HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
MONSTER SOUND SHOW - Located in the Echo Lake section, this show was an opening day attraction...May 1, 1989. The attraction was sponsored by Sony and displayed the importance of sound in films. Volunteers were chosen from the audience to act as Foley (sound effects) artists. A short comedy film starring Martin Short and Chevy Chase was used for the volunteers to add sound effects to. They had to create sounds of rain, thunder, breaking glass, doors closing, dogs barking, people walking and more. Of course, the volunteer's efforts rarely would synch up to the film and create some very funny moments. The show lasted about 15 minutes and then guests would continue to the postshow area called SoundWorks, There they could try their hands at creating their own sound effects and voiceovers. In July of 1997, the attraction was renamed ABC Sound Studio and the show format changed to replace the original film clip with a cartoon that volunteers would add the sound effects to. ABC Sound Studios closed in February of 1999.
SID CAHUENGA'S ONE OF A KIND SHOP - This shop was located at the main entrance to the park...to the left of the Crossways of the World kiosk. The shop was inspired by the 1920's California Bungalow style and featured unique merchandise. These included film memorabilia, celebrity autographs, movie and television props and costumes, artwork and movie posters. Despite popular belief, Sid Cahuenga was not a real person, but just a fictional character and story created by Imagineers. The shop was often overlooked and hardly ever crowded so it was a great place to slow down and browse some one-of-a-kind items. It closed on November 16, 2013 after operating from the park opening and has become a MyMagic+ service center.
SORCERY IN THE SKY - Once upon a time there was a nightly fireworks show at MGM called Sorcery In The Sky. It ran from 1990 to 1998 and was narrated by Vincent Price. The show was about eight and a half minutes long and took place at the end of Hollywood Boulevard behind The Great Movie Ride. Classic Hollywood music accompanied the pyrotechnics. The movie music included: The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The finale featured a medley of the music from The Sorcerer's Apprentice and culminated with a giant inflatable Sorcery Mickey appearing on top of The Great Movie Ride shooting fireworks out of his finger. The show was discontinued once Fantasmic opened.
SOUNDSTAGE RESTAURANT/CATWALK BAR - This restaurant was located in Soundstage 5 in the Animation Courtyard. It was a counter service eatery that was designed from the actual movie sets of the Plaza hotel from the 1988 movie Big Business starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. The idea was to make the restaurant feel like a live set with props, rigging, lighting and other production paraphernalia scattered about. At one point, the theme of the restaurant changed to focus on animated films such as Beauty and the Beast and subsequently Aladdin. Separate food stations were located within a kind of story book village.
Above the restaurant seating and service areas on the catwalks was the appropriately named Catwalk Bar. The bar was entered via an elevator or staircase that were located between the Soundstage Restaurant and Brown Derby. Appetizers and light snacks were served here.
Soundstage Restaurant closed November 14, 1988 to make way for the Bear In the Big Blue House show. The Catwalk Bar remained open, but closed during showtimes. It eventually closed for good when Bear started running continuous shows.
STARS AND CARS PARADE - This parade debuted October 1, 2001 as part of the Walt Disney World Resort's 100 Years of Magic Celebration. Stars and Cars featured a procession of Disney characters along with their themed custom vehicles in a Hollywood style celebration. The 25 minute parade started by Star Tours and concluded at the end of Hollywood Boulevard near the entrance to the park. The list of characters and their rides included: Toy Story, Mary Poppins, The Muppets, Star Wars, Mulan, Aladdin, Hercules, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, Snow White and a Disney Villains float. Monsters Inc, Power Rangers, Lilo & Stitch and Cars were added later. The finale was Mickey, Minnie and friends riding in a 1929 Cadillac. There were also some pre-parade vehicles that were brought out to promote new movies. These included: Enchanted, Ratatouille and Chicken Little. The parade was transformed into the Hollywood Holly-Day Parade for the holidays. March 8, 2008 was the last run for the parade at Hollywood Studios. Some aspects of the parade were shipped to Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris and renamed Disney Stars "n" Cars.
SUPERSTAR TELEVISION - One of MGM Studios opening day attractions, Superstar Television was an interactive guest experience. This show was sponsored by Sony and featured guests being placed into famous scenes from TV shows with the use of green screens. The classic chocolate conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy was a crowd favorite. A guest played the part of Ethel. Other TV shows featured were Cheers, General Hospital, Golden Girls, Home Improvement, Gilligan's Island and several more. This was a fun show that generated many laughs from the studio audience as they watched the guest actors try to act out their scenes. The attraction closed on September 26, 1998 and was replaced by Doug Live.
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE - PLAY IT! - Based on the hit TV game show hosted by Regis Philbin, this attraction opened April 7, 2001 in the studios Backlot area. The theater held 647 guests and was a replica of the TV set. The show ran several times a day and lasted about 25 minutes. This was an interactive attraction where guests would earn their way to the hot seat by answering the fastest finger questions quickly and correctly by hitting the keypads in front of each seat. If the current hot seat contestant would walk away or get a question wrong, the guest with the most correct answers and quickest answer times as determined by their keypad input would be the next hot seat contestant. The lifelines differed from the TV show. Instead of the "phone a friend"option, the park's version had a "phone a complete stranger" choice. This option placed a phone call to a Cast Member outside the theater who would ask a random guest to answer the question. Also, in the park's version, money was replaced by points that would be turned in as prizes. The attraction closed August 19, 2006 and was replaced with Toy Story Midway Mania.
SID CAHUENGA'S ONE OF A KIND SHOP - This shop was located at the main entrance to the park...to the left of the Crossways of the World kiosk. The shop was inspired by the 1920's California Bungalow style and featured unique merchandise. These included film memorabilia, celebrity autographs, movie and television props and costumes, artwork and movie posters. Despite popular belief, Sid Cahuenga was not a real person, but just a fictional character and story created by Imagineers. The shop was often overlooked and hardly ever crowded so it was a great place to slow down and browse some one-of-a-kind items. It closed on November 16, 2013 after operating from the park opening and has become a MyMagic+ service center.
SORCERY IN THE SKY - Once upon a time there was a nightly fireworks show at MGM called Sorcery In The Sky. It ran from 1990 to 1998 and was narrated by Vincent Price. The show was about eight and a half minutes long and took place at the end of Hollywood Boulevard behind The Great Movie Ride. Classic Hollywood music accompanied the pyrotechnics. The movie music included: The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The finale featured a medley of the music from The Sorcerer's Apprentice and culminated with a giant inflatable Sorcery Mickey appearing on top of The Great Movie Ride shooting fireworks out of his finger. The show was discontinued once Fantasmic opened.
SOUNDSTAGE RESTAURANT/CATWALK BAR - This restaurant was located in Soundstage 5 in the Animation Courtyard. It was a counter service eatery that was designed from the actual movie sets of the Plaza hotel from the 1988 movie Big Business starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. The idea was to make the restaurant feel like a live set with props, rigging, lighting and other production paraphernalia scattered about. At one point, the theme of the restaurant changed to focus on animated films such as Beauty and the Beast and subsequently Aladdin. Separate food stations were located within a kind of story book village.
Above the restaurant seating and service areas on the catwalks was the appropriately named Catwalk Bar. The bar was entered via an elevator or staircase that were located between the Soundstage Restaurant and Brown Derby. Appetizers and light snacks were served here.
Soundstage Restaurant closed November 14, 1988 to make way for the Bear In the Big Blue House show. The Catwalk Bar remained open, but closed during showtimes. It eventually closed for good when Bear started running continuous shows.
STARS AND CARS PARADE - This parade debuted October 1, 2001 as part of the Walt Disney World Resort's 100 Years of Magic Celebration. Stars and Cars featured a procession of Disney characters along with their themed custom vehicles in a Hollywood style celebration. The 25 minute parade started by Star Tours and concluded at the end of Hollywood Boulevard near the entrance to the park. The list of characters and their rides included: Toy Story, Mary Poppins, The Muppets, Star Wars, Mulan, Aladdin, Hercules, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, Snow White and a Disney Villains float. Monsters Inc, Power Rangers, Lilo & Stitch and Cars were added later. The finale was Mickey, Minnie and friends riding in a 1929 Cadillac. There were also some pre-parade vehicles that were brought out to promote new movies. These included: Enchanted, Ratatouille and Chicken Little. The parade was transformed into the Hollywood Holly-Day Parade for the holidays. March 8, 2008 was the last run for the parade at Hollywood Studios. Some aspects of the parade were shipped to Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris and renamed Disney Stars "n" Cars.
SUPERSTAR TELEVISION - One of MGM Studios opening day attractions, Superstar Television was an interactive guest experience. This show was sponsored by Sony and featured guests being placed into famous scenes from TV shows with the use of green screens. The classic chocolate conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy was a crowd favorite. A guest played the part of Ethel. Other TV shows featured were Cheers, General Hospital, Golden Girls, Home Improvement, Gilligan's Island and several more. This was a fun show that generated many laughs from the studio audience as they watched the guest actors try to act out their scenes. The attraction closed on September 26, 1998 and was replaced by Doug Live.
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE - PLAY IT! - Based on the hit TV game show hosted by Regis Philbin, this attraction opened April 7, 2001 in the studios Backlot area. The theater held 647 guests and was a replica of the TV set. The show ran several times a day and lasted about 25 minutes. This was an interactive attraction where guests would earn their way to the hot seat by answering the fastest finger questions quickly and correctly by hitting the keypads in front of each seat. If the current hot seat contestant would walk away or get a question wrong, the guest with the most correct answers and quickest answer times as determined by their keypad input would be the next hot seat contestant. The lifelines differed from the TV show. Instead of the "phone a friend"option, the park's version had a "phone a complete stranger" choice. This option placed a phone call to a Cast Member outside the theater who would ask a random guest to answer the question. Also, in the park's version, money was replaced by points that would be turned in as prizes. The attraction closed August 19, 2006 and was replaced with Toy Story Midway Mania.