Rumours Intensify Concerning the Future of Disney's Hollywood Studios...

As I'm sure you're aware, recent days have seen a flurry of activity in the Disney Community, as rumours about the much speculated makeover for Disney's Hollywood Studios have intensified. Anybody who reads a lot of Disney related articles and blog posts will be no stranger to the fact that this park in particular always seems to have several rumours floating around it, but this one is huge even by DHS' standards! It's been expected in the Disney Community for a while now that the park would be receiving a major overhaul sometime in the not so distant future, but it's been unclear what exactly this project will include.

Some people have said that the Studios will be getting a version of the hugely popular Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, whilst others have been insisting that a Star Wars Land will be the big news instead. Both have seemed equally likely, the former because George Kalogridis, the former president of the Disneyland Resort who oversaw the original Cars Land's construction, now has moved to WDW where he works in the same role, and the latter because of Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm last October. I for one would have been incredibly thrilled with either, but as these articles on Theme Park Insider and Orlando Theme Park News would suggest, we might be getting both! Speculation would suggest that Cars Land would occupy the land which currently plays host to the Backlot Tour and Lights, Motors, Action Show, with Star Wars taking up land around the current Star Tours attraction, or even extending the park beyond its current boundaries. I think personally that the latter option would be better for Star Wars, as it would allow Muppet Vision 3D to stay, unless of course that show was moved elsewhere. I really can't see them getting rid of the Muppets!

I would thoroughly recommend reading both of the aforementioned articles- they both contain absolutely everything you need to know about what is rumoured to be happening- which is a lot! I know that nothing's official yet, but if Disney do indeed go ahead with this expansion, then I'm positive that it'll be a great move for them, and, of course, for us Disney Fans! What with all the competition from Universal over the past couple of years, in my opinion it's only a matter of time before Disney announce something on this scale, and judging from what I've read, it would leave Universal miles behind! Not only can Star Wars boast more popularity than Universal's Harry Potter, it has so much more potential for translation into a theme park environment, whilst Cars similarly outweighs Universal's Simpsons and Transformers attractions in my opinion. 

There is so much information surrounding these rumours that it would be impossible to fit it all into one blog post, so again I encourage you to check out the two articles mentioned above! They're great sources of information! It has been speculated by many Disney Fans that Cars would open in 2017, with Star Wars following suit in 2018, but nobody really knows, we are after all at the stage where these things are merely rumours. The big announcement, if there indeed is one, is expected to come at the popular D23 Expo in California this year. It's also worth checking out the comments sections in each of the two articles, not only do they include some other awesome rumours, but some interesting opinions too.

All I will say at this point is that whatever happens, the future looks very bright for Disney's Hollywood Studios!

 Please note that the rumours described in this post remain at this point in time rumours, and should therefore be treated as rumours.

Thanks for reading! Have a magical day! 

Please also check out the We're Going To Walt Disney World Podcast!

Attraction Review- Living With The Land

For this Friday's Attraction Review, we head over to The Land Pavilion in Epcot's Future World. The focus this week is the oldest of the Pavilion's Attractions, appropriately named 'Living With The Land', which is a 14 minute boat ride which educates guests about agriculture, with a specific focus on how groundbreaking technologies can be utilised to enhance it.

As well as using dark ride elements, this water attraction involves a tour of the Land Pavilion's Greenhouses, where much of the food served in Epcot's many restaurants is grown. Notable plants in the Greenhouses which I would recommend looking out for include the World's Hottest Pepper and Mickey Pumpkins, amongst others. Perhaps the most exciting part of the attraction is the segment when the boat passes through a short tunnel, home to Alligators and Fish, which the boat provides an excellent view of. Unfortunately, these animals are housed in pretty small enclosures, but they always seem to look happy!

Living With The Land (LWTL) has been somewhat overshadowed in recent years by the addition of Soarin' right next door to it in The Land Pavilion, which is now arguably Epcot's most popular attraction. This can have numerous different effects on the line for LWTL, depending on the time of day and how busy the park is, but the line is generally tolerable, especially for the return you get (on an average Epcot day usually a 15 minute wait for a 14 minute ride for LWTL, as opposed to a 90 minute wait for a 3 minute ride for Soarin').
LWTL also offers FastPass on a seasonal basis, but most of the time you're better off getting FastPass for one of Epcot's bigger attractions, such as Test Track or Soarin', which will more often than not have waits of more than 3 times that of LWTL's.
Due to its proximity to Soarin', which sucks up huge crowds of Epcot guests, as well as its less exciting, more educational theme, LWTL is probably the only attraction in Epcot which always guarantees reasonable waits.

Here's how I would rate LWTL in the following areas, and why:

Thrill~ 1/10
LWTL is no Thrill Ride by anybody's standards! There are no drops, and nothing which is particularly thrilling at all.

Scariness~ 3/10
Although the attraction features no elements which are designed to scare you, it does feature a scene in which a mild thunderstorm is simulated in fairly dark conditions, as well as a scene which features Alligators. Neither are designed to scare anybody, but they both have the potential to be scary.

Theming~ 7/10
LWTL is pretty much the only attraction at WDW without an obvious storyline, yet the theming and the execution of this attraction is exquisite. For me, it's easily one of the most immersive attractions in WDW, and one of the handful of attractions left in Epcot which really promote the philosophy of the park.

Educational~ 10/10
LWTL is a competitor for WDW's most educational attraction- and for good reason. I find it truly fascinating to learn about how Epcot's Resident Scientists are constantly endeavouring to find better, more efficient ways to grow sufficient food for the growing population of our Planet. And it's not just that, LWTL also offers opportunities to learn about the plants themselves- I guarantee that the first time you experience LWTL, you'll say "I didn't know that grew like that" at least once! I also find it extremely interesting to learn how growing plants in different ways can improve the quality and yield of the crops they produce. If you really want to get the full experience, you should consider the 'Behind the Seeds Tour', which takes you even deeper into the inner workings of the Greenhouses, giving you experiences the ride itself simply cannot offer. The tour is at an additional cost, and is a great way to supplement your experience on the attraction. I would recommend doing both the ride and the tour if you want to get the full experience! Full details can be found on the WDW Website.

Fun~ 7/10
Also this attraction doesn't necessarily fit into most people's definition of 'fun', it has plenty of cool Disney touches to keep everyone entertained. There are some classic Hidden Mickey's cleverly integrated into this ride, which are great fun to spot, and it can also be enjoyable to spot the amazing plants which inhabit the Greenhouses.

Repeatability~ 8/10
There is so much going on in LWTL that you could ride it all day and learn something new every time! In addition to this, the Greenhouse/Fishery segment of the attraction is sometimes updated, as new agricultural technologies and methods are created. New plants are also added every once in a while.

And finally, My Overall Rating of Living With The Land~ 8/10
Whilst I accept that what has been called 'a glorified biology lesson on water' isn't every Theme Park Guest's cup of tea, I think that Living With The Land is a very strong attraction, and, as I previously mentioned, admire it for being one of the few remaining Epcot attractions which truly represent the ideals on which the park was created. Although it may not generally represent innovation in attractions, I think that LWTL is a very charming Disney Ride, especially the dark ride section, and can see it staying an integral part of the Epcot attraction lineup for years to come.

Now it's your turn! I would love to hear your opinions on Living With The Land! Do you agree or disagree with my observations? Please feel free to share your opinions on the Blog's Facebook Page, Twitter, Email, or, best of all, the comments section.

Thanks for reading, and have a magical weekend!

A Look Ahead At The New Year And 'Limited Time Magic'

It was announced a while ago that an exciting new campaign would be coming to the Disney Parks in 2013. Called 'Limited Time Magic', the campaign, which will last the whole year, and sounds amazing. The whole idea of Limited Time Magic is to introduce surprise mini events at random times which will only feature in The Parks for a limited time. For example; from December 30th to January 5th, the Magic Kingdom will be home to Tomorrowland's 'Bling in the New Year' Party, making its debut. The Party, which I understand from the Disney Parks Blog will be included in regular admission, will feature live entertainment alongside appearances from Characters, who will help Guests welcome in the New Year!

Disney have also recently announced the 'Year of the Ear', a celebration which will see brand new and exclusive Ear Hats released on a monthly basis next year. The Hats, which will be limited edition, will also hopefully be available in many Walt Disney World stores.

We also know that a special announcement, similar to last year's concerning 'One More Disney Day', will be made on 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest'. The announcement, which was, well, announced, during the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on Tuesday, is thought to concern another campaign named 'Disney Time', which will supposedly involve some kind of sweepstakes. Nothing is certain, and most of the facts about the announcement may be mere speculation, but some Disney Fansites have reported that Disney are already preparing websites for 'Disney Time'.

I believe that there will also be another announcement on New Year's Eve, this one currently remaining completely under wraps. My only guess is that it may concern the addition of Cars Land to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which I recently reported on.

I hope that you and your loved ones had a truly magical Christmas, and I wish you a prosperous, Disney-filled New Year! Thanks for reading!

Cars Land RUMOURED to be built at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

Rumours have emerged in the past few hours that Disney will make an official announcement very soon about plans to build a version of Disney's California Adventure's hugely successful Cars Land in Disney's Hollywood Studios. There has been another rumour surrounding this possibility for months, almost ever since the original Cars Land opened in California earlier this year, and, whilst it still remains a rumour, several reliable sources have confirmed that the announcement is due to happen sometime soon. 
I understand that Cars Land will be situated on the land currently occupied by the Backlot Tour and the Lights, Motors, Action Show, which would both close to make way for the new area. Although we know that the land itself is rumoured to be built, we still have little idea of which attractions will feature. The immensely popular Radiator Springs Racers is a strong candidate, but may not make it to WDW, as it draws too many similarities with Epcot's Test Track, which re-opens tomorrow after being refurbished and updated since April. I'm sure that Disney won't want to create an exact replica of the land already in California, and will avoid having the exact same thing on both coasts.
For this reason, we will hopefully see some original attractions being developed for the Florida version by the Imagineers, and maybe even new locations from the film for the land, instead of Radiator Springs Town, like the original Cars Land already has. It would be great to see maybe a small drive 'em yourself attraction, similar to the Tomorrowland Speedway (which could lead to the closure of the Speedway, opening up some prime real estate for a new attraction in the Magic Kingdom), alongside an interactive playground for kids, and maybe a simulator based on the movie, or an attraction focusing on the World Grand Prix from Cars 2 for teens and adults. I'm also assuming that the Cars Meet and Greet, WDW's sole Cars attraction, would be moved into the new land as well. There are so many things the Imagineers could do with the Cars movies, and I can't wait to see what they come up with!
Believe it or not, there are also rumours circulating that Cars may only be a part of a larger Pixar Land, which would be an expansion of the existing Pixar Place area. This has in turn led to the inevitable resurfacing of the ubiquitous 'Monsters Inc Doors' Hanging Rollercoaster rumour, which has overshadowed Hollywood Studios for years, and could finally become a reality. I would love to see this come to fruition, but I really don't see how this could all fit in to the park. It's looking more likely that that Cars Land will just adjoin the existing Pixar Place.
More on this as it happens, but for now I'd love to hear your views on this exciting news! Please feel free to leave a comment, or leave a message on our Facebook page or my Twitter account.

Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!