His execution was bad but his intentions initially weren't..look at how much people now love Disneyland Paris/ Euro Disney. How much thought they put into that park alone. People just didn't show up and it impacted the future of the other parks after.
@@vanillac0keh3adYeah, no. Disney can make S tier new attractions and everyone knows that. Cosmic rewind and Rise of the resistance are excellent examples. But Runaway Railway is mid af and great movie ride was a classic. I don’t hate runaway railway, but I will never excuse replacing a classic with a ride that isn’t at least as good or better than the original. Also Great movie ride was literally like a perfect embodiment of hollywood studios theme (which disney has forgotten and doesn’t care about anymore)
@@Radioshack65 great movie ride was mid af, a very weak imitation of the universal tram ride. The entire park existing in florida in a disney context made no sense anyway. But runaway railway is a cute fun attraction. Idk. The romanticization of everything they remove gets exhausting, its warranted at times but not over something like the great movie ride lol like yall really do the most sometimes
It’s also I feel like spiked in popularity online recently in the 2020’s with all of the videos out about them from movies to specific characters to topics, there’s a lot more love I feel like than back in the day also more respect. And back in the day as in the 2000’s to 2010’s I feel like. At least online.
@@SRKStar I completely agree, Muppets are extremely popular at the moment with Gen Z and Millenials and soon (already for the millenials) they'll be growing up with jobs and children and wallets
I can tell that it was Eisner who was pretty big on wanting Kermit and the gang to become officially part of the Disney family even back then, while now they're finally owned by Disney under Iger and constantly feel slept on and neglected when compared to Star Wars and Marvel Studios. It is nice to know that people can still be able to watch The Muppet Show on Disney+ now, but I do think that The Muppets themselves definitely deserve better.
DHS Cast Member here! In the backstage areas kinda between Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land/Pixar Place there are still remnants of the old Streets of America facades. They've definitely seen better days but they're still there. Obviously all of that stuff is out of guest view and I had no idea until I had to go back there for something but yeah.
Disney should give some love to the Muppets. Since they just replaced the seats, I would guess that Muppet Vision is sticking around - as it should. They should turn Mama Melrose's into character dining: reopen that huge Muppet Store: and turn Star Tours into a Muppet ride - Pigs in Space would be an easy and comical overlay.
Muppet Vision 3D is awesome! It made me feel like a kid again. It was like really being in the same theater in which the Muppet Show TV series took place. The box with the animatronic Statler and Waldorf was the icing on the cake.
One of the remnants I enjoy the most is the end of Muppet Vision when they blast through the wall of the theater and it shows what MGM looked like at the time they filmed the bit.
One more for the books: some of the street signs on Sunset Boulevard still bear the original “seal” of the park - with the Earful Tower in its unredacted. The trash cans have that modified one, but you can still find a few of the good old ones here and there.
First visited MGM in July of 1989. I was already very much into movies, and the park had such an influence on me that I went to college for film production and moved to Orlando. Sadly, much of any real production ceased right around or just after I finished school and entered the workforce, and in the years since I’ve realized how naive I was as a kid and teen, believing in MGM as being crafted into the new “East Coast Hollywood”. It was always a theme park first and a studio second, or even third. Still, in the 2000’s and early 2010’s I worked with many people in Orlando in the television industry who were former staffers at MGM. They have the fondest memories of its earliest days, working on shows like The New Mickey Mouse Club, back when some of the cast who became celebrities today were on it, parts of big animated films like Beauty and the Beast, and films like Parenthood and Passenger 57. I’ve lived in Orlando now for 26 years, and unfortunately my career has totally died as I’ve been unable to part with my dream here. But I still think back on that glorious summer of 1989, when MGM was brand new and all was right with the world.
I miss The Great Movie Ride so much 😔 of all of the rides and attractions that have come and gone in Orlando, that one might be the one I miss the most
we went that very first summer of 1989- such a great park! I really miss all the behind the scenes stuff- presentations of the sound effects, blue screens, etc. where you could get right up out of the audience and be a part of it. so much fun
I loved MGM. It was worth it just for Star Tours, Indy Jones, Muppets, Tower of Terror, and of course the great movie ride!! Could spend all day just riding over and over and over
There was a law suit re the Tower of Terror. A woman who had bad abdominal adhesions (fibrous scar tissue - I have some myself ) from surgery, would ride it because of the drop and sudden stop, which loosened some adhesions. So, she would join the 'singles' line and ride it again and again, sometimes all day. The park tried to ban her from riding and she sued them as there was no limit mentioned on the ticket. The park relented and she had free rein to carry on. I loved that ride. EDIT: I found this. 'In 2009, Disney was sued by Denise Mooty, a lady who rode the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror over 50 times a day. Every day. Mooty suffered from abdominal adhesions, and claimed that the frequent drops on the ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios helped to ease the pain.' It says she was banned for abusing workers, but she denied that.
add aerosmith and thats my MGM. honestly this and Epcot are prob my favourites, though i love me some dinoland and dinosaurs as well. haunted mansion is my MK go-to, but more old Disney i dont like barely any of their new endeavors as of late.
Everybody gangsta till Eisner says, *"Hullo, I'm Michael Eisner".* A fun fact about Tatooine, it was filmed in Tunisia! George Lucas chose Tunisia because he was attracted to the country’s architecture! The Lars homestead’s white domes were located in the town of Nefta, built low into the desert floor to stay cool. A room in a cave network in Matama stood in for some of the interiors of Luke’s childhood home. The adaptations to survive the harsh desert of Tatooine were real innovations used for thousands of years across Northern Africa. Lucas returned to Tunisia again for The Phantom Menace. Anakin Skywalker’s home, a cool stone building with stairs carved into its facade, was filmed in Ong Jemel. This time, there was a greater reliance on built sets, though they still drew from architectural styles used by the Tunisians. Attack of the Clones was also filmed there, while the sequel trilogy made use of places like Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flat to stand in for Krait (The Last Jedi) and the UAE's portion of the Rub' al Khali desert became Jakku (The Force Awakens). Tatooine is meant to be a barren desert planet, but in real-life Tunisia the weather was more temperamental. On the second day of the shoot, a freak rainstorm ruined the day’s filming, tightening an already limited schedule of 11 days in the country. The problems only grew from there. Anthony Daniels could hardly move in his suit, those stiff movements are about as good as he could manage. The controls that operated R2-D2 were better at picking up Tunisian radio signals, necessitating that the droid be pulled along the desert floor on skis by a wire. Things only got worse from there. Blistering heat during the day turned to unforgiving cold at night. The crew operated on very little sleep and many sickened with dysentery as the shoot dragged on past the planned 11 days. A massive sandstorm destroyed the Jawas’ sandcrawler, which then had to be rebuilt in just one day. That same sandcrawler almost started a very real war when Muammar Gaddafi accused the Tunisians of preparing to stage an invasion, with the sandcrawler mistaken as a real military vehicle. They quickly moved away from the Libyan border.
Great video! This is so tough for me. Hollywood Studios is just a different park that happens to occupy the space MGM Studios held. MGM was my favorite place on the planet. It's such a strange experience to see your childhood favorites get slowly replaced over a few decades. Some of the new attractions are great, but I'll forever miss the golden days of MGM Studios.
This is why in a perfect world there would exist all the space in the world for adding new attractions and nothing from before should ever have to be lost or replaced.
I think it's very sad that these parks have moved away from the educational/entertainment hybrid model they used to follow. I remember loving the back lot tour as a kid, as well as strolling down those movie set streets. Same at EPCOT Center. The educational stuff at EPCOT really rounded out the park and gave it its character. Everything has become so 'BIGGER, FASTER, MOVE MOVE MOVE!', in your face. 'RIDES RIDES RIDES'. 'Look here, look there!'. WDW used to have a calming charm to it that's long gone.
Epcot was literally meant to be a fascist city where your thoughts, speech and actions were all constantly monitored, had Walt gotten his Epcot. MGM was never meant to be educational, they meant it to be a real actual working studio. What they didn't consider was how hard it was to run an actual working studio when you also have all the constant noise of a theme park 10ft away.
100% agree that the Muppets studio was such a loss for Hollywood Studios. But I also miss the back lot tour. I got to ride it during my very first Disney visit in 2000 and I LOVED it. It’s my People Mover, and I miss it.
I was in Anaheim the other day and the Haunted Mansion queue is totally scorched earth. You can just see glimpses of yellow earthmoving equipment back there. THERE WILL BE NO REMNANTS. Sigh.
I loved the MGM studios. My 1st visit to Florida and we went on the backlot tour, and saw how lilo and Stitch was drawn and animated. I absolutely fell in love Stich is my fave character 😍
I recently found a map for MGM from 1997 in a box of random WDW trip memories, and it was fascinating trying to match up what was there then vs. now. I loved MGM as a kid and was OBSESSED with the backlot tour and Great Movie Ride (along with the muppets of course!). It’s amazing you can still find little tidbits of the old days leftover.
Wow!! Thank you so much for mentioning my CAMERAMAN SCULPTURE video. I’ve been a fan of your channel for so long and you are a great inspiration. I have some more untold Disney stories that I’ve been working on. Would love to collaborate with you if you are up for it. THANKS AGAIN!
Its my favorite park. Went there a few times in the 90s and again in 97 on our honeymoon, had a blast. Early June in Orlando, weather was great, tickets weren't insane. And maybe four times since?
I loved this video. My first job at WDW was a tour guide at The Backstage Studio Tram Tour. I did that job for 7 months before moving to the MK to open the Surprise Celebration Parade and Spectromagic as a dancer/character performer. I can still recite that tour script. I have a lot of emotions walking through that arch and seeing my beloved tour building and the Animation Building. “Off to your right hand side is the symbol of the Disney MGM Studios, the Earful Tower. It’s stands an incredible 13 stories high and has a hat size of 342 and 3/8” Another remnant you can see if as you enter Toy Story Land, on the backside of building that houses the Walt Disney Story, you’ll see it says The Roy O Disney Production Center.
Good old Mikey. That was as close to the imagination and charisma of Walt as we'd ever get again. Always glad that I got to experience MGM Studios as it was supposed to be. Took the tram tour once and they were actually rehearsing on the Mickey Mouse Club set. Saw Britney Spears before she was anyone. Loved going to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. There are several times we'd go over there from Magic Kingdom just to have dinner. And of course the two best attractions, Muppets and The Great Movie Ride. Muppets got a lot of house in summer because it was a decent length and inside. Wish we'd gotten the Muppets Studio proper. I remember the first time I went on the Great Movie Ride in 1989 and how excited I got to see the Casablanca plane. As a 10 year old who loved Bogart movies, it was a like a holy grail to see that scene played out.
I’ll never forget waiting in the queue for the great movie ride. Lying on the rails, and watching old and new classic films. That was one hell of a ride.
So much wasted space… Why not put a museum in one of those shuttered buildings? They’ve got to have decades’ worth of film memorabilia and old stuff from the parks in storage. It’d raise interest in the park and decrease traffic in the others (at least when it comes to regulars and Disney adults), and it would have to cost a lot less than a more conventional attraction because there’d be less to build. What’d be the overhead? Lighting, air conditioning, and a few cast members to run it? They could even rotate in new exhibits to encourage repeat visits.
I remember so many of the attractions and areas mentioned in this video; I particularly remember the “forced perspective “ area on the tram tour where it was shown how small model buildings could look large in movies. I share many of your opinions: Hollywood Studios is my least favorite park and I rarely go there. Muppets 3D forever. One thing I miss that was not original to the park but felt unique was they used to have a store that specifically sold villain merchandise; I loved that place.
I’m so grateful I got to visit MGM Studios when I was younger. It’s was always my favorite park as I was in love with the idea of Hollywood and moviemaking. The tram tour, lights camera action, and the Sanfransico street/wall were the best
I worked there from opening day until 1994. I had forgotten some of the info you brought up, especially the Muppets Studios development. In the early days, they tried to sell the park as a Working Movie Studio as much as a Theme Park. That did not last long. The "Working Movie Studio" was abandoned pretty quickly. I worked the Animation Tour, The Backstage Studio Tour (Tram section), and the Little Mermaid attraction. Now all 3 are toast. So much has changed! Almost all for the better--I Love Galaxy's Edge. But I do miss The Great Movie Ride. Oh, I also worked that attraction as well... oh, and Honey I shrunk the Kids... oh, and the Walking Tour... and all those are gone as well.
They need to reopen that Muppet store that used to be right at the exit from Muppet Vision. The building just sits there and is still Muppet themed, like c'mon
Wow this was a fantastic video, it would be sick to see similar concepts about the other parks in both Florida and California. Didn't expect a "top 5" video to be 25 minutes long but it was amazing. Awesome as always, Dallin
One of my favorite remnants is the “Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind” bungalow. I suspect that a vast majority have no idea that when it opened in ‘89, it sold authentic movie props, celebrity autographs, and Hollywood memorabilia. I remember seeing the actual striped coat that Dick Van Dyke wore in Mary Poppins for sale in the shop. It was a really fun place until they changed it into a photo pass center in 2013.
My dad was a huge memorabilia fan and bought a ton of stuff from Sid Cahuenga’s - much of which I still have in original Disney packaging. It’s so cool!
I loved the original Great Movie ride and Backlot Tours! I love loved Wizard of Oz and cried seeing it in Great Movie as a little kid…it made me so happy.
studios will always be my favorite park. it was my favorite before i did the college program and then when i got placed there in 2019 i loved it even more
I love Disney but only watch it via other people's videos. I haven't been since 1990 😭. But did go to the MGM studios. I remember they had an "I love Lucy" show.
I remember MGM when it opened. SO much better than HS is now. We stayed almost all day and loved all of the attractions, including Star Tours with the AT-ATs. We barely stay a few hours now. Miss those good old days. RIP GMR!
I attended both Epcot and the MGM Disney Studios within the first months of operation and with a few noticeable exceptions it’s been down hill for both since the first so-called upgrade
Did you know, the Penguin conductor’s name is Napoleon? If you check the boxes at the bottom of the pre-show, his name is on the Delivery box for tuxedos.
I always liked MGM Studios a lot as a kid in the mid-90s. Epcot was my favorite because The Living Seas was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen, but MGM was a VERY close second, followed by Universal when it opened.
when i was little my favorites were the backlot tour, the great movie ride, muppets 3D, and then tower of terror (im an 04 girl but 2006-2008 was my jam) edit: and the honey i shrunk the kids set and the meet and greets in that area. i wish they had those characters still. i hate myself for being scared of monsters inc when i was little 😭
I loved the New York Street....all of the shop windows and the vintage items....as a collector of antiques it was great...wish I could have gotten some of them.
Finally, some MuppetVision 3D love! I’d kill for more Muppets in the parks. I actually once got seated in the very first show of the day for MuppetVision
Disney did use the "Studio Store" to display a model train as well as a special photo pass offering with multiple cameras during the jollywood nights last year.
Fun fact I got lost as a small child at mgm and they took me behind honey I shrunk the kids playground and I got to see a lot of parade floats and designs. My dad was so pissed and scared lol.
I’ve been to Disney World twice, in 2005 and 2023 and both times I went to the MGM and DHS, the rockin rollercoaster was down for maintenance…so pissed. Want to ride that.
So glad I got to experience the tram tour back in 2003 when visiting from the uk. Was all gone by 2016 when I went back and even less to do in the park with all the boarding up for the work for galaxy's edge
4:54 The iconic attraction was always The Great Movie Ride. It was the whole reason the park was built. Initially conceived as an Epcot pavilion, the idea for the ride was so well-liked that it basically spawned the concept of the park entirely around it. And now it's gone. If that doesn't speak volumes about the state of modern Disney Parks management, I don't know what does. Also, in that same timestamp, look closely at the bottom of that Beauty and the Beast sign on the right side of the screen. There's a logo that still features the Earful Tower.
Back when Disney could truly say that they had their own movie franchise to capitalize on rather than having to fill the park with more Star Wars theming than it should really need.
@@nicksorenson940 Honestly, I've preferred Disney own then such, should one part as Disney own like we've seen or been there for years and the other part is all the licence part, like a two part one, one is the Disney Studio one and should stay intact while the other part is all of the franchise movies like Marvel, Star Wars and such, or a whole new park dedicated to all the licensed movies and such as well as all their assets they've bought over the years like ABC, Fox, Blue Sky, Lucasfilms, Marvel and so on all in one in their own park or part of the park while the Disney Studios should stay the same, so yeah
Going to both 2016 Disney Hollywood and Universal makes it SO clear that Disney copied the idea and rushed it out to beat Universal. That NY Ave is so much like Universal.
Although a monster, Eisner understood what disney was in a way Bob Iger simply does not. Eisner knew what the magic was that people were drawn to and he knew how to capture that and sell it to them. Iger knows how to buy things (over pay) and then destroy them.
This type of park made sense when practical effects were at their peak. Today it's all CGI. I remember hearing that one of the Transformers movies was shot in a WEEK with the rest of the movie being CGI. Hard to make a back lot tour of thousands of digital animators.
My first visit to WDW was in 1991 when I was 6. Aside from Figmet nipping my shoulder with his sharp snout while I posed for a photo with Dreamfinder, there’s nothing I remember better than MGM Studios. I can still picture the whole backlot tour, the TMNT stage show, and the Rocketeer flying around the Chinese Theatre before the fireworks. On Hollywood Blvd there was a live action version of the old gameshow What’s My Line where four 1930s Hollywood ‘residents’ would ask yes or no questions of a volunteer and then try to guess their job. A stenographer girl in tortoise shell glasses kept notes on what had been asked, and I can still hear the ‘stylish rich lady’ character shouting “RECAP!” before her turn. I loved it all so much.
muppets will never go away. their whole vibe is throwing a wrench in the system and causing some chaos they do just fine as they are and everyone better love them. and it’s nice on a hot day.
I was hoping that something from Pizza Planet would still be there. I was a major toy story fan, and when my family went there when I was little I was amazed to be in the restaurant Andy and Sid went to.
Aloha Daylin and thank you for this. I really didn't know a thing about this park until watching this. I find it interesting that the Eisner plack is still there. They eliminated all visages of him from DCA. I like you LOVE the Mupets and their off hand humor. It would have been a blast having a Swedish Chef Restrant. Well thanks again and enjoy your channel alot
In the mid 90's my first time to WDW as a 6 year old, MGM Studios was overall the coolest park for me. Not even positive why, every attraction was just awesome.
I hate how difficult it is for Disney to maintain the original integrity/themes of certain parks and the lands within them. These days it's all about what latest IP they can shove into a park that will make the money and keeps them competitive. Not sure how all that changed from the past when the theme and messages of the parks felt more stable and alive. Like I'd be more excited for an original ride that actually fits than IP that doesn't work well and that people drool over.
This is off topic, but I want your thoughts on 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. That is an E ticket ride I would have loved. Sadly, I never rode it, never even knew it existed.
Funny thing, when i got to go to Disney World for the first time in 2021, Hollywood Studio ended up being my favorite park! I ended up spending a day and a half there!
It is funny, growing up in Florida in the 1980s, never went to the Disney/MGM park but I did go to the park with my kids a few years ago to Disney Hollywood Studios. Also, just last year took them on the WB lot tour in Burbank, CA. Interestingly the park tour here shown of the old MGM studios was like a small version of the huge real backlog tour the WB has out west. They even had a few shows in production on the day we visited (outtakes of an Arrowverse show primarily filmed in Vancouver, and Young Sheldon).
Best content ! Loved this video. I was there in 1989 . They had an Aladdin Parade just like the one in the movie and it felt like you were in the movie
Oh the joy of hearing “Hello I’m Michael Eisner” and wondering if he’s about to create a top tier attraction.. or send the company into massive dept
It’s a 50/50
His execution was bad but his intentions initially weren't..look at how much people now love Disneyland Paris/ Euro Disney. How much thought they put into that park alone. People just didn't show up and it impacted the future of the other parks after.
Why not both?
I always think of the intros he would do for The Wonderful World Of Disney. To me it always meant movie time.
Or both at the same time
Now that the Great Movie Ride is gone we really need the Muppets Great Movie Ride. That way we could still experience a version of the classic ride.
I see your point!
Would be loads better than the runaway railway or whatever it’s called now
@@ab5olut3zero95 runaway railway is great. yall are so annoying and hate anything new lol
@@vanillac0keh3adYeah, no. Disney can make S tier new attractions and everyone knows that. Cosmic rewind and Rise of the resistance are excellent examples. But Runaway Railway is mid af and great movie ride was a classic. I don’t hate runaway railway, but I will never excuse replacing a classic with a ride that isn’t at least as good or better than the original. Also Great movie ride was literally like a perfect embodiment of hollywood studios theme (which disney has forgotten and doesn’t care about anymore)
@@Radioshack65 great movie ride was mid af, a very weak imitation of the universal tram ride. The entire park existing in florida in a disney context made no sense anyway. But runaway railway is a cute fun attraction. Idk. The romanticization of everything they remove gets exhausting, its warranted at times but not over something like the great movie ride lol like yall really do the most sometimes
DHS definitely needs more Muppets, we were robbed of Muppets Studios.
It’s also I feel like spiked in popularity online recently in the 2020’s with all of the videos out about them from movies to specific characters to topics, there’s a lot more love I feel like than back in the day also more respect. And back in the day as in the 2000’s to 2010’s I feel like. At least online.
@@SRKStar I completely agree, Muppets are extremely popular at the moment with Gen Z and Millenials and soon (already for the millenials) they'll be growing up with jobs and children and wallets
*cries in california adventure*
Muppets are a dead/legacy property.
I can tell that it was Eisner who was pretty big on wanting Kermit and the gang to become officially part of the Disney family even back then, while now they're finally owned by Disney under Iger and constantly feel slept on and neglected when compared to Star Wars and Marvel Studios.
It is nice to know that people can still be able to watch The Muppet Show on Disney+ now, but I do think that The Muppets themselves definitely deserve better.
DHS Cast Member here! In the backstage areas kinda between Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land/Pixar Place there are still remnants of the old Streets of America facades. They've definitely seen better days but they're still there. Obviously all of that stuff is out of guest view and I had no idea until I had to go back there for something but yeah.
My heart is so happy that they're still there
Can you take a vid and upload it?
@@ActuallyFreakyBob I would love to but it's against the company policy to film backstage areas. I'd get in serious trouble if I did.
You can see some from Muppetvision exit area also!!
I wish some of the old parts of the ride still exist tbh, or maybe move them somewhere else if they ever revive it tbh, so yeah
Disney should give some love to the Muppets. Since they just replaced the seats, I would guess that Muppet Vision is sticking around - as it should. They should turn Mama Melrose's into character dining: reopen that huge Muppet Store: and turn Star Tours into a Muppet ride - Pigs in Space would be an easy and comical overlay.
No please not Star Tours, I love that ride! But I definitely want more Muppets.
ALLLLLLL I want is the muppet store to re-open!!!!!!!! I’ve been waiting SO LONG!!!! Give me my muppet merch!
Muppet Vision 3D is awesome! It made me feel like a kid again. It was like really being in the same theater in which the Muppet Show TV series took place. The box with the animatronic Statler and Waldorf was the icing on the cake.
Man Hollywood Studios has come a LONG way. I love what it is today, but I really do miss the great movie ride.
Same
One of the remnants I enjoy the most is the end of Muppet Vision when they blast through the wall of the theater and it shows what MGM looked like at the time they filmed the bit.
#5 has a special place in my heart, since my parents first met at Endor Vendors
That’s pretty amazing
Did they work there or did they happen to meet as guests there?
One more for the books: some of the street signs on Sunset Boulevard still bear the original “seal” of the park - with the Earful Tower in its unredacted. The trash cans have that modified one, but you can still find a few of the good old ones here and there.
i miss old mgm, glad i saw it as a kid but wish i could see it as an adult. remember more of it and appreciate it more
First visited MGM in July of 1989. I was already very much into movies, and the park had such an influence on me that I went to college for film production and moved to Orlando. Sadly, much of any real production ceased right around or just after I finished school and entered the workforce, and in the years since I’ve realized how naive I was as a kid and teen, believing in MGM as being crafted into the new “East Coast Hollywood”. It was always a theme park first and a studio second, or even third. Still, in the 2000’s and early 2010’s I worked with many people in Orlando in the television industry who were former staffers at MGM. They have the fondest memories of its earliest days, working on shows like The New Mickey Mouse Club, back when some of the cast who became celebrities today were on it, parts of big animated films like Beauty and the Beast, and films like Parenthood and Passenger 57. I’ve lived in Orlando now for 26 years, and unfortunately my career has totally died as I’ve been unable to part with my dream here. But I still think back on that glorious summer of 1989, when MGM was brand new and all was right with the world.
x
@@themaxcollective Huh?
I miss The Great Movie Ride so much 😔 of all of the rides and attractions that have come and gone in Orlando, that one might be the one I miss the most
When I rode Runaway Railway 20 years after GMR, I loudly chanted “JUSTICE FIR SIGOURNEY!” Husband pretended not to know me.
we went that very first summer of 1989- such a great park! I really miss all the behind the scenes stuff- presentations of the sound effects, blue screens, etc. where you could get right up out of the audience and be a part of it. so much fun
I loved MGM.
It was worth it just for Star Tours, Indy Jones, Muppets, Tower of Terror, and of course the great movie ride!!
Could spend all day just riding over and over and over
There was a law suit re the Tower of Terror. A woman who had bad abdominal adhesions (fibrous scar tissue - I have some myself ) from surgery, would ride it because of the drop and sudden stop, which loosened some adhesions. So, she would join the 'singles' line and ride it again and again, sometimes all day. The park tried to ban her from riding and she sued them as there was no limit mentioned on the ticket. The park relented and she had free rein to carry on.
I loved that ride.
EDIT: I found this. 'In 2009, Disney was sued by Denise Mooty, a lady who rode the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror over 50 times a day. Every day. Mooty suffered from abdominal adhesions, and claimed that the frequent drops on the ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios helped to ease the pain.' It says she was banned for abusing workers, but she denied that.
add aerosmith and thats my MGM. honestly this and Epcot are prob my favourites, though i love me some dinoland and dinosaurs as well. haunted mansion is my MK go-to, but more old Disney i dont like barely any of their new endeavors as of late.
@@Zoopop13 And don't forget the concerts that MGM studios used to do like Joey McIntire and Britney Spears back in the 90's
Everybody gangsta till Eisner says, *"Hullo, I'm Michael Eisner".* A fun fact about Tatooine, it was filmed in Tunisia! George Lucas chose Tunisia because he was attracted to the country’s architecture! The Lars homestead’s white domes were located in the town of Nefta, built low into the desert floor to stay cool. A room in a cave network in Matama stood in for some of the interiors of Luke’s childhood home. The adaptations to survive the harsh desert of Tatooine were real innovations used for thousands of years across Northern Africa. Lucas returned to Tunisia again for The Phantom Menace. Anakin Skywalker’s home, a cool stone building with stairs carved into its facade, was filmed in Ong Jemel. This time, there was a greater reliance on built sets, though they still drew from architectural styles used by the Tunisians. Attack of the Clones was also filmed there, while the sequel trilogy made use of places like Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flat to stand in for Krait (The Last Jedi) and the UAE's portion of the Rub' al Khali desert became Jakku (The Force Awakens).
Tatooine is meant to be a barren desert planet, but in real-life Tunisia the weather was more temperamental. On the second day of the shoot, a freak rainstorm ruined the day’s filming, tightening an already limited schedule of 11 days in the country. The problems only grew from there. Anthony Daniels could hardly move in his suit, those stiff movements are about as good as he could manage. The controls that operated R2-D2 were better at picking up Tunisian radio signals, necessitating that the droid be pulled along the desert floor on skis by a wire. Things only got worse from there. Blistering heat during the day turned to unforgiving cold at night. The crew operated on very little sleep and many sickened with dysentery as the shoot dragged on past the planned 11 days. A massive sandstorm destroyed the Jawas’ sandcrawler, which then had to be rebuilt in just one day. That same sandcrawler almost started a very real war when Muammar Gaddafi accused the Tunisians of preparing to stage an invasion, with the sandcrawler mistaken as a real military vehicle. They quickly moved away from the Libyan border.
I’m such a Muppets Vision 3D Stan and am honored to be seen and acknowledged!!!
Loved MGM during the Osborne family Christmas. That was amazing.
Great video!
This is so tough for me. Hollywood Studios is just a different park that happens to occupy the space MGM Studios held. MGM was my favorite place on the planet. It's such a strange experience to see your childhood favorites get slowly replaced over a few decades. Some of the new attractions are great, but I'll forever miss the golden days of MGM Studios.
This is why in a perfect world there would exist all the space in the world for adding new attractions and nothing from before should ever have to be lost or replaced.
The Great Muppets Movie Ride would have been so perfect. I wish that was made.
I think it's very sad that these parks have moved away from the educational/entertainment hybrid model they used to follow. I remember loving the back lot tour as a kid, as well as strolling down those movie set streets. Same at EPCOT Center. The educational stuff at EPCOT really rounded out the park and gave it its character. Everything has become so 'BIGGER, FASTER, MOVE MOVE MOVE!', in your face. 'RIDES RIDES RIDES'. 'Look here, look there!'. WDW used to have a calming charm to it that's long gone.
Epcot was literally meant to be a fascist city where your thoughts, speech and actions were all constantly monitored, had Walt gotten his Epcot.
MGM was never meant to be educational, they meant it to be a real actual working studio. What they didn't consider was how hard it was to run an actual working studio when you also have all the constant noise of a theme park 10ft away.
@@lutherheggs451 where’d you read or hear that Walt wanted speech, actions, and thoughts monitored in his proposed community?
100% agree that the Muppets studio was such a loss for Hollywood Studios.
But I also miss the back lot tour. I got to ride it during my very first Disney visit in 2000 and I LOVED it. It’s my People Mover, and I miss it.
“The Great Muppet Movie Ride”?? Brilliant!!
Jim Henson even talked about it in a documentary about The Muppets and how it would be about making movies, but everything would be wrong! 😎
I was in Anaheim the other day and the Haunted Mansion queue is totally scorched earth. You can just see glimpses of yellow earthmoving equipment back there. THERE WILL BE NO REMNANTS. Sigh.
Some has been saved and much respectful references will abound. Fear not foolish mortals...
I loved the MGM studios. My 1st visit to Florida and we went on the backlot tour, and saw how lilo and Stitch was drawn and animated. I absolutely fell in love Stich is my fave character 😍
I recently found a map for MGM from 1997 in a box of random WDW trip memories, and it was fascinating trying to match up what was there then vs. now. I loved MGM as a kid and was OBSESSED with the backlot tour and Great Movie Ride (along with the muppets of course!). It’s amazing you can still find little tidbits of the old days leftover.
I hope they never get rid of Muppet Vision 3D. Losing that means losing Jim Henson’s last film.
Eventually they are gonna get rid of it
Wow!! Thank you so much for mentioning my CAMERAMAN SCULPTURE video. I’ve been a fan of your channel for so long and you are a great inspiration. I have some more untold Disney stories that I’ve been working on. Would love to collaborate with you if you are up for it. THANKS AGAIN!
Yay SizzleMap!
Its my favorite park. Went there a few times in the 90s and again in 97 on our honeymoon, had a blast. Early June in Orlando, weather was great, tickets weren't insane. And maybe four times since?
Back in the late 80s early 90s MGM was at its peak for nostalgia. Loved visiting my Golden Girls house every tram ride. 😊
My wife and I were in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show while on our honeymoon in ‘96. I remember a lot of things highlighted in this video.
I loved this video. My first job at WDW was a tour guide at The Backstage Studio Tram Tour. I did that job for 7 months before moving to the MK to open the Surprise Celebration Parade and Spectromagic as a dancer/character performer. I can still recite that tour script. I have a lot of emotions walking through that arch and seeing my beloved tour building and the Animation Building. “Off to your right hand side is the symbol of the Disney MGM Studios, the Earful Tower. It’s stands an incredible 13 stories high and has a hat size of 342 and 3/8”
Another remnant you can see if as you enter Toy Story Land, on the backside of building that houses the Walt Disney Story, you’ll see it says The Roy O Disney Production Center.
Good old Mikey. That was as close to the imagination and charisma of Walt as we'd ever get again. Always glad that I got to experience MGM Studios as it was supposed to be. Took the tram tour once and they were actually rehearsing on the Mickey Mouse Club set. Saw Britney Spears before she was anyone. Loved going to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. There are several times we'd go over there from Magic Kingdom just to have dinner. And of course the two best attractions, Muppets and The Great Movie Ride. Muppets got a lot of house in summer because it was a decent length and inside. Wish we'd gotten the Muppets Studio proper. I remember the first time I went on the Great Movie Ride in 1989 and how excited I got to see the Casablanca plane. As a 10 year old who loved Bogart movies, it was a like a holy grail to see that scene played out.
I’ll never forget waiting in the queue for the great movie ride. Lying on the rails, and watching old and new classic films. That was one hell of a ride.
So much wasted space…
Why not put a museum in one of those shuttered buildings? They’ve got to have decades’ worth of film memorabilia and old stuff from the parks in storage. It’d raise interest in the park and decrease traffic in the others (at least when it comes to regulars and Disney adults), and it would have to cost a lot less than a more conventional attraction because there’d be less to build. What’d be the overhead? Lighting, air conditioning, and a few cast members to run it? They could even rotate in new exhibits to encourage repeat visits.
I love Hollywood studios as it is now, but I feel like we definitely need more to it. Definitely more muppets.
I appreciate the love for Muppet Vision 3D. It never gets the credit it deserves and I truly hope it's there forever.
Disney MGM was my favorite park back in the day
I remember so many of the attractions and areas mentioned in this video; I particularly remember the “forced perspective “ area on the tram tour where it was shown how small model buildings could look large in movies.
I share many of your opinions: Hollywood Studios is my least favorite park and I rarely go there. Muppets 3D forever.
One thing I miss that was not original to the park but felt unique was they used to have a store that specifically sold villain merchandise; I loved that place.
I’m so grateful I got to visit MGM Studios when I was younger. It’s was always my favorite park as I was in love with the idea of Hollywood and moviemaking. The tram tour, lights camera action, and the Sanfransico street/wall were the best
I worked there from opening day until 1994. I had forgotten some of the info you brought up, especially the Muppets Studios development. In the early days, they tried to sell the park as a Working Movie Studio as much as a Theme Park. That did not last long. The "Working Movie Studio" was abandoned pretty quickly. I worked the Animation Tour, The Backstage Studio Tour (Tram section), and the Little Mermaid attraction. Now all 3 are toast. So much has changed! Almost all for the better--I Love Galaxy's Edge. But I do miss The Great Movie Ride. Oh, I also worked that attraction as well... oh, and Honey I shrunk the Kids... oh, and the Walking Tour... and all those are gone as well.
The tone you hit in these vids is impeccable 11/10
A simple statement of fact!
They need to reopen that Muppet store that used to be right at the exit from Muppet Vision. The building just sits there and is still Muppet themed, like c'mon
Agreed. I miss that store.
Wow this was a fantastic video, it would be sick to see similar concepts about the other parks in both Florida and California. Didn't expect a "top 5" video to be 25 minutes long but it was amazing. Awesome as always, Dallin
One of my favorite remnants is the “Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind” bungalow. I suspect that a vast majority have no idea that when it opened in ‘89, it sold authentic movie props, celebrity autographs, and Hollywood memorabilia. I remember seeing the actual striped coat that Dick Van Dyke wore in Mary Poppins for sale in the shop. It was a really fun place until they changed it into a photo pass center in 2013.
My dad was a huge memorabilia fan and bought a ton of stuff from Sid Cahuenga’s - much of which I still have in original Disney packaging. It’s so cool!
I loved the original Great Movie ride and Backlot Tours! I love loved Wizard of Oz and cried seeing it in Great Movie as a little kid…it made me so happy.
The world needs a parkeology/offhand Disney collab
backlot tour and the great movie ride were the best
15 minutes ago? Wow, I'm early! Always happy to see a new Offhand Disney video
Can we agree on one thing: the PRESHOW for Muppet Vision 3D was a great attraction in and of itself! True Muppet chaos and humor!!! 🙌❤️😎
studios will always be my favorite park. it was my favorite before i did the college program and then when i got placed there in 2019 i loved it even more
I love Disney but only watch it via other people's videos. I haven't been since 1990 😭. But did go to the MGM studios. I remember they had an "I love Lucy" show.
I remember MGM when it opened. SO much better than HS is now. We stayed almost all day and loved all of the attractions, including Star Tours with the AT-ATs. We barely stay a few hours now. Miss those good old days. RIP GMR!
I attended both Epcot and the MGM Disney Studios within the first months of operation and with a few noticeable exceptions it’s been down hill for both since the first so-called upgrade
Did you know, the Penguin conductor’s name is Napoleon? If you check the boxes at the bottom of the pre-show, his name is on the Delivery box for tuxedos.
I always liked MGM Studios a lot as a kid in the mid-90s. Epcot was my favorite because The Living Seas was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen, but MGM was a VERY close second, followed by Universal when it opened.
When in MGM you forgot to mention riding Rockin Rollercoaster. Definitely the best by a long shot.
OMG!!!!! The BEST ride ever!❤❤❤❤❤
I Miss the Old and True Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park
Me too.
when i was little my favorites were the backlot tour, the great movie ride, muppets 3D, and then tower of terror (im an 04 girl but 2006-2008 was my jam)
edit: and the honey i shrunk the kids set and the meet and greets in that area. i wish they had those characters still. i hate myself for being scared of monsters inc when i was little 😭
I loved the New York Street....all of the shop windows and the vintage items....as a collector of antiques it was great...wish I could have gotten some of them.
Finally, some MuppetVision 3D love! I’d kill for more Muppets in the parks. I actually once got seated in the very first show of the day for MuppetVision
No two hour tour. The tram tour was perhaps a 30 minute respite from walking in the sun.
Disney did use the "Studio Store" to display a model train as well as a special photo pass offering with multiple cameras during the jollywood nights last year.
This is Amazing I never knew anything this stuff I remember hearing about The Muppet show though
If you're in the outdoor part of the Star Tours queue, you should call it a day because the park is way too overcrowded
Fun fact I got lost as a small child at mgm and they took me behind honey I shrunk the kids playground and I got to see a lot of parade floats and designs. My dad was so pissed and scared lol.
I’ve been to Disney World twice, in 2005 and 2023 and both times I went to the MGM and DHS, the rockin rollercoaster was down for maintenance…so pissed. Want to ride that.
19:04 the name of it really wasn’t said but according to IMDB the movie is called “The Adventures of Mark Twain” (1985)
MGM Studios in the ‘90’s was awesome! So many great memories 😊
I used to love the tram tour! I remember the Golden girls house!
I’ve still never ridden, slinky dog dash. I enjoy rollercoasters all right but I feel like I can see it all from the ground.
So glad I got to experience the tram tour back in 2003 when visiting from the uk.
Was all gone by 2016 when I went back and even less to do in the park with all the boarding up for the work for galaxy's edge
Always love an Offhand video! Keep up the great work dude!
4:54 The iconic attraction was always The Great Movie Ride. It was the whole reason the park was built. Initially conceived as an Epcot pavilion, the idea for the ride was so well-liked that it basically spawned the concept of the park entirely around it. And now it's gone. If that doesn't speak volumes about the state of modern Disney Parks management, I don't know what does.
Also, in that same timestamp, look closely at the bottom of that Beauty and the Beast sign on the right side of the screen. There's a logo that still features the Earful Tower.
Gonna just leave out the greatest defunct MGM Studios attraction ever!?! What about the Honey I Shrunk The Kids play area!?!
Back when Disney could truly say that they had their own movie franchise to capitalize on rather than having to fill the park with more Star Wars theming than it should really need.
@@nicksorenson940 Honestly, I've preferred Disney own then such, should one part as Disney own like we've seen or been there for years and the other part is all the licence part, like a two part one, one is the Disney Studio one and should stay intact while the other part is all of the franchise movies like Marvel, Star Wars and such, or a whole new park dedicated to all the licensed movies and such as well as all their assets they've bought over the years like ABC, Fox, Blue Sky, Lucasfilms, Marvel and so on all in one in their own park or part of the park while the Disney Studios should stay the same, so yeah
They used to film the Mickey Mouse Club there in the early 90's as well. Always wanted to go to a taping!
love the muppetvision 3d area music in the background
Going to both 2016 Disney Hollywood and Universal makes it SO clear that Disney copied the idea and rushed it out to beat Universal. That NY Ave is so much like Universal.
I would absolutely love to eat pizza served by Rizzo
Although a monster, Eisner understood what disney was in a way Bob Iger simply does not. Eisner knew what the magic was that people were drawn to and he knew how to capture that and sell it to them. Iger knows how to buy things (over pay) and then destroy them.
My mother and I were there the 3rd day it was open back in 1989. Took the tour and loved it. The Golden Girls house was there.
Your narration and editing are very entertaining. Thanks for posting this. :)
That tram tour was great. My friend and I went in '89 or '90.
the tram tour was awesome. i do remember The Magic of Disney Animation as well
This type of park made sense when practical effects were at their peak. Today it's all CGI. I remember hearing that one of the Transformers movies was shot in a WEEK with the rest of the movie being CGI. Hard to make a back lot tour of thousands of digital animators.
My first visit to WDW was in 1991 when I was 6. Aside from Figmet nipping my shoulder with his sharp snout while I posed for a photo with Dreamfinder, there’s nothing I remember better than MGM Studios. I can still picture the whole backlot tour, the TMNT stage show, and the Rocketeer flying around the Chinese Theatre before the fireworks. On Hollywood Blvd there was a live action version of the old gameshow What’s My Line where four 1930s Hollywood ‘residents’ would ask yes or no questions of a volunteer and then try to guess their job. A stenographer girl in tortoise shell glasses kept notes on what had been asked, and I can still hear the ‘stylish rich lady’ character shouting “RECAP!” before her turn. I loved it all so much.
I miss Osborne holiday lights.
I enjoy the making of movies so I enjoyed the original Disney MGM Studios much more than what it has become...
muppets will never go away. their whole vibe is throwing a wrench in the system and causing some chaos they do just fine as they are and everyone better love them. and it’s nice on a hot day.
Also bring back the Earful Tower!
I was hoping that something from Pizza Planet would still be there. I was a major toy story fan, and when my family went there when I was little I was amazed to be in the restaurant Andy and Sid went to.
Aloha Daylin and thank you for this. I really didn't know a thing about this park until watching this. I find it interesting that the Eisner plack is still there. They eliminated all visages of him from DCA.
I like you LOVE the Mupets and their off hand humor. It would have been a blast having a Swedish Chef Restrant.
Well thanks again and enjoy your channel alot
In the mid 90's my first time to WDW as a 6 year old, MGM Studios was overall the coolest park for me. Not even positive why, every attraction was just awesome.
I hate how difficult it is for Disney to maintain the original integrity/themes of certain parks and the lands within them. These days it's all about what latest IP they can shove into a park that will make the money and keeps them competitive. Not sure how all that changed from the past when the theme and messages of the parks felt more stable and alive.
Like I'd be more excited for an original ride that actually fits than IP that doesn't work well and that people drool over.
This is off topic, but I want your thoughts on 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. That is an E ticket ride I would have loved. Sadly, I never rode it, never even knew it existed.
Bring back the people mover
Funny thing, when i got to go to Disney World for the first time in 2021, Hollywood Studio ended up being my favorite park! I ended up spending a day and a half there!
I’m watching this video on the day they announced they’re closing Muppet Vision 3D. RIP to the GOAT of Hollywood Studios.
It is funny, growing up in Florida in the 1980s, never went to the Disney/MGM park but I did go to the park with my kids a few years ago to Disney Hollywood Studios. Also, just last year took them on the WB lot tour in Burbank, CA. Interestingly the park tour here shown of the old MGM studios was like a small version of the huge real backlog tour the WB has out west. They even had a few shows in production on the day we visited (outtakes of an Arrowverse show primarily filmed in Vancouver, and Young Sheldon).
OFFHAND DISNEY !! YAY I love when you upload bcause then i know that im gonna have a good day !
Best content ! Loved this video. I was there in 1989 . They had an Aladdin Parade just like the one in the movie and it felt like you were in the movie
unlikely as Alladin was released in 1992...