The Grand Opening of the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park on May 1, 1989 was the most star-studded in the history of the Walt Disney Company. As much as I would have liked to have been there, I didn’t manage to enter through the streamlined gates until July. That summer I made two more visits, the last over Labor Day in September. And I took a LOT of photos.
The following are not all the photos I took. Some things have stayed pretty much the same (the Great Movie Ride, with one vivid exception is virtually unchanged after 25 years), others were off-limits for photos (portions of the Backstage Studio Tour and The Magic of Disney Animation) and others just weren’t all that interesting (the appeal SuperStar Television eluded me, and most other guests as well). That said, I hope you will enjoy this trip down memory lane. Or, Hollywood Boulevard, I should say.
The Study Model
Guests over at the Magic Kingdom had been eying a rather baffling “study model” for some time at the preview center in the Opera House. This white-on-white display was still in place after opening day, complete with labels for the renamed “Art of Animation” pavilion, “Disney Television Theatre,” and “Great Moments at the Movies” attraction. Conspicuously missing was Catastrophe Canyon, although the tram route (marked by a dotted line) showed the location where it was built.
Entrance and Hollywood Boulevard
The turquoise, silver and red streamlined architecture that dominated the Disney-MGM Studios design was on full display, even out at the edge of the parking lot. Guests could also arrive via boat. Trams carried guests from the far reaches of the new parking lot to a special entry plaza, on the shores of a small lagoon. Flags were displayed in this exterior plaza.
In two short blocks, Imagineers had encapsulated the glamour of Hollywood Boulevard during the heyday of the film industry. Buildings and facades were either based closely on, or directly copied from, Hollywood and Los Angeles area landmarks. “Streetmosphere” characters were on hand to interact with guests and give the street a sense of community. Shop interiors were given the same lavish detail as the exterior architecture. The candy store looked very much like a classic See’s candy shop. Photo supplies were sold out of a giant camera. And clothing stores vending souvenir t-shirts were given all the glamour and panache of shops on Wilshire.
Halfway down the boulevard a side street offered glimpses of and access to Lakeside Circle and Echo Lake. But most guests surged forward, drawn by the allure of the full-scale replica of Hollywood’s famous Chinese Theatre. The central plaza in front was designed to look exactly like the smiling face of Mickey Mouse, although this could only be appreciated from high overhead. The view back down the boulevard was just as glamorous. At scheduled times during the day you could get a look at actual film and television stars, as they were paraded in open convertibles and participated in the handprint ceremony in front of the Chinese Theatre.
