Hat at Studios?

[OnWithTheShow]

The latest master plan that I have seen is from 1993. It included several resorts that were built as well as Animal Kingdom and some monorail expansion that wasnt built.

The current talk at the Studios is creating a new "Avenue" where residential street currently is and running it towards the outside of the park were the main entrance road is. The road would be moved further into the woods and reduced in size (hardly anyone uses this road most enter the park through the smaller entrance over near boardwalk)

This avenue would be home to several dark rides and a major roller coaster/thrill ride.

Just what I heard

BTW- LandBaron if you ever becom lost near Muppets again look for me, my name is Rob. I will help you find your way around our confusing park.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

BTW- LandBaron if you ever becom lost near Muppets again look for me, my name is Rob. I will help you find your way around our confusing park.

ROB!! Thank you!! I think all CMs are GREAT!! I searched for Safari Steve in April, but couldn't link up (but my daughter did and he was GREAT to her!!) I'm going back again in August. You bet I will look for you even if I don't get lost!! Thanks!!

 

[HorizonsFan]

Yeah, he'll be the old guy in the "I Hate Ei$ner" t-shirt!

 

[larworth]

On With the Show

OK, I'll bite.

Any more details about this rumored new "Avenue". You know, any mention of what concepts these dark rides would be based on, any mention of time frame (next 5 years, next 10 years) attached to it. Where does it fall on the credability scale.

I think it is still OK if we talk about rumors here.

 

[ww52]

Sorry that this is off the topic, but looking at the map reminded me that an arial view of the Studios shows an upside down hidden Mickey (somewhat modifed since the original layout - one of the ears is now wiped out.) I would guess that the hat will pretty much wipe out the effect altogether.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

... it's all great theming to Ei$ner!!

Yeah, he'll be the old guy in the "I Hate Ei$ner" t-shirt!

OLD GUY again!!! (but you're right about the shirt. Can I get those at Old Key West?)

As to straying off topic, I don't think you did. And I would like all those who like MGM to answer. I don't get a big thrill out of the place, but I can appreciate some of the finer points. Now, it might be just me, but I seem to recall someone (I think YoHo) saying that the general theme of the Studios was just that. A working studio, albeit caught in a time warp. And I think they did do a marvelous job with that. The ambience and feel of the streets as you enter, all the down to that quaint theater that is so recognizable to us "old guys". Now, again, I could be wrong, but for the life of me I can't recall one single, solitary instance of ever seeing a GIANT sorcerer's hat in Hollywood in the '30's or '40's. Really!! I can't. Hmmm. Memory must be slipping do to the "old guy" thing.

Is anyone else bothered by this?

 

[ww52]

"Is anyone else bothered by this?"

No more so than the by the giant "Epcot" sign on the geosphere (which is to say - yes I am bothered by it.) As someone else said - I know I'm in Epcot, I don't need a giant sign. Maybe the hat will be topped off with a sign that says "Disney Studios". Then Eisner can put a Magic Kingdom sign on the castle, and an Animal Kingdom sign on the Tree of Life.

 

[supamaki]

I have a feeling that it would have been more expensive to take down the whole structure than to just put up the Epcot sign like they did. Just a hunch though.

 

[larworth]

As I said before MGM already is so much less contiguous in time and place than the other parks. RnR next to ToT. Star Tours next to Indy. HISK playground next to metropolis. Canyon next to 50's backlot.

Because of this I hadn't thought much about the time relevance of the hat versus it's line of sight issues. I'm not sure thinking about it bothers me. At least the hat is a product of the pre 50's era that it sits in.

 

[YoHo]

The Earful tower I assume is in reference to the Warnerbrothers Water tower which towers over the studio.

If you ever go to Universal Studios Hollywood, the only cool (IMHO) thing to do is use the pay binocs to look over hollywood and Burbank. From those you get a great shot of the Warner tower.

On this, I must agree with Landbaron, the hat doesn't fit, at least not on paper. I've often fet that Disney animation references should remain in the MK as much as possible (there goes my position on Monsters Inc.) But I'll reserve final judgement until I'm there.

 

[Another Voice]

Actually, the water tower at WDW is in homage to the water tower on the Studio lot in Burbank. For years it was the only "landmark" on the Disney Lot. Most movie studios look like large factory blocks and the Mickey Mouse on the water tower was the only thing that made Disney look different from the Lockheed plant up the road. When designing the Disney/MGM Studios, WDI copied the only unique features on the entire Disney lot - the watertower and the metal art deco building signs. Then Eisner built the Temple of the Dwarves, but that's another story...

By the way, the Disney tower is actually much taller and larger than the Warner's tower. Walt and Jack Warner were never the best of friends...

 

[YoHo]

Walt and Jack Warner were never the best of friends..

No, I wouldn't think so. Never knew about the Disney tower though, thanks.


I'm sensing a negative on the Temple of Dwarves (I'm also sensing the new Indy ride, but that may just be my medication ) All the pictures I've seen make it seem pretty cool. Is it not so in person? or is it simply who built it and what goes on inside that rankels you?

 

[disneyberry]

jeez, just pay the money to take it down.
i was in shock when i saw it in place of the 2000.
it's sooo ugly, the font is all wrong, and i don't even know if any font could make it look better.

also MGM is incredibly annoying especially since there are usually only these obscure ways to get to a certain street/avenue.

back on topic, i was just at MGM a few weeks ago, and i do think that the hat seems to be built a little too close to the Mann's theatre. there'll hardly be any space between them. are they really planning to take down the theatre?

 

[SpaceMountain_uk]

There are pictures of the Master Plan on WDWMAGIC.com

 

[JeffJewell]

are they really planning to take down the theatre

No one knows for sure what's going to happen at WDW until the construction walls go up, and even after that point there can be drastic changes.

But there are three things I do know for sure:

There have been rumors for a while that most quarters think the Great Movie Ride is long overdue a big update. The rumors vary as to the extent of the changes.

The Disney Company (at no minor expense) has renovated a Hollywood Theatre in direct competition (on both historical and economic scales) with the real Mann's Chinese Theatre. It's likely management doesn't care for advertising the enemy.

Michael Eisner loves killing two birds with one stone.

Given those three things I know, I expect the Theatre facade, and likely the whole ride, to be replaced sooner rather than later.

Jeff

PS - Now, if ME could kill a _third_ bird, and install a tie-in with a hugely successful movie (Disney hasn't created one of those in a while, but they've rented a few from Pixar. Monsters, Inc. is up next)...

 

[SueM in MN]

When the studio opened, the theater was a natural endpoint to looking up the street as you entered the park. If you don't know the georgraphy of the actual theater, you can imagine that's exactly how it would have looked in 1940's Hollywood. I don't know about that hat. It ruins the whole effect.
Anyway, my DH has a little book he got when he visited WDW the year it opened, "The Story of WDW". There is a map with the MK hotels at the time MK opened and the planned hotels. The future Asian Resort Hotel is indicated on the map where the GF is now. The Future Venetian Resort Hotel is between the Polynesian and the Contemporary. There is also a Future Persian Resort Hotel (with a monorail line that goes directly to MK). It is on the map behind the Tomorrowland Speedway, just above the Contemporary.
One of the other interesting things on the plan map is a tiny little airport (Labeled Lake Buena Vista STOLport) that says it would have air service from airports in Tampa, Daytona and other Florida cities directly to WDW. The airport is near Ft. Wilderness on the map.

 

[rollercoaster]

The airport is really their if you look at the satalite (spelling) photos of WDW you can see the runway and some tiny buildings. It is located just a little south of the Contemporary(spelling).

 

[Another Voice]

The Gruman’s/Mann’s Chinesse Theater in Hollywood in the middle of a block on Hollywood Blvd. It’s set back from the street and is actually very difficult to see until your right on top of it. It’s generally been surrounded by tacky tourist shops and is considered a disappointment by many people who come to look at it. It’s still a working movie theater and the inside of the theater is more opulent than the WDW version. There’s been a major to develop that section of the boulevard and it looks like it’s actually taking hold. Not only is Disney spending on the El Capitian, but a new center has been built for the Oscars and other functions as well. Hopefully that development will spread to the smaller storefronts on the street.

There were actually two airports planned for WDW. The first airstrip was actually built and can still be seen from an Epcot-bound monorail. Look to the left of the train into the woods just south of the road the road that leads to Fort Wilderness. When WDW first opened, I heard that at least one commuter airline offered service for a time. It’s used mostly for parking and bus training. The second, larger airport started in Walt Disney’s EPCOT master plan as was to have located at the extreme southern end of the property. It would have served mostly corporate jests and smaller commuter airlines.

Papers were filed in the last couple of years to start a feasibility study about building the airport south of Celebration. The rumored “Omega Plan” at WDW would allow guests to fly directly to WDW from anywhere in the country and be whisked via Disney transportation to their resort. It would help Disney sell WDW as a “complete resort”, and it would also make guests bypass International Drive, Universal and all the other areas that don’t generate dollars for the mouse.

 

[IASW Rider]

I just don't get it. I'm sure that the sorcerer's hat, in and of itself, will be attractive and interesting.....but why put it in a place where it totally blocks out the original "icon" of the Studios?! Couldn't they put it somewhere else - like outside the entrance gates, perhaps? Or near the Hollywood Hills Ampitheater, in keeping with the "Fantasmic" theme? I agree with all previous posters who said that the hat, placed in front of the Chinese Theater, will ruin the whole effect. And I didn't know about WDC's refurbishing of a Hollywood Theater, sort of in competition with Mann's - that is very interesting! Still, I just don't understand what's going on - it seems like so many things that are familiar and sentimental to us are being changed - I just read another post which said that they are only running half of the Electrical Water Pageant, now! I know that there are budget constraints, and perhaps that some things can't stay the same forever, but I would really miss the Chinese Theater and The Great Movie Ride if they were gone. As for the new "Epcot" sign, I say change it into a "2001" (and update in future years) or take it down all together. As a previous poster said....They'd better not put a red cloak around Cinderella Castle.... or turn the Tree of Life into a huge broom carrying a bucket of water!