Studio Backlot Bulldozed???

A few days ago, we reported on an interesting refurbishment that was announced for both the Studio Backlot Tour and the Studio Catering Co. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, scheduled to take place between February 15, 2010 and March 28, 2010. A few days later, it was announced that the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure would be closed for refurbishment during that same period. Rumors are now circulating that these closures are for more than routine maintenance, they may indeed be permanent closures. These rumors go back to a few previous reports we had made about possible changes to the Hollywood Studios backlot area (Which can be read HERE and HERE), including rumors of a Monsters Inc. themed roller-coaster going into the vacant Soundstage 1, a smaller version of Radiator Springs Racers replacing the Backlot Studio Tour, the Backlot Catering Co. becoming a Monsters Inc. or Ratatouille themed eatery, and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure would being re-themed to “A Bug’s Life”.

Again, this is simply a rumor at this time, but if true, these locations will permanently close on February 15th and will not return on March 29th as Disney is stating. Since this is all rumor at this point, we don’t know when any phases of the changes would be completed or if Disney will simply let the locations sit and wait for work to near completion on the huge Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom. It is very hard to believe that Disney would conduct huge expansions of both the Studio Backlot at Hollywood Studios and Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom simultaneously, but it is also very strange to see three major pieces of the backlot area go down for refurbishment at the same time. As you can see in this report, our information is limited, but we will report more on this breaking story as more becomes available. Stay tuned….

One Monster Coaster

Just as we briefly mentioned at the end of last week, rumors are swirling that an inverted roller coaster themed to Disney Pixar’s Monsters Inc. will be the next major new attraction for the Walt Disney World Resort after the opening of the American Idol Experience this January. Our good friend Jim Hill over at Jim Hill Media had a lengthy article about the proposed Hollywood Studios roller coaster today, although he did go into more detail on some other upcoming projects as well.

Jim also mentioned two new attractions that were first rumored to the public right here on WDW News Today over the course of the last year. First mentioned was that the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure will be themed to “A Bug’s Life” (probably in the very-near future), and next was the Little Mermaid dark ride that will most likely be heading over to Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom in October of 2011. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today for updates on all of these very strong rumors, and be sure to read Jim Hill’s article HERE.