Mouse Extra

The Pixar name is closer and closer to a permanent fixture at the Disney-MGM Studios, or so it would seem.  According to Mouse Planet this morning, the rumor is heating up…

We’ll start of by saying that this isn’t a certainty, but it looks like at least some part of the Disney-MGM Studios will be renamed to the Pixar Studios. Paperwork filed with Orange County indicates that the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Orlando will be installing a “Disney’s MGM Studios - Pixar Studios Facility Package.”

It should be noted that the 555 Stage Lane address specified in the paperwork is in a backstage area behind the soundstages being converted into the Toy Story Mania attraction. So it’s entirely possible that the renaming could just be for backstage areas; however, it’s more likely that either the Mickey Avenue area that’s going to be rethemed for the Toy Story Mania attraction or possibly the entire park will eventually get the Pixar Studios name.

Go to Mouse Planet’s site, and you can follow a link to view the paperwork.  These kinds of filings are cleverly written to leave much to the imagination and to keep open the possibility of interpretation.  But, the rumor of the Pixar name playing a major role in the future of the Disney-MGM Studios is an old one, and one that has always had a level of validity to it.

We believe Imagineering is looking to refocus this park, which has lost its original focus years ago.  The inclusion of Pixar is a natural fit for the movie side of the company.  If this is just a new area, and not a re-branding of the entire park, then we would expect there to be much more added than just the attraction.  However, we have heard very little about any such additions.  While it may not fit with the “studios” theme of years ago, it does fit well next to the Star Wars and Muppets areas.