Soarin' into the future
Posted by Anthony on Tuesday, July 18 2006

The final article in Peter Bell's three-park series about the past and also probable future of Walt Disney Studios Park is now available at MiceAge.com. In addition to laying out his own (very possible) beliefs about the future direction of the park, Peter also describes in detail a map created in 2003 by Imagineer Peter McGraph to show a direction the Studios could take.

This much-discussed future plan apparently includes Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast next to Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, The Legend Of The Lion King in a purpose-built semi-circular theatre on what is now the Tower of Terror location and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror itself set amongst lush greenery at the end of a new art deco boulevard, beginning with a new plaza on the current Studio Tram Tour station. The Studio Tram Tour station was therefore displaced to the left, with a new route taking trams along the back of the boulevard and behind Tower of Terror to Catastrophe Canyon, with several new sets and even some purpose-built studio buildings along the way. To round off the plan, new street sets were located on the right-hand side of the boulevard, possibly featuring New York, British and Sci-Fi locations.

This plan was drawn up by the Imagineers to show what they believed the park would need to become a grand-scale full day park experience. In following years, however, the plan made way for the current Toon Studio and Tower of Terror projects. According to Bell, however, it has not been completely forgotten. For the future of the Studios beyond The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror's 2007/2008 opening, he envisages a reworking of the Studio Tram Tour to be the next major project. This should include the moving of the station to allow for a new central park plaza, plus new outdoor sets along the revised route. Bell seems to think it likely that a Pearl Harbor set will be amongst these. Should the Toon Studio project be a success, the area would be given an expansion featuring more attractions for the 2008/2009 season, although Bell does not give details here.

Almost all of this expansion relies on next year - 2007 - being a huge success for the resort, and with the importance Disneyland Resort Paris is already placing on its 15th Anniversary celebrations, it seems they know this all too well. Should the year produce sufficiant attendance figures, though, Bell believes the Studios will, come 2012, finally be blessed with an art deco boulevard stretching away from the central plaza, with a signature attraction no doubt lying in wait at the end. It seems this is where the rumour mill runs dry, however, with Bell only managing to produce a few rumblings about Fantasmic! and a new Great Movie Ride. One attraction which seems almost certain to appear in the Studios, however, is Soarin' Over The World, an updated version of the popular Disney's California Adventure (DCA) and Epcot attraction givings guests a hang-glider flight over locations from across the world. Bell even goes as far as to say that the film for Soarin' Over The World, which is rumoured to appear in DCA and Epcot in the next few years, is already in the can. Bell believes the attraction could open in 2009 or 2010.

Is this the future of our Walt Disney Studios Park mapped out in front of us? One thing's for sure - we won't be hearing "that's a wrap!" on this project for a long time yet. You can discuss these rumours right now on our forum.

Soarin' to land at Walt Disney Studios?
Posted by Anthony on Wednesday, March 15 2006

Rumours are currently circulating that the popular "Soarin'" attraction (aka "Soarin' Over California") may be making its way to Walt Disney Studios Park sometime after 2008. The attraction uses giant-screen IMAX technology with an elevated, suspended motion simulator system to simulate a hang glider flight over the Golden State. It is likely that, should the attraction be built at the Studios, the "film" would be changed to fit better into the movie production theme.

Some rumours have suggested that the attraction would be placed between "CinéMagique" and the "Television Production Tour", but this initially appears rather unlikely considering the vast size of the attraction showbuilding in California and Florida.

The attraction first opened with Disney's California Adventure at Disneyland Resort, becoming the unexpected hit attraction of the park, in a similar way to "CinéMagique" in Paris. The attraction was then cloned for Epcot as part of Walt Disney World's celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. The Epcot version of the attraction, located in Future World's "The Land" pavillion, is strongly rumoured to receive a new film in upcoming years, featuring a hang glider flight over worldwide landmarks - "Soarin' Over The World".