Hollywood Studios Facts

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There are alot of things guests don’t know about the Studios. It’s not where to find the best ice cream or the cheapest on ride photo, it’s trivia about the Studios that most people don’t know about. If you know of something we didn’t mention, email us at quickgold@studioscentral.com

General

There are alot of things guests don’t know about the Studios. It’s not where to find the best ice cream or the cheapest on ride photo, it’s trivia about the Studios that most people don’t know about. If you know of something we didn’t mention, email us at quickgold@studioscentral.com

General

  • The entire front end of the park used to be a huge hidden Mickey before it was ruined by the aditions of Sunset Boulevard and the Socerer’s hat.
  • Although the main plaza Hidden Mickey is well known, he has a friend: the 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.
  • There are 6 simulators at Star Tours
  • Gertie the Dinosaur, on Echo Lake, pays homage to pioneering animator Winsor McCay and his revolutionary 1914 animated cartoon, Gertie the Dinosaur.
  • 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.
  • Films represented in the Great Movie Ride include Busby Berkeley’s Footlight Parade, The Public Enemy, Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Casablanca.
  • The Hollywood Brown Derby pays homage to the second Brown Derby restaurant (1929), once located at 1624 Vine Street, just south of Hollywood Boulevard.
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios is close to 135 acres. It is south of Epcot Center. Construction began in 1986. By the time the new theme park opened in May 1989 (the changes in scale had delayed the scheduled October 1988 opening), total costs had accumulated to more thn $500 million.
  • The names on the windows on the Streets of America are those of the Walt Disney Imagineering people who designed the park
  • The voice of REX, your robot tour guide on Sta Tours, is the voice of Pee-Wee Herman(Paul Rubens).
  • Studioscentral.com reader Mike Farnham sent this: "Disney maintenance is famous for being "anal" about cleaning things in the park. During filming of the Bette Midler short film, shown during the backstage tour, Disney cleaning crews came into New York street and picked up all the trash, cleaned the streets and repainted everything! Trouble is – it was SUPPOSED to look dirty and dingy! Movie makers had to re"age" the set again before filming the next day"

Cast Member Secrets

  • In the Studios on the other side of the Brown Derby Resturant there is a Cast Member only Cafeteria. It is called "Take Five Cafe".
  • In addition to the ATM’s available to guests, there is another ATM machine for "Cast Members" but is not available for studio guest.
  • There is also a "Company D" store,where cast members can buy clothes/goods which have some kind of CAST designation on them… like a key-ring that says ‘Team Disney’.
  • While the Studios may not have tunnels underneath them like the Magic Kingdom, they do have one of the most enjoyable ways for cast members to get around: bikes. Since the park is almost round, with little guest access to the edges, CMs use communal bikes to get around the parks on the outside.
  • Studios Cast Member IDs double as time cards, thanks to a bar code on the back. Cast Members clock in at Wardrobe in the back of the park.
  • Inside the cast services building there is a fully funtional hair salon for cast members.

Earfel Tower

  • The Earffel Tower is 130 feet tall. It is not a working water tower.
  • The diameter of the Earful Tower is 8 1/2 feet and translates into a hat size of 342 3/8. The reason for the hat size is because every holiday season they usually top it off with a Giant Red Stocking Cap.
  • 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.

Tower of Terror

  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is 199 feet tall.
  • When the Tower of Terror was being built, it was struck by lightning.

General

  • All of the Disney 3D Adventure Shows, such as Muppet Vision 3D, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, It’s Tough To Be A Bug, as well as the since past show Magic Journeys all use the same principle of presentation. Unlike normal 3D show (red/blue lenses) these film use a process of reverse polorization every other frame. The clear glasses are reversed polorized which allow your eyes to detect the difference of angle between the two frames – this method is cheap for filming, and it can be added after filming is done. It also adds a higher degree of control on the 3D effects.
  • 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
  • The only place on Disney World Resort property where you can buy a photo of Walt Disney is at Sid Cahuenga’s one-of-a-kind shop in the Disney’s Hollywood Studios where they sell for $4.00. Occasionally, the store carries an authentic autograph of Walt that can be purchased for about $3,000!
  • The Sorcerer’s Hat in the center of the park weighs a wopping 150 tons and stands 122-foot-tall. Under the cap are computers with quizzes about Walt and his work. The pens they give out will light up at certain attractions through-out the park (Like over at the Haunted Mansion, it lights up like a heart beat). At night they call it a "Pen Light presession" as the pens light up and flash during the night.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

  • The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was built first, then the building was constructed around it.
  • The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster building volume is over 3.7 million cubic ft.
  • The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster limos go from 0-57 mph in 2.8 seconds.
  • There are 125 speakers and 24 sub-woofers in each limo of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
  • There are over 900 speakers in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
  • There are three inversions – two rollover loops and one corkscrew in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
  • There is 3,403 feet of track in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
  • The launch of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster catapults you 200 feet.
  • Each Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster limo can hold 24 guests.
  • 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.
  • As you enter the first inversion in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, the G-Force is between 4 and 5.

The Great Movie Ride

  • All the lead characters in the show have real human hair wigs. Supporting anamatronic cast has synthetic hair.
  • During tour guide training, it is revealed that the original concept for The Great Movie Ride (then called Great Moments at the Movies) involved having real live celebrity look alikes portraying all of the characters on the ride instead of audio animatronics. That means that that would have been a real person portraying John Wayne on top of his horse or Sigourney Weaver hiding from the Alien. This later proved to be impossible to do for various reasons.
  • Here’s a tip about the Great Movie Ride, if you have children, ask to wait for the next show (if the first or second row on the Gangster or Cowboy is filled, ask to wait for the next ride for the first or second rows, and the Gangster or Cowboy will talk to your kids ("Mugsy" might say "Hey kid, I just want to ask ya’s one question, ya got any cash?" or The Cowboy or Cowgirl would say (on the jewel part) "Hey kid save my seat!"
  • The bandits, a.k.a. the cowboys or cowgirls, are called Kate and Kid Durango
  • The belt buckle worn by John Wayne in the Western Scene is an actual buckle worn by the Duke in one of his movies.
  • In the western town across from John Wayne, there is a sign on the wall for Ransom Stoddard Attorney. This is a reference to a Jimmy Stuart/John Wayne movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. Ransom Stoddard was played by Jimmy Stuart!
  • When entering Gangster Alley, there is a movie poster of an Edward G. Robinson film that has been "torn" so that his face and the title are not very prominent. Apparently, the estate of Edward G. Robinson would not approve the use of his likeness in the gangster scene; they did not want him to be remembered only for his gangster roles.
  • In the Alien section, the first status monitor on the bottom left side, you read the ship’s statistics. However, if you scan to about the middle of the message, you read something like "Walt Disney World welcomes all aliens currently residing on board this ship" or something like that, then continues something about Goofy and some other characters. Then, it says "Estimated time till next special effects failure, 45.8 years".
  • The computer screens in Alien have all the names of the creators of the ride. (You’re moving to fast to see them while on the ride.)
  • As you approach the gangster scene look at the building that the gangster comes from. Look at the top of the stairs and you will see the time clock and times cards the employees clock in on
  • There is a part prior to the Wizard of Oz scene that features Mickey in Fantasia. If you notice it is very windy and dark in that scene. This is because it was originally supposed to be the tornado scene that "takes" you to Oz, but the creators of the Wizard of Oz would not agree for some reason.
  • In the Emerald City scene in Oz, if you look at the Yellow Brick road, you will see that it forms the word "OZ" with one of the parts of the Emerald City.
  • How about that slime that falls on you? The stuff that falls on you is water. However the stuff in the back of the ride that is just dripping from the ceiling is another story. It is a mix of Glycerol and water. You can make it at home, the stuff needed is sold at your local drugstore.
  • There is a third Star Wars character within the Great Movie Ride. As you enter the abandoned mummy’s tomb after the Tour Guide returns, look very closely at the flat board with the small Egyptian figures lined up on it. In the back right hand corner, there is a small figure of Wicket the Ewok from Return of the Jedi. You have to be on the far left to see it and it is easily missed.
  • The Humpfry figure is taller than in actual life because that’s the angle they shot the sceane in the movie. (Ms. Bergman was actually taller in real life).
  • During the Jungle Cruise ’94 rehab when the back half of a plane was added to the cruise. The other half is in the Great Movie Ride in Disney.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

  • The golden idol is an exact replica of the one from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

  • About 20 minutes before the show, cast members take guests from the audience to be "extras" in the next show. One person who is always taken every time is a "guest" who turns out to be a professional stuntman who works for WDW. The way you can tell who this person is by his clothing–he always wears a hawaiian shirt!

  • The spears in the Indiana Jones Show come straight up. As where in the movie they came from the sides.

  • The spikes in the Indiana Jones show are activated by pads on the ground that the stuntman steps on to bring them up. Yes, they can hurt someone.

  • The giant rolling ball weighs 440 pounds.

  • The moving sets weighs around 100 tons making them the largest moving sets in history.

  • The marketplace stage was used in an episode of the Hulk Hogan show Thunder In Paradise.

MuppetVision 3D

  • Muppet Vision 3-D is the only 3-D attraction at the Walt Disney World resort that the 3-D glasses are actually called 3-D glasses. At It’s tough to be a Bug they are called Bug Eyes, at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience they are called Safety Goggles.

  • 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.

  • This is not a hidden Mickey but it is a hidden Gonzo. As you are in the cue to enter the Muppetvision #D and before you enter the building it is on the brick wall. Look up as you snake along the cue. There is a large diameter pipe which sticks out of the brick wall and then bends 90 degrees down towards the ground (in the shape of Gonzo’s nose). Around this pipe, in chalk, the rest of Gonzo’s face is drawn in.

  • The first door on the right as you enter the turnstiles is the security office. It has a sign hanging, saying "Be back in 5 minutes, Key is under the mat". If you stop and lift up the mat, there is a real key underneath imbedded into the carpet.

  • During the Lobby Video (preshow) Test pattern as Scooter crosses one of the screens, there is a Hidden Kermit in one of the test patterns.

  • In the pre-show area, there is a hidden Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker. There is also a ball and a whistle on the top of the monstrous projector in the back. The ball has glasses and the whistle has 2 bulging eyes. They look like Honeydew and Beaker.

  • Doors along the hallway as one enters the preshow for Muppet Vision 3D: "Muppet*Vision 3D and those clever folks at Muppet Labs"…. "Stress Testing Dept: Caution! Contents Under Extreme Pressure" "Institute of Advanced Chronology: ‘Staying Ahead of the Times’" "Division of Fashion Technology: ‘Making Tomorrow a Prettier Place To Be’" and"Department of Artificial Reality: This is Not a Door" .

  • When Kermit says there will be a little show from Miss Piggy, she pops out of her dressing room and says, "Little?" To the right of her is a fire pull station. If you look carefully, it is pulled.

  • The Fire Truck that enters when then the theater explodes is a Disney Fire Truck and has a castle on the license plate.

Streets of America

  • In James and the Giant Peach, when he lands on the Empire State Building and the camra begins to pan back, if you’ve been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll notice that the whole New York scenes where done right there in that area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as was Bette Middler’s who did the short called The Lottery in the same area.

  • Disney makes snow fall on New York Street during the holidays.

  • There is an ATM in the Toy Story Pizza Planet Restaurant. Look for it, it is right where you order your food. It looks like a rocket ship.

Toy Story Midway Mania facts