Disney's Hollywood Studios

This shop at the entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios was inspired by the art deco design of Hollywood’s iconic Crossroads of the World shopping center. The Disney version is a near replica, complete with neon lighting and a spinning globe. The main difference between the two is that this one is topped with a 5’3” tall Mickey Mouse sculpture. Mickey’s right ear is made of copper, acting as a lightning rod in inclement weather. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a new attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The building that houses the ride is an exact replica of a real place: the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, opening with the park in 1989 at The Great Movie Ride. Imagineers used blueprints from the original building to design the Disney version, which still stands today, complete with original celebrity handprints in the courtyard floor. The ride is a whirlwind adventure into the cartoon world found in the Emmy Award-winning Mickey Mouse shorts series. The ride features a number of easter eggs (look for 1401 Flower Shop, a nod to the street address of Walt Disney Imagineering), a tribute to Walt’s love of trains at the exit, and a ton of Hidden Mickeys scattered throughout. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Muppet*Vision 3D is an attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios which debuted in 1991. It was the last major project that Jim Henson worked on before his death in 1990. Exterior Details The attraction is housed in the Grand Arts Theatre, meant to resemble present-day downtown Los Angeles, but was originally designed for the New York Street area (later called Streets of America). The plaza outside the attraction was originally intended as the entrance to Muppet Studios, a section of the park that would have been a parody of the rest of the park, which would have featured The Great Muppet Movie Ride and The Great Gonzo’s Pizza Pandemonium Parlor (which is now Mama Melrose). The idea was abandoned as merger talks between Disney and Henson fell apart following Jim Henson’s death in 1990. In true Muppet-parody fashion, Gonzo hanging off the minute hand of the clock outside is an homage to the iconic scene from the 1923 film, Safety Last!, a gag that’s been present since the attraction’s opening day. Queue Details The extended outdoor queue of the attraction features Muppet Pipes, a tribute to the infamous pipes Jim Henson and crew painted at NBC Studios in New York. Also part of […]

Rosie’s All-American Café is a quick-service dining location in Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sunset Boulevard. The name alludes to Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon during World War II and the theme of the dining location reflects the era with posters and memorabilia of Disney-created insignia and posters lining the walls and condiment stations. You can even find a real, working victory garden nearby, complete with a scarecrow wearing an air force pilot’s face mask. If you’re interested in learning more about the Disney Company’s involvement in creating insignia for World War II, check out Ohio’s National Museum of the US Air Force. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is a restaurant in Disney’s Hollywood Studios designed to resemble the movie set of a California drive-in movie theater in the 1950’s. While dining, guests watch a 47-minute loop of vintage film trailers and clips inter-spliced with commercials and news reels of the period. Some of the films shown are from: Walt Disney’s Mars and Beyond (1957) Devil Girl from Mars (1954) It Conquered the World (1956) Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1958) The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) The Cat That Hated People (1948) The Horror of Party Beach (1964) The Giant Gila Monster (1959) Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) Tom & Jerry’s Mouse into Space (1962) Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) Robot Monster (1953) Cat Women of the Moon (1953) Missile to the Moon (1958) Period appropriate music can also be heard throughout the film such as the following tracks: Sheb Wooley’s Purple People Eater Vito & The Salutations’ Unchained Melody Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls of Fire The Five Blobs’ The Blog Perrey & Kingsley’s Barnyard In Orbit The Del-Vikings’ Come Go With Me The “cars” that the guests sit in sport a 1955 license plate registration, a nod to Disneyland’s opening year. Official […]

In 1987, the original version of Star Tours opened in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. The motion simulator ride based on the Star Wars franchise featured Captain Rex, a droid that attempted to fly guests to the planet Endor. In 2011, Disney debuted an updated version of this ride: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The new ride uses advanced 3D technology, randomly chosen alternate scenes, and frequent updates with new characters and locations as new Star Wars films come out. The new version also exists at other Disney Parks around the world: Disneyland Park, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Queue Details Captain Rex can still be found in the new version – the droid is near the entrance to the queue’s cargo bay, ready to be shipped far, far away as DEFECTIVE stickers are now stuck to him. The security droid found at the end of the cargo bay room is G2-4T. This gossiping droid is voiced by actor Patrick Warburton. Warburton has starred in a number of Disney projects including the voice of Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) and the host of both Soarin’ Around the World in both Disney California Adventure and in Epcot. The droid found during the boarding pre-show is Aly […]

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a thrill ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios based on the classic TV show, The Twilight Zone. While the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel has many design influences, the most striking is that of the lobby which is based on the Rendezvous Court, the former lobby of a hotel now called the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles. This Moorish Revival style lobby has a distinct curved gold accented ceiling and archways that are mimicked in the attraction’s version. The Tower of Terror has two sister versions: one in Walt Disney Studios Park and another in Tokyo DisneySea. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Top 10 Places I Want To Sit But Can’t: Walt Disney World Edition Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Walt Disney Presents is a walk-through attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, featuring One Man’s Dream, a museum-type gallery telling the story of Walt’s life and legacy through models and memorabilia from the Walt Disney Archives. The exhibit typically shows rotating displays of upcoming Disney attractions and its theater will often preview sneak-peeks of the latest Disney films. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Top 10 Places I Want To Sit But Can’t: Walt Disney World Edition Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com