The opening day guidebook for the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park listed 19 attractions. Granted, several of these were separate parts of the Backstage Studio Tour or the Magic of Disney Animation. Of those that remained, at least three are still in evidence today: The Great Movie Ride, the Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Catastrophe Canyon. Some have left behind only memories: SuperStar Television, the Monster Sound Show, and the Magic of Disney Animation. But at least one has vanished, leaving not even many memories.
The original Theater of the Stars was located at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, next door to the Brown Derby. Every day at 1pm guests could sit in benches and watch a famous star of stage or screen interviewed for the “Star Conversation,” a part of the Star Today program. But the real attraction was the big show that played several times daily: Hollywood! Hollywood!
The description in the Guide Book managed in breathless text to capture the tone of the show quite well:
NOW PLAYING—an exciting entertainment extravaganza presented live on an outdoor stage in the heart of Hollywood Boulevard. You’ll never see a musical history of the silver screen done this way as superstar Mickey Mouse leads a celebrity cast of Disney characters from the days of the “silents” right through the ‘80s.
You’ll cheer as a beautiful maiden is saved from the clutches of the villainous Big Bad Wolf in a mini-melodrama from the silent era. You’ll swoon as Goofy and Pluto captivate a bevy of beauties. You’ll tap and sing along with Minnie, Goofy, and Donald as they salute those fabulous musicals from Hollywood’s golden era. And you’ll be all ears when Br’er Bear tells ya how cowboy movies got to be so dang popular! There’s even a salute to today’s great box office hits and a rousing finale involving your favorite Disney characters.
Hollywood! Hollywood! covered the history of film, from the silent era to the age of disco, with stops along the way to cheer for Rudolph Valentino, Carmen Miranda, Fred Astaire, and Lawrence Olivier—all played by the Disney characters.
