3. Studio Backlot Tour

Location:  Streets of America, Hollywood Studios 

Original opening date:  May 1, 1989 

Closure date:  September 28, 2014

Back when Hollywood Studios first opened – and back when it was called Disney-MGM Studios – the subject of filmmaking was the very essence of the park, rather than a fast-and-loose premise for a jumble of various (and varying) attractions to be assembled around.

The Studio Backlot Tour was, arguably, the centerpiece of this, taking guests on a lengthy and in-depth ride through various film production scenarios, including special effects and props.  It wasn’t inherently thrilling, and it rapidly became out-of-date once DVDs and their bevy of behind-the-scenes special features came onto the scene, negating the need for a film school for tourists.

Taken in this light, it’s nothing short of amazing that the Backlot Tour has managed to survive until just this year, particularly when considering just how many other attractions have been fashioned by chipping away at little bits and pieces of its former real estate:  Lights, Motor, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, and, most especially for most guests, Toy Story Midway Mania.

Of course, now that nearly all of the back section of the park has been cleared for a brand-new development, the sky’s the limit for what Imagineering can put in there.  It’s been suggested for quite a long time now that Cars Land, which has proven to be such a phenomenal success – both in terms of its commercial appeal and theming immersiveness – at California Adventure, will be making its way to Hollywood Studios.  Given just how much space has instantly been cleared up, and given its proximity to Pixar Place, it’s hard to see how it’s not something Pixar-related, whether it’s a ported version of Cars Land or something entirely new.

(It’s also hard to see how such an expansion wouldn’t make Hollywood Studios’s attendance skyrocket and its relevance to the disenfranchised Disney faithful explode.)

2. Maelstrom

Location:  World Showcase, Epcot 

Original opening date:  July 5, 1988 

Closure date:  October 6, 2014

Of all the myriad attraction closures at Disney World this year, the one that has easily gotten the most press – and courted the biggest amount of controversy, as well – was Maelstrom at Epcot’s Norway Pavilion.

Its extended lifespan (Disney fans are nothing if not highly nostalgic) and the very nature of its ride experience (though a traditional [read:  not thrilling] Disney dark ride, it was the only attraction to offer a bit of oomph at World Showcase for an extremely long time) account for a good portion of the large outcry against Maelstrom’s being shuttered, but the other main reason has nothing to do with the attraction and everything to do with its replacement:  Frozen.

The nascent Frozen franchise is no stranger to Disney World (or, even, Epcot, for that matter), but its seasonal shows and meet-‘n-greet lineups have been either timed exclusives or, well, character meet-n’-greets – the exact opposite of a permanent, multi-million dollar ride.  Having a little slice of Arendelle taking its place at Epcot, then, is a major deal.

And it’s majorly offensive to guests on either side of the Frozen divide:  to many Epcot fans, it’s because of wedging a fictitious kingdom alongside the very-much-real countries of World Showcase; for Frozen enthusiasts, it’s due to their favorite property being saddled with a reskinned version of Maelstrom instead of being given a built-from-the-ground-up ride just for them.

While it’s hard to conceive of Arendelle taking over all of the Norway Pavilion – just as Star Wars Land will be claiming most, if not all, of Echo Lake at Hollywood Studios – it’s still amazing to see how more and more of Disney World stalwarts are being devoted to the recent animated film, including, most recently, Cinderella Castle (as part of the Frozen Holiday Wish show at Magic Kingdom).

1. Sorcerer’s Hat

Location:  Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood Studios 

Original installation date:  September 28, 2001 

Removal date:  January 2015

Yes, this is the least substantive closure at all of Walt Disney World due to the simple fact that, well, the Sorcerer’s Hat isn’t an attraction of any kind.  Its meaning and the power of its removal, however, comes from its being the icon of Hollywood Studios (just as Cinderella Castle is for Magic Kingdom and Spaceship Earth is for Epcot); the ramifications here may be purely symbolic, but they’re also the most revealing of where Disney’s head is at now and where it’s looking to move in the (very near) future.

Despite the long-standing rumors of both (or either?) Star Wars and Cars Lands arriving at Hollywood Studios, and despite the continued discussion by top Disney executives of just how important bringing in Star Wars rides to the resort is, it is the toppling of one icon and the installation of another that is the most unequivocal in demonstrating just how thoroughly the company is looking to remake the park’s image and refurbish its general disposition – it was the Earful Tower’s replacement by the Sorcerer’s Hat over a decade ago that signaled a less filmmaking-intensive and more character/intellectual property-centered focus, after all.

We may not know what, if anything, will be Hollywood Studios’s central weenie (as Walt himself called them) for quite some time.  If the latest batch of rumors is to be believed, actually, it might even be unveiled alongside (yet another) new name for the theme park…