Let's think about this better, which icon sells merchandise better? A water tower to a closed studio or a hat that represents the icon of WDW, Mickey Mouse? Which one will result in more of those photo pass pictures taken at the park entrance? Which one is currently in a convenient location? Which one is more recognizable?
Answer those questions and then from a business stance, answer: which icon would be better for business?
I love the Hollywood feel and it (Hollywood Blvd) does fit the theme of the park by far, but I doubt we'll ever get the old view back. If they do anything to the hat, it'll probably be replaced with something else. WDW is all about money. Icons sell merchandise and some more than others. If I could rank icon merchandise sales I'd guess it's like this: Castle, SSE, Hat, ToL, ... Water Tower.
I'm not saying the hat won't go down, but I doubt they'll go back to the water tower as an icon. It's not a good business decision, IMO.