Film-centric theme park with thrill rides, a laser light spectacle & TV- & movie-based shows.
Address: 351 S Studio Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Phone:(407) 939-5277
Tickets prices, or costs vary based packages or coupons.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios (originally Disney-MGM Studios until 2008) is the third of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida on May 1, 1989. Spanning 135 acres (55 ha), it is dedicated to show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood, California in the 1930s and 1940s. In 2014, the park hosted approximately 10.31 million visiting guests, making it the fifth-most visited amusement park in the United States, and eighth-most visited in the world.
Hollywood Studios Orlando Florida pictures slideshow YouTube video
The park was formerly represented by the Sorcerer’s Hat, a stylized version of the magical hat from Fantasia. It replaced the Earffel Tower as the park’s icon in 2001 and served that role until its removal in January 2015.
Hollywood Studios Park Layout Areas and Sections
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is divided into six themed areas. Unlike the other Walt Disney World parks, the park does not have a defined layout, resembling more of a mass of streets and buildings that blend into each other, much like a real motion picture studio. The plaza at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, however, featured a large Hidden Mickey, which was visible in aerial photographs of the park and on the park’s early guide maps. Construction and other park changes have eliminated much of this image.
1. Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard, inspired by the street in Los Angeles, serves as the park’s main entrance and operates in the same vein as Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom; being lined with themed streetscape facades and venues selling Disney merchandise and park services. Guests enter through the main entrance gate, which resembles the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Near the park’s gate is a recreation of the Crossroads of the World tower. Live street entertainment and seasonal parades travel down the main street throughout the day. At the far end of Hollywood Boulevard stands a replica of the landmark Chinese Theater which houses The Great Movie Ride, a dark ride paying homage to several classic films, including Singin’ in the Rain, Alien, Casablanca, and The Wizard of Oz. Within proximity to Hollywood Boulevard—near the entrance of Animation Courtyard—resides The Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, a themed replica of the original Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California.
2. Echo Lake
Echo Lake, inspired by the real location of a similar name, is designed to mimic the “California Crazy” form of architecture from Hollywood’s Golden Age, and is anchored by a small oval-shaped lagoon, which was designed to form one of the ears in the enormous Hidden Mickey from the park’s original layout.
Echo Lake includes three major attractions based on characters and films created by George Lucas and produced by Disney’s Lucasfilm studio. Star Tours–The Adventures Continue is a 3-D motion simulator ride set in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, a live-action stage show, invites children to become “padawan learners” and receive lightsaber training from a Jedi master. Lastly, the live-action Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! re-enacts various scenes from Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, while illustrating how professional film stunts are performed.
The Hyperion Theater houses For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, a musical show based on the Disney animated film. The adjacent ABC Sound Studio building showcases Star Wars: Path of the Jedi, a short film retelling of the Star Wars series. In between that and the Hyperion, is the A.T.A.S. Hall of Fame Plaza—a display of busts of past and present icons of the television era—such as Oprah Winfrey, Lucille Ball, and Walt Disney. At the far end of the Echo Lake area, near the entrance of Streets of America, resides the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, a dinner theater with a retro-style theme featuring vintage car themed tables and a large movie screen featuring continuous clips of science-fiction films from the 1950s.
3. Streets of America
Streets of America is an urban setting amalgamation of New York City and San Francisco. Before opening to pedestrian park traffic in the mid-1990s, Streets of America was originally a working backlot set and a part of the park’s inaugural Studio Backlot Tour.
Muppet*Vision 3D is a 4-D film starring the Muppets from Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show; it features multiple effects to display the characters inside the theater during the presentation. Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show is a behind-the-scenes look at how vehicle action sequences are created for films, and was adapted in 2005 from a similar show at Walt Disney Studios Park. Younger guests can play amongst oversized plants and toys at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure, based on the 1989 film. Much of the area, (with the exceptions of Muppet*Vision 3D, Stage 1 Company Shop, and Mama Melrose’s) will close with Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show on April 2, 2016.
4. Pixar Place
Pixar Place is dedicated to films and characters created by Pixar Animation Studios. The area, which resembles the animation studio’s Emeryville, California campus, includes many of the former soundstages used by the park when it operated as an active production studio. Its sole attraction is Toy Story Midway Mania!, an interactive 4D attraction inspired by classic carnival midway games, each hosted by characters from the Toy Story film series. Pixar Place was also the home of Luxo Jr., a six-foot-tall audio-animatronic version of Pixar’s desk-lamp mascot. The moving character performs periodic shows throughout the day and evening across from Toy Story Midway Mania.
5. Animation Courtyard
Animation Courtyard is primarily home to attractions based on films and characters created by Walt Disney Animation Studios. This section of the park originally was the starting point for the Studio Backlot Tour. Its entrance is marked by a square “studio arch,” much like a real Hollywood studio lot entrance might be marked.
The former Magic of Disney Animation building hosts “Star Wars Launch Bay”, a Star Wars exhibit featuring behind-the-scenes props and character meet-and-greets with Darth Vader and Chewbacca. Mickey Avenue, a sub-section of Animation Courtyard, is home to a walk-through exhibit, Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, which explores the life and legacy of Walt Disney through photos, models, rare artifacts, and a short biographical film narrated by Julie Andrews. The Courtyard section also hosts two live shows. Disney Junior Live on Stage! entertains guests with puppet characters from the “Disney Junior” block of programming on The Disney Channel, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, and Sofia the First. Across the plaza, Voyage of the Little Mermaid uses glow-in-the-dark puppets, lasers, music, projectors, human actors and water effects to recreate favorite scenes and songs from the 1989 animated film.
6. Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard, inspired by the real location of the same name, was the first expansion in the park’s history, opening in July 1994. The visual focal point of Sunset Boulevard is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a thrill ride based on Rod Serling’s classic CBS television series. Located nearby is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, an indoor darkened roller coaster themed to the music of Aerosmith, with three inversions and a high-speed launch. Situated next to Rock n’ Roller Coaster, is Sunset Showcase, an indoor special events venue.
Sunset Boulevard has two outdoor amphitheaters for live stage shows. The covered Theater of the Stars hosts Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, a stage show featuring highlights from the animated film. The open-air Hollywood Hills Amphitheater is the home of Fantasmic!, a nighttime show featuring Mickey Mouse and many other Disney characters in a story filled with fireworks, lasers and water effects.
Live entertainment
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has featured numerous forms of in-park entertainment throughout its history. During its early years, the park featured the “Star Today” program, with a daily celebrity guest. The celebrity would often be featured in a motorcade along Hollywood Boulevard, or would take part in a handprint ceremony at the Great Movie Ride’s entrance, or even participate in an interview session.
At other times, Disney has imported characters that were not part of its own library of films and television shows. Some of these characters have included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and characters from the Goosebumps series by author R. L. Stine. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made appearances in the park during the first seasons of the television series, but then vanished. Disney had ownership of the Power Rangers franchise through its purchase of Saban Entertainment until May 2010 when Saban purchased the franchise back, and were regular members of the park’s cast of characters through that time.
Many of the park’s costumed entertainers are not related to any particular film or TV show. Instead, they are live-action caricatures of figures from Hollywood’s history. Originally dubbed “streetmosphere” by Disney and now called the “Citizens of Hollywood”, they appear at regular intervals on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. Some of these characters include directors, talent agents, starlets or hopefuls, and will often take part in streetside shows that will include audience participation.
Today, guests are treated to a wide array of characters and performers, many of which make their only Walt Disney World appearances at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Some examples include characters from JoJo’s Circus, Little Einsteins and Kim Possible. Similarly, characters from new Disney and Pixar animated features will make their Walt Disney World debuts at the park, such as those from Bolt and Pixar’s Ratatouille. Live musical acts, such as the cover band Mulch, Sweat and Shears and the a cappella quartet Four For a Dollar, will perform on the park streets or as pre-show entertainment at the larger shows.
Like the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom parks, Disney’s Hollywood Studios also runs daily parades down Hollywood Boulevard. The “Pixar Block Party Bash” parade features Pixar film characters performing in a street party along Hollywood Boulevard and near Echo Lake. Several times each day, the “High School Musical 3 Senior Year : Right Here Right Now” show would travel Hollywood Boulevard before performing a live street show in front of the Sorcerer’s Hat.
Hollywood Studios Restaurants Places To Eat
50’s Prime Time Cafe
Echo Lake
ABC Commissary
Commissary Lane
Anaheim Produce
Sunset Boulevard
Backlot Express
Between Star Tours and the Epic Stunt Theater
Catalina Eddie’s
Sunset Boulevard
Dine with a Disney Imagineer (Lunch)
Hollywood Brown Derby
Fairfax Fare
Sunset Boulevard
High Octane Refreshments
Streets of America
Hollywood and Vine
Opposite Echo Lake
Hollywood Scoops
Sunset Boulevard
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
Behind Star Tours and Muppet 3D
Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner
Echo Lake
Oasis Canteen
Echo Lake
Pizza Planet Arcade
Muppet Courtyard
Rosie’s All American
Sunset Boulevard
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
Commissary Lane
Starring Rolls Cafe
Sunset Boulevard
Studio Catering Co.
Near the Honey I Shrunk the Ki
The Hollywood Brown Derby
Hollywood Boulevard
The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
Hollywood Boulevard
The Trolley Car Café
Hollywood Boulevard
Toluca Legs Turkey Co.
Sunset Boulevard
Tune-In Lounge
Adjacent to 50’s Prime Time Cafe
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Hours 9:00am – 8:30pm
Extra Magic Hours 8:30pm 10:30pm
