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It’s an exciting time for theme park fans, and I feel like we’re just getting started. The next 3-4 years will include massive expansions at Walt Disney World and plenty of new attractions from Universal. Following the success of Pandora, Disney should have another popular addition with Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It is really a precursor to Galaxy’s Edge, but crowds should gather for the attractions, especially Slinky Dog Dash.
This episode of The Tomorrow Society Podcast is all about Toy Story Land and what’s happening at the Studios. I discuss my feelings about the two attractions and how they fit within the park. Will a place with such a limited number of rides be able to handle the crowds, especially during the summer? I also describe what excites me about Toy Story Land and other changes coming to the Studios.
We’re currently in the middle of year two of a five-year push from Disney to expand Walt Disney World. The upcoming headliners at EPCOT and The Magic Kingdom should alleviate the burden on the Studios after Galaxy’s Edge opens. Even so, it will be crazy in late 2019 as both Star Wars and theme park fans descend on Orlando. I conclude the episode by looking towards the future and what’s in store for the Studios. Toy Story Land is just the beginning of many changes on the horizon.
Transcript: Toy Story Land
Dan Heaton: Hey there. Well, the day is finally here. Toy Story Land just opened on Saturday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I feel like it’s a good time to talk about how the land looks and what it means for the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You’re listening to The Tomorrow Society Podcast.
(theme music)
Dan Heaton: Hi, it’s Dan, and this is episode 46 of The Tomorrow Society Podcast. Today, I’m focusing on the current state of Disney’s Hollywood Studios now that Toy Story Land has officially opened. We’re in the middle of what is a massive expansion to Walt Disney World; we have not seen anything like this since the Disney Decade in the 1990s. I look at it right now, 2018, as the second year in a five-year period of time that is going to go through the 50th anniversary in 2021. Last year, Pandora was kind of the first step in this process and now Toy Story Land is the second piece in putting this together.
Part of me is so excited to see so much investment in the parks from Disney. There’s going to be a lot of things to do that I’ve never seen before each time that I go in the next few years. It’s really going to change how crowds move through the park, where people go, how they spend their time, what attractions become popular, and what are a lot easier to do. If you include Pandora in the mix, within this five-year period all four parks will have one and sometimes even two super headliners added to their lineup during this timeframe. That’s incredible, and that shows a high level of investment.
Of course, part of the reason that we’re seeing so much investment is that for a while Disney didn’t as much time. Yes we had New Fantasyland and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and there have been other changes over the years like Frozen Ever After. But on an overall scale, they haven’t been investing as much in the parks. You also have Universal who are hanging out over there, adding Harry Potter, adding Diagon Alley, and seem poised to do a lot more in the near future.
I also have a few questions about how the parks are going to function, though, with all this new expansion. The big issue could be capacity. As these new expansions come, they are going to draw larger crowds. Is Disney ready for this type of expansion? Also, how well are these changes going to fit within the parks’ overall themes? Is there a theme to each park, or are they also just going to become a collection of IPs?
Some of these issues are going to hang over what I’ll discuss in terms of Toy Story Land and the Studios. I’m going to split this podcast up into three basic parts. First, I’m just going to talk about Toy Story Land. I have not been there, so this is not going to be a review. I’m not going to say “this is good” or “this is bad”. I feel like I have seen enough even from here in Missouri that I can at least talk about what they may have accomplished with this land and how it looks at least from my perspective so far.
For the second part, I’m going to look at the current state of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now that Toy Story Land is open, what’s it going to be like to tour this park in the next six months or so going towards 2019? Finally, I want to look at the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Toy Story Land is obviously not the last piece going into this park with Galaxy’s Edge and potentially, hopefully, more beyond that. And what is the Studios’ place in the Walt Disney World resort in the next few years?
So if this is your first time listening to The Tomorrow Society Podcast, the show is going to be a bit different from the normal format, which is typically interviews with experts like Len Testa or Sam Gennawey or people that have worked behind the scenes like Bruce Broughton or Steve Alcorn. This is just me talking about what’s currently happening in the parks and how I feel about where they may be heading in the future. But I will definitely be back soon again later this month with more interview podcasts that are the typical format of the show. But before we do that, let’s talk about Toy Story Land and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
(theme music)
Dan Heaton: All right. So like I mentioned at the top of the show, Toy Story Land did officially open on Saturday, June 30th. And a lot of people were actually able to ride it on Friday. Now this land has two attractions, one which I’m excited to ride is the family rollercoaster Slinky Dog Dash. And then there is the flat ride, Alien Swirling Saucers, which is basically a spinner that whips you in a circle kind of like Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at DCA.
So the basic theme of the land is you’ve been shrunk to the size of a toy and you’re playing in Andy’s backyard. Now it’s not the most exciting theme for me, especially compared to something like the old Hollywood that we see in the part that’s kind of going away. But there’s still a lot of opportunities for small details here. It’s one of those things where if you compare it to something which I’ve heard others do; I’m not the first to do this. Somewhere like Storybook Circus, which I wouldn’t say is my favorite theme either.
But there’s a lot of cool little touches as you walk around that area. And from what I’ve seen so far, I suspect it will be the same thing here. So let’s start with Slinky Dog Dash. That’s a Mack Rides coaster. The ride time is not even two minutes. It does look like a fun coaster; it has some cool drops and turns. There’s a spot near the end where the, where the car basically hops up and down. Not literally but going over several quick hills that is almost like a slinky.
I like that there are two launches. The middle one in particular looks like a lot of fun. And it also is going to offer some cool views of the rest of the park especially when Galaxy’s Edge opens. And finally the animatronic Wheezy at the end singing “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” is a really nice touch. It reminds me a lot of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, not the way the ride looks at all. There’s not a big area in the middle with a bunch of animatronics. But you have a coaster that most people can ride. The height limit is very similar to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
It also has a really low capacity, which means it’s going to have extremely long lines, particularly right now when there’s not that much else to do. That’s new in the park. Len Testa on a recent episode of The Disney Dish indicated it’s going to probably be less than 1000 people per hour for a flagship attraction that most people are going to the park to ride.
We’re talking at a minimum probably three hours, two-and-a half to three. It could be even worse. Also, this is an outdoor attraction which means we’re going to have very long lines and they could go down because of storms having to do with the Florida summer. The queue is pretty much outside; that is going to be super warm for people. People are going to get cranky waiting this long for a ride that is not even two minutes. It’s a bit scary. Now having said all that I do think this coaster is a good addition to the park.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios needs more attractions like this because even if you look at Sunset Boulevard – the area that I really like with Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror -are not for everyone. There are people — adults, kids of all ages, even when they’re tall enough to ride, may not ride them. Neither is the most intense thing I’ve ever seen in a park. But for a Disney park those two attractions are up there.
And then you have Star Tours, which most people again will ride. But there is a motion sickness component for some people. My wife won’t ride it. You add in this coaster that appears to be very smooth. It does have some nice drops but nothing that I feel like is going to have a negative impact on most people. So I think it’s a good addition. However, when you’re only adding to attractions and one of them that is going to draw the most people has a low capacity. That could be a problem.
Now let’s talk a little bit about Alien Swirling Saucers, which has an unfortunate acronym, depending on your point of view. It appears to have some nice theming. I like the fact that you’re riding on this with this little alien sitting right next to you. And it’s good that it’s covered. It’s still outdoors and it’s not a dark ride but it’s going to at least give you some relief from the Florida sun. Now what I have heard is the capacity for this attraction is even lower than Slinky Dog Dash, and both attractions are obviously FastPass Plus attractions. Which again is going to really slow the standby wait.
A lot of people are all going to try and get Slinky Dog Dash FastPasses. It’s not going to happen for everybody, but the ones who don’t are going to go after Alien Swirling Saucers to a very similar situation with Nav’i River Journey and Flight of Passage. These are not really comparable attractions in either case but you have people that go, okay I can’t get it for Slinky Dog Dash, I’m going to rope drop that then I’m going to get my Fastpass for Alien Swirling Saucers by that happening with assuming all those Fastpasses will be gone.
It’s only going to extend the standby line because then the people in the standby line are going to move in very slowly for an attraction that does not that many people. It’s you know a rotating loader, not a continuous loader. It is going to be a challenge and I don’t mean to be too down about this. I don’t have an issue with either attraction. I think they’re fine. My challenge is really about… I wish they would have added more. Maybe another attraction could have made a difference.
I think the theming of the land looks well done at night. The place looks really cool. It does fit more with the type of theming you might see at Pop Century or the All-Star Resorts, but I kind of like the Pop Century theming; it’s way over the top. It’s gaudy but that’s okay. Kids are going to have a lot of fun here. I could see my daughters really having a great time. Now there’s very little shade, and that is could be a problem.
I should also mention there is a new entrance for Toy Story Mania, which is now in Toy Story Land so technically there are three attractions in Toy Story Land. Now Toy Story Land has the same attraction. However, they know we have the third track which I know there’s been the tracks have been up and down while getting ready for this land. So it’s still going to have long lines because people are going to want to go into this land and obviously get some more FastPass situation where it will still have a lot of ticket. I don’t. It’s not going to be the draw in that area because so many people have ridden it and they’re going to want to ride Slinky Dog Dash. So I’ll be curious to see how the lines really stack up for that.
I should also mention that while the food selection is very limited, there is Woody’s Lunchbox. I looked at the menu, and some of the options seem pretty cool. The Monte Cristo Sandwich, which is of course a Disney classic, the brisket sandwich, and there’s some fancy Pop Tart-like desserts that I think will be fun.
They also have a lot of beer options there and some adult lemonade and such, which I think some parents may need especially given the heat in the lines. Now I don’t want to fall into the trap here of just saying this is only for kids. Adults are going to enjoy this rollercoaster. People appreciate theming and also just having something new to do it Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You cannot underestimate the impact of just having a new land in a park that a lot of people have been skipping. It’s going to draw attention from locals; people that go on trips are going to go there.
It will be interesting to see how much impact it has, but I think the land is going to be super popular. The only downside I can really see is has to do with capacity. You got two outdoor attractions in an area where it’s going to be really hot and weather is always a factor. We already saw on Friday there was some rain and people did not look super happy, but it is a new land. And I can’t wait to see it. So let’s take a bit of a broader look here and a look at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. On the whole, as of June 30th now, the Hollywood Studios has changed so much from its early days as Disney-MGM Studios.
You know, it’s funny. I’ve been playing this game Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. It’s an older game which I’m sure many of you are familiar with, with my daughters since it’s more new to them. And there’s a park called Gunslinger that we recently were working on where it’s a scenario where basically you’re set up to solve problems and this is a park that is in really bad shape. So we basically went through and just almost removed everything, removed most of the rides. Most of the buildings. All we left were the two popular rollercoasters and then built things up again right around it and it worked out really well.
Now obviously the situation in real parks is a lot more complicated. There are some tricks you can do in a game like Rollercoaster Tycoon that you cannot do in an actual situation. But while we were doing this it does make me think of kind of what Disney’s done with Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now obviously more attractions like Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster are both from the 1990s. Star Tours did change over but has been around since the early days in some form.
But with the removal of the Great Movie Ride and with a lot of the other movie-themed things like the Backlot tour that have been removed, this park is going to look so different, especially when Galaxy’s Edge opens next year. It’s going to be like basically a good portion of the park will be different including Minnie’s Runaway Railway compared to where the park is right now. We have six rides and seven, I would say real shows. You have other things like Path of the Jedi or even Walt Disney Presents, which I love, that you add and from there plus Launch Bay. But in general, you have six rides and a few really high level shows and then a lot of complimentary attractions.
So really if you’re looking at it as I don’t really like the idea of “half-day” or “full-day park” because it really depends who you’re talking with if you’re someone who’s never been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as it stands right now it’s easily a full-day park. You can go see Indiana Jones. You can do Fantasmic at night. There’s the Muppets. All the rides, plus the lines will be long. You could easily spend a whole day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios especially now with Toy Story Land open.
However, the challenge there has to do with do they have enough capacity to hold this because everyone who goes to the park is not saying I’m going to go sit there and see Indiana Jones or I’m going to go see the shows like Frozen Sing-Along or Little Mermaid. Most people are going there for these new attractions plus Star Tours, Jedi Academy, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Some of the bigger attractions that are there.
So does it have the capacity that is actually going to be used on a regular basis? So what we need and that’s where the Great Movie Ride is so important and I’m not aware of contractual situations with Turner Classic Movies or even going back with MGM. That might have played a role in this closing, so I can only speak with what I know about the park and what it accomplished. The Great Movie Ride was dated. It was a great ’90s attraction that could have used a serious update. I still loved it.
Part of the reason I loved it is because I went so much as a kid. We rode it all the time, but there had to have been a way that Disney could have made updates to this attraction, even fairly significant updates, and kept that capacity, which was in the thousands of people per hour. That’s a huge number and you could put it right at the front of the park.
They could still do Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and it’s going to have a good capacity, but I don’t think it’s going to be on the level. And you combine those two and in a hot summer day with all these outdoor attractions at Toy Story Land and such. Having something like the Great Movie Ride, you cannot underestimate the importance of that.
Now I suspect guests are going to flock to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in large numbers this summer. But are these going to be all new guests? Are people traveling to Florida to go to Toy Story Land? They will for Galaxy’s Edge. I don’t think they are here and for the most part my thought is that they’re more likely to be guests that might have spent another day at the Magic Kingdom or especially a day at Epcot because if you look if someone is going and they have three or four days they haven’t gone recently they’re going to want to check out Pandora. They’re definitely going to go to The Magic Kingdom.
So let’s say there are only three days. Let’s make it simple. They may skip Epcot or they may split it up go to the Hollywood Studios and try to see Toy Story Land and then go to Epcot at night and do World Showcase. I don’t know if it’s going to be a huge bump in terms of overall attendance, and Disney probably knows this. The buzz seems to be positive. They’re really pushing this on the marketing side.
And Toy Story Land’s importance will only grow with Galaxy’s Edge opening. Now something interesting that came up on Friday during that media event is Disney announced Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. I try to keep up with most rumors coming out, but I had not heard anything about this show. Now the details of the show right now are quite… Let me read you a little bit of marketing that the Disney Parks Blog has said about this show.
Here is the description of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy located near Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. You’ll come face to face with racing legend Lightning McQueen who is excited to showcase what he’s learned over the years with you, the next generation of rookie racers. Of course as Lightning McQueen has discovered throughout his career, things don’t always go according to plan. And he has to think fast to get back on course with friends Tow Mater, Cruz Ramirez, and the gang from Radiator Springs on his side. Lightning gears up for the challenge.
So this comes out next year. This is another way that Disney is starting to deal with the capacity issue. Now this is not a gigantic new theater. So I want to keep expectations in check here. This is the building where, for a little while, Disney had dance parties they often do special events there. It’s a sizable building but I don’t believe this is going to be something super high tech. However, Cars are still very popular, so it is noteworthy that there is another Pixar attraction going into Disney’s Hollywood Studios next year, something we didn’t know about.
So it’s possible there may be something in the next year or two. There’s even more we may be getting it Hollywood Studios that as of right now we haven’t heard anything and possibly going up to the 50th Anniversary. Maybe there’s another step there. But like I mentioned earlier, what is the theme of this? Early MGM Studios had kind of two parts.
One was this focus on old Hollywood and then there was more of the actual studio look that you would go behind the scenes and you had people like Mel Gibson and Pee Wee Herman, and Bette Midler, and it was a very different approach. Wasn’t a perfect park, but I do feel like they kind of threw it together but had a general theme to it. Now you’ve got multiple Star Wars attractions and the Launch Bay already then you have Toy Story Land, Sunset Boulevard, you have two have shows tied to the films of the ’90s like Beauty And The Beast and Little Mermaid and it’s obviously not a studio. You know it’s fine if they want to call it a studio, but all these attractions are tied to films and television. It just seems like a really odd collection of attractions.
At some point I suspect Aerosmith is going to be replaced. So it makes me wonder. Let’s say they replace Aerosmith with the Incredibles or there’s a way to do Guardians of the Galaxy or something Marvel that they can actually do in Orlando, which I know is limited. What happens with the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror? Because that seems like the outlier. I don’t want anything to happen, but I kind of look at the park and I’m a little nervous for that attraction.
Not in the near future, but as we get closer to the 50th and the year or two after, it’s gonna be interesting. But on an overall scale, this park is still kind of all over the map. Toy Story Land is helping but it also has a weird layout. I’m excited about Galaxy’s Edge, and I will talk about that a little more in a moment. But viewing the park and what it looks like now. Yes, they kind of tore it down to the studs and built it back out. And I’m not going to say for sure what I think until we know more about everything that’s going to be in place in the next few years. But knowing what I do now, I think Toy Story Land is helpful for the park. I just think there’s a lot more work to do.
Finally, let’s talk about the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now Galaxy’s Edge is the big super headliner land hanging over this entire park and Walt Disney World in general. Disneyland’s version is going to open first, likely in the middle of next summer. The Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios likely won’t open almost until the end of the year. That area is going to draw crowds away from everything else in the park including Toy Story Land. In a recent Disney Dish, Len Testa described Toy Story Land basically like the lobby for Galaxy’s Edge.
Now it’s still going to be popular due to crowds… not that they’re not going to be all be able to get into the Star Wars area. And there is still going to be an interest in Slinky Dog Dash for a while and just being in another fun area that a lot of guests might not have seen because they’re all they waited to go when Star Wars was open or they just don’t visit every year. So the big question though… I mean I am super excited for Galaxy’s Edge, the attractions and just walking around the land.
One thing I can say about Pandora that surprised me is how much fun it is to just walk around and it was crowded when I was there, but I was still able to just see everything and think this world is amazing. I can’t believe what they can do.
I suspect that Galaxy’s Edge will be very similar. The challenge is that Star Wars is a lot more popular than Avatar. You really don’t even want to make a comparison despite the box office success of the James Cameron film. So will the Hollywood Studios be able to handle these crowds? The obvious answer is probably no. I think they’ll do better than Disneyland because Disney will have learned some things after a few months in California; also because Disneyland is so much smaller and draws so many locals.
The Hollywood Studios is going to be mobbed. It’s going to be the most popular place to be in the time around Galaxy’s Edge opening and possibly for a year after it’s not going to match The Magic Kingdom but it’s going to definitely be the second most popular park. I feel like at Walt Disney World, Galaxy’s Edge opens and let’s assume the two attractions are great. I suspect Disney is going to hit it out of the park. The Battle Attraction had better be amazing because flying the Millennium Falcon will be fun. But it’s a simulator. It’s like a videogame type simulator.
What I’m excited to do is the immersive experience that you’re going to have in that Battle Attraction. Obviously, Galaxy’s Edge is a success. I doubt it won’t be. What’s next? Because Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is supposed to open before Galaxy’s Edge earlier in 2019. Then Galaxy’s Edge opens, they’re up to nine rides. That’s getting closer to what we need. The trick is a lot of these rides don’t have high capacities so the demand is going to go way up even let’s assume 1,500 people for each Star Wars attraction. So let’s say 3,000 total. I know it’s not exact; one may have more than the other. That is not enough to handle the masses of people.
And you know there’s going to be lines, and the lines could be insane for a really long time. So what can Disney do? Obviously, they can add more shows like The Lightning McQueen show I just mentioned. They need though to add another headliner. I don’t know if they’re going to be willing to spend the money because they’re spending money on all fronts across the resort. You’ve got two big attractions being built at Epcot. You’ve got TRON going into The Magic Kingdom. You have the Skyliner being put in between the resorts; you have other resorts being upgraded.
There’s a lot of capital investment going around. Will Disney actually add something more? Because you look at what’s happening with Pandora and you can look at that and say put a headliner in Dinoland, replace Chester and Hester, or even if you had I believe they have an expansion pad, add a third attraction to the animal kingdom but that’s just me throwing money around.
I know how much these things cost. And it’s a lot. So that’s kind of a “Wouldn’t it be cool?” kind of idea but if you look at the Hollywood Studios and where it’s going to be. I feel like with Galaxy’s Edge if they could add one more. It doesn’t have to be on the level of the Battle Attraction. It could be Indiana Jones if they decide to actually not go that way in the Animal Kingdom. Or it could be another I hate to say it another Pixar property. There’s a lot of options especially if Disney ends up acquiring Fox. There may be other things I’m not even aware of that they could do.
So I would hope they would do that. I think would not be likely it’s going to happen at the 50th anniversary possibly would be something we’re looking at a few years after. And the one benefit of the 50th anniversary and the other headliners like TRON and Guardians and Ratatouille is eventually they will pull some people from Galaxy’s Edge. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be popular. Right now Pandora is still having huge lines. I’ll be curious to see how that is impacted when new attractions start opening in the Studios but it’s going to be a while even with when you’ve got Fastpass that is more available than ever now with resorts being added and such. Two hours is the best we can hope for a few years out. And I think that may be pushing it.
Looking at other things that are opening though I mentioned them, I am really excited about TRON at the Magic Kingdom and Ratatouille in France and the Runaway Railway sounds like it could be something really innovative and a dark ride that I would like to see. So on an overall scale, there’s a lot to be excited about at Walt Disney World. Pandora has shown what Imagineering can do when they have resources and they’re not so locked into restrictions of an IP. And I mention that because none of us walk through Pandora and say well this is like the movie.
This isn’t exactly like you know the unobtainium was gone or something you know which was done in that movie. Now Galaxy’s Edge can’t be that similar but I think because they’re doing it in a land we don’t know. They’re not doing Tatoine or Hoth or anything like that they’re going to have some flexibility there and I’m excited to see what they do. So Imagineering has done some amazing things. Toy Story Land? There’s only so much you can do with that theme… With those two attractions.
It seems like it’s well themed going by the way that it looks. So looking ahead I think we’re going to learn more as the months roll by here. The big one is the 2019 D23 Expo where we will likely learn more things we’re not aware of. That will really set up the 50th Anniversary and what each park will likely receive at that time. There are probably attractions coming by 2021 that we don’t know anything about. My guess is those are probably not in the Studios given what’s going on with Galaxy’s Edge but I would love to be wrong. So I’m super curious about where the parks are going to be going beyond 2021.
But we’re in store for a ton of changes, and I’m hopeful that most of them are going to be top-notch experiences like we’ve seen recently with Pandora and even with Cars Land in California. It’s super exciting. Even with all the concerns I’ve outlined in this half hour, I still think we’re in store for a lot of fun as theme park fans. Well, I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the thoughts the can fly around in my brain on a daily basis especially right now while I’m observing what’s going on with Toy Story Land from afar. I really want to get down there and see it, but I think I have a pretty good gauge in general on how things are looking at the Hollywood Studios at the moment. A week from now, things could totally change.
Like I mentioned at the top of the show, this is a bit different than my normal podcast. But I have more of those coming out very soon. So I wanted to talk about the release schedule and how I’m going to be doing this going forward. So as you know if you’ve listened to those podcast for a while, the schedule is not that structured. I typically do about a couple shows a month, but they’re not always consistent. It depends especially on guests and when they’re available.
Now as you know this podcast is being released on a Monday. So my thought going forward is that I am going to release shows on a biweekly basis on Mondays. So two weeks from now they’ll be another interview show. And the plan is just to continue to do that. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to follow the show.
You know that every few weeks you’re going to get a new episode of the podcast. It’s also a great reason to subscribe to the show because it’s not a case where there’s an episode and you think oh there won’t be one for a few months or something I’ll just jump back in when he has another episode. They’re going to come faster. And as you know life moves quickly, weeks fly by. So you’ll be hearing from me quite a bit and I hope for you… that’s a good thing.
Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll talk to you again later this month.
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