I was a teen when MGM opened. The tour was great early on because they were still trying to make it look like a working studio and we saw a good bit of actual filming. We had APs so we’d go on the tour a lot since there was hardly anything to do when the park opened.
It actually was still a working production studio when I was there in 2001. I mean it wasn't like a Universal lot, but there was still some cool stuff that would come through. I miss those days. :(
Disney-MGM Studios cast member here (1990-96). Back then, it was the Backstage Studio Tour, Parts I (shuttle tour) and II (walking tour). In early '91, the tour was split into two separate attractions. The shuttle ride remained the Backstage Studio Tour (red shirts), while the walking portion became Inside the Magic: Special Effects & Production Tour (blue shirts). ITM consisted of the Special Effects Water Tank (no Pearl Harbor tie-in), the Special Effects Workshop (a 5-minute spoken tutorial on practical effects, which in June '93 became outdated overnight with the release of Jurassic Park), and the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Shooting Stage (blue-screen demo involving the giant bee and two volunteers). The remainder of the attraction consisted of a walking tour through the three (often empty) soundstages, "The Lottery" short film starring Bette Midler (followed by a making-of and walk-through of the sets), a peek into Post Production (once home to a popular tour-video on foley artistry, hosted by future Hollywood pariahs Pee Wee Herman and Mel Gibson), and finally a sit-down rest in the Dailies Theater to view some theatrical coming attractions. I can't speak to what changes occurred after my resignation in March '96, as I've visited the park not even a handful of times since (the last occurring in 2002), but I can say that missing your mark in the Canyon never resulted in no show at all. It just meant you got no earthquake (or "shaker tables"). It was not uncommon to be cross trained in all three areas (shuttles, FX, walking tour). Eventually you'd have everything memorized to a T, but you also had to stay brushed up on your "101 Spiels." Then there were those sucks-but-somebody's-got-to-do-it attractions (yellow shirts) you mentioned in another video: The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure (or "HISK," as we called it) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet-n-greets ("Turtles," for short), an almost-always turbulent experience when it came time to close the lines. While many of us indeed considered these to be punishment attractions, they weren't utilized as such by Supervision (not in my time, at least). Nevertheless, I always dreaded yellow-shirt days.
OMG this is awesome.info! Definitely seems like a few variances from your time to mine, but holy smokes did you just whip up some old memories. I would definitely love to chat with you sometime if you were ever willing! :) And HISK was for sure a punishment. Everyone was told Day 1 in training that if you couldn’t get the spiel, that’s where you were headed lol
@@InLikeFlynns Oh have I got stories. Good and bad. My favorite experiences as a tour guide, be it shuttles or walking, were those in which the guests got the full behind-the-scenes experience by getting to witness an actual celebrity in action. Especially an A-lister like Tim Allen, Sidney Poitier, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, or Wesley Snipes. On set. Cameras rolling. These instances, while few and far between, were the best because they were just as exciting for us tour guides as they were for the guests.
I get so sad when I go to Hollywood Studios now and stand in a place where my tour used to visit. I recently watched a tour someone posted to UA-cam and the memories just flooded over me.
Becky here - went to DW last Sept….i really missed the backlot tour! The parks are supposed to cater to all ages. Not any more. Being older I appreciate the slower attractions. They are phasing these out for the thrill seekers….really becoming less and less family oriented. Walt would not be pleased.
I know right?! Not everything needs to be a thrill ride or 4D attraction. And the Backlot Tour was a vital part of making Disney MGM studios a true movie theme park.
Thanks a lot about that video, very interesting. Went on that tour twice at the end of the 00s. We got selected as "volunteers" for the first act and got absolutely, utterly drenched the first time. My english was not so fluent then so I'm not sure I did understand the instructions well and probably made a fool of myself, but anyway, we had good fun! As a bit of a movie buff, I remember fondly the AFI exhibition at the end - the first time it was about "Pirates of the Caribbeans II" (Davy Jones organ
When I worked there Pearl Harbor and Unbreakable was all the hype. I definitely miss the work and the attraction. I was also lucky enough to get chosen for the tank show extra twice when I was not working there. What a blast it was!
@@InLikeFlynns My nephew works at UniStu in SoCal. It's the OG of studio tours. But did you get out to the Ranch? That Warner studios backlot tour is much more private and informative if you want real film insights. I've also gotten into Raleigh Studios - for work - which was the original Paramount.
Stumbled across these, as big Disney fan, as lived in Fl and was regular and loved the back lot tour, interesting stuff, are these vlogs coming after a certain time on the NDAs? Or just want to share it now? Either way love the stories of behind the magic, I have some but friend still works there 😮
Hahaha I would hope that after 24 years any NDA I may have once had is expired. I started doing these because a few people said it could be an interesting topic to discuss on the channel. Then I posted the one rant video and it blew up, so I figured maybe those people were right. Plus I love talking about my time and experiences with them and I can’t wait to go into specific stories I have.
Thank you! In the future there will definitely be more specific stories about interactions and events when I worked there as well as some reactions to current announcements and news events
And please stand clear of the doors!!! My wife and son tell me I sound more like the California Monorail guy, but not so much the Florida dude. Heck, I will take either. I suppose that is a complement.
Do you remember the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios (Disney MGM Studios)? What was your favorite part of the tour?
I was a teen when MGM opened. The tour was great early on because they were still trying to make it look like a working studio and we saw a good bit of actual filming. We had APs so we’d go on the tour a lot since there was hardly anything to do when the park opened.
It actually was still a working production studio when I was there in 2001. I mean it wasn't like a Universal lot, but there was still some cool stuff that would come through. I miss those days. :(
Disney-MGM Studios cast member here (1990-96). Back then, it was the Backstage Studio Tour, Parts I (shuttle tour) and II (walking tour). In early '91, the tour was split into two separate attractions. The shuttle ride remained the Backstage Studio Tour (red shirts), while the walking portion became Inside the Magic: Special Effects & Production Tour (blue shirts). ITM consisted of the Special Effects Water Tank (no Pearl Harbor tie-in), the Special Effects Workshop (a 5-minute spoken tutorial on practical effects, which in June '93 became outdated overnight with the release of Jurassic Park), and the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Shooting Stage (blue-screen demo involving the giant bee and two volunteers). The remainder of the attraction consisted of a walking tour through the three (often empty) soundstages, "The Lottery" short film starring Bette Midler (followed by a making-of and walk-through of the sets), a peek into Post Production (once home to a popular tour-video on foley artistry, hosted by future Hollywood pariahs Pee Wee Herman and Mel Gibson), and finally a sit-down rest in the Dailies Theater to view some theatrical coming attractions. I can't speak to what changes occurred after my resignation in March '96, as I've visited the park not even a handful of times since (the last occurring in 2002), but I can say that missing your mark in the Canyon never resulted in no show at all. It just meant you got no earthquake (or "shaker tables"). It was not uncommon to be cross trained in all three areas (shuttles, FX, walking tour). Eventually you'd have everything memorized to a T, but you also had to stay brushed up on your "101 Spiels." Then there were those sucks-but-somebody's-got-to-do-it attractions (yellow shirts) you mentioned in another video: The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure (or "HISK," as we called it) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet-n-greets ("Turtles," for short), an almost-always turbulent experience when it came time to close the lines. While many of us indeed considered these to be punishment attractions, they weren't utilized as such by Supervision (not in my time, at least). Nevertheless, I always dreaded yellow-shirt days.
OMG this is awesome.info! Definitely seems like a few variances from your time to mine, but holy smokes did you just whip up some old memories. I would definitely love to chat with you sometime if you were ever willing! :) And HISK was for sure a punishment. Everyone was told Day 1 in training that if you couldn’t get the spiel, that’s where you were headed lol
My family did your version of the tour when I was a little kid! Thanks for the memories!
@@valeriemcdonald440 You might have been on one of my tours, or a volunteer on the bee. Even if not, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.
@@InLikeFlynns Oh have I got stories. Good and bad. My favorite experiences as a tour guide, be it shuttles or walking, were those in which the guests got the full behind-the-scenes experience by getting to witness an actual celebrity in action. Especially an A-lister like Tim Allen, Sidney Poitier, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, or Wesley Snipes. On set. Cameras rolling. These instances, while few and far between, were the best because they were just as exciting for us tour guides as they were for the guests.
Omg! that was the best tour ever!!!!!!!!! Disney is crazy!
I get so sad when I go to Hollywood Studios now and stand in a place where my tour used to visit. I recently watched a tour someone posted to UA-cam and the memories just flooded over me.
Becky here - went to DW last Sept….i really missed the backlot tour! The parks are supposed to cater to all ages. Not any more. Being older I appreciate the slower attractions. They are phasing these out for the thrill seekers….really becoming less and less family oriented. Walt would not be pleased.
I know right?! Not everything needs to be a thrill ride or 4D attraction. And the Backlot Tour was a vital part of making Disney MGM studios a true movie theme park.
Thanks a lot about that video, very interesting. Went on that tour twice at the end of the 00s. We got selected as "volunteers" for the first act and got absolutely, utterly drenched the first time. My english was not so fluent then so I'm not sure I did understand the instructions well and probably made a fool of myself, but anyway, we had good fun!
As a bit of a movie buff, I remember fondly the AFI exhibition at the end - the first time it was about "Pirates of the Caribbeans II" (Davy Jones organ
When I worked there Pearl Harbor and Unbreakable was all the hype. I definitely miss the work and the attraction. I was also lucky enough to get chosen for the tank show extra twice when I was not working there. What a blast it was!
Loved the backlot tour! Got to see it twice!!!🌟👏🏻🤩👍👏🏻🥰👍👏🏻🌟
I hope you got to ride on one of my tours. Actually, for your sake, no I dont hahahha
Went on that many years ago and it was a lot of fun. Reminded me of the Universal tour in SoCal.
I just went on the Universal Tour in Cali, and I must say, that tour is much better lol.
@@InLikeFlynns My nephew works at UniStu in SoCal. It's the OG of studio tours.
But did you get out to the Ranch? That Warner studios backlot tour is much more private and informative if you want real film insights.
I've also gotten into Raleigh Studios - for work - which was the original Paramount.
Stumbled across these, as big Disney fan, as lived in Fl and was regular and loved the back lot tour, interesting stuff, are these vlogs coming after a certain time on the NDAs? Or just want to share it now? Either way love the stories of behind the magic, I have some but friend still works there 😮
Hahaha I would hope that after 24 years any NDA I may have once had is expired. I started doing these because a few people said it could be an interesting topic to discuss on the channel. Then I posted the one rant video and it blew up, so I figured maybe those people were right. Plus I love talking about my time and experiences with them and I can’t wait to go into specific stories I have.
@InLikeFlynns look forward to more, the history, stories are great
Thank you! In the future there will definitely be more specific stories about interactions and events when I worked there as well as some reactions to current announcements and news events
Keep your hands inside of the door monorail voice man
And please stand clear of the doors!!! My wife and son tell me I sound more like the California Monorail guy, but not so much the Florida dude. Heck, I will take either. I suppose that is a complement.
@@InLikeFlynns are you from Pennsylvania?
@@InLikeFlynns I can almost see an Instagram reel of the 2 guys throwing shade at each other haha
What do you do now?
I’m a software engineer. And I guess now a UA-camr in my spare time?! Total nerd.