The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park: The Dream Comes True (1989)

Produced by Tampa's WTVT in 1989, this special chronicles the making of the then-new Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Orlando. It takes a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the park, its initial array of attractions, and the celebrations marking its grand opening.

[@user-kt5wt5hf7u]

I love this place so much

[@iangrimm]

28:58 - love watching Mickey listening to Michael Eisner's anecdote. Too funny.

[@dz5598]

Wow imagine if it was still like this there. This was the MGM from my youth. What a grand experience it was. Simple marvelous 😊

[@supersuperwendy]

Thanks so much for posting this!!! I LOVED mgm when it opened. The park is so different now and I think back longingly to how it used to be. The original art of animation tour was awesome and I saw several movies being drawn!! The current back lot tour is only a tiny shred of what it once was. Now if they could kindly take down the big stupid hat I'd be so happy :)

[@ninjamaster3453]

supersuperwendy I agree. It was perfect when it first opened. Those tours and classes were awesome.

[@JAKECOT_CENTER]

Frank Wells will surely be missed

[@ProgressCityPublicTV]

I would imagine that at the time everyone *was* pretty much in love with Eisner. He hadn't "turned" yet, and was giving everyone a ton of new work to sink their teeth into. Just look at all the new stuff WDI was getting to build at the time - I'm sure they were genuinely excited. It wasn't until after Frank Wells died that things turned for the worst. The spin about how they had the idea first IS amazing, though.

[@marcgil8789]

Wow! A lot has changed!

[@TheInflicted]

There's a noticeable amount of Eisner-worship going on here. I wonder if that was a conscious effort by the company at the time to build up a lovable face for the company besides Disney. Or, perhaps the engineers and executives interviewed thought that singing Eisner's praises whenever a camera crew was near would bless their career. It's also interesting to see the spin the Disney people have to put on the conception of the park to avoid saying they were trying to beat Universal to the punch.

[@loonercrazy]

Yes, it is funny how they are spinning the origins of the studio park. Flat out the truth is there was an Entertainment pavilion planned for Epcot that would have a portion of the pavilion dedicated to Hollywood and the movies. When Universal announced they were going to build their studios in Orlando Eisner and Wells decided to blow up the Epcot concept into a full-fledged theme park. It was the right decision, but a bit disingenuous to say it was a concept that was 40 years in the making.

[@CathyEM]

Is that a John Wilson sighting at 9:10? :D

[@marcushutchison9176]

I love the Disney studios park. It's my studio theme park of choice. Universal sucks!

[@MeowMeow_95_]

Every single piece of music in this show was HORRIBLE! the late 80s sure was tacky....