There have been a few changes made to the planning session of what the new Tomorrowland will look like according to MiceChat since my last post a few months ago. Also, it appears that a new "mini" land will be headed to California Adventure.
Tomorrowland
First, the plans to use the old PeopleMover track have apparently been scrapped probably due to the extreme amount of reinforcements that would have to be made to be sure it could handle a high speed ride. Now the tentative plans call for the Innoventions building to be gutted and used for the pre-show and boarding area for the new Speeder Bike thrill ride. The majority of the track would be out side and to the north where Autopia currently resides. I would be shocked if they actually took Autopia out, but according to the MiceChat report, that's precisely what they are considering. I would have to think that even if Disney goes through with this plan, they would simply move Autopia to another location, maybe Cars Land or by the Thunder Mountain Railroad where the Ranch is currently?
The Speeder Bike thrill ride will be based on the forest moon of Endor where the Ewoks live (from the Star Wars film, "Return of the Jedi" for you non-Star Wars fans out there) and an Ewok village and walk-through attraction will be built to house dining and shops. Disney's Imagineering team supposedly has dueling proposals for this area; one that keeps the current Monorail track as it is and disguises it amongst the Ewok forest, and one that cuts out much of the track and shortens the Monorail route to enhance more of the Ewok forest visuals.
Another Tomorrowland reported project is the removal of the Astro Orbiter from the entrance of the land which will help free up space to get in and out of Tomorrowland. The re-Imagineered Rocket Jets Spinner is currently planned to land on top of the Space Mountain Concourse, tying in with a repurposed Starcade upper level next door.
The old Rocket Jets spinner and PeopleMover platform is reportedly getting an extreme makeover its self, as a landing pad for a very popular spaceship...the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon will serve as a walk-through attraction as well as the meet and greet location for Chewbacca. Just below the landing platform where the Tomorrowland Terrace dining facility is currently, will be made over into the rowdy Cantina on Tattooine (from "A New Hope").
Monstropolis
This past summer, the attendance split between Disneyland and California Adventure was nearly 60/40 which is a HUGE jump from the normal 80/20 split it had been typically, visitors preferring Disneyland in large numbers. This amazing change can be attributed mainly to Cars Land. But since the jump in California Adventure attendance is more than anyone had foreseen, the Disney brass now sees a necessity in increasing park capacity by the creation of another "E-ticket" attraction. (An E-Ticket attraction is a ride that draws people to an area, such as Radiator Springs Racers or Indiana Jones). Doing so would help them decease overcrowding on other rides, specifically Radiator Springs Racers.
I an effort to create such an E-Ticket attraction, work is rumored to be close to getting underway for the creation of a Monstropolis land in the sleepy corner of HollywoodLand. The casualties would include the MuppetVision and Stage 17 buildings which would be replaced by the new E-Ticket thrill ride. Taking a concept originally cooked up a few years ago for Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida, the new thrill ride would be themed to the door hangar scene in the Monsters Inc. movie. The Monsters Inc. dark ride would remain although the façade of the building would be redone as the whole area will be transformed into a fully realized Monstropolis environment.
The "Studio Backlot" theme of this area would be removed entirely and the backsides of the Hollywood Blvd. facades would be built out and repurposed as new dining and shopping locations.
With the 60th Anniversary celebration set to get underway in 2015, work will undoubtedly be going on to some extent in both parks, though it will be much easier to hide in the corner of California Adventure. To what extent work is started on the Star Wars attractions in Tomorrowland by then remains to be seen. With the release of the new Star Wars film slated for December 18, 2015, it's possible that Disney will try to at least give Star Wars a bigger presence in the Area.
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