Backlot Tour May Go Bye Bye

[Scar Junior]

Why not offer movies from other studios to film at MGM? Offer low prices for the use of the sound stages. Studios often choose distant sound stages for movies to work at, like the Star Wars prequals were filmed in a studio in Australia.

The Disney MGM Studios are for rent... I was almost 100% certain that I was going to take classes from the New York Film Academy there (The students stay at All Star Resorts). It's one of the few places that offer these courses. Ironically, Universal California is one of the few others. NYFA heavily promotes Universal California because of it's active studio, while nothing of the sort is mentioned when they try to sell the Disney/Orlando classes. I don't know what Disney's rate is though, let alone how it compares to the other studios. I also wonder if NYFA gets a discount for being an educational enterprise.

 

[TP2000]

Wow... that description of Universal's Studio Tour makes the Disney-MGM one seem even lamer.

I'm not a fan of most 21st century movies, its been years since I actually went to a movie theater, and so understandably I'm not much of a Universal Studios fan either. However, I do find myself at Universal Studios every two or three years hosting out of town friends who want to see "Hollywood" and do the typical tourist stuff.

That said, I have to hand it to Universal Studios Hollywood for the way they operate their tram tour. It was the original tram tour, started in 1964 with the iconic motorized trams with the striped awnings, and you can tell they really pour a lot of heart and quite a bit of cash into the operation. I've never been disapointed on that tour, so I can only imagine how much fun a real movie buff must have. Quite honestly, when I do the tram tour I most enjoy seeing all of the Bentleys and Ferraris and Maybachs parked around the Universal lot in front of the offices and production facilities; its Hollywood motordom at its finest on display. And last time we saw Tom Hanks jumping into a big blue Bentley! That was cool, even for someone like me not into celebrities or the media hype. I've heard Universal Orlando does a better job of pulling off the "theme park" vibe, but Universal Hollywood has an unbeatable tram tour experience through a real working studio complex.

So you can imagine how disapointed my family of native Southern Californians were when we first went on the MGM tram tour back in the 90's. We were expecting something like Universal Hollywood. But the MGM tour seemed way too short, way too fabricated, and way too pointless. If its been shortened even further in the last few years and had sections removed, then just put the thing out of its misery. I suppose if you've never been to Universal Hollywood it might seem novel and unique, but its still not that entertaining.

What always amazes me the most about the Universal Hollywood tour is how long it is. The last time we were on that tram for an hour and fifteen minutes, on a weekday in the off season. I kept thinking "How do they not get people having to go to the bathroom halfway through the tour?!?"

How long is the tram tour at Universal Orlando? I imagine its about the same type experience as MGM, or is it superior to the MGM version?

 

[Scar Junior]

It was in the Backstage Pass portion if I recall correctly. It started off outside with a video of the Bette Midler short "Lottery Ticket" (as well as a making of portion, showing you how everything was done there at the Studios), then you went inside to a room filled with tons of props from Disney films (Hooter from "Captain EO" hung from the rafters at one point) where they discussed at one time the effects from "________ Tracy" and then later the effects from the live action "101 Dalmatians." The next room I think is where the bee scene from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" was, and at another time was an interactive Tool Time sequence. From there you moved into a working soundstage and, depending on whether or not something was shooting, you might get to walk through it. I recall walking through the now-forgotten "Tarzan" TV show. Finally, I believe there was once more walk-through through another set, usually from a movie that was already out, like Cruella's mansion in "101 Dalmatians."

I also recall for a time that the whole thing actually began with the water tank show, then filtered over to "The Lottery Ticket," and so on.

Too bad the tour isn't still around. I thought this was one of the more educational and entertaining parts of the Studios. Ah, the good old days...

******* Sorry for the double-post... it's needed though.

YES! I remember so many of these elements now that you mention them. Thanks for helping me - and hopefully others - remember back when the tour wasn't a shell..... or part of a shell. BTW, I seem to recall a "From the Earth to the Moon" part of the tour. I know, this was later than the HISTK lifespan. Anyone have years for these elements of the tour? Trying to get a mental timeline of when scalebacks started to happen and when it hit the futile zone (was it before the "car show" as I like to call it).

NYY102 - Thank you SOO much for your posts. I thought at first that it was a bit long and contemplated skimming it. Once I read it I knew that you were on to something. Though this may seem cliche, I think this is one of the best posts I've read in my 3.5 years on this site. I don't remember any of your previous posts specifically, but I do remember your "location."

The only thing that I disagreed with was the Life Aquatic reference. As a film/entertainment major I rank this film in my top 10 of all time.... for similar reasons that Curb Your Enthusiasm is in my top 3 TV shows of all time. BUT... you did say "most people" don't remember the film- which I can probably agree with. However, it is immensely popular with 20-30 year olds and - long story short - I would argue is one of the stepping stones to the future of entertainment................. but enough entertainment theory. I think we can all agree that the attraction is a skull and bones of what it was... and is all around just 'sad.'



IF... and that's a big 'if,' there are Disney Monitors as is the rumor people on Boards so oftenly (paranoid) speak of--- I really hope they read this entire thread. This is something that I feel cannot be ignored.


Manic,

-Scar

 

[Legacy]

How long is the tram tour at Universal Orlando? I imagine its about the same type experience as MGM, or is it superior to the MGM version?

Heh... Universal Orlando closed their tour a few years ago. They did it when productions started moving out of the their studios (they were smart in that respect...).

It was nowhere near the scale as the Hollywood version, and honestly wasn't as good as MGMs. The biggest thing that hindered Universal Orlando was the lack of a back lot. They have five soundstages that you would tour through (most of which were used by Nickelodean when they were still there), and the went back stage of the theme park to show back stage there. It was very simple, but effective. For kids, it was great to see the Nickelodean TV Shows being shot (I remember freaking out when I saw the Agro Crage from GUTS!).

But like I said, Universal dropped it in the late 90's, once it started becoming obvious that Orlando wouldn't become the Hollywood East that everyone was expecting. Currently, the trams are used as shuttles back stage between the employee entrance and Islands of Adventures gate.

And cool tid-bit, the trivia plaques that you could read while on the tram are still up back stage on the fence behind Twister. I would always read them when heading to my green room for HHN.

 

[Spaced Out Dude]

I'm pretty sure this is right, but didn't the entrance to the Backlot Tour used to be down by Animation. The Pearl Harbor thing, was part of a seperate attraction called Inside The Magic.

 

[marni1971]

I'm pretty sure this is right, but didn't the entrance to the Backlot Tour used to be down by Animation.

Indeed. The original Tram Tour entrance was what is now the Animation entrance.

 

[Spaced Out Dude]

So where was the Animation entrance. And why did they ever move it? :veryconfu

 

[Stitch69]

I used to like the backstage tour- but since they put the light,camera stunt show- it's not as good and not sad to see it go.

 

[marni1971]

So where was the Animation entrance. And why did they ever move it? :veryconfu

To the right of the original Backlot Tour Entrance. I *think* the entrances were swapped during the Animation Buildings mid-90`s expansion.

 

[LilRoo714]

I seem to recall (from my childhood) a part of the tour where some kids got to emulate the 'bees' part of Honey I Shrunk the Kids in front of a blue screen. Does anybody have any facts about this? When it was put in or taken out? What tour stop was it before or after?

When I was little I was either selected or volunteered to film the bee scene from HISTK. (I don't remember how I was chosen!) Anyway, it was really funny to see the film and hard to hold on to the bee. I always wondered what happened to that area of the Backlot Tour...

 

[PSU_Princess]

I agree with everyone that the backlot is not anything special anymore, but I don't know how fair it is to compare the MGM backlot to one in Hollywood. Of course in Hollywood there are going to be things filming at any given time and a lot of star power. Even when there was filming going on at MGM I'm am sure that it was no where near what you would be able to find in any major Hollywood studio. Unfotunely the filming and the animators were taken away due to money issues so unless the imagineers have learned how to create a money tree I doubt that we will see a truely working backlot anytime soon. In the event that they did create a money tree I would love to see what the imagineers would do with an endless supply of money....imagine the possibilites!


My DH and his sister were once choosen for the bee scence....they have a lot of great memories from that!

 

[Spaced Out Dude]

I seem to recall (from my childhood) a part of the tour where some kids got to emulate the 'bees' part of Honey I Shrunk the Kids in front of a blue screen. Does anybody have any facts about this? When it was put in or taken out? What tour stop was it before or after?

I don't know exactly where that was. It wasn't in the Backlot Tour. I think is where Sounds Dangerous is now.

 

[Frank Stallone]

As a former cast member at the Backlot Tour, I feel bad saying this, but the Tour's time has come. Losing residential street to LMA (and the fact that the Golden Girl's house had been eaten to shreds by termites) was probably the final blow for the tour.

I never understood why about 3 or 4 minutes of my spiel involved talking about the Stunt Show. Sure, the show "takes you into the movies", but guests wanted to hear about the movies that had been shot at MGM (even if they were awful movies, such as Instinct, Honey I blew up the kid, Oscar, etc.), or about the television shows that had been shot there (Mickey Mouse Club, ER, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune). Or I would just tell random old stories about the studios in Burbank (lots of guests enjoyed hearing about Christopher Disney, at 4 years old, driving an Autopia Car around the backlot of the studios while Grandpa was working, and would often crash into the animators/actors/production crew).

I also completely agree that some of the props in the boneyard are completely unnecessary. For example, the first prop in the first boneyard is a car from "The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag", so I would often spiel "The first prop is from a movie, considered by many, to be the greatest film of all time...'the gun in betty lou's handbag'....don't worry, I've never heard of that movie either.

Fortunately, they have kept the most popular props (star wars crafts, Max from Flight of the Navigator, 123 Mickey Mouse, motorcyles from Indiana Jones), and added a few new ones (Herbie, and a few props from the new Pirates movie) which have more relevance.

 

[ErickainPA]

Frank Stallone - thanks for the tidbit about what happened to residential street, especially Golden Girls facade. I told hubby it use to be part of the tour, his first time to Disney was in 2001 and it was set up for Osbourne at that time, so we got to walk residential street and see the lights. Than it was gone the next time we went.

 

[NASAMan]

Some ideas and ramblings about the Backlot Tour:

* Divide the tour into two seperate attractions. A Special Effects tour that features the water tank and a new attraction in the prop building that features motion-capture computer technology. Both can use 'volunteers' from the Audience.

* Catastrophy Canyon can be a ride in itself that would feature a live performance on the walls of the canyon culminating in the breaking of the dam and water deluge. The tram can just cycle back and forth through the costume warehouse and CC.

At one time the prop warehouse held one of the saucer spacecraft from "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It was later displayed in the AFI museum building (now housing the Villians exhibit). I wish I knew where it was now.

 

[WDWFanatic]

If i missed this in the post forgive me but remember when the tour was both the walking tour and the tram all rolled into one? Goldie Hawn and Rick Moranis were your hosts and the queue line was real long where you said over next to the animation dept. You went thru NY street and the residential street and passed the dipmobile. the walking tour we saw the mickey mouse club and they showed the bette midler sketch movie called the lottery ticket. I have it on tape somewhere, I was there opening month. I think its cheesey to tell you that they are doing production in catastrophy canyon when all the chaos starts but its still fun.

also on the walking tour in the sound studio was there not a sketch about mel gibson and like peewee herman?

 

[Spaced Out Dude]

If i missed this in the post forgive me but remember when the tour was both the walking tour and the tram all rolled into one? Goldie Hawn and Rick Moranis were your hosts and the queue line was real long where you said over next to the animation dept. You went thru NY street and the residential street and passed the dipmobile. the walking tour we saw the mickey mouse club and they showed the bette midler sketch movie called the lottery ticket. I have it on tape somewhere, I was there opening month. I think its cheesey to tell you that they are doing production in catastrophy canyon when all the chaos starts but its still fun.

also on the walking tour in the sound studio was there not a sketch about mel gibson and like peewee herman?

Very intersting, I never knew this.

 

[451]

I remember The Lottery Ticket from when they showed it in the line for the tram. There really isn't much of anything at the backlot anymore, is there?

 

[AEfx]

I know this is revolutionary and expensive, but suppose they actually resumed using the Studios as an ACTUAL MOVIE STUDIO again. You think Disney makes enough movies to throw some down to the area and really give the people a thrill to see these things in action. Unreasonable, I know. But it would be an idea with a theme...

The thing is, that isn't a "revolutionary" idea; been there, done that, didn't work.

The truth of the matter is a movie set is not a place for tourists to gawk. It just doesn't work. Universal Hollywood is about as close as it can get, and even there you rarely see much ACTUAL filming. You can see the hot sets if you are lucky, but for instance Wisteria Lane is only really open on the weekends during filming weeks (and they aren't there); you rarely will see an actual shot being done while on the theme park tour, but they do have access to the sets when they aren't in use. There are lots of opportunities for studio audiences and such on the lot, but not as part of the regular theme park experience (and because of it's industry-center location at USH it isn't one that could be recreated at MGM).

The problem is that Florida just isn't a big enough market to support much of a film industry, and a location who's central reason for being is first and foremost a themepark isn't going to spearhead it. All filming there would do is make more limits, and raise the budget to compensate. It just makes no sense to go some place where it's going to be harder to make the film at all. It's just not worth it when you can't really let the tourists go to live sets anyway, it would be at most getting to visit the hot sets in a controlled enviornment during non-shooting hours. At most you could hope for being behind some glass and watching a scene; but again, that's just another limitation on a production that wouldn't make sense to make if they didn't have to. In essence, it would cost more to make a theme park accessable to true, actual filmmaking than it could ever be worth. Remember, film sets are generally very boring, quiet places - you do a few shots, and then wait three hours for the lights to get reset, rinse, repeat. You maybe get a few minutes of actual film each day.

Personally, I wish they'd drop the whole facade of "movie-making" at MGM. It's 2006 now; green-screen is something we can do in our homes now with even basic equipment, and I don't think it's much mystery to anyone at all how films are made these days. This has been exasperated by so many effects that used to be practicals that are now fully digital that much of the movie making process is about as exciting as watching someone sit at a desk and work on a spreadsheet.

The issue is really evident with the LMA show. It is clear as day that the "shots" they are "filming" are really just pre-recorded video (it's not hard to notice when the guy on film has a different color hair than the guy in the show...), and it's just a monumental waste of time in my opinion to try to "trick" people into thinking it's somehow actually a movie being filmed. The show would be so much better, IMNSHO, if it was half as long and just be "look at these cool stunts" and try to tell a story with those stunts, instead of trying to make a story out of pretending it's "for real".

This has been an identity crisis for MGM since the start. I think, with the exception of LMA, that they have moved more towards the "experience the movies" versus "how they make movies". It's not practical to have actual filming going on in a theme park enviorment (or as part of an attraction), with again, the glaring exception of Universal Hollywood which has several factors making it unique in ways that MGM can't approach (location in the center of Hollywood, mostly). It's also pretty disingenuous when they "pretend" that filming is taking place, which is why I really hope they continue the trend of putting us in the movies and other entertainment experiences, and stop trying to pretend that somehow a theme park in Lake Buena Vista could ever be a serious film location for more than just the occasional Disney channel project.

AEfx

 

[metscool]

Bye :wave:. Ever since they got rid of the houses the ride has been not the same.