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As many people have heard now, it has been announced that the Studios Backlot Tour and the Studios Catering Co. will be closed for refurbishment from February 15–March 28.  This announcement has brought waves of speculation as to the purpose of this refurbishment.  Is this just a simple paint job that will have the Backlot Tour open with a fresh look or is there something more to this?

I have been wandering around the Web looking for some of the ideas that people have as to what else could be behind this refurbishment.  I have seen some people who would like to see something Marvel related in the parks, Nightmare Before Christmas-related, and I have even seen a few mentions about moving Toontown to Hollywood Studios and putting it there.  The majority of the rumors, by far, seem to be Pixar related.

A lot of people want more Pixar characters in the parks and the Backlot Tour’s placement at the end of Pixar Place makes it an ideal location for a new Pixar attraction of some kind.  Two ideas seem to be springing up around the forum world that are Pixar related.  The first is some kind of attraction relating to Radiator Springs; I think this idea springs from the new land coming to Disney’s California Adventure.  The second and more probable idea in my opinion is the Monsters Inc. roller coaster.

This has been rumored for a long time and came out even more strongly when The Hub, the cast member Web site, posted about the possibility of this coaster in summer of 2008. The post gave a description of the coaster, possible concept art and even mentioned that it would be in the area at the end of Pixar Place, where Backlot is located.  The coaster has been described as a hanging coaster that acts like the child doors and travels around the Monsters Inc. factory.  That would make for an interesting ride indeed!

So what do you think? Is this just a quick touch up and then back to the Backlot Tour we have enjoyed for years, or is more behind this? As Jimmy Buffett says at the Old Key West Resort, “Only Time Will Tell”.

Contributed by: Jessica C. (NDI#21). Jessica is our resident “Gossip Girl” and creator of The True Disney Fan Blog.

10 thoughts on “WILL THE BACKLOT BE BACK UP?

  1. I’ll be there the week of Feb. 15, and this is not the only change coming to the Studios. I cannot say what other changes are coming, but they are big and impactive.

  2. I’ll be there the week of Feb. 15, and this is not the only change coming to the Studios. I cannot say what other changes are coming, but they are big and impactive.

  3. We really like the backlot tour, it’s pretty cool! We also absolutely LOVE the Monster’s Inc. ride @ DCA & it would be really awesome to have some sort of Monster’s ride @ WDW! We’ll see!

  4. We really like the backlot tour, it’s pretty cool! We also absolutely LOVE the Monster’s Inc. ride @ DCA & it would be really awesome to have some sort of Monster’s ride @ WDW! We’ll see!

  5. Jess, I look forward to each and every little piece of gossip you post here. The posts are always such enjoyable reads and get the gears in my brain turning.

    The Monster’s Inc. door coaster ride would be hard to top as far as additions go. I would love to see the Studios put this in. The Backlot Tour is a mere shadow of what it was originally created to be. My thought on it is either to restore it to it’s original state (which won’t happen since the studios are no longer being used for the actual filming of shows and/or movies on a regular basis) or go ahead and replace it. It is simply too depressing to visit it as it currently is. For real, I have heartache over it.

  6. Jess, I look forward to each and every little piece of gossip you post here. The posts are always such enjoyable reads and get the gears in my brain turning.

    The Monster’s Inc. door coaster ride would be hard to top as far as additions go. I would love to see the Studios put this in. The Backlot Tour is a mere shadow of what it was originally created to be. My thought on it is either to restore it to it’s original state (which won’t happen since the studios are no longer being used for the actual filming of shows and/or movies on a regular basis) or go ahead and replace it. It is simply too depressing to visit it as it currently is. For real, I have heartache over it.

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