This is what I heard from a cast member on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour and this was also posted by a former cast member:
"The original Chinese Theater in California was sold from one company to another, and the new company did not want to continue the contract with Disney, so instead of tearing down their main Attraction, Disney chose to create a new icon for the park. The Hat is placed directly in front of the Chinese Theater, so it is now very difficult to get a picture of the Theater. This was also the point in time that they were required to stop doing the celebrity hand-print ceremonies in the courtyard. The Hat is at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, so it's like if something was placed in front of Cinderella Castle, and you could see it from the end of Main Street. The Hat currently houses a pin store, which is kind of a sad use of the space. Good news for Disney fans though, because the original company bought back the Chinese Theater, and is considering renewing the original contract, making the Theater the icon once again and returning the hand-print ceremony rights to the Great Movie Ride. If it goes through, I have no doubt Imagineering will happily rip down the Hat. If you look closely at the park maps for DHS, the hat covers the theater."
