The map you grab on the way into Disney’s Hollywood Studios holds the first clue that something’s up. It has become narrower as more of the theme park has disappeared.
Several attractions have closed as work begins on a massive makeover that will shed the theme park’s movie studio-themed identity. Reflecting the industry’s intense interest in franchises, Hollywood Studios is building a 14-acre Star Wars land and an 11-acre Toy Story area.
The transition has been off-putting to some visitors. John Leatherman of Nashua, N.H., found his visit “a little frustrating” last week.
“You’re paying top dollar,” he said. “It’s crowded and half the park is closed.”
Disney hasn’t said when it will be finished. When it is, analysts predict the theme park — currently Walt Disney World’s least popular — will become much more attractive to visitors. For now, though, the challenge is keeping people interested in a theme park when much of it lies behind construction walls.
Disney did not make executives available for an interview. The company pointed out additions it has made, including several Star Wars-themed shows and updates to existing attractions based on the movies.
“We have a long history of exceeding our guests’ expectations in the midst of significant expansions,” the company said in a statement. “We’ve continued to add exciting new experiences at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and we remain committed to making this time of growth positive for our guests.”
Disney is promoting the park with Interstate 4 billboards that say “Star Wars Awakens.” Much of what Disney has brought in recently is themed around that franchise. Music from the films accompanies a nighttime fireworks display, which will be updated this summer with special effects. C-3P0, R2D2 and other characters appear in a stage performance throughout the day. Star Wars: Launch Bay features memorabilia displays, Disney Infinity games, a short film and meet-and-greets with Chewbacca and Kylo Ren.
“It makes you want to come back when it’s done, for sure,” said Angela Raimondo of Sanford, who snapped pictures throughout Launch Bay on a recent visit.
Toy Story Mania will soon get a third track, increasing capacity and likely shortened waits.
Much of what’s been added recently is designed to distract visitors from what’s missing, said Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com
“They try to draw your attention to other places in the park and other things that are going on,” he said. You do a lot more kind of in-park promotion of things going on elsewhere in the park. You do more entertainment. Things like the new Star Wars show … and the fireworks.”
In April, it was curtains for the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. Other closures include the Studio Backlot Tour and the Magic of Disney Animation.
“The things that are gone are related to filming movies,” one employee told a family upset they could no longer see the stunt show.
Disney has also discontinued two seasonal events — the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights and Star Wars Weekends.
So much is shuttered that this year’s Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World recommends tourists tight on time skip the Studios altogether. “It’s hard for us to recommend spending $80-$100 on a park that has so little to offer,” the guidebook says.
The park is still bustling, though crowds drop off near the turquoise construction walls that block the playground and facades of New York and San Francisco streetscapes.
With just a few people milling about and relaxing on benches, the dead ends feel more like a quiet suburban neighborhood than a theme park. Some visitors eagerly gaze at depictions of the future lands. For others, the walled areas have become a land of confusion.
“Well, the map didn’t say there was construction,” said Audra Martinez, as she approached the wall and then turned around.
Martinez, from Denver, enjoyed the park’s thrill rides — Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster — but was ready to depart after lunch to squeeze in more time at the Magic Kingdom.
Many tourists these days are probably like Martinez, said Niles. Disney’s Animal Kingdom used to be considered the resort’s half-day park. As Animal Kingdom prepares to debut new nighttime attractions, though, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is starting to take on that reputation.
Disney said it learned over the years how to make face lifts a little less awkward. It now dresses up construction walls with quotes and bright colors. When it built the Magic Kingdom’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the walls had peep holes for visitors to catch glimpses of the roller coaster’s progress. Those might come to Hollywood Studios’ walls once the construction cranes get moving.
The last time Disney underwent such an extensive rehab, at its California Adventure park on the west coast, the rebranding included a completely new entrance.
“It’s a lot less complicated what they’re doing at Hollywood Studios,” Niles said. “This is a little bit more straightforward. Boom, boom, the back … of the park is gone now, and you’ll see it again in a few years.”
spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5240
