Disney-MGM Studios Memories

[danyoung56]

Back in the olden days when Disney still did real production in Florida, I had a friend who was a producer for Disney. Remember the old backstage tour that overlooked the studios and at one point went by the main editing suite? My friend took me on the other side of the glass, through the studios and into the edit suite. I was a video editor at the time, so I was in hog heaven just staring at all the cool gear while tourists walked the hallways on the other side of the glass!

 

[KikoKea]

My best memory is taking our son there several years ago in Nov, and seeing the Osborne Lights. He was home on leave from the Marines, after a hard deployment, and was not doing well. Took him 3 days to start eating and we had to skip the fireworks after the first night. But, I have a picture of him under the Osborne Lights and he is smiling...

(BTW, he was married last week to a beautiful girl, is doing well in school, and is doing great now!)

 

[mf1972]

My best memory is taking our son there several years ago in Nov, and seeing the Osborne Lights. He was home on leave from the Marines, after a hard deployment, and was not doing well. Took him 3 days to start eating and we had to skip the fireworks after the first night. But, I have a picture of him under the Osborne Lights and he is smiling...

(BTW, he was married last week to a beautiful girl, is doing well in school, and is doing great now!)

congratulations!

 

[Kylo Ken]

My best memory is taking our son there several years ago in Nov, and seeing the Osborne Lights. He was home on leave from the Marines, after a hard deployment, and was not doing well. Took him 3 days to start eating and we had to skip the fireworks after the first night. But, I have a picture of him under the Osborne Lights and he is smiling...

(BTW, he was married last week to a beautiful girl, is doing well in school, and is doing great now!)

That is really heart warming and touching. That's truly what Disney is about, sharing those memorable family moments and bringing smiles to people's faces.

Please pass on my sincerecedt congratulations on his wedding and a thank you to him for his service.

 

[Dizney Crew]

Best memory for me and my family from MGM, early 90's I got picked to participate in the park version of "Let's Make a Deal" on my Birthday (won an Atari). Also my mom got picked to go on the TV version and ended up winning the Big Deal of the Day ( ski boat). Good times....

 

[Punky]

I only remember the Hercules parade. My memory sucks

 

[dodgr98]

The first time I walked down Sunset Blvd. to ride the ToT back in July '94 was/is a favorite. But I remember being back in October '96 and being blown away by the Toy Story parade. We hadn't seen the movie (no kids yet) but my wife and I were totally taken in by the story. Once we got back home our first trip was to buy the VHS,

 

[Kylo Ken]

The first time I walked down Sunset Blvd. to ride the ToT back in July '94 was/is a favorite. But I remember being back in October '96 and being blown away by the Toy Story parade. We hadn't seen the movie (no kids yet) but my wife and I were totally taken in by the story. Once we got back home our first trip was to buy the VHS,

I totally relate to this. That first stroll down Sunset Blvd to the ToT for me was also unforgettable.

 

[Gutterbuddy]

I like the street characters and the guys that do 3 card Monty etc.. Miss though art of animation(??) where you can possibly see some of animators working and then get to learn how to draw a Disney character. Kids enjoyed that. I might be wrong and correct me if I am but don't think they do that anymore.

 

[Kylo Ken]

This will soon be a memory as well

 

[squidward]

Millionaire was a fun attraction.

For me, MGM was always about the atmosphere rather than the attractions. Still has the 2 best theme restaurants at any WDW park. Maybe not in terms of food, but show.

 

[Bairstow]

I remember visiting the park when I was a young kid, after it had just opened, and being so impressed and awed by the grandeur and alleged Importance of Hollywood as a cultural institution. All the special effects on display in the Great Movie Ride and Stunt Spectacular combined with how un-Disney-like it felt to see properties like "Alien" and "Star Wars" represented really made me feel like this park was different and new and exciting, at least compared to the relatively tame (to a grade-schooler) Magic Kingdom and Epcot. "Alien" in particular was both terrifying and mysterious to me, having never even heard of the film before visiting the park.

I just remember walking down the sidewalks in the park with my family, looking up at the searchlights, listening to the background loop, and being grateful to be a part of something as magnificent as HOLLYWOOD, if just for a day.

 

[yaksplat]

I was in WDW from april 28th to may 7th 1989 and while we were checking in, the guy at the desk asked if we knew about MGM. Back in the days of no widespread internet we had no idea that the park had even been built. We were expecting just MK and Epcot. He gave us some passes for meals at Hollywood and Vine.

Can you imagine showing up to an unexpected 5th gate now that you had no idea was built?

 

[MKCP 1985]

A couple of memories you might enjoy:

The first visit was way back when the park was new and the tram tour took us past the exterior of the animation building. One of the animators had posted a sheet of paper over his window which read, "We are PEOPLE, not animatronics." It was a Saturday so no-one was working in the animation offices - that sign was a small bit of rebellion that harmed no-one. People on the tram got a chuckle.

A second favorite memory - thinking of the Streets of America demolition - was a YouTube video completely unauthorized and filmed by some rogue cast members who staged an epic duel between Frollo from Hunchback and Phil from Hercules. It is epic and I'm sure you can find it if you go searching.

The little things that allow a person to hold a piece of the old park are dear to me: a photo with a plywood cutout of Jessica Rabbit and another with the weasels and the dip machine; a coffee mug of the Tower of Terror bearing the Disney-MGM Studios logo, a pin of the water tank also saying "Disney-MGM Studios" and lastly a family photo on the streets of America with the Osborne Lights- these are great mementos of what the park used to be.

 

[Ryan H. Serowinski]

I Had a lot of awesome memories at my favorite WDW park, here are some:
2005: Mr and Mrs Incredible were actually the first characters i actually met(they were in the old Animation building, because their movie was still new around that time), Having my little sister lost on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area because of how big it was, and also went on the Backlot Tour, but i was scared of the Canyon(i was seven at that time period).
2007: Seeing the Disney Stars and Motor Cars parade and remembering it being good(i still miss that parade), riding the Tower of Terror with my mom, My older sister and myself meeting Kim Possible on Streets of America, and(almost)Meeting Lightning McQueen from Cars(because Cars was still recent at that time, there was a huge line for him)
2010: Eating at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater for lunch and riding Toy Story Midway Mania for the first time
2011: Seeing the awesome Christmas lights on Streets of America, drawing Tigger in the Animation Academy, and riding the new Star Tours for the first time!
2016: Meeting Sofia the First and Olaf, having my hands on some handprints near the Great Movie Ride, seeing the Roger Rabbit sightings, watching the awesome Frozen show, Going inside the Launch Bay, and seeing One Man's Dream once again.
2017: Having more fun with Sofia, meeting Star Lord & Baby Groot, Buzz/Woody together, Sorcerer Mickey, BB-8, almost doing CharacterPalooza, Having the best GMR tour guide(IMO) named Katilyn, and grabbing a pair of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ears
Honorable Mentions:
Meeting Lightning McQueen and Mater for the first(and only)time-2011
Eating at(the now rethemed) Pizza Planet(it actually had good pizza)-all trips except 2010 & 16(it'll be Pizzerizzo this year and beyond)
Riding The Great Movie Ride-2010, 2016, and 2017
Meeting Sulley and Mike-all trips except 2005 and 2016(& beyond)
There'll be more Disney-MGM/Hollywood Studios memories in the nearby future! Well in the meantime you can listen to the soundtrack to the Disney Stars & Motorcars parade(which is very powerful with the music in this parade that used to travel around DHS).

 

[Bairstow]

Did anyone on Usenet or whatever it would have been in the late '80s give Disney some hell for building catastrophe canyon as a simultaneous ripoff of both Universal's studio tour earthquake and flash flood scenes? Looking back, it was incredibly shameless.

 

[marni1971]

 

[Kylo Ken]

Wow..you really don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. The lights make the Chinese Theater look so majestic and really captures the essence of what used to be Hollywood Studios. Thanks for sharing

 

[Kylo Ken]

I remember visiting the park when I was a young kid, after it had just opened, and being so impressed and awed by the grandeur and alleged Importance of Hollywood as a cultural institution. All the special effects on display in the Great Movie Ride and Stunt Spectacular combined with how un-Disney-like it felt to see properties like "Alien" and "Star Wars" represented really made me feel like this park was different and new and exciting, at least compared to the relatively tame (to a grade-schooler) Magic Kingdom and Epcot. "Alien" in particular was both terrifying and mysterious to me, having never even heard of the film before visiting the park.

I just remember walking down the sidewalks in the park with my family, looking up at the searchlights, listening to the background loop, and being grateful to be a part of something as magnificent as HOLLYWOOD, if just for a day.

Such a great shot. I hope they never take Gertie from us but the way things are going...

 

[Courtney6682]

This....Just this.....And Think about it next time while your shooting at targets in Toy Story Midway Mania...It was all filmed there..

I would have DIED to be able to see that as an 11 yr old in the early 90's!!! I carried a black and white newspaper cut out of one of the cast members(Ricky) in my backpack lol...LOVED that show!