Disney's Hollywood Studios Part 1: Hollywood Boulevard

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has dramatically changed since it first opened in 1989. Not only has the name of the park changed from the Disney-MGM Studios, but the main function and purpose of the park has changed as well. When the park debuted in 1989 it was meant to be a working film studio with a theme park component. As a result, the various attractions and shows on the theme park side were not necessarily meant to take up the whole day.

On Opening Day, May 1, 1989, the park included five attractions: The Great Movie Ride, The Magic of Disney Animation Tour, The Monster Sound Studio, Superstar Television, and the Backstage Studio Tour (which was a two hour experience). Later that year the park added the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in August and Star Tours in December. A look at the original park map shows the clear delineation between the theme park and studio areas of the park:



Over the years, the working studio component faded away and the Disney-MGM Studios became more of a traditional theme park. However, the attractions and shows found in the park have not changed substantially enough to keep up with this change in the park’s main function. As a result, the rebranded Disney’s Hollywood Studios is still considered by many to be a half-day park lacking a sufficient number of attractions to warrant spending a whole day there.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios today is probably the park that needs the most work of any at Disney World. Although no longer a working studios, it has yet to fully make the jump to being a full-fledged theme park and it sometimes feels as though it is still looking for its true identity. One of the things that works against the park is its layout, lacking the same hub-and-spoke design that makes Magic Kingdom so easily navigable. Rather than having a defined layout, the park is more a mass of streets and buildings that blend into each other, much like a real motion picture studio; this layout makes travelling through the park from one point to another somewhat of a challenge. Another pitfall is the park’s small size, the smallest of all the Florida parks. At the same time, the park does have a few things working in its favor. First, the Hollywood theme of the park is one that encompasses so much of what Disney is about. In addition, the park already has a set of themed areas, but the themes just need to be more defined and developed.

I truly believe that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the park with the most potential, but in order to realize that potential it will require a lot of work. My goal for Hollywood Studios is to better develop its themes, firmly establish the park’s identity, and yet still remain true to the original mission of the park as presenting “The Hollywood that never was and always will be.”

Hollywood Boulevard sets the tone for the rest of the park and while the building facades along the street capture the Hollywood feel, what is inside the shops is the kind of merchandise that can be found throughout the rest of Disney World. With exception of Sid Cahuenga’s memorabilia shop, the rest of the stores on Hollywood Boulevard are very generic. For this reason, I would give the shops here the same treatment as I did with the shops on Main Street at Magic Kingdom, converting them into a series of smaller specialty stores each selling different types of unique merchandise that would fit better with the Hollywood theme of the park.

Also, to provide some kinetics to Hollywood Boulevard, I would add the Red Car Trolley Line similar to what is being added to Disney's California Adventure. Not only would this help to solidify the theme and time period of Hollywood Boulevard, but it would also serve the practical purpose of helping to transport guests into the park. The trolley line would start at the front of the park and make stops at the end of Sunset Boulevard by Tower of Terror as well as in front of the Great Movie Ride.



At the end of Hollywood Boulevard sits one of the biggest travesties in the history of Disney World. The decision to put the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat in front of the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater completely destroys the illusion of being in Hollywood. Prior to the hat, the Chinese Theater set to perfect backdrop at the end of Hollywood Boulevard:





Today, the Hat not only completely blocks of the view of the Chinese Theater but also throws off the forced-perspective and makes the Hollywood Boulevard entrance to the park feel smaller:





The Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard was something that drew guests into the park, immersed them in the park’s theme, and inspired them to explore the other areas of the park. The Hat does none of these things and is more of an intrusion than anything else.

My plan calls for the complete removal of the Hat and in its place I would construct a stage for a new outdoor production, similar to the stage shows in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom. Gone would also be the Disney Channel Rocks show that currently performs in front of the Hat. In its place performing on the new stage would be a show entitled “Hooray for Hollywood” which would exemplify all the glitz and glamour of the golden age of Hollywood. Included in the show would be singers and dancers performing songs such as Hooray for Hollywood and There’s No Business Like Show Business. Also included in the show would be appearances by classic Disney characters as well as some of the Citizens of Hollywood.
The show would have a feel similar to what was performed for the park’s Grand Opening Ceremony, just not on as large a scale:



Disneyland had a show entitled “Show Biz Is” in the 1980s and its opening number was a song that I think would fit very well in this new show:



Inside of the Chinese Theater is an attraction that is very near and dear to my heart, the Great Movie Ride. This is a classic Disney attraction that has been a part of the park since it first opened and therefore I would make no major changes to the ride itself. What I would do is fix all the effects that are in need of repair, some of which have not been working for many years. Among the things I would fix, I would make sure that the Busby girls would once again spin, the Gangster car would move, and the side Alien would be fully functioning. I would also see to upgrades and enhancements of the Audio-Animatronic figures, new and improved lighting throughout the ride, and an updated finale montage.

Next to the Great Movie Ride sits a theater that has served many purposes over the years. It began as the home of Superstar Television, later changed to Doug Live, and today houses the American Idol Experience. American Idol no longer has the popularity it once had and the show itself does not really mesh well with the overall Hollywood theme of the park in general and especially the theme of Hollywood Boulevard. In its place I would bring in a show from the Disney Studios in Paris called CinéMagique.



The premise of the attraction is that guests are seated in a theater expecting to see a production about the history of film. The first film clips shown are from the silent era. All of a sudden, a cell phone starts ringing from a seat near the front of the theater. A man answers it and starts a loud conversation with the airline that has lost his luggage. During his conversation we learn that his name is George. George eventually gets up from his seat and walks up onto the stage. The characters in the silent film are in the midst of a love scene when they “break the fourth wall” and become aware of the annoying man talking on stage. A wizard is summoned, takes one look at George, and starts to conjure a spell. He sprinkles some magic dust and with a blast of smoke on the stage and the man disappears and a moment later reappears in the movie.

The character of George is played by Martin Short and guests follow him as he travels on a wild and crazy journey through classic movies ranging in everything from Mary Poppins to Silence of the Lambs to Casablanca to Gone with the Wind to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This 30-minute show is one of the highest rated attractions at the Disney Studios in Paris and would be a welcome addition to Hollywood Studios.

Here is a look at CineMagique:



Hollywood Boulevard helps to set the tone as guests enter the park and the changes made here help to better solidify both the theme of this area and the park as a whole, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for even greater changes throughout the rest of Hollywood Studios.