Imagineering Field Guide goes in for a close-up on Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Jim Hill

14 years ago

It's the Disney's Hollywood Studios icon that makes fan
boys foam at the mouth. That 122-foot-tall Sorcerer Mickey Hat which stands of
Hollywood Boulevard, blocking the view of the Chinese Theater.

So if this icon is so controversial, why then did Alex
Wright opt to put the Sorcerer Mickey Hat on the cover of "The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios" (Disney
Editions, July 2010)?

To my way of thinking, Wright did this just so that he'd
then be able to talk about where the Imagineers had originally wanted to build
the Sorcerer Mickey Hat. Which was …

… outside the Park entrance, (where this elaborate "100
Years of Magic" complex was to have featured) a ferris wheel for each ear. (As
for the interior of the Hat, it was to have housed) the exhibit that eventually
became One Man's Dream.

That's half the fun of paging through "The Imagineering
Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World." Getting to see
the Imagineer's early, early ideas for this theme park that celebrates " … the
Hollywood that never was and always will be." A place where a carload of
Keystone Kops would have periodically come roaring down Hollywood Boulevard in search
of criminals.

Collin Campbell's
concept painting for Hollywood Boulevard.
Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

In fact, if the guys at WDI had gotten to build the version
of this studio theme park that they had originally pitched to Michael Eisner,
the Keystone Kops would have been all over Disney's Hollywood Studios. They
would have starred in a slapstick stunt show for that theme park. Not to
mention being prominently featured in a sequence for "The Great Movie Ride"
that was to have paid tribute to Hollywood's comedy legends. Which (as you'll
see in Gene Johnson's concept drawing for this proposed scene below) was to
have had an Audio-Animatronic carload of Kops rolling past AA recreations of Charlie
Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, W.C. Fields and Mae West.

Concept drawing by Gene Johnson.
Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

Wouldn't that have been a cool scene to have seen as you
rolled along in your theater car? Well, wait to you hear about the finale that
the Imagineers had originally dreamed up for "The Great Movie Ride." Where you
would have entered this dramatically lit room where dozens of iconic characters
from the movies would have been on display. I'm talking R2D2 & C3PO from "Star Wars" as well as Rhett Butler & Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind." Rocky Balboa, the Ghostbusters, Mary Poppins
and Indiana Jones. Not to mention George
C. Scott's portrayal of "Patton," Liza Minnelli's verson of Sally Bowles from "Cabaret
,"
Gene Kelly from "Singin' in the Rain," John Wayne, Shirley Temple and Mickey
Mouse.

Frank Armitage & Nina Rae
Vaughn's concept painting for the "Great Movie Ride" 's finale
sequence. Copyright
2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Sadly, as Disney's Hollywood Studios moved from its design
& concept phase to actual physical construction, there was some refining of
this project. And given that the Imagineers thought that WDW visitors would be
more excited to meet characters from contemporary films like "Splash" …

Collin Campbell's painting of
Tom Hanks &
Daryl Hannah from "Splash" on Hollywood
Boulevard. 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights
reserved

… the Kops got cut. Nowadays, the only reference that you'll
find in Disney's Hollywood Studios to the Keystone Kops is Keystone Clothiers.

Of course, Disney's Hollywood Studios didn't just change
during its design & development phase. Once this theme park opened to the
public in May of 1989, it became obvious that some tweaks were in order. Take –
for example – the rerouting of the tram tour. As Alex Wright recalls …

The Streets of America area was originally part of the
Studio Backlot Tour. On Opening Day, and for the first few years of operation,
the trams from the tour actually made their way down these streets – then known
as New York Street – and gave Guests a look at how a backlot functioned.
Visitors could often see productions in progress, or the remnants of a shoot
waiting to be cleared off the lot. With the changes that came along in the
first few years (of Disney's Hollywood Studios), the decision was made that
this part of the Park was need for circulation, so the tram tour was rerouted
and New York Street was opened up for foot traffic.

That's half the fun of "The Imagineering Field Guide to
Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World." How Alex Wright confidently
moves you through the rather complex history of this WDW theme park. Which (let's
be blunt here) is something of a work-in-progress right now. What with DHS's
version of "Star Tours" closing down on September 8^th to make way
for "Star Tours II." Not to mention that "Monsters, Inc." -themed coaster that's
supposed to be added to Pixar Place in the not-so-distant future.

But the other aspect of this 128-page paperback that make it
a must-own for Disneyana fans is the terrific selection of concept art that you'll
find between this Field Guide's covers. Which then allows you to look back at
what Disney's Hollywood Studios used to look like …

… Before they put that @#$%? Sorcerer Mickey Hat in front of
the Chinese Theater. (Sorry. Channeling my inner fan boy there.)

Your thoughts?