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View Full Version : Star Wars Land OK by some - but not other lands?



olegc
08-08-2013, 12:21 PM
[edit - title should have said "but not other lands?]

I am curious to folks' opinion on this topic.

over the last few weeks/months the topic of a complete "land" based on a movie (or movies) has been debated. Some folks really love Carsland the way it is. Others say its OK - but don't do it again. And others are completely against the ideas of retheming parts of the Backlot to Monster's Inc.

Now comes the rumor of Star Wars Land redo of Disneyland's Tomorrowland. What is interesting to me is that the number of "yays" versus "nays" in terms of percentage is significantly higher. And - that's expected from a franchise as wide and vast as Star Wars.

There are those who don't want to give up classic attractions such as Space Mountain, Buzz, and others (me included) but would gladly be rid of EO, Innoventions, and sometimes even Autopia.

Its fascinating to me, though, that such an imbedded franchise, without even a hint of what it may or may not be in an official announcement, is looked upon as being the green light for an entire land redo. THere are obvious factors working here - the SW universe is vast, characters abound, sets and locations could be wonderous. Then again, there is always the chance that if they just plop characters out there with a couple of attractions and call it "just like WWoHP" it won't fly with the Disney community.

To me - all bets are off until, well, they execute any idea. If Carsland was built like DCA 1.0 - folks would not be clamoring for it. They made the huge investments and its paying off. Everyone assumes they will do the same for SW. Will they? I don't know. The psychology of it just fascinates me. So many said "oh yes most definitely" right away when the rumor came out. An equal number said "Heck no" when anything of another "franchise land" came out.

There is even negative speculation of Avatarland - which I hold as well - just because its so new and not really a franchise (does something have to be almost 40 yrs old to get cred?).

This post already rambled too much - but I think the notion of single themed lands is going to continue at Disney parks because for now it works and makes money. I just wonder what happens when they try to "redo" instead of "new".

Thoughts?

candles71
08-08-2013, 12:32 PM
I think my biggest issue is don't take away (replacing TL with SWland) but add a whole new area to explore. Now, I am not opposed to a whole Monster's area where it is, because there really isn't much back there, and it might revitalize that little used area. BUt, I don't want to lose Muppets but that is just me. ;)

Tinker44
08-08-2013, 08:44 PM
The ideas are interesting and I find my own reaction somewhat conflicted.

Does Tomorrowland need to be "updated" or "replaced"... YES, it is sadly out of date, even though Space Mountain is a classic that shouldn't be changed (heck I wish they still had the old soundtrack).

Does the franchise-world idea (ie SWLand) necessarily need to be applied... NO

Does a Star Wars theme have enough variety and draw/appeal... Absolutely! The creativity available is impressive and versatile!

Does it fit within the thematic ideals of Disneyland as a whole? NO, not at all (IMHO) because it is only a recent Disney accquisition and not a part of the Disney history. Don't get me wrong, I like Star Tours and Indiana Jones as much as the next person, but they don't feel like "Disney" attractions to me, if that makes any sense.

Is Disney likely to do something significant with regards to their new accquisition? It would be a poor business model to not use every option available to them. Just looking at what the Harry Potter franchise has done for Universal as a production company, PLUS the value of a theme park addition... Disney must be positively salivating over the opportunity to go toe to toe now that they own Star Wars.

Given that DCA has been rebuilt over the last several years, its past time to turn attention back to Disneyland... there is no where else to physically develop into a new area, so a refit is inevitable. Just what it will entail, and what it will look like will be the stuff of extreme speculation until we have hard information from Team Disney itself. I would MUCH rather see a major development or re-development come to Disneyland rather than MORE development at WDW (yes, I KNOW they have the space and DLR does not).

Still conflicted on seeing the current Tomorrowland become StarWars Land (which I must admit would be a helluva lot cooler than Avatar-Land, but not quite as cool as WWofHP)

Carabear930
08-08-2013, 10:23 PM
Newly added "movie themed lands" would bother me less if they stuck closer to what I would consider "true Disney movies". IMHO these are movies and movie franchises that started out Disney, whether in partnership with another company (i.e. Piaxr) or not. They are not movies or characters that Disney later bought the rights to. Also if these lands are coming, they should be in areas that are not currently being utilized (or utilized well). The idea of Montropolis doesn't bother me as much as SW land or Oz land. Of course they shouldn't just stick any Monster's themed attraction in that area, but done right, a Harryhausen's Sushi restaurant and a ride or 3D show based on the warehouse door chase scene could be a great addition to an underutilized area. Monster's being Disney-Pixar makes it feel more appropriate to me. Not necessarily my first choice, but I would be happy with it. Also I wouldn't be disappointed if the Muppet 3D show was replaced. Again to me this does not scream Disney. However, I would be heartbroken to see Buzz or Space Mountain turned into a SW themed ride. I think they can add new SW attractions without replacing favorites, and I think new SW attractions would flow well in TL. I just don't want to see TL turn into SW Land. I enjoy SW, so it's not about taking exception with that theme. I know everyone has their favorites that they don't want changed or taken away, so what I am saying is create new movie themed attractions in underutilized spaces. If they HAVE to add new movie themed LANDS then I hope they keep it "true Disney". That being said, I hope Disney is not tying their hands by doing this. While Radiator Springs Racers is bound to be a forever favorite, I'm not sure the other attractions in Cars Land are. I've already heard people say they don't really care too much about riding Mater's Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi's Flying Tires. So what happens if/when the time comes when these rides need to be updated with new ideas and they are stuck trying to think of something that will go with the Cars Land theme? I mean how many thousands of new Disney movies or ideas will there be? It seems like creating these movie themed lands paints them into a corner, either sticking with the movie theme or redoing a whole land. And the latter means way more money and most likely massive, disruptive construction.

Carabear930
08-08-2013, 10:28 PM
Tinker44 I agree with everything you said!

ogold72
08-09-2013, 07:27 AM
Scrap Toontown and use that space for SWLand. Toontown is quite mediocre and the big attractions for little ones do not reside in Toontown so the kids wont really be missing out on much.

Janis and Aaron
08-10-2013, 02:51 PM
I love love love Star Wars, but would be dismayed to see Tomorrowland turned into SWland. It is a classic, opening-day land! Some attractions might convert easily, but that's not the point. Tomorrowland is problematic because the vision of the future is always changing, but then that means Disney needs to be extra bold and creative.

Toontown is thematically wonderful. It appeals to the quirkiness in kids, and even Fantasyland doesn't do that. It needs a MAJOR re-working because it has lost so much that was originally there as a draw (the ball pit, Goofy's Bounce House, the tree house). It would be a challenge because the space is so tight, but I think they could remove Goofy's house, Donald Duck's boat, the remnants of the tree house, Toon Park, the Roger Rabbit fountain, the large dining patio and food places, and even Minnie's house (give her a gazebo to stand in) and use the space for two or three really good attractions. I get that it is supposed to be the neighborhood where all the toons live, but they don't have interesting-enough ideas for the houses (other than Mickey's). But that's probably getting off topic.