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Back with some photos from the next leg of our journey to Orlando, Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Recent announcements at the D23 Expo in Anaheim tout a major expansion of this park, with the introduction of both a Star Wars Land and a Toy Story Land. And what a welcome expansion this will be.
For now, enjoy our walk thru of this really nice park that is about to completely transform…
The entrance to Disney California Adventure. Whoops. My Anaheim-centric brain got confused there.
The Main Street of this park is pretty much Hollywood Land at California Adventure.
This one has nostalgic nods from one of my favorite movies, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Good to see Eddie Valiant still taking cases.
Why, oh why, was there never a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I know why. Just too bad they could never get it off the ground.
Hollywood Tower Hotel Orlando looming in the background.
And an obnoxious amount of Frozen advertising looming in the foreground.
Took a ride on the Tower, always fantastic. I still prefer this version over its Anaheim counterpart. While the drop profile doesn’t seem as intense here, the vertical motion of the elevators truly transports us into the Twilight Zone and makes this the ultimate Tower experience.
What’s this? Construction at Hollywood Studios! And there were recent announcements at D23! Could this be???
So Star Wars Land is just about finished.
“Hey, Earl? Are we sure this looks like the Star Wars Land concept art they showed us?” Actually, this construction area is near Rock N’ Roller Coaster. If I had to guess, I’d say this could be the new Star Wars Launch Bay preview attraction that will be added to the Animation Courtyard.
Good to see Aerosmith still working live inside this attraction after all these years. They haven’t aged a day!
How awesome would it be if you launch through the Rock N’ Roller Coaster tunnel in Orlando, and you actually arrive at Hollywood Land at California Adventure! That would fit better thematically for this attraction as well. Disney should really look into this.
The Indiana Jones epic stuntshow spectacular is still surprisingly spectacular to guests.
Personally, I’d think a Temple of the Forbidden Eye would be more entertaining, but eh, what do I know?
Star Tours Orlando provides a short-term fix for our excitement over Star Wars Land.
The full-scale recreation of some of these sets from Return of the Jedi really is awesome. This is 1/20th of what Star Wars Land will be. OMFG. Cannot. Wait.
Kids, cover your eyes. The underside of an AT-AT Walker. Impressive.
Kermit the Frog may very well be floating where Star Wars Land is going to be. OMFG. Cannot wait. Again. Please open now. Please.
So here are some overall thoughts/impressions of the park:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been in need of an upgrade for quite some time. Considering it has been largely devoid of any crazy new rides for quite some time, it’s amazing how crowded and popular this park always seems to be. Tower of Terror and Rock n’ Roller Coaster are classics, and there are a variety of other attractions, but this park is poised and ready for a game changer. Fortunately, it now gets two, with Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. Here’s to hoping they use this as an excuse to give the park an overall beautification touch as well. A walk down Sunset Blvd. feels just a bit bland, a bit “been there, done that.”
This park still entertains. The theme still works. But without a doubt, it is expansion time. Disney knows it. And they’re doing something about it, which is why Disney is awesome.
Coming up, we check out Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Stay tuned!
If you missed Part One of our Orlando Adventure, click on the following link: