Welcome to San Francisco?
Posted by raptor1982 on Monday, June 16 2008

Disney Central Plaza member Elessar overheard last week a group of Imagineers at Walt Disney Studios Park discussing several ideas. While standing in front of the Studio Tram Tour Station, they pointed into the distance and said: "Guests will walk into that direction and see San Francisco".

Does anyone know more? Let us know!

Walt Disney Studios in 2017 from a fan's point of view
Posted by raptor1982 on Monday, July 30 2007

Magicforum moderator Baloo has put his ideas for Walt Disney Studios' future expansion and changes up until 2017 complete with map and detailed photos & comments.

Check it out here. Impossible, probable, likely? Let us know by discussion it in the same topic!

Backlot to become "Action Studios"?
Posted by Anthony on Tuesday, June 13 2006

In line with the rumoured renaming of Animation Courtyard and Production Courtyard to "Toon Studios" and "Hollywood Studios" respectively, a new rumour has just surfaced that the park's Backlot zone could be renamed "Action Studios" (or similar) to complete the transformation project.

The rumour once again comes from Peter Bell's MiceAge article, where he also confirms that this area of the park - which has arguably been the most popular since the 2002 opening - will infact see very few visual changes. The new name would, however, bring the three main zones of the studios together with three similar, consistent names that make the style of their theme and the contents of their attractions much more obvious to first-time guests.

It should be noted, however, that this renaming rumour appears to be the least credible of the three, since the "Backlot" name not only matches its "Front Lot" partner but has arguably become far more well-known with guests than the unpopular Courtyard monikers.

You can discuss this rumour right now on our forum.

Journey to the Center of... Studio Tram Tour?
Posted by raptor1982 on Thursday, April 27 2006

Journey to the Center of... Studio Tram Tour?

Rumours are lately popping up about the possible addition of the Journey to the Center of the Earth attraction from Tokyo Disney Resort. Many fans and WDS insiders don't see this happening due to the size of the artificial volcano. But where there's smoke... there's fire!!!

WDSfans found out that the Studio Tram Tour will be closing after the opening of Tower of Terror for a major rehab and the addition of new scenes and props. Could these additions include a Journey to the Center of the Earth scene, as once proposed for the Backlot Tour at Disney-MGM Studios, as it would explain the confusion going around on the net!

Jim Hill wrote an article on his website several years ago about the Disney-MGM Studios addition, here are some highlights:

The plot was that - as part of your tram tour - you would roll up to a brand new soundstage. Where your guide would then tell you that your tram was about to roll onto a hot set. Which would seem particularly ironic - given that the first thing that you'd feel as your tram rolled into this cavernous building was a blast of cold air.

Mind you, the reason that you'd be feeling that extreme cold was - as your tram entered the building - you'd be rolling through a corridor that was loaded with enormous ice crystals...

As your tram continued to move deeper into the soundstage things would literally begin to heat up as your tram reached the center of the Earth. Where the remains of Atlantis seemed to float on a lake on liquid lava.

Which admittedly would be pretty cool to look at. If it weren't for that massive magma worm that suddenly rose out of the pool in front of us. Which now begins to snap viciously at all those guests on the tram.

Before that massive magma worm can actually put the chomp on us and crush our tram in its coils, our guide gets us safely out of the building. Which allows us to proceed with the rest of our tour.

At the end, the whole addition was scrapped and some elements got re-used for Tokyo Disney Sea's Mysterious Island.

Will things get hot at the Studio Tram Tour? Only time will tell!

Text and photo source: Jim Hill Media

More Journey to the Center of the Earth rumours
Posted by raptor1982 on Thursday, April 13 2006

Screamscape claims that the Soarin' plans have been dropped in favour of the Journey to the Center of the Earth attraction which is expected to open in 2010.

Photo: Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo Disney Seas by Mouseplanet

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth?
Posted by Anthony on Wednesday, April 5 2006

Screamscape.com, the theme park news and rumours tracker, has reported a very surprising rumour that a "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" attraction (similar to that at Tokyo DisneySea) may be on its way to Walt Disney Studios Park at some point.

"If the latest rumors are true, the park may already be looking forward to their next major E-Ticket attraction. It seems that the high attendance impact caused by Expedition Everest on Animal Kingdom’s traditionally slow draw is being thought of as exactly the right kind of spark to help develop the Studios’ lagging attendance trends. However it is not a copy of Everest that is being talked about it seems, but rather another mountain sized project from the far east... Journey to the Center of the Earth. This is ironic since we’ve heard several rumors over the past couple of years about adding a version of this to the Studios park in Florida as well. Lets wait and see what happens."

This is the first time a rumour about this attraction has appeared for Disneyland Resort Paris - even the far more logical location of Discoveryland has not been rumoured at any point to receive this attraction.A "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" indoor setpiece was originally planned as an addition to the Backlot Tram Tour at Disney-MGM Studios Florida, but this is otherwise the first rumour of an attraction of this theme appearing in one of Disney's studio parks.Despite this questionable rumour, it is surely a good sign that at least someone is thinking about the next Walt Disney Studios E-Ticket to arrive after the Tower, and perhaps we should remember the words of Jules Verne himself - nothing is impossible, only improbable...

You can discuss this rumour right now on our Message Board »