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Disney Cleared a Large Tree for a Mystery Project Called Fedora, Right Next to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios
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Disney Cleared a Large Tree for a Mystery Project Called Fedora, Right Next to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios

Michael Travels
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Something is taking shape in a quiet corner of Disney's Hollywood Studios, and this week it got a little harder to miss. Crews removed a large tree from a fenced work area near Backlot Express, the counter service spot tucked beside the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in the park's Echo Lake area. Blog Mickey, which has been tracking the site, reported the tree removal on July 24.

Rolling planters curve around a cleared dirt and concrete work site near Backlot Express at Disney's Hollywood Studios Rolling planters ring the cleared Project Fedora work site near Backlot Express at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photo: Blog Mickey.

The project has a code name, Fedora, and not much else that Disney is willing to share. As Blog Mickey put it, "As of right now, it's unclear what Project Fedora is."

What we know so far: A cluster of rolling planters first appeared around a former merchandise location in March, walling off the spot. Two Notices of Commencement for the site were filed on May 15 by Walt Disney World's Facility Asset Management group, listing Slalom Construction Services and Artistic Entertainment Services, a company that has worked on past Hollywood Studios projects. A separate signage permit filed by Walt Disney Imagineering on June 10 covers a nearby address tied to the Indiana Jones area, though Blog Mickey notes it is unclear whether the two are related.

The rope and timber entrance marquee for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios The work is right next to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in the park's Echo Lake district. Photo: Jedi94 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Location is the best clue. The work sits right beside one of the park's opening-year attractions, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which has run in Echo Lake since 1989. For now, there is nothing official to hang a theory on.

Disney is staying quiet. Per Blog Mickey, "Walt Disney World has not announced any details, and they have not returned requests for comment about the work." So for the moment, Project Fedora is exactly what its placeholder name suggests: a mystery with a hat on it.

We will keep an eye on the permits and the fence line. If you are wandering Echo Lake on your next visit, the corner between Backlot Express and the Indiana Jones theater is the spot to watch.

Sources

Image credits: Blog Mickey; Jedi94 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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