The Making of the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park (1989)

This 1989 television special, hosted by Fred Newman, takes a look at the making of the then-new Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Orlando.
Segments focus on the inspiration behind the park, the construction of Hollywood Boulevard and the Chinese Theater, Streetmosphere, the Great Movie Ride, the working studio section of the park, the new Mickey Mouse Club, the Magic of Disney Animation tour, the Backstage Tour, the Monster Sound Show, Superstar Television, Catastrophe Canyon, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and the grand opening of the Disney-MGM Studio.

[@arrowguy173]

As an animator (with credits including Disney films) it kills me that 2D is gone, and what was once the fantastic animation building that guests could tour became a ridiculous character meet & greet. Part of what made this park interesting was the working movie studios within.

[@KendrickHarrisKenfinity]

You took the words right out of my mouth! I want to create 2D animated shows and movies, so the fact that 2D done for the big screen anymore actually inspires me to keep creating cinematic possibilities. While continuing to learn more about animation as a whole from documentaries, books, animation itself, theme park attractions and so many more vital sources.

[@hamursh]

Who are you really? Mark Henn? Aaron Blaise? Tony Bancroft? Ruben Aquino? Chris Sanders? Byron Howard? Barry Cook?

[@Ladraoemingles]

What killed this real working movie studios theme the most were the DVD bonuses with hours of behind-the-scenes videos, which people could watch from the comfort of their homes and wouldn't need to go to a park that charges "who knows how many" dollars for you enter

[@jenniferking6918]

I'm glad I got to experience all this in the early '90s. It's such a different park now.

[@TheBigboy1138]

if only it was still like this today...

[@ryan8211982]

Fred Newman, who's once a Senior Mousketeer from 1989 to 1993 on the Mickey Mouse Club hosted the Making of the Disney-MGM Studios Theme park Special(Now, Disney Hollywood Studios) and Bill Ratner, who voiced Flint on G.I. Joe narrated this special.

[@marcushutchison9176]

Fantastic Park! This is why I choose Disney as my theme park of choice

[@DaddyBmusic]

Thank you for this upload! I've been looking for this video for a long time--I was there on Grand Opening Day, and appear as one of the international press corp, walking backwards up Hollywood Boulevard taking photos of Bob Hope, Mickey and Minnie, Michael Eisner, etc., but the truth is that I snuck in and wasn't a member of the press at all 😱. It's a wonderful and long story that started out with me and a friend having a trip we won to the opening being stolen from us, and ended up with us both having behind-the-scenes access to the park *before* the opening, and then inside the gates before opening on opening day. I got captured in the video, and have wanted to find it again for many years. Thanks again!

[@axelbello9777]

Brought back many memories....wonderful documentary.

[@joefilmco]

I have watched this video wayy too many times. Thanks for the upload

[@dannybrockman2492]

Wow i’m stunnnned!!!!! I’ve been here about 10000 Times! No big deal!!!!! Still an amazing place

[@awhofan]

The park is represented by The Sorcerer's Hat, a stylized version of the magical hat from Fantasia. It replaced the Earful Tower as the park's icon in 2001.

[@lidocaine8921]

You gotta love those glasses!

[@allure7744]

Such A Beautiful Park!

[@davidjames666]

5:51 Michele Obama, followed by 5:56 a very young Jay Leno. This video is packed with unknown celebrities.

[@serge014]

Happy 30th anniversary! My first time there was Thanksgiving, 1989.

[@leeirby3857]

The all new Mickey Mouse Club was filmed at MGM studios in Orlando at Walt Disney World as well

[@KendrickHarrisKenfinity]

"Hooray for Hollywood" and all of our timeless movie rides, and entertainment experiences. Stay safe everyone!

[@FagsLoveCountrymusic]

Love your uploads. Sooo subscribed.

[@caseylynn34]

Great Movie Ride 😭🥺

[@ThemeParkWorldwide]

Brilliant documentary

[@derekllewellyn6663]

Wizard of oz same time 1939 Judy Garland she's was in contact with her and her life time past few years back made movie maze bank tower of power outage map money made into store story about how much money does it take MGM studios in Mickey mouse club fun more information on maze's contact info to get the same time years before New DVD more information

[@bethdibartolomeo2042]

I went to Walt Disney World in the summer of 1988 for Mickey's 60th birthday, I think I can remember it being mentioned that they were going to open something soon that would turn out to be Disney MGM Studios. I finally got to see it when I returned in 1997.

[@jar0fdirt63]

5:56 IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!

[@MrTimshellscherber]

5:56

[@tremontidood]

Happy 25th Anniversary, Studios!

[@MikeSparrow]

His shirt's incredible! What a dude! :/

[@supersuperwendy]

I'm so happy the big hat is leaving!! long live the earful tower!!

[@retrikstudios9025]

Long live the Earful Tower..... have you seen any recent updates of the park? :(

[@batman2rwrify]

supersuperwendy The Earful tower is gone. Many of us loved the hat.

[@allure7744]

I did not mind that Hat they just needed to put on top of a building maybe on Sunset Blvd instead of putting in front of the Hollywood Palace the Chinese Theater.

[@ramiroezequielnoriega2599]

The Disney™-MGM™ Studios Is Now Disney™'s Hollywood Studios™

[@toastysheep7110]

24:00 Garry Marshall!

[@jwiese100]

I know its called Hollywood studios now but it will always be mgm studios.

[@weirdotzero7065]

Wait, this is hosted by Skeeter?

[@DarMar106]

12:55 to 12:59 Do I spy Mo Collins and Paul Vogt from Mad TV? Cool!

[@InflatableConan]

Wow, good eye.. lol

[@hgwilt1]

The sorcerer was an icon. I hope to see a video of how they made the animal kingdom.

[@charliered420]

Note the lack of the Herbie R. license plate on Herbie. Wonder what year they put that on.

[@kparcparc4230]

Now the Great Movie Ride is gone. How Hollywood Studios has changed not only in name.

[@serge014]

The fact that such a flagship ride for the park is gone is a disgrace.

[@johnnyballenatl]

Over 20 years ago, Orlando was the entertainment capital of the South with studios at Disney and Universal (where Nickelodeon even leased space). Today, Atlanta holds that claim.

[@Tbone1725]

Jonathan Allen Why? Six Flags over Georgia is the only amusement park there.

[@DeloreandudeTommy]

+Cierra I think he might mean as in television productions are more commonly shot in Georgia than Florida now but I'm not sure.

[@johnnyballenatl]

Both TV *AND* film productions done here in Georgia (The Walking Dead and Family Feud are two major examples).

[@qwerp3]

Rip Nickelodeon Studios in universal Studios florida

[@jenniferhoffmeier9150]

Back then I did a mini movie with my brother and 2 other kids called shane I held. A rubber chicken lol then

[@jdude9365]

21:35 Hi, Katzenbug.

[@hamursh]

Yes, making fun of the petty asshole is kinda a requirement since Lindsey Ellis did it but it IS weird to have Michael Eisner AND Jeffrey Katzenberg in the same Disney Parks special!

[@arrowguy173]

Earfful Tower needs to return - it's a movie studio park. The hat never belonged (neither did Epcot's wand) and thank god they're both gone.

[@ameliajones9827]

Hey, it's that boy from KCAL Kids!

[@dwfanandidents007]

If Disney-MGM Studios will return in 2012

[@richardburchett]

"The Lottery" wasn't a feature length film. It was just a Disney short film that was shown to people in line for the park tours to demonstrate how the backlot could be used like a real studio. I'm pretty sure nothing ever got filmed there outside of Disney productions.

[@KTKomedy2813]

Richard Burchett I can name a few productions filmed there that Disney didn't make: Passenger 57, Quick Change, Separate but Equal, Thunder in Paradise and the first season of Superboy.

[@hamursh]

@@KTKomedy2813 Well Universal Studios Florida made DOZENS of shows for Nickelodeon so I guess that evens it out!

[@youngprincephillipe795]

Walt Disney World Sony MGM 1989 Disney-MGM Studios

[@KMP-fi1vh]

Visited Disney for the first time this summer. The Park was not this cool... wish I was fortunate enough to experience this as a kid...

[@nickwerner7983]

I miss Russi Taylor as Minnie

[@BKDBrian2]

They changed its name to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008.

[@thornrob]

Brian Draney and it's about to change again soon

[@mst311]

30:53 tourist barb breathing down the back of an animator

[@awhofan]

A lot is gone now. Lots of things you wont see or were not suppose to see.

[@awhofan]

Disney's Hollywood Studios, originally Disney-MGM Studios, is the third of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, opened on May 1, 1989. Spanning 135 acres (55 ha), it is dedicated to show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. In 2011, the park hosted approximately 9.7 million guests, making it the fifth-most visited amusement park in the United States, and eighth-most visited in the world.[1]

[@awhofan]

May 1989.

[@philrabe910]

You can't take a monorail to Hollywood Studios... yet?

[@serge014]

Nope, but you can take a boat from Epcot to Hollywood Studios.

[@KAH5371]

THIS is the way Disney "Hollywood" Studios should still be!!! I LOVED Disney-MGM Studios! I still call it that. I do not like all the changes they are making. They broke my heart when they closed The Great Movie Ride. There was no need to do that! A very stupid move for Disney to make.

[@allure7744]

Yes they should leave the original park alone and just expand outward if they need to update or change just update the extended areas not the core original park. The whole idea or them of this park was the preservation of the Golden Years of Hollywood the Hollywood everyone Dreams of.

[@dorkus_corkus]

Aww i didnt know they closed it 😫. I'm lucky i got to ride it in 2008

[@adamhanscom2325]

I completely agree I'm so glad that I got a chance to ride the great movie Ride before I never got to see the studio backlot tour I know I would have loved it also on an unrelated note I also wish I had been able to see Nickelodeon studios at universal studios before they closed that down

[@toastysheep7110]

@@adamhanscom2325 I have an idea! what if after Mickey and Minnie Railway Ride came before The Great Movie Ride then it would’ve been segmented ride it’s like 2 rides in one thing Then it would’ve called it “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway/The Great Movie Ride”

[@ProgressCityPublicTV]

They weren't opened until 1994

[@welcomestranger]

It looks like every part of what originally made Disney Hollywood Studios is being taken away or closed down. Now they are soliciting for a name change to completely remove any connection to "studios".

[@BlakeRehling]

RIP

[@AliveSigns]

"I don't think anybody else has the resources to attack quality the way we do. Most people take shortcuts, for either economic reasons or because they're lazy. Most people take shortcuts because they don't know how to do it right." -Michael Eiser, who then went on to greenlight DCA 1.0: the laziest, cheapest Disney park ever.

[@hamursh]

You gotta keep in mind that there was no peacemaker like Frank Wells when DCA 1.0 first opened!

[@MsDisneylandlover]

like how minnie was walking sexy

[@fieryhellkitten]

Wish they would update the Great Movie Ride.

[@allure7744]

They did they got rid of it!

[@allure7744]

Your wish came true! ;)~

[@toastysheep7110]

@@allure7744 and the mouse railway ride came here

[@DJHEK5]

16:44 DOUG GRIFFITH LOOKS JUST LIKE KIP FROM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE!

[@blueangel52to02]

616seven1 I was thinking the same exact thing!!!

[@cornjobb]

who the hell is fred newman?? it's like some guy doing anderson cooper cosplay. the great movie ride had to go - it was a money drain with all the non-disney movies they had to pay to use. oh no, even back then they were pushing that line about using the ACTUAL plane from casablanca.

[@MrTimshellscherber]

38:44-39:33

[@stefaniedoria3361]

Hi, me and my boyfriend run a KZbin account called faded magic, it’s based off of vintage,throwback and abandoned attractions or lands at Disney. With credit, would you allow us to use your content? Thank you.

[@Xelku9]

What? Nothing on Star Tours?

[@WDI2008]

Where is Sunset Boulevard and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ?

[@krnelson65]

How I miss that sightline of the Chinese Theater. GET RID OF THE HAT!! Also miss seeing live productions and animators at work.

[@hamursh]

I guess that Disney answered your wish because the sorcerer's hat is GONE!

[@erniehead]

Wow, the park looked good before they put that hideous Sorcerer's Apprentice hat there.

[@MrChiefCheba]

I'm kind of concerned that a man is flirting with a over-sized, talking mouse.

[@QuentrixMovies]

38:51 wtf

[@TylerMeacham]

this park used to be so much cooler...

[@leesan4395]

Michael Eisner was the biggest hypocrite. He cut corners on MGM studios and Disney California Adventure.

[@toastysheep7110]

yep i hope bob chapek would’ve return the old stuff

[@kylesievertsen6]

Walt Disney World In Florida's Star Tours Is Already At The Magic Kingdom Such As In Tomorrowland

[@DisneyMagicMan]

Do you even know what you're talking about?

[@honeysuckle117]

It makes me sad to watch this.

[@SpectacularSpiderMan]

Bob Iger ruined DisneyMGM Studios

[@lagosstammvaterderptolemae9478]

I saw this play live in Stratford, ON lately and it was amazing. I even met a couple actors and they thought my friends and I the dance moves to a part of this song.

[@clarkmorgan4199]

Shut up and take my money, Disney!

[@andrewroth5781]

Uhm, yeah. DCA is not even close to being as awesome! Plus at WDW you get a more Disney experience to say the least!

[@shayhicks7682]

This park was a joke when it opened. Only 2 rides, the great movie ride and the backlot tour. It's soooo much better now albeit with an identity crisis.

[@eugenetown16]

Shay Hicks The Park back then was an actual studio which was the main focus at that time and less focus on theme park. The backlot tour was originally two hours long before it was toned down.

[@hamursh]

But then it wasn't THAT much of a joke. They would add Star Tours, Muppet Vision, Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster as time would go on.

[@shayhicks7682]

@@hamursh that was a few years later. I love this park now but great movie ride and backlot tour isn’t necessarily a great roster of rides for a theme park

[@hamursh]

@@shayhicks7682 Well if it WAS a joke, they would have put up generic rides left and right!

[@shayhicks7682]

@@hamursh I don’t necessarily agree with that. I’ve been to generic theme parks that weren’t jokes. The park grew and became amazing but it just wasn’t a great park on opening day. That’s all I’m saying.

[@brianwalsh4642]

This was before Tower of Terror. God it must have sucked back then.

[@DDBurnett1]

Yeah, in 1989 it was just the backlot tour, The Great Movie Ride, and a few shows.

[@jgkidd82]

Not to me. I don't like feeling like a human yo yo.

[@rianbech7760]

Nerds.

[@dwzobell]

GET RID OF THE HAT.