Magic of Disney Animation the latest casualty at Hollywood Studios

So if we just shut everything down, it'll be easier to turn this into a Star Wars park?

Sure seems like it. There have been rumors about closing Lights Motors and Indy by now, but neither has come to pass. That would be a huge disaster, as those shows absorb a ton of people.

The Backlot Tour, the Idol Experience, the Animation tour.... are any of these a great loss? From what I've read all three having had waning attendance over the years.

That's not really the point I think. Idol and the tour occupied a lot of people at a time. With them gone and no replacements, with growing attendance, those people have to go somewhere. That's in a park that already feels like there isn't that much to do. I suspect we've been there twice in the last year.

Oh, so this would explain why #SaySomethingPositiveAboutDHS was all over Twitter earlier.

I'm going to miss Animation Academy. It was fun to learn how to draw the characters and you got a free souvenir.

Hollywood Studios is a must do for me, if for no other reasons than Toy Story Midway Mania and Tower of Terror (two of the best, if not the very best, Disney rides on the planet). After that? Hmmmmm...
So maybe Rock 'n' Rollercoaster if it's not nuts busy, Beauty and the Beast, and I could spend hours in the Walt Disney: One Man's Dream walk through.

And after half a day I usually hop along to a park with more to do, or rather, attractions I don't mind doing again. And Idol and this Animation attraction were never high on my radar.

I never did the Tour, the Idol experience or Disney Animation; zero appeal for me. Tower of Terror, always a must, Rock and Roller Coaster and TSM are also high on the list. Also Brown Derby for grapefruit cake.

Just came across this at Theme Park University, with some entertaining speculation on DHS.

Yeah, and those three rides, I agree, are pretty solid to great. Beyond that, you need those big capacity attractions or you run out of stuff to do.

And the Beauty And The Beast show is just awful. I was embarrassed for the performers.

Well, I've seen bad and I've seen great at Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes its a big cast full of talented kids and sometimes it's bare bones and dreadful singing. I wonder what determines what we see? Maybe it's as simple as the time of year, time of day, who's got the day off, or who's needed elsewhere.

Anyway, I'm a sucker for the show, I've always liked the music. So I usually pop in when I can.

Part of it is that I think the bar is set so high with Nemo at AK. Totally different league.

I cried the first time I saw Nemo. I was not expecting that at all, even from Disney

The Magic of Disney Animation was my one of my favorites at the Studios park. I liked doing the drawing sessions. I just did not like sitting through that stupid Mulan video beforehand. ;)

I am wondering how long it is before the park is renamed yet again as it continually loses more and more of what made it a studio park. With the backlot tour gone, Indy rumored to be going and the Magic of Disney Animation going that would be three solid attractions that focused on making the movies. Next thing you know they will close down the Great Movie Ride and just devote the entire park to Star Wars.

So far this is the biggest 'hit' for me in this park. I do have to say I would have a hard time justifying using a non-hopping park ticket day on this park right now. I am sure it will be great once all of the rumored additions come to fruition, but I feel that isn't in the near future. I also feel like if they close anything else, they will have to counter it with some sort of announcement.

I still wish they had never given the green light for Avatar and were instead using those current resources to transform all of the dead spots of Hollywood Studios into Star Wars and the other Lucas franchises. I feel that is such a bigger draw and will have so much more lasting appeal. Avatar is still two years from opening, and already no one really cares.

Kick The Sky said:

Next thing you know they will close down the Great Movie Ride and just devote the entire park to Star Wars.

And that's a problem because...why? My first thought when Disney purchased Star Wars wasn't "more movies", it was "build me a damn Star Wars park, now!"

Incidentally, the Great Movie Ride was easily one of the best attractions in this park from my perspective when we were there in March. That was just a lot of fun for everyone.

I'm not that familiar with the layout of the park, but would this be sitting on land where construction might start happening soon?

And Brett, as unimpressed as I was with Avatar (could barely make it through the entire thing, actually), I think Disney is banking on the sequels as reigniting everyone's excitement.

I'm surprised you say that. Movie Ride seems so dated. The Munchkins freak me out. :)

Believe me, no one was more surprised than I was. We almost skipped it, and did it out of a lack of other things to do, and I really enjoyed it (we all did). I honestly had no idea what this ride was or what we were going to find inside; completely blind in terms of what to expect. A lot of that had to do with our "tour guide" who was just great at his job (and the other actors along the way as well). The Alien freaked the girls out a little bit, but other than that they loved it. A little cheesy at times of course, but I think that's what made it so fun.

I can see how those Munchkins could creep up in one's nightmares.

I guess when I think of a "Hollywood Studio" ride, this one nails it. A trip down memory lane, some cool dark-ride effects, and a host that was simply top-notch. In fact, I walked away thinking "how does this guy keep up that energy level all day long"?

OhioStater said:

And Brett, as unimpressed as I was with Avatar (could barely make it through the entire thing, actually), I think Disney is banking on the sequels as reigniting everyone's excitement.

I really do believe the Avatar attractions will succeed on their own terms regardless of the movies. Any new Disney theme park stuff, particularly something on the scale of floating mountains of Pandora being built for Animal Kingdom, will be welcomed gladly by guests even if they couldn't tell you the difference between a direhorse and a hexapede. While it might have been nice to have the built-in mega-love of something like Harry Potter I think Disney will be just fine with Avatar as a theme park attraction.

I can't disagree with that. If you've looked at the artwork for the new area, it leaves little doubt that it will be stunning, especially at night. I'm particularly curious as to what they have up their sleeves with the ride where it simulates you riding a Dragon; I read a piece recently (sorry, I don't remember where...information overload) where Cameron himself was riding an early version of the ride and walked away completely impressed.