Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney theme park
The Sorcerer's Hat is the icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Location	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
Opening Day	May 1, 1989
Resort	Walt Disney World Resort
Theme	Show business
Website	Disney's Hollywood Studios homepage
Operator	The Walt Disney Company

Disney's Hollywood Studios is the third theme park built at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA. Spanning 135 acres (546,000 m²) in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The park opened on May 1, 1989 and was known as Disney-MGM Studios from May 1, 1989 until January 6,

Attractions

Fantasmic! The Earful Tower is visible in the background.
The park consists of six themed areas. Unlike the other Walt Disney World parks, the Disney's Hollywood Studios does not have a defined layout; it is more a mass of streets and buildings that blend into each other, much like a real motion picture studio would. The layout of the park, however, did have an interesting design characteristic. If you look at an older version of a Disney's Hollywood Studios map and turn it upside down (or look at an old aerial photo oriented due north), you will see a Hidden Mickey in the overall layout of the park. Recent construction and changes to the park have eliminated much of this image.

Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood Boulevard is lined with venues selling Disney merchandise and food. This is also the route of the daily Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade. Michael Eisner, who had a major part in the park's creation ever since the earliest development, demanded the opening land operate on the same principle as Main Street, U.S.A.—a street lined with shops and food, but in a style more fitting to the Studios.

• The Great Movie Ride, a dark ride paying homage to several classic films, including Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz. It is located at the end of Hollywood Boulevard.
• A.T.A.S. Hall of Fame Plaza, which features busts of past and present icons of the television era, such as Oprah Winfrey and Walt Disney.

On February 7, 2008 park officials announced that the popular television series American Idol will inspire a new interactive stage show to be constructed in the former Superstar Television theatre, which will open near the end of 2008

Echo Lake

Echo Lake is the only body of water within the park, and is surrounded by attractions. Two snack stands reside along the lake: Min and Bill's Dockside Diner, inside a miniature ocean liner; and Dinosaur Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction, inside a large green dinosaur reminiscent of the animated Gertie the Dinosaur from the early days of motion pictures. The lake's elliptical shape, when viewed from the air, formed one of Mickey Mouse's two ears in the large "hidden Mickey" that was featured in the park's original layout.

• Star Tours, a motion simulator ride set in the Star Wars universe.
• Jedi Training Academy, a live-action stage show where children are selected to become padawan learners and receive "lightsaber training" from a Jedi master. This show originally was a special event during the annual Star Wars Weekends, but it has since been added to the park's daily entertainment schedule.
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, a live-action performance showing how movie stunts are done. The show re-enacts various scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• Sounds Dangerous!, a 3-D audio presentation featuring comedian Drew Carey.

Annual events

Disney's Hollywood Studios hosts a number of events during the year that often draw thousands of fans to the park.

• ESPN The Weekend (late winter) features commentators from the Disney-owned cable sports channels as well as sports celebrities. The next event is scheduled for February 29-March 2, 2008.

Imperial Stormtroopers parade near the Sorcerer's Hat during Star Wars Weekends.

• Star Wars Weekends (June) bring Star Wars fans and celebrities together for special park events. The Weekends are generally held in late May and June and include events Fridays through Sundays each scheduled weekend. They feature the 501st Legion (a worldwide Star Wars costuming group) parading through the park in Stormtrooper costumes, two (or more) Star Wars actors appearing each weekend for photos and autographs, Jedi Lightsaber Training classes for kids, and other activities.
• Night of Joy (September), a two-night after-hours celebration of contemporary Christian music, will move to Disney's Hollywood Studios from the nearby Magic Kingdom for its 26th annual visit in 2008. The next scheduled event is September 5-6, 2008.
• ABC Super Soap Weekend (November) pays tribute to the legions of fans of ABC's long-running soap operas. Guests can meet stars from All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. This year's event was scheduled for November 10-11, 2007.
• The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (November-January) take over the Streets of America during the holiday season.The display features over five million Christmas lights on more than 350 miles of wire.

Production history

The Walt Disney Company's original concept of the then-Disney-MGM Studios was to operate it as a full fledged television and motion picture production facility, not just a theme park. In 1988, among the first feature-length movies filmed at the facility, prior to its completion and opening as a theme park, was Ernest Saves Christmas. When the park opened in 1989, the studio/production facilities housed two major components, the first of which was Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, where Disney produced a number of projects, including Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, and sequences from other 1990s-early 2000s Disney animated features. The second, larger, component was Walt Disney Studios Florida, which consisted of three sound stages used for various Disney projects including The Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and Adventures in Wonderland. Several third party productions also used the Studios, including Superboy (first season only, from 1988-1989), Thunder in Paradise, a revival of Let's Make a Deal, special broadcasts of Wheel of Fortune and airplane interior sequences for the feature film Passenger 57. In addition, a number of music videos and several tapings for World Championship Wrestling were also shot there. Even The Post Group had a Florida-based post-production facility located on the Studio lot throughout the 1990s. All these production and post-production facilities were constructed to be an integral part of the theme park's Backstage Studio Tour as well.

During the closing credits of the Mickey Mouse Club (later, MMC in its final seasons) and Adventures in Wonderland, the lit Disney-MGM water tower appeared on the screen and one of the cast said, "(insert show title here) was taped at the Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida." Disney management (including CEO Michael Eisner) decided to downsize Disney's Florida operations by closing the animation studio, laying-off personnel and then moving the operations to the main animation studio in Burbank, California.

A radio studio is also located on the lot, appropriately behind "Sounds Dangerous". It originally housed the first children's radio network Radio Aahs which rented the studio. Later, Disney founded Radio Disney and essentially drove Radio Aahs out of business. Radio Disney decided it was no longer profitable to operate in Florida so they moved all of their shows from the Disney-MGM Studios to the Radio Disney headquarters in Dallas, Texas and the once bustling Disney Studios Florida radio studios are now used as remote studios for radio shows that are visiting Disney or the Orlando area and need a facility to broadcast from.

Production history

The Walt Disney Company's original concept of the then-Disney-MGM Studios was to operate it as a full fledged television and motion picture production facility, not just a theme park. In 1988, among the first feature-length movies filmed at the facility, prior to its completion and opening as a theme park, was Ernest Saves Christmas. When the park opened in 1989, the studio/production facilities housed two major components, the first of which was Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, where Disney produced a number of projects, including Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, and sequences from other 1990s-early 2000s Disney animated features. The second, larger, component was Walt Disney Studios Florida, which consisted of three sound stages used for various Disney projects including The Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and Adventures in Wonderland. Several third party productions also used the Studios, including Superboy (first season only, from 1988-1989), Thunder in Paradise, a revival of Let's Make a Deal, special broadcasts of Wheel of Fortune and airplane interior sequences for the feature film Passenger 57. In addition, a number of music videos and several tapings for World Championship Wrestling were also shot there. Even The Post Group had a Florida-based post-production facility located on the Studio lot throughout the 1990s. All these production and post-production facilities were constructed to be an integral part of the theme park's Backstage Studio Tour as well.

During the closing credits of the Mickey Mouse Club (later, MMC in its final seasons) and Adventures in Wonderland, the lit Disney-MGM water tower appeared on the screen and one of the cast said, "(insert show title here) was taped at the Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida." Disney management (including CEO Michael Eisner) decided to downsize Disney's Florida operations by closing the animation studio, laying-off personnel and then moving the operations to the main animation studio in Burbank, California.

A radio studio is also located on the lot, appropriately behind "Sounds Dangerous". It originally housed the first children's radio network Radio Aahs which rented the studio. Later, Disney founded Radio Disney and essentially drove Radio Aahs out of business. Radio Disney decided it was no longer profitable to operate in Florida so they moved all of their shows from the Disney-MGM Studios to the Radio Disney headquarters in Dallas, Texas and the once bustling Disney Studios Florida radio studios are now used as remote studios for radio shows that are visiting Disney or the Orlando area and need a facility to broadcast from.

Mickey Avenue

Mickey Avenue runs adjacent to the old Soundstages 1, 2 and 3. It connects the Streets of America to the Animation Courtyard. Currently, a large section of the avenue is closed for construction of the new Toy Story Mania attraction, which will re-open under the name "Pixar Place."

• Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, a museum-like walkthrough attraction that explores the life of Walt Disney and his legacy through photos, models, rare artifacts and a short biographical film narrated by Julie Andrews as well as archival audio of Walt himself.
• Journey Into Narnia, a walk-through interactive attraction featuring props from the movie series. The attraction is currently closed to add elements from the series' second film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and is expected to re-open soon after the film's release in May 2008.
• The American Film Institute Showcase, a rotating exhibit of movie props and memorabilia.
• Toy Story Mania!, an interactive attraction inspired by classic carnival midway games and featuring popular Pixar characters, will open in 2008.

Animation Courtyard

This section of the park originally was the starting point for the tours of the park's active production studios. Its entrance is marked by a square "studio arch," much like a real Hollywood studio lot entrance might be marked.

• Voyage of The Little Mermaid, a live performance using puppets, lasers, movies, human actors, and water (mist) to re-create the animated Little Mermaid movie, in a condensed form.
• The Magic of Disney Animation, a short presentation showing how animated films are made.
• Playhouse Disney Live on Stage!, a live performance featuring puppet characters from the Playhouse Disney block of programming on The Disney Channel.

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard was the first expansion to Disney's Hollywood Studios, opening in July 1994.

• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, a stage show featuring highlights of the film.
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, an indoor roller coaster in the dark with three inversions and a high-speed launch.
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a thrill ride that drops guests in an elevator in a randomized set of four sequences each involving multiple high-speed drops and ascents. In addition, special effects including scents, lighting and sound enhance the experience.
• Fantasmic!, a nighttime show with characters and fireworks held in the adjacent Hollywood Hills Amphitheatre

Live entertainment

Disney's Hollywood Studios has featured numerous forms of in-park entertainment throughout its history. During its early years, the park featured the "Star Today" program, with a daily celebrity guest. The celebrity would often be featured in a motorcade along Hollywood Boulevard, or would take part in a handprint ceremony at the Great Movie Ride's entrance, or even participate in an interview session.

At other times, Disney has imported characters that were not part of its own library of films and television shows. Some of these characters have included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and characters from the Goosebumps series by author R. L. Stine. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made appearances in the park during the first seasons of the television series, but then vanished. The Power Rangers franchise is now owned by Disney, through its purchase of Saban Entertainment, and are again regular members of the park's cast of characters, with characters from the more recent versions of the show, including the current edition, Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive.

Many of the park's costumed entertainers are not related to any particular film or TV show. Instead, they are live-action caricatures of figures from Hollywood's history. Originally dubbed "streetmosphere" by Disney and now called the "Citizens of Hollywood", they appear at regular intervals on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. Some of these characters include directors, talent agents, starlets or hopefuls, and will often take part in streetside shows that will include audience participation.

Today, guests are treated to a wide array of characters and performers, many of which make their only Walt Disney World appearances at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Some examples include characters from Jojo's Circus, Little Einsteins and Kim Possible. Similarly, characters from new Disney and Pixar animated features will make their Walt Disney World debuts at the park, such as those from Meet the Robinsons and Pixar's Ratatouille. Live musical acts, such as the cover band Mulch, Sweat and Shears and the a cappella quartet Four For a Dollar, will perform on the park streets or as pre-show entertainment at the larger shows.

Like the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom parks, Disney's Hollywood Studios also runs daily parades down Hollywood Boulevard. The "Disney Stars and Motor Cars" parade features the park's characters riding in specially decorated cars, themed to match their characters; the parade will move to Walt Disney Studios Park in 2008, to be replaced by the Block Party Bash coming from Disney's California Adventure. Several times each day, the "High School Musical 2 : School's Out!" show will travel Hollywood Boulevard before performing a live street show in front of the Sorcerer's Hat.