Disney Destroyed My Favorite Theme Park - Unforgivable Change Of Hollywood Studios & Hope For Future
The Changing Of Disney's Hollywood Studios
Transcript
0:03
Welcome everyone. Adam the Woo here. As
0:03
the recording of this, it is Monday,
0:05
October 13th, 2025. About to take the
0:09
short commute over to formerly Disney
0:12
MGM Studios, now Disney's Hollywood
0:14
Studios, where they are doing a extreme
0:19
amount of construction.
0:21
just when I think they cannot tear out
0:23
any more of what was once there.
0:27
My favorite theme park back in the early
0:29
90s was Disney MGM Studios. And over
0:33
time, I have documented the tearing out,
0:36
the ripping out, not only of heartfelt
0:39
memories that I have there, but also
0:42
changing the layout of the land at that
0:45
theme park. And what's happening there
0:48
now is no exception. So, I'm going to
0:50
head over, see what is going on, shed a
0:53
little tear,
0:56
and possibly look forward to the future
0:58
of what's there. I keep hanging on to
1:01
the Disney MGM era. It's long gone, but
1:05
there are still some remnants,
1:08
some small remnants. Let's see what
1:10
they're doing in there. I'm g get going.
1:12
I'm inviting you to join me, shall we?
1:15
And it goes without saying, I love the
1:17
Disney parks. I love the
1:20
creation of Walt Disney and what he has
1:23
put out into the world. But of all the
1:26
theme parks, including Walt's original
1:28
Magic Kingdom of Disneyland, Magic
1:30
Kingdom, Animal Kingdom,
1:34
Epcot Center, my all-time favorite was
1:38
the early 90s. First moved to Florida in
1:40
1991,
1:42
and I was obsessed with Disney MGM
1:45
Studios.
1:47
a shell now of what it once was,
1:51
but I'm still holding on. As stated, I
1:53
have a lot of MGM Studio stuff. One day,
1:56
I need to itemize all the little
1:59
pamphlets, paperwork, photographs
2:03
that I have of Americana, Disney stuff,
2:06
movie stuff, relics, and things like
2:08
that. At some point I need to come up
2:10
with an itemized way to store it other
2:12
than just having it on a shelf wedged in
2:14
between books and stuff, but
2:18
yeah. Anyway,
2:25
MGM Studios miss that place. It's also
2:25
one of those things where you had to be
2:27
there. try explaining to people that
2:28
have been going to the parks over the
2:30
last decade or the last 20 years and
2:33
they don't really have the MGM Studios
2:36
nostalgia from the early 90s like I and
2:40
others do and that's understandable
2:42
because it's completely different than
2:45
what it was originally intended and
2:47
built to be. So you could file the the
2:52
lore and the love of the original, you
2:55
know, the original version of the park
2:58
based on, you know, those those who were
3:00
kind of there during that time because
3:03
little by little they just dissected it,
3:06
changed it, and I don't want to say
3:10
ruined it, but completely pulled its
3:13
original tension,
3:15
you know, out of its underbelly.
3:22
Ah, what can you do? And to be clear,
3:22
I'm not saying I don't enjoy what is
3:24
there now. A lot of the newer
3:26
attractions and the newer theming and
3:28
experiences there is great,
3:31
but it'd be nice to have that what was
3:34
originally there. It'd be nice to still
3:36
have some of that stuff there. For me,
3:39
the nail in the coffin was getting rid
3:40
of Streets of America and then The Great
3:43
Movie Ride. That was it. That was the
3:45
kind of the final straw of the MGM. Even
3:48
though still Hollywood Studios and Movie
3:50
Ride was there, but that was the last
3:53
that was the last moment when they got
3:56
rid of Great Movie Ride.
3:59
And I got my Movie Ride pen up there.
4:01
And I got my Earful Tower
4:04
Action Disney MGM Studios and Movie
4:06
Ride. RIP to both of those. Serious RIP.
4:13
Way before I ever went to California, I
4:15
went to Universal Studios Hollywood,
4:18
rode a tram tour. Way before that, I was
4:21
really getting into movies in the 80s,
4:24
late 80s, wanted to know how they were
4:26
made.
4:28
And when I went to MGM studios was able
4:30
to do the backlot see what a facade was
4:32
see how film making was done that was my
4:35
first little sample into all of that
4:39
which has become an intricral part of my
4:41
life something that I really love you
4:44
know the fandom of movies and movie
4:46
making and TV shows and things like
4:48
that.
4:49
This is a this is me right there. 13X
4:52
Studios made that that mask of me years
4:55
ago. That's that's supposed to be me
4:56
right there. kind of look kind of looks
4:58
like me, right? Used to be tons of Roger
5:00
Rabbit stuff and Rocketeer stuff.
5:02
There's still some little Easter eggs
5:04
around the park there. But one of the
5:07
kind of weird nostalgic reasons why I
5:10
fell in love with the real Hollywood
5:14
was because of going to MGM Studios and
5:18
learning about the recreations that they
5:20
did there
5:23
of Hollywood. I know that sounds really
5:26
weird to say, but I originally learned
5:29
about a lot of the buildings that are
5:30
now on Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset
5:35
because I went to the studios back in
5:37
the very very early 90s, 1991, '92, '93,
5:41
'94. I was like living in that park.
5:43
Now, the park opened in 1989. I was not
5:45
there on opening day. However, couple
5:48
years later, win moved to Florida. Did
5:51
go quite a bit. This is a map from 1998,
5:55
which at that point they had already
5:57
built Sunset, the extension off of
5:59
Hollywood Boulevard there over to
6:01
Sunset. They added Hollywood Tower. They
6:04
got rid of the theater right over in
6:06
this area. But just look at all the
6:08
things that are now gone. Catastrophe
6:11
Canyon, history,
6:13
Muppet Courtyard, gone,
6:16
erased from existence. Look, even Rock
6:20
and Roller Coaster wasn't even around
6:23
yet in 1998. They put it right there in
6:25
that little cusp. Honey, I Shrunk the
6:28
Kids Playset.
6:30
The Splash Fountain.
6:32
Splash Fountain was right there. Honey,
6:34
I Shrunk the Kids Playset right there.
6:38
Is this next for the chopping block? The
6:40
now what I call the now neutered version
6:42
of the Indiana Jones stunt spectacular.
6:46
I'm not even sure if I want to use the
6:48
word epic in there anymore because they
6:50
have chopped so much out of it. Still an
6:52
enjoyable show, but again, a shell of
6:55
what it once was. I think hopefully with
6:56
the new revitalation and the new indie
6:59
films that are going to be coming out
7:01
and put an indie over it. Animal
7:03
Kingdom, they will do something to the
7:05
show to give it a little spruce and
7:07
bring it back to its former glory. And
7:10
then The Great Movie Ride, now Mickey
7:12
and Minnie Runaway Railway.
7:15
Just a lot of things are gone like the
7:17
bus over here where all the celebrity
7:19
bus were. Superstar television. It's now
7:23
the Frozen show which the Frozen show is
7:25
great. Frozen show is great but
7:27
Superstar television was the was the old
7:30
school. This is the layout of the land.
7:32
Slinky Dog, the entrance to Slinky Dog.
7:35
Side note, when you board the Slinky Dog
7:38
coaster, it's right there where the
7:40
Earful Tower used to be. So Slinky Dog
7:42
has completely taken over the spot.
7:45
But things have certainly changed since
7:47
John Ritter did the opening day special
7:49
here and stood up on top of that. I
7:52
think out of all the parks, I mean
7:54
changes are cons are always happening at
7:56
Walt Disney World, I think now is
7:57
probably the biggest changing and
7:59
turning point in the parks adding and
8:02
getting rid of things. But out of all
8:04
four of the WDW parks, Studios is the
8:08
one that does not resemble what it
8:10
originally was back in the day. And next
8:12
thing on the chopping block is the
8:14
animation courtyard,
8:16
which thankfully, this is a good thing,
8:19
they are going to be changing it and
8:21
making it look more like the animation
8:23
studios in Burbank, California. And
8:26
right over here, they're going to have
8:27
the sorcerer's cap. But
8:31
we're going to lose the archway, the
8:33
iconic archway, which used to be, you
8:35
know, featured in tons and tons of promo
8:38
material, videos, photographs,
8:40
characters. Eisner so many times stood
8:43
right in front of that. And the other
8:46
Imagineers that came up with this
8:47
wonderful, wonderful place. All right,
8:50
I'm gonna get going. Just wanted to show
8:52
a little bit of this. Ah, memories.
8:54
Serious
8:56
memories. Remember the magic? Oh, yes, I
8:59
do. I do remember it very, very well.
9:02
There's the archway. See, it was used so
9:04
many times. That thing is going to be
9:07
bulldozed and end up in a dumpster
9:10
somewhere along with the earful tower.
9:13
Where is that dumpster? Someone let me
9:15
know where the heck that dumpster is.
9:19
I don't know. It's a secret dumpster
9:20
somewhere that Disney has.
9:22
>> All right. parked.
9:29
Don't really have a major game plan
9:29
today other than just checking out
9:32
what's going on with the construction.
9:33
Haven't been in here in a while. I was
9:35
in here one time recently, but I didn't
9:37
get over to where the Muppet courtyard
9:39
used to be. I didn't get over to that
9:40
side of the park. So, I have not seen
9:43
the walls and the tear down of all that
9:44
over there. So, that's going to be
9:46
interesting.
9:49
Mike is here also. It's It's weird over
9:52
at Muppets because you can see straight
9:54
through.
9:54
>> And when I think of people who love MGM
9:57
Studios like me, World of Micah is
10:00
definitely in the top percentile.
10:02
>> Yeah, I love this place. Even though
10:04
we're in the third like storyline of
10:07
this place. It first opened, we had the
10:10
whole like movie thing and studio thing
10:12
and then that weird transition we had
10:14
when they changed the logo a couple of
10:16
years ago, they got rid of movie ride.
10:18
this whole transformation and now we're
10:21
reaching phase three where they're
10:23
getting rid of the studio arches.
10:25
They're getting rid of Muppets. It's
10:26
like slowly.
10:28
>> We have tried to hold on to this place
10:30
being MGM Studios.
10:32
>> I'll buy the arches for the last move to
10:33
my house. I'll take them. I'll give you
10:35
a good number. [laughter]
10:38
It's just an arch, but I want it.
10:41
>> Where's the That's what I was saying
10:42
earlier. Where's the arch going to go?
10:43
And where what dumpster is the arch
10:45
going in?
10:46
>> And is the car And our chunks of the
10:48
Earful Tower in that dumpster,
10:50
>> please.
10:55
>> For you, what do you what do you think
10:55
the nail in the coffin was of the MGM
10:58
days? What What do you think the
10:59
>> Dude, Streets of America, right? Movie
11:01
ride was the biggest like bummer,
11:04
>> right?
11:04
>> That hurt my heart. Streets of America
11:06
to me was the realization that oh, it's
11:10
dead. I said the exact same thing an
11:12
hour ago
11:13
>> and that and I hate that I just moved
11:15
here because I wanted to live here and
11:16
enjoy it and I got two good years.
11:19
>> And I also said earlier too, the park is
11:21
still great. It's just not what it once
11:23
was.
11:24
>> When you first walk in, you see that
11:25
Chinese theater and all the stores right
11:27
there. It could be 1989. It really
11:30
could. It's just the more further you
11:32
get into the park. I missed those little
11:34
areas where we could get lost in streets
11:36
of America and then all of a sudden Max
11:38
goof would walk by and it's like hey
11:40
what's up character palooa.
11:42
>> Yeah,
11:42
>> it was great.
11:43
>> No street mph sphere anymore. None of
11:47
>> Another great thing about the place
11:48
currently is the fact that they didn't
11:50
get rid of the Hollywood vibe cuz there
11:52
was a small time frame in my mind that I
11:55
thought they were just going to bulldoze
11:57
all the Hollywood stuff.
11:58
>> Yeah.
11:59
>> But they kept it Hollywoodish.
12:01
So, that I am I am grateful for. Even
12:03
though they got rid of a lot of the a
12:05
lot of the stuff I love, at least
12:06
they're keeping the Hollywood theme. And
12:08
I knew they were going to do that when
12:09
they created the new Skyliner platform
12:12
over there and bus station and they kept
12:14
it with that
12:14
>> same theme,
12:15
>> that same era and that same theme. So,
12:20
I don't know if it'll continue to stay
12:21
Hollywood Studios name. I don't know why
12:23
it's called Studios
12:25
>> still cuz they don't really film
12:27
anything. Nope. But at least they're
12:28
bringing back the animation courtyard or
12:31
at least, you know, bringing it back to
12:33
a little bit of its prestige with the
12:36
hat and everything.
12:37
>> Who knows? Maybe they'll start doing
12:38
stuff in there and they can call it a
12:40
studio again.
12:41
>> Maybe they'll film one thing.
12:42
>> One thing
12:43
>> and then we can watch it on Disney Plus.
12:46
>> That dude be awesome.
12:47
>> Since the last time I was here, they've
12:49
closed Launch Bay. They're not even
12:51
going to be able to get up to Launch
12:52
Bay. All right.
12:55
>> Oh, hello.
12:57
RIP launch bay and the splotch. I will
13:00
never be able to see the splotch again
13:02
with my own eyes.
13:12
Mike and I were also just discussing off
13:12
camera how nice it is to show up,
13:14
especially well during the day is nice,
13:15
but showing up at the evening getting
13:17
the nice neon on Hollywood Boulevard,
13:20
reminiscing about LA. It's like you're
13:22
in a cleaner, less urination smell
13:26
version of LA. You don't have anybody
13:29
trying to sell you CDs.
13:30
>> No.
13:32
>> Here.
13:41
>> Again, still a wonderful place, but a
13:41
lot different than it used to be. I
13:43
always feel like that scene in the
13:44
Godfather where he's like,
13:46
>> "Look what they did to my boy."
13:48
>> Oh my god.
13:48
>> That's how I feel when I'm walking in
13:50
here. All right, walking in. Love this
13:53
view. Crossroads of the World, the
13:54
Chinese Theater, right down at the end
13:56
of Hollywood Boulevard right down there.
13:58
I love this view right here. And I love
14:00
the Mickey up here, which fun fact is a
14:03
lightning rod. So if lightning were to
14:04
strike this, it would hit Mickey. He's a
14:06
lightning rod. Good job, Mickey. Do get
14:08
a little a little happy feeling when I
14:10
walk in to see the nostalgia of
14:11
Hollywood Boulevard and all the
14:13
buildings that are matched up to a lot
14:14
of places in the real Hollywood with
14:16
sunset and and Hollywood.
14:19
Now popping inside the Starbucks, which
14:21
is also a building in LA
14:25
from the outside as well, but then
14:26
inside they got it themed like it would
14:29
look. The trolley car cafe. Going to get
14:31
a pumpkin spice latte and then head head
14:35
around and look at some of the
14:36
construction walls. Should be
14:37
interesting to see. If you look at this
14:38
one, there's Hollywood and Highland
14:40
right there. In fact, that tower is
14:42
right on the corner of Hollywood and
14:43
Highland. Back when they used to have
14:45
street cars
14:47
on Hollywood Boulevard. That would have
14:49
been that would have been a good time to
14:51
be alive. Street garden.
14:58
>> I've never seen them.
14:58
>> And obviously the the tracks have been
15:01
paved over long time ago.
15:12
>> Yeah. Yeah. This burm next to the
15:12
Hollywood Brown Derby will no longer be
15:14
used for photo ops when the celebrities
15:16
like Mico Kulkin, Michael Jackson, and
15:18
others used to stand right on here and
15:20
get that iconic archway in the
15:22
background. This burm, what if the burm
15:24
will the who knew the burm will last
15:26
longer than the actual archway? And that
15:29
is a sight to behold right there with
15:30
the archway and the walls up above it.
15:33
Not only is there a lot of history of
15:35
Eisner standing in front of this and
15:37
Roger Rabbit, Roger Rabbit, the Muppets,
15:41
dinosaurs, all that, but also I have
15:44
family memories here of my mom and my
15:46
grandma who has since passed on many
15:48
years ago coming here. My my grandma
15:50
came down to visit from North North
15:52
Carolina Virginia state line and we were
15:54
here and I have a photo of myself and my
15:57
grandma in front of this archway just
15:58
like I have a photo of her and I in
16:00
front of the Miss Piggy Muppets fountain
16:02
over in the Muppets courtyard which has
16:04
been removed. So now two things that I
16:06
have photos of family history are going
16:09
to be torn down. More stuff torn down.
16:11
And back in the distance you can see
16:13
kind of see the top of Launch Bay back
16:15
in there. Now, this is what's going to
16:17
be happening sooner than later. Well,
16:19
it'll probably be a little bit later,
16:20
but the construction has started now.
16:22
More magic coming soon. This is what
16:24
it's going to look like. Little Mermaid
16:26
just reopened. I'm kind of curious
16:27
who'll be able to get up to Little
16:28
Mermaid Animation Courtyard, just like
16:30
the Bird Disney Bird Studios. Has the
16:34
And I actually like having the the hat
16:37
here, the sorcerers cap here more than
16:40
than I liked it back in the day when
16:41
they put it in front of the Chinese
16:42
theater. I actually could not stand that
16:43
at all that they blocked the Chinese
16:45
theater. That was kind of a weird era,
16:47
but I do like the Sorcerers Crap. And
16:49
I'm kind of glad it's coming back in a
16:51
different kind of fashion, more Burbank
16:53
Studios style. And they're probably
16:55
going to open those doors up. That gift
16:57
shop's been closed forever. They're
16:58
going to redo this. They're going to
17:00
redo the entry point. Oh, wow. They're
17:02
going to redo the entry point. Look at
17:03
this. The on the on the artwork here,
17:06
there is no awning that stretches out.
17:08
Oh, no. The awning is over here. Never
17:09
mind. The awning's still here. Never
17:11
mind. Forget what I said. So, the BM's
17:12
still going to stay there. And here.
17:15
Okay, this is interesting. I haven't
17:16
really seen the concept art paid
17:18
attention to it till now, but look,
17:20
that's just like you're driving into the
17:21
Burbank Studios, Walt Disney Studios.
17:24
That's the same kind of entry point
17:25
going into the studios that you have in
17:27
Burbank. So, that's that's really kind
17:29
of nice. And there's no way to really
17:31
give that vibe and get that kind of feel
17:34
without removing the archway. So, it
17:36
does make sense, even though it's a it's
17:38
a serious bummer to get rid of that
17:40
history.
17:41
The wild thing is I don't think anyone
17:43
really knows, anyone in the public knows
17:45
when this is going to be torn down. So I
17:47
mean you could show up in a month from
17:48
now, show up in a week, show up
17:50
tomorrow, and this thing could be just
17:52
rubble. A bulldozer comes in and just
17:54
plows it down.
17:57
You see the carvings up on the top
17:59
there, the carving of the Chinese
18:01
Theater, the carving of Carth circle,
18:04
all that right over there. And then
18:06
here's more of a ground level of what
18:08
it's going to look like, which will be
18:09
nice because this what what this has
18:12
been behind here for the past couple
18:14
years has really been a very lackluster
18:17
walkthrough to a very lackluster launch
18:20
bay. So getting rid of two lackluster
18:22
areas. Launch bay.
18:25
>> Look at this. Rob Williams.
18:27
>> Oh wow. Yeah, that's from the Kron
18:29
Konhite and Robin Williams.
18:30
>> He's used to here twice.
18:32
>> You think they're going to put that back
18:32
on there? I WOULD LOVE FOR him to re the
18:35
What if he's the host?
18:37
>> Okay, that would be cool.
18:39
>> You know, there's probably so much
18:40
recording of Robin Williams.
18:42
>> Or hopefully they don't use AI.
18:44
>> No AI voices, please.
18:46
>> No AI, Robert Williams. [laughter]
18:49
>> Please, we don't need that.
18:51
>> Look at Dopey on Beloo's shoulders,
18:52
though.
18:53
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Also,
18:56
>> that would be interesting though if they
18:57
just brought back little
18:59
>> or maybe this is going to be like a
19:00
movie like they're going to show like a
19:02
best ofub kind of thing.
19:04
>> man. That's cool. That makes me excited.
19:06
>> Me, too.
19:06
>> Look, they're all just like flowing out
19:08
of the former launch bay opening.
19:10
>> It's like that new show on Disney Plus.
19:12
You remember that? The animation
19:13
building. It was like a minute and a
19:15
half.
19:15
>> What was that called? Something of
19:16
animation.
19:17
>> Yeah. The magic of animation.
19:18
>> The magic of animation. Disney brought a
19:20
tear to my eye.
19:21
>> We've mentioned Disney Plus twice today.
19:23
>> [laughter]
19:24
>> Now after these messages.
19:27
>> Ah love that. Love the Chinese theater
19:30
recreation here. Love it. That however
19:32
is a very very odd look. That is uh that
19:36
is that is a wild look to see it like
19:38
this. Right. That is uh that is
19:40
something with the walls. Now I will go
19:42
on record of saying this is this is
19:44
definitely going to be an improvement.
19:46
So, I I I definitely say a lot of
19:48
negative things about them doing things
19:50
to the former MGM now Hollywood Studios.
19:52
This is not a negative thing. This, I
19:54
think, is going to be really good. I'm
19:56
going to be sad to see this go, but I
19:58
probably won't lose any sleep over it,
19:59
but definitely going to be sad to see
20:01
that go. Also, lightning rod. Lightning
20:03
rod right up there as well. So much has
20:05
been removed here that I'm kind of like
20:07
just just take whatever. I'm kind of
20:09
I've already had my heart broken so many
20:11
times. I'm kind of just used to things
20:12
going away. But this is this right here.
20:14
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna I'm not
20:16
gonna cry myself in the corner for an
20:18
hour over this one, but
20:20
>> me either.
20:20
>> Great movie, Ra. What's that?
20:22
>> Me either.
20:23
>> All right, there's answers. That answers
20:24
that question because here are the show
20:26
times for Mermaid. So Mermaid is still
20:28
open. Mermaid right now is still open
20:31
even with the wall up.
20:33
Wall central. Look at this. It's also
20:37
interesting that of the four WDW parks,
20:40
the only one that's not heavy on
20:42
construction right now is Epcot. Epcot
20:44
construction is pretty much finished.
20:46
>> Everyone to let you know this street
20:47
stops at the Little Mermaid and only The
20:50
Little Mermaid.
20:51
>> Street stops at the Little Mermaid.
20:54
>> So all three of the other parks, Epcot,
20:56
Hollywood Studio, well Epcot's not under
20:58
construction. Magic Kingdom, massive
21:00
construction. Studios, massive
21:02
construction. And Animal Kingdom,
21:05
massive construction happening. But out
21:08
of all of them, Epcot, not so much.
21:11
Got to get this the last little
21:12
documentation of this. This is Oh, you
21:15
know what? I would have bet. Yes, I
21:17
would bet this rounds about to the
21:19
restrooms that are down here. Nope. Even
21:21
the restrooms are closed off. Look, even
21:23
the restrooms down here are completely
21:26
closed off. But you can still get a
21:27
little bit of a peak of Star Wars launch
21:30
bay, which is really, really nice. You
21:31
still get a peak of the former launch
21:35
bay. I'm having trouble talking. Right
21:38
there.
21:39
That's nice.
21:42
There you go.
21:43
And then right behind here is going to
21:45
is where that other gift shop used to be
21:47
which has not reopened except for the
21:49
Halloween event or the Christmas event I
21:52
should say. See you real soon with some
21:54
new
21:56
>> Isn't this crazy?
21:57
>> This is crazy. This is where they exit.
22:00
>> Going to get flooded.
22:01
>> Get your last view of Launch Back.
22:02
>> That's it.
22:03
>> But they're keeping those two pillar
22:04
like things in the uh artwork
22:08
tower. Not your tower. The sorcerer hat.
22:11
>> It's going to go right there.
22:13
I wish they bring all the time on that,
22:15
right?
22:15
>> They should put [laughter] They should
22:16
put that in
22:17
>> back there behind it.
22:19
>> Bob Iger, if you're listening or Josh
22:21
tomorrow, bring it back, please. Micah
22:23
and I would be happy.
22:25
>> we we matter.
22:26
>> You don't even have to put water in it,
22:27
man. Make it like just a fake thing.
22:30
>> It could be like the celebration water
22:32
tower. No water. No, it's all fake.
22:34
>> That's it. I like it.
22:34
>> What are they do? I You know what? I
22:36
didn't really pay attention, but what
22:37
are they doing to the Disney Junior
22:38
building?
22:38
>> I have no idea. stay in the same thing
22:40
and they're just putting a new show in
22:42
>> I think it's going to probably have to
22:43
do with animated characters. So maybe
22:45
what you see in here you can meet over
22:48
there. That's my thought process. I
22:50
don't know though.
22:52
>> I will say of all the changes they've
22:53
done recently, these are the ones I'm
22:56
not disappointed with.
22:57
>> No, we're getting animation back.
22:58
>> Yeah, we're getting animation back. This
23:00
needed a change. And really the Muppets
23:03
courtyard, sad to see Muppet vision go,
23:05
but the Muppets courtyard had seen
23:08
better days. It did.
23:09
>> So, it'll be kind
23:10
>> I think uh Streets of America going away
23:11
kind of took some um gears off of
23:14
Muppets.
23:14
>> I think you're right. I think you're
23:15
right. And them building when they built
23:18
Galaxy's Edge, they had to remove the
23:20
balloon, the hot air balloon.
23:21
>> Where do you think they're going to move
23:22
the spotlight? Cuz they're going to have
23:24
to have a spotlight.
23:25
>> Oh.
23:26
>> For the um they're going to light
23:28
illuminate it.
23:29
>> They could put it up in that tree back
23:30
there. They could put it up in a branch.
23:32
Ah, the Chinese Theater. This thing is a
23:36
fantastic recreation with the
23:38
handprints. There aren't as many
23:38
handprints here as there are in
23:40
Hollywood, but they still have quite a
23:43
few like Jerry Lewis signed here in 96.
23:45
You can see the little bit of the shadow
23:47
from the palm tree above in 1989 when
23:50
the park actually that's opening day.
23:52
That's opening day, May 1st, 1989.
23:55
George Burns put his handprints there as
23:57
well as Bob Hope. And then about a
24:00
couple months later, Jim Henson, he put
24:02
his handprints here on opening day.
24:04
You'll notice most of the handprints are
24:06
all from 89 to 94. There might be one or
24:09
two that are into the late '9s, but most
24:12
of them are from 89 into the early 90s,
24:15
including Hogan there, 1993, Hulk Hogan,
24:19
and of course Paul Rubin signing as
24:21
PeeWee Herman. This is interesting, too.
24:24
This was 3 months before the park
24:25
opened. Paul was here putting his
24:28
handprints and it wasn't even opening
24:29
day. So he was here while this
24:30
construction was still happening to do
24:32
this. And then Robin Williams was I
24:35
don't know half a year after half a year
24:38
after opening day. He signed this back
24:40
in 1990. And then here's probably one of
24:42
the more recent ones. I'm going to call
24:44
a recent 1999 Michael J. Fox. This might
24:47
be the old the the most recent one in
24:50
comparison to the the ones that are from
24:52
89 90 91. See Spock himself lead letter
24:57
Neboy sign in 89 here.
24:59
>> They moved it.
24:59
>> This used to be over at Beauty and the
25:00
Beast.
25:01
>> Oh, it did.
25:02
>> Yep.
25:02
>> He's doing the Vulcan the Vulcan
25:04
handprints there.
25:06
>> Okay. Interesting. And there are some
25:08
people who did ceremonies and their
25:10
handprints are nowhere to be found.
25:12
>> Yeah, there's one Golden Girl.
25:13
>> That's really weird.
25:16
>> There's Dick Clark right there. Betty
25:18
White.
25:19
>> Oh yeah. So you got Betty.
25:22
>> Estelle.
25:22
>> Betty. Stella Getty.
25:24
>> Yeah. R
25:25
>> Mlanahan.
25:26
>> And Rick Morannis.
25:27
>> The fourth Golden Girl.
25:28
>> That's him. He was Dorothy. That's
25:31
right.
25:33
>> Could you imagine? [laughter]
25:34
>> And Mark Hamill.
25:35
>> Mark Hamill. He was the boyfriend.
25:37
>> Yes. Now when you go to the real
25:40
Hollywood, everything's exactly the same
25:43
except this is on the other side.
25:44
>> That's right. Oh, and there's the gift
25:47
shop where like everything is $5 or
25:49
something.
25:49
>> Yeah. Over that way.
25:51
Speaking of Golden Girls, do you know
25:54
that Quinton Tarantino was on the Golden
25:56
Girls?
25:57
>> Really?
25:57
>> There's an episode where Quinton
25:59
Tarantino plays Elvis on the Golden
26:01
Girls. Just a bit part. There's like 10
26:03
Elvis know about
26:05
>> at a party and Tarantino is a huge Elvis
26:09
fan. He's in the Golden Girls.
26:10
>> What's What's going on here? What's
26:11
going on? What's going on? What's going
26:12
on? Burning love.
26:14
>> What's going on here?
26:14
>> He had a coffee.
26:15
>> Yeah. What's going
26:16
>> What's What's going on here? Oh, yeah.
26:18
You're You're not some You're not some
26:20
regular guy. You're like a paparazzi
26:21
guy. You're like a paparazzi guy. What's
26:23
going on here?
26:23
>> That sticks in my head.
26:26
going on here? What's going on here? All
26:28
right. This is the first time I've seen
26:29
this in a while since they closed Muppet
26:31
Vision and put up the walls over here
26:33
for Metropolis and all that. Grand Park
26:36
established 2017. This used to be
26:38
Streets of America. This was already
26:40
here, but the Streets of America used to
26:41
go all the way down here. And the only
26:43
thing left of Streets of America is this
26:45
little chunk right here. And basically
26:48
the chunk that starts right there and
26:49
then kind of pans across and goes this
26:52
way is all that's left of Streets of
26:54
America. So if you turn this way, this
26:56
is where the city skyline was. The city
26:58
skyline, if you ever seen the old photos
27:00
and videos, we're straight ahead right
27:02
there. Yep. So Sully and Wasowski are
27:04
Look, they're in full construction here.
27:07
Wasowski, man. He's got all the You
27:08
don't want to get too I don't want to
27:09
get too close and give too many
27:10
spoilers. [laughter]
27:11
Everyone will leak that out on the
27:13
internet.
27:14
>> The Glob Theater, man.
27:15
>> Yeah. No more Muppet Vision. Nope.
27:17
>> It's going to be the glob. The Miss
27:18
Piggy fountain is going to be
27:20
>> stay.
27:20
>> Well, Miss Piggy is going to be removed,
27:22
but there's still going to be a
27:23
fountain.
27:24
>> And then Rizzo's Nope. No spoilers on
27:26
what Rizzo is going to be.
27:27
>> Nope.
27:28
>> No spoilers on that. And then Harry
27:30
Houses. Mama Melrose. I'll be able to
27:32
get sushi at Hollywood Studios.
27:34
>> That'll be cool. Overpriced, very
27:36
expensive sushi.
27:38
>> Nothing says sushi more than Disney's
27:40
[music] Hollywood Studios, but that's
27:42
going to be exciting to have sushi.
27:43
>> You know what this is? This is like the
27:45
same architecture that used to sit right
27:47
over there and had the eyeballs all in
27:49
it. The more you looked, you know,
27:51
>> and and that's where the studio store
27:53
was. So, it's gone.
27:54
>> Looks like they're just putting a front
27:55
facade on this, too.
27:57
>> Playground.
27:58
>> Yeah. This is around the back of Mama
27:59
Melrose.
28:01
>> The back of Mama Melrose. Maybe a splash
28:03
pad. No, it is a playground.
28:05
>> Playground. Cruz Ramirez is here though
28:06
from cars.
28:07
>> There was a wall here originally.
28:09
>> Right. And then there was like a
28:11
building here that they tore down. That
28:12
was part of like just kind of like the
28:14
look of the place. So this is all being
28:16
going to be constructed back there. A
28:18
whole new e ride.
28:20
>> Mhm.
28:20
>> That's going to be awesome. [music]
28:22
That's going to be really good. And you
28:23
got Galaxy's Edge over here, the walkway
28:25
into Galaxy's Edge. Cuz before, I mean,
28:28
Muppet Vision again, rest in peace,
28:30
Muppet Vision, but everything else
28:32
besides Mama Melrose and Muppet Vision
28:35
and then, you know, the quick service
28:36
pizza. It really else was nothing else
28:38
back there. Now, we're going to get
28:39
photo ops, experiences, a playground,
28:42
which I probably will not be utilizing,
28:44
but this is going to draw way more
28:46
people into that area. So, I think it's
28:48
going to be
28:48
>> pointing this out. Look, that's cruise
28:50
errands from Cars. I think Cars 3, the
28:53
yellow racer right at the top.
28:55
>> That's funny. I think they're going to
28:57
showing this. Look at that. Look what
28:58
they're adding to the top.
29:00
>> Oh, where the hot air balloon used to
29:01
be.
29:02
>> Little monster.
29:03
>> That's fun.
29:04
>> that's cool.
29:05
>> Yeah. So, basically, my favorite theme
29:07
park, Disney destroyed it in the last
29:09
few decades, but at least at least
29:12
they're trying to rectify. I feel like I
29:14
might title the video that Disney
29:16
destroyed my favorite theme park, but
29:17
they're attempting to rectify it.
29:19
>> right.
29:20
>> That's kind of what they're doing. I'm
29:22
kind of happy with the two
29:24
>> house I grew up in, but there's new
29:25
owners, and I hate what they did with
29:27
the place,
29:27
>> but they're but they're but they're
29:29
bringing it back to a little bit of its
29:31
former goodness.
29:32
>> Yeah. I I am I'm going to give this a
29:34
thumbs up that I'm going to give over at
29:37
the other spot over there also a thumbs
29:40
up.
29:41
>> I mean that's that's probably the only
29:43
thumbs up you're going to give in modern
29:44
times for studios. But yeah,
29:46
>> I love Monsters Inc. Man,
29:48
>> bring it on. Bring it on.
29:50
>> And I kind of wonder what they're ever
29:51
going to do with Muppet Vision. Will
29:52
that make it to Disney Plus to mention
29:54
Disney Plus for the third time? Yeah.
29:55
The only building left of Streets of
29:57
America is this. And I was speaking, you
30:00
know, talking about the photos I have.
30:01
Me and my grandma, my mom's mother came
30:04
down late 90s. My mom, her and myself
30:07
were here. My mom took a bunch of
30:09
pictures. One of my grandma and I
30:11
standing back in Galaxy's Edge. And you
30:13
can see this building behind us and and
30:16
also in front of the Miss Piggy Fountain
30:19
and then also in front of the archway.
30:20
I'll show all three of those. So, you
30:22
know, it's interesting. You get
30:23
nostalgia. You get memories about places
30:25
you go, but then you also have the the
30:26
family memories. And then you'll look at
30:28
photos and go, "Oh, wow. That building
30:31
that we were standing in front of or
30:33
that landmark is also gone." So
30:36
sometimes that, you know, it hits you a
30:38
little hard too thinking of that as
30:39
well. So, you know, those those
30:42
landmarks have little extra special
30:44
memories for that reason. All right,
30:45
first photo. This is late '9s, probably
30:47
97, I'm guessing. There's a very thin me
30:50
over there on the left and my grandma
30:53
standing next to me. And that's the
30:55
building that I just showed, the Streets
30:57
of America. Still looks the same. And
31:00
then if you look over here, that is
31:01
Muffet's courtyard over there where this
31:04
photo was taken of my grandma and the
31:07
Miss Piggy Fountain. Now, years before
31:09
you got Rizzo's in the background. I
31:10
think it was called something else then
31:11
or maybe changed them changed a little
31:13
bit. But the Piggy Fountain stayed
31:16
there, but they got rid of the Fozzy and
31:18
the Gonzo and everything over the years.
31:19
Remember the last couple years of the
31:21
fountain, the only thing there was just
31:24
a couple characters in here and Miss
31:26
Piggy, but back then in the late '9s,
31:29
there were more characters in the
31:30
fountain. And then lastly, this is
31:33
probably the this is the one that's
31:34
really ties into what I'm talking about
31:36
today is you got that archway, the
31:38
Disney MGM Studios archway.
31:41
And my grandma and myself. Look, I was
31:43
wearing an Aloha shirt also.
31:50
I've been going to these parks a long
31:50
time.
31:52
And that was when Disney MGM Studios was
31:54
in its heyday. 96 97. I'm going to guess
31:57
this is probably 96.
32:00
96 because I think it was around the
32:01
same time as the Kate Castle at Magic
32:04
Kingdom for the 25th anniversary, which
32:05
would have been would have been 96,
32:08
right? Yeah.
32:11
>> Oh my gosh. From back here, you can see
32:13
they tore down the Muppets gift shop.
32:16
>> Oh my gosh. Look at that.
32:19
>> You know what though? Without that
32:20
there, it really does open it up a lot.
32:25
Wow. It actually looks kind of cool.
32:27
Mhm. That I always thought that building
32:29
really kind of blocked a lot of space.
32:31
>> It did. It made it look like there was
32:33
more back there than it was. I think it
32:34
was just a force perspective. Kind of
32:37
made you look like you were winding
32:38
through a bigger park than you were.
32:40
There's not a big imprint of this park,
32:42
especially what they're adding to. It's
32:44
pretty massive back there.
32:45
>> You know what's weird, Micah? As I look
32:47
at this, I feel like we're now on a
32:49
Hollywood backlog. Like when you see
32:51
that open space,
32:53
>> you those now look like facades again.
32:55
>> It does.
32:56
>> If that makes sense.
32:57
>> Like we're at Warner or Universal,
33:01
>> And if that wall was down, it would
33:03
probably look really cool.
33:05
>> Oh, yeah.
33:05
>> With that much open space. I love this
33:07
Coca-Cola painted mural here. Almost
33:09
like a beachside mural at the hydraulic
33:12
station over here. You got the Is there
33:14
a hidden Mickey up there?
33:16
Micah says there's a hidden Mickey up
33:18
here somewhere. I don't see it though.
33:20
You got the enjoy Coca-Cola.
33:22
>> I don't see the hidden Mickey though.
33:24
Oh, right there. Right there. I see it
33:25
now. It's right there in the middle
33:28
right there.
33:31
>> This is so not theme park.
33:33
>> It's like beachside. It's like Santa
33:35
Monica.
33:35
>> Yeah. It looks like something Disney
33:37
Springs almost. Oh, there's another
33:38
hidden Mickey way up there. The very
33:41
top.
33:42
>> There you go.
33:44
>> Yeah, like you did that one time. I
33:45
remember that.
33:46
>> Some step in time, of course.
33:47
>> Step in time. That's right.
33:48
>> Very nice indeed.
33:49
>> Great to see you.
33:50
>> You as well. Enjoy your time, sir.
33:52
>> Thank you.
33:53
>> Over into one man's dream now, and they
33:55
have a new preview center set up through
33:57
the history of Walt and Roy and the
33:59
parks and Marceline, etc. They have a
34:01
new preview center for what's coming to
34:03
studios. Yeah. So, basically, this is
34:04
the preview center. They have the
34:06
Montropolis area, but also over at
34:08
Animal Kingdom, the Tropical Americas.
34:10
This is a little scale model of tropical
34:13
Americas. We have where Encanto is going
34:16
to be right over there and where
34:17
Dinosaur currently is is going to be
34:20
Indiana Jones. The new Indiana Jones
34:22
ride is going to take over the same ride
34:24
track from Dinosaur. And that's it's
34:26
going to be a different version than
34:27
Anaheim. It's going to be in an area not
34:29
the Dinosaur section, but Tropical
34:32
Americas is what it's going to be
34:33
called. And this is kind of a scale
34:35
model of it here. As you walk through
34:36
here, that where the boneyard used to
34:38
be. And then you walk in back to
34:40
Dinosaur. So, it'll be pretty cool. Oh,
34:42
wow. Look over there. You can see they
34:44
really started to just tear down the
34:46
building over there, the Disney Junior
34:48
building. They have already started to
34:50
ransack that. They are they mean
34:52
business. All right, we're going to pop
34:53
in Backlot Express restaurant, a
34:55
warehouse full of good eating, which
34:57
they have really dissected this place
35:00
considerably and got rid of the Roger
35:02
Rabbit props and things like that that
35:04
they had in here. But there are still
35:05
some remnants of the old original MGM
35:08
era. Kind of surprised they haven't torn
35:09
this out yet, but for now, currently, as
35:13
I am documenting this, it still stands
35:15
for now. Wait, Mike, I found something.
35:18
What'd you find?
35:20
>> All this like fake rock work stuff they
35:21
have.
35:22
>> Yeah, look at that.
35:23
>> Look, this was outside of the
35:25
>> It is a package. Little souvenir right
35:28
>> This just shows how thin Sinclair paint
35:30
and how they do. This
35:31
>> is a facade.
35:32
>> Yeah. This was the first place back in
35:34
the early '9s when I came here where I
35:36
learned what a facade was.
35:38
>> Same.
35:40
>> Totally same.
35:41
>> Like a facade.
35:42
>> This is a facade.
35:43
>> That's like the before they painted.
35:45
That's like on the architecture as you
35:47
walk in.
35:48
>> And people that live in LA and, you
35:49
know, been to Universal and Warner their
35:51
whole lives, they're like, "You're an
35:52
idiot. How did you not know that?" But
35:54
this was my first introduction into
35:56
Hollywood.
35:58
>> Still got a lot of the stuff in here.
36:01
All these props
36:03
from back in the day.
36:06
Some of it's been removed, but there is
36:07
still some.
36:16
I always like this. You look in the
36:16
windows here and they got the little
36:19
prop sets of offices and things.
36:28
There's a backlot of sorts there. I
36:28
wonder what that photo is from. which
36:30
one of the Hollywood back lots that is.
36:33
Oh, they even added a Jollywood a newer
36:35
Jollywood knife pamphlet there.
36:39
That's something new in there. Got all
36:41
the theming here with the paper clips
36:42
and the pins and etc. There's a big
36:45
spark plug.
36:51
There's also some other photos of
36:51
different things here. Kind of hard to
36:53
tell exactly what they are, but you
36:54
know, I've seen this a hundred times
36:56
over the years. Never realized it was
36:59
chained to a trap.
37:02
>> I never realized that
37:03
>> you can move around this place.
37:05
>> Holy cow. How have I never noticed that?
37:07
I also never noticed a big hang glider
37:09
that's up there.
37:10
>> Yeah. It's like a hanger in here.
37:14
>> Well, this is themed around like the the
37:16
stunt men of Hollywood.
37:21
>> And they've gotten rid of a lot of
37:21
stuff, but there are still little things
37:23
like look at this little trampoline.
37:24
Look at that. I never noticed that
37:25
either.
37:26
>> Oh, yeah. small ones.
37:28
>> Yeah. If you ever
37:30
>> That's like the same one that Tom Ceini
37:32
bounced off of in in Dawn of the Dead
37:34
when the truck hits him. The truck's
37:36
going by hits one of the zombies and if
37:38
you pause it, slow it down, you see him
37:40
bounce off a trampoline, but they left
37:42
it in there. They forgot to edit that
37:44
out. I don't know if I didn't think I'd
37:46
ever mentioned Dawn of the Dead while I
37:47
was in Hollywood Studios, but here we
37:49
are. There's so many odd things that
37:51
they have left in here. They removed a
37:53
lot, but they have left the fake sink
37:56
and the fake coffee maker. There are no
37:58
piping hot caffeinated beverage in this.
38:00
So, this right here, it's weird how much
38:02
space this takes up with the sink here.
38:04
The water does not turn on. It's just
38:06
all plexi.
38:09
No coffee refills here.
38:16
In a day of streamlining Disney, you I'm
38:16
surprised they they use this for space.
38:18
And
38:18
>> this could be like storage or stroller
38:20
space or whatever. No paper towels in
38:22
there. One day we're going to come in
38:24
here though and this is just going to be
38:26
in the dumpster with Earful Tower.
38:28
>> Yeah. There used to be tons of Roger and
38:30
Rabbit stuff out here, including Well,
38:32
they've left this. Micah was just making
38:34
a good point. Why did they leave this
38:37
big chunk of rusted metal here, but get
38:40
rid of the Roger Rabbit props, right?
38:44
Like I'd rather see I'd rather see Judge
38:46
Doom's
38:48
>> car the mobile than this.
38:51
>> But this is left here. Or maybe there's
38:53
just no way of getting rid of this
38:55
without you know tearing all that out. I
38:57
don't know. It's weird what they get rid
38:59
of and what they keep. This is still
39:01
here though behind this chain link
39:02
fence.
39:02
>> Bye Daisy.
39:03
>> See you later Daisy. Take care. Take
39:05
care.
39:06
>> All right. Checking out some merch here.
39:08
I think this is kind of a newer shirt.
39:10
Got Gertie right there. Dinosaur Gertie.
39:13
Oh, there we go. You got Sunset
39:15
Boulevard. You got the Mickey here. But
39:17
also, speaking of Gertie right there,
39:19
you got the Dinosaur Gertie ice cream.
39:22
And you got the Sorcerer Mickey right
39:24
here, which is kind of cool.
39:28
There it is. Thank you for visiting
39:29
Disney's Hollywood Studios.
39:31
You're welcome.
39:34
All right, heading out. That's going to
39:37
do it for today from formerly Disney MGM
39:40
Studios. The place the way I remember
39:42
it, but it's been Hollywood Studios for
39:44
a couple how many two decades now? Maybe
39:46
two decades. I kind of lost track of
39:49
time, but in fact, it took me years to
39:51
even call it Hollywood. I wouldn't even
39:53
call it Hollywood Studios for a long
39:55
time, but now I've gotten used to
39:56
calling Hollywood Studios. Every once in
39:58
a while, pepper in the formerly Disney
40:00
MGM Studios.
40:03
>> That's That's going to do it for today.
40:05
Always
40:08
fun reminiscing with Micah from World of
40:09
Micah. If you haven't checked out his
40:11
channel, go check it out. I'll see you
40:14
in the next video. Got anything to got
40:16
last last uh moments of the video? We
40:19
welcome you to a Hollywood that never
40:20
was and always will