The reality is that there is now very little animation in the Animation Courtyard. Of the other attractions located there, Voyage of the Little Mermaid is a very good show highlighting some of the great music from the movie but it is soon to become obsolete with the addition of the new Little Mermaid attraction in Magic Kingdom. In addition, the Disney Junior stage show may be popular with the younger children but it does not appeal to anyone outside of that age range. The Animation Courtyard should be a showcase of Disney animated films and thus a signature section of the park, but it has fallen into almost an afterthought. My goal is to make this section of the park worthy of the great legacy of Disney animation.
My vision for the animation courtyard is to turn it into the Hollywood Studios version of Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. Hollywood Studios currently has some great attractions, but the problem is that of the attractions that are popular three of them (Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Rockin’ Rollercoaster) have height requirements and another (Toy Story Mania) has an extremely low guest capacity. What Hollywood Studios needs most is a few attractions that will eat a lot of people: high-capacity, omni-mover types of attractions that can be enjoyed by guests of all ages with no height requirements. Disney has moved away from the construction of classic-style dark rides like those found in Fantasyland, but the new Little Mermaid attraction shows that Imagineering is still capable of designing these type of attractions.
One thing that most guests do not realize is how large the Animation building actually is. There could easily be two attractions built in the space it occupies, in addition to another attraction in the space occupied by the current Voyage of the Little Mermaid combined with One Man’s Dream and the former Narnia walk-through. This means that the Animation Courtyard could be home to three new attractions, just what the Hollywood Studio needs to complete its transition from Studio to full-fledged theme park.
My transformation of Animation Courtyard starts with the building that currently houses Disney Junior. Originally this site was home to the Soundstage Restaurant, a full-service restaurant that was designed to look like a "live set" from Disney films. Sponsored by the J.M. Smucker Company, it was a buffet that featured characters from Disney animated classics and served breakfast and lunch. Originally, the restaurant had a theme to the film "Big Business" starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin from 1988. The idea of the theme was to make it look like the set was fragmented as if it had been "struck" and there were set pieces and props from other productions lying about. Throughout the restaurant’s history its theme changed to highlight current Disney films, such as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.
I would restore this space to be a full-service restaurant, but with a different theme. Aboard the Disney Cruise Line there is a unique restaurant called Animator’s Palate. Aboard the Disney Magic and Wonder the restaurant’s theme is that guests enter into a dining room that is completely black and white and throughout the course of the meal the paintings of various Disney characters along the walls are magically transformed into color. The meal ends with a film highlighting great moments from Disney animated classics and then the entire room bursts into an array of colors, with even the servers’ costumes changing from black and white to color. A restaurant of this theme would be a perfect fit in the Animation Courtyard.
The first attraction for Animation Courtyard would be a boat ride themed to Princess and the Frog. Guests would enter the attraction through a queue designed to make it feel as though guests are meandering through the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans.
Once they have boarded the boats guests would travel through various scenes from the movie. The ride begins with the arrival of Prince Naveen to the song “Down in New Orleans.” We then encounter Dr. Facilier to the song “Friends on the Other Side” and witness Naveen’s transformation into a frog. From there guests are transported to "Big Daddy" La Bouff’s stately southern mansion, but his masquerade ball goes awry when Tianna too is transformed into a frog. Next we find ourselves in the bayou where we are guided by Louis the alligator and Ray the firefly to the song “Gonna Take You There” and eventually encounter Mama Odie for a huge show scene to the song “Dig a Little Deeper.”
Things then progress quickly as we return to New Orleans in the middle of a Madi Gras parade and are pursued by Dr. Facilier. In the end, Facilier meet his demise, Tiana and Naveen are reunited, and guests exit the attraction through an area meant to look like Tiana’s restaurant, complete with a beignet stand.
The next attraction in this area would be an Aladdin-themed carpet ride along the lines of Peter Pan’s Flight except guests would travel aboard a flying carpet instead of pirate ships. Guests would begin their journey soaring high above the dessert toward Agrabah to the song “Arabian Nights.”
Next we see Aladdin trying to escape the palace guards to the song "One Jump Ahead." We then find ourselves flying through the mouth of the Cave of Wonders and encounter Genie in a scene to the song “Friend Like Me.”
Flying next back to Agrabah we witness the grand arrival procession of Aladdin to the song “Prince Ali.” Following this would be a beautiful scene featuring the song “A Whole New World.” Things go awry when Jafar manages to take control of the magic lamp. Aladdin then returns to save the day and the ride ends with Genie being freed.
In the place currently occupied by Voyage of the Little Mermaid, One Man’s Dream, and the former Narnia walk-through I would create a Beauty and the Beast omnimover attraction. I know that there is a whole Beauty and the Beast section coming to Fantasyland, but this is comprised of shops, a restaurant, and a meet and greet location. Beauty and the Beast lends itself so well to a dark ride that I am surprised that it has not been developed yet. Like the other attractions I have envisioned for the new Animation Courtyard, this Beauty and the Beast ride would center around the film’s brilliant musical score, with each scene of the ride highlighting a different song. The ride would begin in Belle’s village with the song “Belle” followed by a visit to Gaston’s tavern with the song “Gaston.” From there we travel to the Beast’s Castle for a large show scene to the song “Be Our Guest.”
We see the relationship between Belle and the Beast developing with the song “Something There” and culminating with the ballroom scene straight out of the movie along with the song “Beauty and the Beast.”
Things take a darker turn when Gaston gathers up the villagers to launch an assault on the Beast’s castle to the song “Kill the Beast” but the ride ends on a high note with the Beast’s transformation.
Now that I have talked about the attractions that would make up the new Animation Courtyard, I want to shed some light on the new look the land would take. The aesthetic appearance of this area of the park would draw some inspiration from the new Art of Animation Resort. Guests visiting this area of the park would feel as though they were stepping into the middle of the animation process. The building facades would be covered with various concept art, sketches, and drawings representing the movies the attractions are based on. Guests would feel as though they were walking right into these movies. It would be a great opportunity to really showcase the tremendous artistry of Disney animation.
Overall, this new Animation Courtyard would bring much-needed attractions to Hollywood Studios. Not only would they be high-capacity attractions but they would also help to balance the thrill-heavy, height requirement attractions of the park. Up next will be an area near and dear to my heart, the section of the park that encompasses attractions such as the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Star Tours, and Muppet Vision 3-D.
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