Give Me My Old Hollywood Studios Back!!!

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 2, 2019)

“We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be.” – Michael D. Eisner on May 1, 1989.

30 years. 30 years since the opening of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And boy, what a crazy 30 years it has been.

The park has totally changed course of identity since its opening. Gone are the functional movie studios and production shows. In their place is a land made after a kid’s backyard and a future area devoted to one of George Lucas’ greatest creations.

Will newer Disney fans appreciate these changes? Probably. Did I? Absolutely not.

I will be the first to say that Toy Story Land is a work of art. There is no question that the attention to detail is top notch and probably only Pandora in Animal Kingdom has that level of intricacies to it. The entire land is awesome itself. Yet my issue is not with what the land is, it is instead with what the land stands for.

When Disney’s MGM Studios opened on that fateful day in 1989, Michael Eisner and the higher ups at the Walt Disney Company wanted something that could rival Universal’s new park about 10 minutes down the road. We’ll check back on how Universal is doing in a minute.

The park’s icon has changed over the years. Originally the Chinese Theater and the “Earful Tower” (haha), things changed in 2001 when a sorcerer’s hat from the movie “Fantasia” was put into the park. It was taken down in 2015, along with the much beloved Earful Tower. The Chinese Theater is still there, but its luster, as you are about to find out, is gone.

The park opened with two attractions: the Great Movie Ride, and the Studio Backlot Tour. The Backlot Tour consisted of a backstage walking tour (where sometimes animated movies and TV shows were being filmed!) and a tram tour, which featured Catastrophe Canyon and the Streets of America. Originally, you could even see the house from the popular TV show, “The Golden Girls”. The attraction closed on September 27, 2014 to make way for, you guessed it, Toy Story Land.

The Great Movie Ride was a journey deep into the movies that made Hollywood what it is today. Movies like Singing in the Rain, Indiana Jones, and The Wizard of Oz were featured, as well as genres such as horror and westerns. The ride was put into the Chinese Theater, making it the first ride people saw when they entered the theme park. Some of you reading this have probably rode the Great Movie Ride. That attraction closed on August 13, 2017 to make way for a new ride called Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

See what my issue is? The two things that made the park great to start with are now gone.

Not only that, but many shows that made the park centered around Hollywood are, well, things of the past. The American Idol Experience was replaced with a Frozen Sing Along. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Play It! was replaced with a Toy Story ride, albeit an amazing one. Lights! Motors! Action! had to be torn down for Galaxy’s Edge. The numerous shows centered around Doug, Pocahontas, Goosebumps, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are no more. Instead we are getting more Star Wars and Toy Story.

On a positive note, the Sunset Boulevard area is immaculate with Rock n’ Roller Coaster, the Tower of Terror, and Fantasmic. All three of those experiences are perfect. THAT is what makes Hollywood Studios special, not some movies that have no other place in Disney World.

Even Star Tours and Toy Story Midway Mania are amazing rides. Slinky Dog Dash is incredible to ride, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make. It’s not about the rides themselves, it’s about the concept the rides were based on.

The dining, luckily, has not changed much since Opening Day. Although my much loved Catwalk Bar is gone, the 50s Prime Time Cafe still does their thing and the Hollywood Brown Derby continues to be one of the best restaurants on Disney property. However, the quick service options are lacking tremendously, and Bob Iger and crew should fix that quickly when Galaxy’s Edge opens.

Six attractions still remain from the glory days of Hollywood Studios: the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, the Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Muppetvision 3D (which is on life support at the moment), and Beauty and the Beast Live On Stage.

Good rides and shows, no doubt, but only Tower of Terror and Star Tours are rides that people talk about.

Indiana Jones’ stunt show is amazing. Even if it feels old and dated, it serves as a reminder about what the park’s original focus was.

Muppetvision is stuck between Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Star Tours the attraction. It does not fit in with the rest of the area. Hopes for it sticking around in the foreseeable future are slim.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage are shows that people just do not care about anymore. The theaters are always empty.

A park that was meant to replicate another has resulted in a very weird position for Disney. Fans are clamoring for the Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Tour to come back, but it looks like that will not be happening.

And what ever happened to Universal? They only added another park, a water park, and six hotels. Not only that, but a seventh hotel has been announced and a third theme park is on its way in 2021-2022. Not good for The Mouse.

I know this will not result in any changes. I will not get my beloved Lights! Motors! Action! back. Nothing will change. I will still get Star Wars Land shoved down my throat by the company while I sit back and think about how good things used to be when I was sitting in a tram and watching Catastrophe Canyon go off. I will still hear about how great Toy Story Land is while I reminisce about how much detail went into that Wicked Witch of the West animatronic during the Wizard of Oz sequence.

It’s no longer Disney’s Hollywood Studios to me. It has become Disney’s Miscellaneous Lands. Because that is what it feels like has happened to my beloved theme park.

At least we can still get our Cobb Salad and Grapefruit Cake at the Brown Derby…for now.