The Golden Age of Hollywood, perfectly preserved in a living, breathing studio centered on taking you, the guest, behind-the-scenes of the film industry’s biggest artistic hits and technological triumphs! This was the first park not originally based on a pre-existing idea from Walt Disney himself, and really showcased the creative capabilities of the Imagineering team. However, the inspiration for the park was drawn from Walt’s earliest days in the company, when film was his chief priority and sole endeavor.
Hollywood Studios was originally conceived to be a pavilion in Epcot’s Future World. After coming up with the initial idea for the attraction, Imagineers found that a number of their ideas were simply too good to pass up, but were too numerous to shove into one pavilion. Then-CEO Michael Eisner, at the beginning of his career at Disney, suggested a third gate, or park, to be built in Disney World around the idea of exploring the film-making process. Drawings and renderings were done of a crowd-friendly studio lot complete with soundstages, commissaries, animation buildings and backlots. At the center of it all would be “The Great Movie Ride,” a ride-through attraction visiting some of Hollywood’s greatest films in immersive environments.
The Great Movie Ride, held in a recreation of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, features such iconic films as Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Fantasia, Alien, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Disney entered into a licensing agreement with MGM in 1985 that would allow various MGM film properties to be used in the Great Movie Ride, including The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, Casablanca, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (certain Disney triumphs, namely Mary Poppins and Fantasia, would also be included). The majority of the park’s property was dedicated to a physical production facility that filmed and created actual movies. The current Broadway hit Newsies is based on the film of the same title that was filmed in the park a year before its opening. Other notable productions, featuring the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio, included Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear, along with a number of commercials.
The park, on its opening on May 1, 1989, featured only four attractions which all explored the film-making process, with the exception of the Great Movie Ride. The Backstage Studio Tour, later known as the Backlot Tour, took guests on a two-hour guided visit through the park’s production facilities: a section of the park called Streets of America that featured replications of streets from New York City and San Francisco; Residential Street, used for filming commercials; the prop-yard, featuring large set pieces and props from a number of films; and the special effects area that featured an interactive hurricane film production. Other attractions included the Magic of Disney Animation Tour and Superstar Television, the latter of which replicated segments of I Love Lucy and Cheers for guests to act in famous scenes from the shows. The Monster Sound Show showcased the practice of Foley artistry, which is giving sound to animated and live action films in a closed studio environment.
Part of The Studio Backlot Tour: Catastrophe Canyon, during the deluge
The park also featured unique dining options, including a replica of the original Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, complete with the world-famous Cobb salad and Al Hirschfeld caricatures. The 50s Prime Time Cafe is a little slice of home, where waitresses act as mothers and tell you to eat your vegetables before you get dessert! Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner featured quick-service meals in a boat that sat on Echo Lake opposite Gertie the Dinosaur. Needless to say, the variety and uniqueness of the park’s restaurants gave an interesting character to the park itself.
The interior of the main dining room in the Hollywood Brown Derby. Their soup and salad combo is delicious!
Disney-MGM Studios was not set up in necessarily the most organized fashion, like Epcot’s double circles or Magic Kingdom’s wheel design. Rather, it was designed to look like a studio with criss-crossing streets and alleys filled with soundstages and characters around every turn. Soon after its opening, the park started to gain a reputation for welcoming franchises into its attractions. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which showed the creative process behind the rolling stone, airplane, and tank stunts in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Star Tours, an original attraction based on exploration of the Star Wars galaxy, opened shortly after through the same contract with Lucasfilm. Soon, the MGM name was dropped from the park after a lawsuit with MGM over their MGM Grand Theme Park in Las Vegas, and the name Disney’s Hollywood Studios was adopted. Other attractions, featuring Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Twilight Zone, The Muppets, and Playhouse Disney, were soon welcomed and developed the franchise brand that is associated with Hollywood Studios to this day.
The Muppet*Vision Theater and courtyard at night, complete with Kermit the Frog hot air balloon
Revolutionary new attractions, developed over the past decade or so, expanded the number of practical technological feats in the theme park industry. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is an unprecedented elevator system that moves horizontally on a trackless floor and then drops and rises at break-neck speeds through a 13-story elevator shaft whose floor sequence is randomly generated by a computer; each time you ride it, it’s a different experience! Rockin’ Rollercoaster is an indoor rollercoaster based on the music of Aerosmith that accelerates to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds using linear-synchronous motors, or magnets that slingshot the train forward at ever-increasing velocity. Toy Story Mania uses four-dimensional carnival-style games that can change in and out if new ideas are developed for the ride; the ride’s queue also features an Audio-Animatronic Mr. Potato Head that can identify guests and have a direct conversation with them (he can even pull his ear out and put it back in too!)
For a park centered on the glory of film, television, music and Broadway, it is appropriate the park’s closing finale is a monumental production of epic proportions. Blending characters, story, water, light, massive sets, music and color, Fantasmic! is a nighttime spectacular unlike any other. Each performance of the show costs an average $45,000 to put on, and features such iconic Disney images as Steamboat Willie’s steamship, Disney princesses on automated water floats, and a 50-foot tall Maleficent dragon from Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
Fantasmic! during its climactic scene: Sorcerer Mickey battles Maleficent, the fire-breathing dragon, and the forces of evil
The past year, however, has seen a number of closings within the park. The American Idol Experience closed to allow the Hyperion Theater to sit vacant for almost a year now. The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, a small-budget show, has also closed, along with The Magic of Disney Animation, one of the park’s opening day attractions. The Backlot Tour, another opening day attraction, closed this past year, just months after I rode it for the first time! The only remaining opening day attraction, The Great Movie Ride, still sits prominently in Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and is deemed to be safe from removal due to a recent sponsorship deal with Turner Classic Movies. The most notable change, however, was the removal of the Sorcerer’s Hat from the park’s central location. Originally added as part of Disney World’s Millennium Celebration in 2000, the Sorcerer’s Hat became the park’s icon and sat directly in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, to the dismay of many Disney fans. Its removal was well-documented by those who regularly visited the park, and many believe it will be reassembled somewhere on Disney World’s property based on how it was taken down.
The Sorcerer’s Hat, once the park’s icon, before its dis-assembly in January 2015
These closures and changes are reflective of Imagineering’s attempt to revamp the park as, according to CEO Bob Iger, a place where YOU are in the center of the films, not just looking behind-the-scenes. It was announced this past August that two major land expansions would be coming to Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Land, inspired by the Toy Story films, will be built as though guests have been shrunk down to the size of Andy’s toys and are invited into his room by Woody and Buzz Lightyear; the land will feature two new attractions, in addition to an expanded version of the current Toy Story Mania attraction. Star Wars Land, the largest expansion in all of Disney theme park history at a staggering 14 acres, will feature two new attractions based on the Millennium Falcon and a battle between the First Order and the Resistance from the upcoming film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. These expansions are part of a park re-branding that will ultimately give new life to this exciting and engaging area dedicated to Walt’s passion for film-making and storytelling. I am hopeful that these changes will allow Hollywood Studios to thrive as a full-day park (many Disney parkgoers label Hollywood Studios as a half-day park, due to the lack of grade-A attractions and over-abundance of stage shows). I am eager to see what other developments will be coming, but I am anxious what else will be given the chopping block. I would be heartbroken if the Muppets were removed, especially given the recent success of the new Muppets show on ABC. Nonetheless, I think that whatever changes are coming will be positive in the long run, as I see this park as being a perfect fit for film franchises, unlike Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Park, or Epcot. I hope to return soon, not only for the grand opening of the park’s newest attractions, but to see the construction process in its ongoing state!
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: one of the few attractions still open at Hollywood Studios. But don’t worry! BIG changes are coming soon!
Original concept art for Toy Story Land, released just a few months ago by Walt Disney Imagineering
To conclude, I’d like to share something with all of you from the opening lines of Fantasmic!:
Welcome to Fantasmic! Tonight, your friend and host Mickey Mouse uses his vivid imagination tocreate magical imagery for all to enjoy. Nothing is more wonderful than the imagination. For, in amoment, you can experience a beautiful fantasy. Or, an exciting adventure! We now invite you to join Mickey, and experience Fantasmic — a journey beyond your wildest imagination.
I believe that all of Hollywood Studios, not just Fantasmic, continues to inspire generations of imaginative people driven by storytelling, creativity, and passion for the arts, and will do so for a number of years.
Hollywood Boulevard, the park’s central street, before the removal of the Sorcerer’s Hat
akm5630 says
Every time I read your blog posts, I am consumed with an overwhelming urge to buy a plane ticket to Florida and go to Disney World. I loved the back story about Hollywood Studios and I definitely liked learning some fun facts about each of the rides.
Alison Paige Kuznitz says
I am so happy that Disney executives decided to make Hollywood Studios in its own separate entity, as opposed to incorporating it as a pavilion within Epcot. Hollywood Studios has some of my favorite rides, including Rockin’ Rollercoaster. I’m excited to go back and see the new Toy Story section, not sure how Star Wars section will turn out…
Nicholas Larimer says
I love how you take the reader on a journey through all of the different Disney parks. Some of these rides and attractions seem to be really awesome and make me wish that I was there now. Disney is always coming up with exciting ideas, I can’t wait for what they think up in the future.