As reported a few months ago here: New for 2016 and beyond, there will be several areas of Hollywood Studios that will be experiencing there last day today. These areas and attractions include:Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure, Monsters Inc. meet and greet, Studio Catering Co., Youze Guys Moychondise, Streets of America, The Prop Shop, Watto’s Grotto, Writer’s Stop. I know there are several Disney fans that are really disappointed in the announcement and definitely not looking forward to the day. But let’s take a look closer at what is leaving.
For me personally, Lights, Motors, Action! is the one I will miss the most. Many didn’t find this show very entertaining, but I thought it was very interesting for adults and little boys alike. I did think the show could have been updated (other than the addition of Lightening McQueen). With that being said, once you saw the show once or twice, it was not quite as interesting to see it over and over. The biggest thing I will miss is the presence of Cars characters in the park. Lightening and Mater’s meet were removed a few months back, and the stunt show was the last thing that included them. Hopefully they will be included in Disney’s new plans.
When looking at the rest of the departures, I’m just not going to miss them very much. Several people liked the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground, but who goes to Disney for a playground? I am sure Disney will be adding a new playground to the park in the near future to replace this attraction. I will miss the Mike and Sulley meet, but Disney has been changing the line up of characters a lot recently. Some go, new ones are added. If you keep up with the Disney changes, this one is not that unusual. The other items that are going away are restaurants and merchandise stores; in my opinion, not too much to get excited about. The only exception is Streets of America in that it is not a restaurant, merchandise store, or an attraction at all. Although it was really cool, it really does not fit the park anymore since the park is not a working studious. At this point, it took up a lot of space without adding a ton of value. The only value really presented by the Streets of America was during Christmas. The Osborne Family Spectacular was truly spectacular, but as we all know, 2015 was the last go around for the lights (for now). We can only hope they will appear in the new plans, or in another location at Disney.
So enough of the bad news, now for some good news… Disney does not just get rid of attractions (or half the park in this case) for no reason at all. As announced in the D23 conference last year, Disney will be making major changes to Hollywood Studios. The two major additions will be Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. Just a few days ago, Disney also announced an expansion of the Muppet Courtyard area with a new themed Muppet restaurant (in the current location of Pizza Planet). To date, we have been told that Toy Story Land will include an expanded Toy Story Mania ride (third track added), a flat ride that is themed to include the aliens from the Toy Story franchise, and a slinky dog family roller coaster. Very little information has been released about the Star Wars Land, but we can currently see the Storm Troopers and other Star Wars characters slowly invading the park. Star Wars Launch Bay first new announcement was discussed in this article here: Kylo Ren to meet at Star Wars Launch Bay. We also have April 4th to look forward to some new Star Wars activities mentioned here: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. The Muppet Courtyard expansion was just recently announced, without further detail. Many are speculating whether the announcement was a hint that there would be a few more additions to the Muppet area in addition to the attraction there currently and the new themed restaurant.
Although most of the activity and focus for April 2nd is at Hollywood Studios, there is also one show that will be having its last day today at Magic Kingdom. Dream Along with Mickey has been THE castle stage show at Cinderella’s castle for quite a long time now. As we say good bye to the show, we will be able to welcome the new show tomorrow. Royal Friendship Faire will be the new live stage show and will include Mickey and a crew of Merry Makers hosting a joyous festival. The Merry Makers have invited their friends from other lands to join in on the celebration. This stage show will feature favorite characters and songs from movies like The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen.
That is all for now, and please Let the Force Be With You, and please remember that You Have A Friend in Me.
Mouse Guide To Walt 