times we’d seen it.
I’m excited for the changes but I am so disappointed about Muppets closing. I truly had hoped that they would expand muppets with the new movies out in the past few years. So sad.
I am excited for the changes, however, I hope the new rides/shows begin to show up sooner rather than later as I feel this park is long overdue for some attention. This park has a great deal of potential but is greatly ignored.