To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite facts, fun times, and pictures from a park we love!
“The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was and always will be.” – Michael Eisner May 1, 1989
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Fun Facts!
I found these great facts on some sites that I love! Make sure you visit Studios Central and The Dis for even more facts!
1. The Disney’s Hollywood Studios entrance plaza outside the ticket booths forms a big Hidden Pluto. You can see his face with eyes, nose, and mouth. This is clearly visible on the park map.
2. The opening date for Disney’s Hollywood Studios is on the gas pump (if you get up close and look at the numbers) right when you first enter the park.
3. All the pictures in the Brown Derby that are in BLACK frames are copies of the originals. All The pics in the GOLD frames are the originals from the original Brown Derby…which no longer exists.
4. What is the significance behind the license plate number “021-429” on the car depicted in the gangster shoot-out sequence of “The Great Movie Ride?” It is the date of the Valentine’s Day Massacre—February 14, 1929.
5. Gertie the Dinosaur, on Echo Lake, pays homage to pioneering animator Winsor McCay and his revolutionary 1914 animated cartoon, Gertie the Dinosaur.
6. The Earffel Tower is 130 feet tall with a diameter of 8 ½ feet and translates to a hat size of 342 3/8.
7. In Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, if you look closely at Walt Disney’s grade-school desk, you can see the initials “W.D.” carved into it.
8. The belt buckle worn by John Wayne in the Western Scene is an actual buckle worn by the Duke in one of his movies.
9. At 40 feet tall, the larger-than-life stratocaster guitar that adorns the entrance of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has a 32-foot-long neck which is nearly 15 times the size of the neck on an average stratocaster guitar.
10. The golden idol is an exact replica of the one from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.
11. You’ll see a long brick wall to your right as you approach the ride from Star Tours. Along the top of the wall are planters with flowers and such in them. If you follow them along to the very end, the last one has an ice cream sundae in it instead of the flowers.
12. It has been estimated that each day at Toy Story Midway Mania! guests may break over one million virtual plates using the spring-action shooters.
13. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the third theme park opened its doors in April 1989 and cost more than $500 million. It covers 231 acres, 77 acres of which is for parking.
14. Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ first full length film to be produced at the studio was Mulan.
15. When the Tower of Terror was being built, it was struck by lightning.
16. The Sorcerer’s Hat in the center of the park weighs a wopping 150 tons and stands 122-foot-tall.
17. When you’re in line for Indiana Jones, you go past a well, I think to the right of the entrance. If you pull on the rope, you’ll hear someone down in the well.
18. Look for the key under the doormat at Muppets 3D. Just after you go through the turnstile, go to your right and you’ll find a welcome mat. Take a peek underneath it.
19. A replica of the Colony Theater, New York, is at the Studios. The Colony Theater is where Steamboat Willie, Mickey’s first starting roll, debuted
20. It would take 5,026 toy soldiers lined up end-to-end to make up the total track length of Toy Story Midway Mania!
21. In the preshow Muppet 3D room at Hollywood there is a net full of green Jell-O hanging from the ceiling. It signifies Annette Funicello.
22.Imagineers used the blue-prints of the original 1927 Meyer and Holler building for reference, when building the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The facade is built to full scale. The 22 ft central roof section was constructed seperately and hoisted into place by crane.
23. Imagineers had mahjongg players set up the game in the lobby of the Tower of Terror so guests who know how to play the game can see that it is authentic.
24. In 1995, the Earful Tower had blue goggles in honor of Orlando Magic player Horace Grant. The Magic went on to play in the NBA championships, but they lost the series.
25. The names on the windows on the Streets of America are those of the Walt Disney Imagineering people who designed the park
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