Ever since 2014, rumors have swirled about the imminent demise of One Man’s Dream. Whether it was to make room for Toy Story Land or to become part of a connected building, many have been waiting for this attraction to close for some time now. However, against plenty of rumors, One Man’s Dream has endured all this while, albeit with some notable changes, including the loss of Walt Disney’s desk and the addition of character experiences and film previews.
However, it looks like this attraction is in for even more changes, as it was announced earlier this week that One Man’s Dream would be changing again in a very big way over the next few weeks to reflect the evolving theme of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And as you might have expected, these changes mean a lot less Walt Disney. But the man who started the magic isn’t going away completely…
Introducing the Walt Disney Preview Center
One Man’s Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will soon change its name to the Walt Disney Preview Center, a change that will better reflect what this building houses. For over a year, the original Walt Disney historical film has been intermittently replaced by trailers and clips from upcoming films, and it looks like when this facility switches over to this new name, this change will become permanent, with the theater only showing these special sneak peeks from now on. However, it is not just new films that will be showcased in this renamed space.
Directly in front of the theater area, Disney will be creating a space specifically for previews of upcoming attractions, including scaled models of both Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and even concept art for the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride. Of course, this isn’t the first time this area has played host to models of attractions before, but it has also showcased props from films and TV, most notably featuring costumes from Descendants 2, Beauty and the Beast, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. However, it looks like this secondary purpose will be no more, as Disney shifts this area to only showcase items related to upcoming attractions.
But what about Walt?
Image: Disney
Although the change into the Walt Disney Preview Center will shift the focus of this space, Walt Disney isn’t being removed entirely from this attraction, as the front of this space will still feature artifacts and exhibits that relate to the life of Walt Disney, including sketches, photos and storyboards from his career. However, it looks like there will be considerably less Walt Disney in this attraction overall, as Walt Disney will be relegated to the front of the attraction, with the rest of this space relating to the “preview” function of this reimagined attraction. Which brings us to the next component of this attraction that you might be asking yourself about…
Character meet and greets will remain
In recent months, One Man’s Dream has played host to a number of character meet and greets for upcoming films, including Moana and most recently Star Lord and Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. And though the focus of the Walt Disney Preview Center will change slightly, Disney has confirmed that the meet and greet space right before the theater will remain, with Star Lord and Baby Groot staying through September at least, and other characters showing up in this space later as new movies are released.
The bottom line
Image: Disney
Though it sounds like Disney is keeping much of the upcoming Walt Disney Preview Center pretty much the same as One Man’s Dream, it sounds like the stage is being set to minimize the biographical content inside this space in favor of showcasing the latest and greatest from upcoming Disney films. Though the non-fictional Walt Disney film has been gone for some time, it looks like with the name change Disney is squashing any chance of this film coming back. And though there is going to be some artifacts related to Walt Disney’s life, we wouldn’t be surprised if this is scaled back significantly in the coming years as Disney’s Hollywood Studios continues to evolve and more “preview” content is added to this attraction.
Though no specific date has been announced, the Walt Disney Preview Center name is supposed to begin appearing in mid-September, with a new marquee for this attraction showing up around that time as well. How do you feel about this new name and refined purpose? Let us know in the comments below!
