Walt Disney World - Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Owen]

Is it just me or does it look like that Slinky Coaster has the lift and the circuit, then what looks like a launch with rings over the top?! That would be an amazing kiddie coaster, like Firechaser, just a tame launch as a child's first experience
I know it's only concept art so could vary hugely, but it certainly looks like it'll be great

Funnily enough I was thinking the same thing! I agree it would be great, and let's not forget that Disney have dabbled in family launchers before, in the form of The Rock n' Rollercoaster! I am slightly surprised that there are only two attractions in this area seeing as I assume this will interest children more, and that Disneyland Paris' Toy Story Land has far more attractions, with a smaller space...

[Adam.W]

Where will it be in the park? Would it be an extension/full retheme of Pixar Place (where TSM resides) or somewhere else? Also, notice how there isn't a proper (visible) rollercoaster that's meant to be like a rollercoaster in WDW? I mean, BTM is just runaway minetrain or whatever, EE is an expedition, rock n rollercoaster is indoors, so you can't really see a proper rollercoaster thing anywhere. But anyway, sounds good

[Owen]

I believe this is going to include Toy Story Mania! Which is also said to be extended with extra track for a longer experience.

Not only this but it is confirmed that the Slinky Dog coaster will feature a launch! Yes, here is a very rough virtual (not full) POV - taken from D23!

http://youtu.be/_pyjuGQZRNk

Not only this but I have found this concept as well!



Although it's early days, I assume the coaster will be Gerstlauer judging my the track shape, layout and the lift/launch combination as seen on Dollywoods Firechaser Express. (Speculation)

And for The Green Alien ride



The more I hear about this project the more excited I get!

[abigsmurf]

The slinky ride looks neat, fast smooth coaster that should be good for families, those bumps at the end seem like they could cause a few kids to lose their lunch though.

Flying saucer ride seems an odd choice. A big chunk of space being taken up for another teacups ride? Would have thought the RC racer would have been a better choice (maybe the capacity is too low?)

[Themeparksandy1981]

I believe this is going to include Toy Story Mania! Which is also said to be extended with extra track for a longer experience.

Not only this but it is confirmed that the Slinky Dog coaster will feature a launch! Yes, here is a very rough virtual (not full) POV - taken from D23!

http://youtu.be/_pyjuGQZRNk

Not only this but I have found this concept as well!



Although it's early days, I assume the coaster will be Gerstlauer judging my the track shape, layout and the lift/launch combination as seen on Dollywoods Firechaser Express. (Speculation)

And for The Green Alien ride



The more I hear about this project the more excited I get!

There not making Toy Story Mania bigger. They just adding a 3rd track which will be the same as the other 2 to help with the queues.

[Owen]

I know this, I meant the ride is being extended overall to increase capacity!

[Ladyofthelake]

There's been some rather interesting rumours circulating over the past 24 hours regarding a possible re-theme for the Tower of Terror (both in Orlando and California). Currently, both of the American Tower of Terror attractions are themed to the Twilight Zone, however, as Disney do not own this IP and therefore pay for the licence to use it, there are rumours that the attraction could be re-themed to Guardians of the Galaxy.

As these are just rumours at this point there's nothing to indicate how this would work, both in terms of the changes to the attraction and how it would fit with Universal currently having their own Marvel based attractions. However, it is an interesting thought. I know I for one would be sad to see the Twilight Zone theme go as it just seems to fit so perfectly with the attraction and, in my opinion, makes it one of the best Disney rides.

[Alex]

I've been reading up on this today and it seems to be a bit of a grey area as it can be perceived both ways with the way the contract is written.

For anyone thats interested here is the agreement

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... ex1057.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Whether it happens or not I think it's a bad idea as Tower of Terror is an iconic ride plus it doesn't fit at all with Guardians of the Galaxy so all in all seems like a really strange move by Disney as if Universal decide to go after them it could lead to a rather big lawsuit!

[Owen]

I've been reading up on this today and it seems to be a bit of a grey area as it can be perceived both ways with the way the contract is written.

For anyone thats interested here is the agreement

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... ex1057.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Whether it happens or not I think it's a bad idea as Tower of Terror is an iconic ride plus it doesn't fit at all with Guardians of the Galaxy so all in all seems like a really strange move by Disney as if Universal decide to go after them it could lead to a rather big lawsuit!

I've been searching around and it would seem that this plan would be implemented into DisneyLand Paris and DisneyLand California. Either way this definitely won't be a good move and it's quite concerning if this is the way Disney parks are going to move forward in the future.

[Alex]

From what some of the Disney insiders have been saying it seems like it's pretty much certain in California and 50/50 for Orlando.

[Owen]

Firstly, I'm surprised nothing had been mentioned of Merlin talking about how the Millennium Falcon attraction in Star Wars Land is going to be created using Virtual Reality, something I'm thinking is a bad idea - mixing children and expensive equipment, not to mention the effects it may have on them. Moving on...


It would seem Disney have cuts to the Toy Story project!

Today, Bioconstruct Twitter has grabbed some snaps of the promotional material around the construction site, with this rendering being the most interesting -



This image shows that the Slinky Dog coaster has had its initial lift hill element removed, and replaced with a second launch - as well as the dives below ground level and a lot of pathway interaction being removed.

For reference, here's the original rendering -



The rendering of the alien ride has not been altered. What do you think of these changes, was it the right decision by Disney, or has the new design ruined the coaster?

[abigsmurf]

I suppose it makes sense to remove the lift hill if it's a coaster that doesn't have any real dips/drops. Being in the front cars and slowly going down a helix (scrunching up against the person next to you) is always a bit sucky, a launch will ensure a more consistent high speed. Only worry is that it could make the coaster feel short as a result.

Guessing there's no chance of this all being built by November (got a trip lined up)...

[Owen]

I don't think there's any chance of it being finished until even 2018 honestly.

[Themeparksandy1981]

It's taken them over 18 months so far just to retheme a ride to Frozen. 6 months just to rebuild the queue line for Soarin and upgrade the screens and projectors.

[Owen]

It's taken them over 18 months so far just to retheme a ride to Frozen. 6 months just to rebuild the queue line for Soarin and upgrade the screens and projectors.

To be fair they have added a third screen to soarin'

The 5 years spent on Avatar on the other hand is questionable...

[Themeparksandy1981]

It's taken them over 18 months so far just to retheme a ride to Frozen. 6 months just to rebuild the queue line for Soarin and upgrade the screens and projectors.

To be fair they have added a third screen to soarin'

The 5 years spent on Avatar on the other hand is questionable...

They started work on the 3rd theatre about 12 months ago. As it's back stage and not seen it's just a big white building.

[Owen]

Oh really?

I thought 6 months sounded too fast for Disney! :lol


I don't understand why it takes them so long, especially when Universal often build attractions with high quality theming in half the time Disney take to create an "okay" attraction.

[Themeparksandy1981]

To think it's down to Disney having there own team of builders and with the Florida heat they mainly work at night. When they did the Hub area at the Magic Kingdom work was only done at night so guests wouldn't hear and see them working but Universal on the other hand there rides are build by subcontractors and there paid to get a ride and buildings finished about 2 months before soft openings so the ride can be tested again and again.

[lewis97]

A short video showing some animated on and off ride shots of 'Slinky Dog Dash' has been released. Looks like it'll be a solid family coaster.

There are also these better quality visuals of the land and 'Alien Swirling Saucers' from the Disney Parks Blog article.

[MakoMania]

Florida parks including Disney, Universal, SeaWorld & Busch Gardens have begun to provide free mosquito repellent to guests "out of an abundance of caution" as the Zika virus spreads.