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….

More Details on Disney World’s 40th Anniversary

While we are still a little more than 3 years away from the 40th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 2011, there are many rumors of new additions to the Disney theme parks that are becoming more and more likely. We have already told you about the plan to renew classic attractions at the Magic Kingdom such as Space Mountain, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Country Bear Jamboree, and the Hall of Presidents, as well as add a few new attractions such as a Little Mermaid dark-ride and some new nighttime entertainment offerings. Now details are emerging on some planned projects for Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the celebration.

By now, you are all aware of the world’s worst kept secret of Star Tours receiving its new story, queue, film, and store sometime in 2011, but you may not be aware of another film change that is now making the rounds. It appears that filming for the proposed “Soarin’ Around The World” film is set to begin soon and we can plan on seeing the updated Epcot and California Adventure E-Ticket debut sometime in late 2009/early 2010 if all goes according to plan. Epcot is also expected to be replacing Illuminations Reflections of Earth with a new show sometime in the 2009 and who can forget the still unofficial Monsters Inc. roller coaster that’s coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. With all these big-budget projects and the expected financial downturn that WDW is about to go through, it will be interesting to see what from this list actually makes it off the blueprints and into the parks.

Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available on these rumors as we get closer to Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary.

Monsters Inc. Sequel and Attraction in Development

It appears that Pete Docter and the people at Pixar are keeping busy working on some Monsters Inc. projects, according to IGN:

The collective clever clogs over at Pixar are hinting that one of their most successful flicks —Monsters Inc. — could soon receive the sequel treatment.

Speaking to MTV, Pete Docter, the director of the original, said, “We’ve thought about it. We’ve got a couple of ideas.”

He failed to elaborate further, instead saying that much of his team’s resources are currently being poured into the forthcoming Monsters Inc.ride at Walt Disney Resorts.

If you recall, we talked about a rumored Monsters Inc. themed roller coaster to be built for Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in the not-so-distant future. A number of Disney cast members also reported that a preview video of this proposed attraction was available on the Cast Member Hub website for a few hours about two weeks ago. With these two apparent leaks of confidential information about a future Walt Disney World attraction, we could expect an official announcement on the project very soon. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this rumored project as it becomes available.

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.

Pixar Place Update

With Toy Story Mania now operating, bigger plans for the entire Pixar Place area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios are firming up. Imagineering is already beginning to work on upgrades for Toy Story Mania, with holiday version of the ride planned to debut in 2011 and an updated Toy Story 3 inspired version coming Summer 2010.

Across the street, the new shop, small-scale food service area, and the “top secret” Toy Story meet and greet spot are all nearing completion. According to Disney, the waiting area for the meet and greet will feature something they “have never done before”, to quote an Imagineer. Also slated to debut on the street, around the same time in June as the other Pixar Place offerings, is the Wall-E interactive living character animatronic. Plans are to have the “living” character roam the street now through January 2009, where he will be put away until work is completed on the second phase of the Pixar Place project.

Already rumored for the next phase of the project is a Monsters Inc. roller-coaster to fill in soundstage 1 and a smaller-scale version of the Car’s inspired Radiator Springs Racers attraction debuting Disney’s at California Adventure park in a few years, replacing the Studio Backlot Tour. By the end of the project, Pixar Place will extend from the Narnia exhibit to New York Street, wrapping around the northeast end of the Great Movie Ride. Other minor changes include some minor theme changes, including changing the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Movie Set into a set from “It’s Tough To Be a Bug”, changing the Backlot Caterers food location into a Monsters Inc. or Ratatouille themed eatery, and changing the theme of the small store that used to be “The Loony Bin” to a Monsters Inc. themed shop.

While most of these points are still completely rumor, many of these plans should eventually be executed. The current plan has the final pieces of Pixar Place (the Cars E-Ticket attraction and Monsters Inc. roller-coaster) being put into place by 2015, with the minor pieces all completed by 2011. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as more info on Pixar Place progress becomes available.