Originally Posted By dagobert WDW is expanding Toy Story Mania and Soarin'. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/03/more-opportunities-to-soar-enjoy-toy-story-mania-coming-to-walt-disney-world-resort/">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...-resort/</a> >>>One of the things we’ve heard from our guests is that a visit to Walt Disney World Resort just isn’t complete without enjoying the spectacular views at Soarin’ in Epcot or a spin through Toy Story Mania! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Well, I’m excited to share that we are expanding both attractions by adding another theater at Soarin’ and more midway track at Toy Story Mania! We’ll also be updating the screens and projection system at Soarin,’ bringing a visually enhanced experience.<<<
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I've heard rumors of these for a while (and saw some of the early site work for Soarin' during the 10K in January), but I'm kind of surprised they're announcing these so early. Yes, it's great that they're adding them, but given that it doesn't add anything *new* to a guest's day, it's kind of weird to announce it a year or more before they open And although I can understand the need for these additions, I still think that money would be better spent on adding new attractions to the parks, rather than duplicating ones that are already there. That would pull some of the demand away from the existing attractions and give guests something else to fill up their time with. Presumably once TSMM's expansion opens it will result in a lower wait time; what will guests do for the rest of the day, since that park hardly has anything in it right now?
Originally Posted By oc_dean Interesting news. We generally never hear of making existing attractions bigger. That was only something that would be done in Walt's era (Natures Wonderland comes to mind).
Originally Posted By tashajilek Even though more rides are needed, this is also a good idea. Most of us here have been to both WDW and DL, so skipping these attractions is no big deal. But, I can see how the average person wouldn't want to skip them, they are both very popular.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I rode Midway Mania at DLR last summer and didn't realize how much fun it was. I can see why it's so popular.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I can see the reason for adding capacity to an extremely popular attraction. Epcot's last addition prior to Soarin' was Mission Space. Although I think it is a great attraction, I am part of a very small minority. New attractions are a crap shoot. You can spend a fortune like they did with Mission Space and end up with an attraction that draws very few. I think it makes sense to go with a proven winner at Epcot which is already more than a full-day park. I can see more reason to second guess adding to Mania at the Studios, but I think they are counting on the immense popularity of the coming Star Wars Land to solve the "lack of stuff to do" problem in the relatively near future.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Plus, as has been previously pointed out, WDW has a totally different audience than DL. "Frequent visitors" to WDW are those who visit once a year. With the pricing structure of their multi-day passes, the prevalence of park hopping and the knowledge that they won't be back for awhile, WDW visitors are going to go to all four parks whether there is much to do in them or not. I generally visit during the off season when the MK, AK and DHS all close at 8 PM or earlier. I don't need a whole lot to do at some parks because I know that most every night I will end up at Epcot anyway, sipping French wine and the occasional Gran Marnier Slush while waiting for Illuminations to start. Life is good.
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 I speculated awhile ago that the removal of the Backlot land would be used for a Pixar expansion in the area . . . not at all surprised that this happened.
Originally Posted By PeterPan1313 >>>I can see more reason to second guess adding to Mania at the Studios, but I think they are counting on the immense popularity of the coming Star Wars Land to solve the "lack of stuff to do" problem in the relatively near future.<<< There really isn't a whole lot of room at DHS, this announcement, of course, makes it much less likely that Star Wars land would be put there. The land east of the TTC might be used for a Star Wars land post Avatarland . . . as well as some other stuff.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I can see the reason for adding capacity to an extremely popular attraction. Epcot's last addition prior to Soarin' was Mission Space. Although I think it is a great attraction, I am part of a very small minority.<<< You are not the only one. Mission Space is great, because it's a one of a kind attraction. It has a good backstory and the thrill is also big.
Originally Posted By dagobert Maybe TSMM is being expanded, because there is already a masterplan for a Star Wars Land and that means a lot of SHD has to close to make room for the new land. Expanding TSMM is an easy way to add capacity. I wish that TSMM would have had more capacity when we have been there. We didn't do it without FP, because I don't line up for 60 minutes. It's a very popular ride and it is indeed a fantastic attraction.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <I speculated awhile ago that the removal of the Backlot land would be used for a Pixar expansion in the area . . . not at all surprised that this happened.> The TSMM expansion is not going in the backlot area. It is going in the mostly unused soundstage next to TSMM.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Pan, I think you consistently misinterpret Iger's use of "ambitious" to mean that there is going to be a huge Star Wars Land at some U.S. Disney park. I doubt any Star Wars addition in the U.S. will be more than one additional 'E' ticket, a couple of lesser attractions and a highly themed area with shops and restaurants. Kind of like Universal did with Harry Potter at both IOA and the Studios. Were they ambitious? They certainly were. Do they have a massive footprint within the parks? No they do not. I have absolutely no inside information. But I do have common sense. What Iger said: <<Disney CEO Bob Iger fueled that speculation last week during a call with Wall Street analysts when he said there is a "fair amount of design and development taking place" to increase Star Wars presence in "multiple locations.">> <<What this means exactly for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the international theme parks is anyone's guess. But Iger did also say "the plans are ambitious, so it's going to take some time for them to be built and opened.">> He seems to indicate that the additions to Star Wars world-wide will be ambitious. That doesn't mean the addition at any one Disney Park will be huge.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>We generally never hear of making existing attractions bigger.<< This isn't really expanding the attraction, like how Nature's Wonderland had scenes and ride time added, but rather cloning existing attractions within the same park, like how MK added a second Dumbo spinner right next to the first. For highly popular low capacity attractions in parks with a healthy roster of attractions (Dumbo and Soarin) it makes sense. In a park with nothing to do, I really question the wisdom of copying TSMM; just look at how busy the same attraction is on DCA, and suddenly those crazy long waits disappear
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt So are they extending the existing course or adding a parallel ride like the old Fantsyland and Tomorrowland Autopias at DL?
Originally Posted By danyoung >I know that most every night I will end up at Epcot anyway, sipping French wine and the occasional Gran Marnier Slush while waiting for Illuminations to start. Life is good.< I knew I liked you for a reason! For me it's vodka martinis, but otherwise the same!!!
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt ^^ Both sound good to me! Sometimes I wish that WDW wasn't so far away.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <So are they extending the existing course or adding a parallel ride like the old Fantsyland and Tomorrowland Autopias at DL?> Rumor on Screamscape is they are adding a parallel ride in the soundstage next door.
Originally Posted By lesmisfan "In a park with nothing to do, I really question the wisdom of copying TSMM; just look at how busy the same attraction is on DCA, and suddenly those crazy long waits disappear" Thank You! I share the same thoughts and my corworkers thinks I am nuts! They say, "hey it will lessen the wait time." Yeah so will adding more family attractions around the park like at DCA as you mentioned earlier.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Thank You! I share the same thoughts and my corworkers thinks I am nuts! They say, "hey it will lessen the wait time." Yeah so will adding more family attractions around the park like at DCA as you mentioned earlier.>> That is where I think Star Wars Land comes in. I assume that there will be some family-friendly stuff going in there. I don't think they want to have to do a bunch of creative and development work right now on something else when they have their plates full with Star Wars. What can they do quickly and with minimal effort to reduce the crowds at TSMM? Clone it and double capacity. My thoughts would be totally different if I didn't really believe there are some major changes coming for the park. Right now it really does lack family-friendly attractions other than the shows. TSMM has been immensely popular but didn't reduce the lines at ToT or RnRC at all; they attract a totally different group of people. I enjoy the Great Movie Ride and hope something is done to update it. I can appreciate the way it showcases "the Classics" right now, but it doesn't make it very kid-friendly. Outside of Mary Poppins and Wizard of Oz, I doubt most kids have ever heard of any of the movies featured. I would love to see it updated... keep some of the classics but put in some stuff today's children can relate to also.
