Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

“Space” sickness OR “Mission: Space” scrubbed. Repeatedly. With disinfectant.

As Epcot’s newest thrill ride continues its test-and-adjust phase, WDW executives are reportedly growing concerned that this centrifuge-based attraction may really be too rough for many WDW guests. But can anything be done between now and August 15th — the official opening date of “Mission: Space?”

Published

22 years ago

July 13, 2003

Jim Hill

Maybe this really isn’t a story that you should be reading first thing in the morning. Particularly if you’re still eating breakfast.

Still, there’s some rather intriguing news coming out of Orlando these days. Word that WDW executives are going very concerned that “Mission: Space” — Epcot’s yet-to-be-officially-opened brand-new thrill ride — may be a bit too rough for many Disney World guests to enjoy riding.

Ever since this Future World attraction first quietly opened its doors to the paying customers back in June of this year, a significant number of guests as well as cast members — as they stepped out of the simulator capsule — have reported symptoms ranging from dizziness to headache and nausea. Typically, in most cases, the side effects of riding the attraction would pass in just 5 minutes to under a half an hour.

But — in some extreme cases — guests who have ridden “Mission: Space” reported that they were still feeling nauseous and dizzy for days afterward. One Central Florida Disney Annual Passholder is said to have taken to her bed for three days before she was finally able to shake off the ill effects she felt from swirling around inside Epcot’s new flight simulator.

WDW Operations staff first became aware of this problem last month during “Mission: Space”‘s test-and-adjust phase, when only Disney World cast members were allowed to ride this Future World attraction. At that time, many longtime WDW employees — including people who worked on WDW thrill rides like the Magic Kingdom’s “Space Mountain” and Disney-MGM’s “Tower of Terror” — were said to have stepped out of the “Mission: Space” simulator and gotten immediately (and violently) ill.

What was the problem? The Imagineers seem to think that — to date — all of the people who have gotten sick on the ride have made the same mistake. Which was to move their head out of the headrest and/or turned their head to the side as the Future World attraction was spinning. Which (for some reason) induces a strong case of vertigo in these people.

“People who look straight ahead — even people who close their eyes while they’re in the ride — they’re fine,” said one Disney cast member who’s actually been working on “Mission: Space” during its test-and-adjust phase. “It’s those guests who don’t follow the safety spiel — who lift their heads out of the headrest or turn to the side — who are causing all the problems. They’re the ones who have been getting sick.”

Which is why — as guests now enter the pre-show area at “Mission: Space” — they repeatedly encounter Disney cast members who spiel a warning that goes something like this: “‘Mission: Space’ is an extremely intense attraction that recreates the experience of space travel. Which is why this ride may not be suitable for all guests. We strongly urge you to read all of the safety precautions before you decide whether or not you actually want to ride the ride.”

Unfortunately, given the number of times that WDW guests actually hear this warning while they’re waiting in the queue, it eventually becomes just background noise to them. Which is why these people suddenly seem so shocked once they’re on board the flight simulator and find themselves exposed to these extreme stresses.

“That was one rough ride, Jim,” said one Disney World visitor in a recent e-mail to me. “I’m glad that I got on the thing and that I got to experience the attraction before it officially opened. But I don’t think that I’ll be riding ‘Mission: Space’ again anytime soon.”

Which brings us to Disney World’s next concern: “Mission: Space”‘s reride-ability. Even the guests who actually enjoyed this flight-to-Mars simulation during its preview period haven’t been all that eager to get back in line to take another spin on the centrifuge.

Said one Disney cast member who rode “Mission: Space” back in June: “Look, once was enough for me, Jim. What with the claustrophobic cabin and the stresses your body is put under as you spin around, it just wasn’t a fun time. At least for me. Which is why I doubt that I’ll be riding ‘Mission: Space’ again.”

It’s the comments like this — particularly from Disney World cast members and annual passholders — that are really giving WDW Operations staff some pause. Given that the Walt Disney Company and Hewlett-Packard have poured over $100 million dollars into the development and construction of this Future World attraction, they don’t want guests and cast members to be saying things like “Once was enough.” In order for “Mission: Space” to become a popular (more importantly, profitable) addition to Epcot’s array of attractions, it has to become the sort of ride that guests want to ride over and over and over and over …

Which — at this point, anyway — “Mission: Space” clearly isn’t. Which is why WDW Operations staff and the Imagineers are now wondering what they should do to counter all the guest complaints about how rough this ride is. Should they dare to turn down the centrifuge a bit, thereby lessening “Mission: Space”‘s incredible effects … but at least (in theory) that will make the attraction suitable for more guests to ride?

I mean, it’s not like there isn’t a precedent for doing something this. Some of you may recall — when the “Wonders of Life” pavilion first opened at Epcot back in October of 1989 — that the Imagineers were forced to make changes on “Body Wars.” Many WDW guests found this simulator ride (particularly during the trapped-inside-the-lung sequence, where the ride cabin kept moving back-and-forth, back-and-forth) to be more than they could realy handle. Which resulted in numerous “protein spills” (I.E. the code word that “WOL” cast members use when they’re out on stage, among WDW guests, to discreetly spread the news that some unfortunate has vomited inside of one of the “Body Wars” probe vehicles).

To lessen the nausea that this particular sequence in “Body Wars” was inducing in WDW guests, the Imagineers first tried lessening the back-and-forth motion of the simulator. But that didn’t really help; guests were still getting sick. Eventually, the folks at WDI were forced to make some cuts in the Leonard-Nimoy-directed ride film, shortening the amount of time that Disney World visitors had to spend inside the lung. (Even today as you ride “Body Wars,” if you watch carefully you’ll notice that there’s a rather abrupt transition in the lung sequence. As if several seconds has been snipped out of the ride film. Well, it has.)

And — even as recently as March 2001 (just weeks after Disney’s California Adventure theme park had officially opened to the public) — the Imagineers were forced to shut down that park’s “Mullholland Madness” because of guest complaints that that Wild Mouse ride was just too rough. So it’s not like Disney hasn’t responded to guest complaints like this in the past.

Unfortunately, the real crux of the matter here is that Epcot’s “Mission: Space” attraction is driven by a centrifuge. As in: All the ride’s effects key off of your body’s reactions to being spun around at high rates of speed. If WDI opts to turn down the centrifuge (I.E. lessen the number of revolutions per second that your ride cabin experiences), they then run the risk of turning their $100 million thrill ride into a not-so-very-thrilling thrill ride.

Still — based on the number of guest and cast member complaints that they’ve received to date — something clearly needs to be done about this Epcot addition. For now, Disney seems content to just try and get ahead of the negative buzz that’s been building on “Mission: Space.” Which is why — earlier this month — it invited several Central Florida journalists to come experience this Future World attraction well ahead of its August 15th opening.

But even this carefully selected group of press representatives reportedly had problems with the ride. According to the story in the July 2nd edition of the Orlando Sentinel, “More than a few (reporters) walked away on wobbly knees. ‘Four minutes (of spinning in space) was long enough for me,’ said one journalist.”

Which pretty much puts Disney right back where it started. With a $100 million dollar attraction that many WDW guests and cast members — after they initially ride “Mission: Space” — may think is too rough to ride again. Which will hardly translate into the smashing success that the Walt Disney Company believes it need in order to turn Epcot’s attendance problems around.

Mind you, not everyone thinks that “Mission: Space” is too rough a ride. The hardcore coaster fans (as well as the WDW guests who actually follow the safety spiel, who keep their heads in the headrest and look straight ahead, never to the side) actually seem to enjoy the attraction. Said one young rider in a recent e-mail to me, “‘Mission: Space’ is such an awesome recreation of a trip out into space, Jim, that I bet that this ride is actually going to cut into the number of WDW guests who go over to the Kennedy Space Center. I mean, why look at dusty old rockets anymore when you can experience a recreation of the real thing?”

Mind you, this same JHM reader then explained why he had been able to experience “Mission: Space” without experiencing any ill effects (“I made a point of not eating anything that afternoon. After all, you can’t hurl if you have nothing left to hurl.”) He then offered up this intriguing theory as to why so many WDW guests and cast members have found themselves getting sick during the “Mission: Space” previews.

“It’s not the ride itself that’s making people sick, Jim. It’s that giant Gravity Wheel with the Space Simulation Lab sitting on it. That’s all that the guests can see when they’re standing out in the pre-show area, waiting in the queue. They go through the line looking at this 35 foot tall room, standing on its side, as it spins ’round and ’round and ’round.”

“No wonder people who are motion sensitive are exiting ‘Mission: Space” complaining of dizziness and nausea,” this savvy JHM reader continues. “They’ve already been made dizzy by what they’ve forced to look at while they’re waiting in the queue.”

“If Disney really wants to cut down on the number of people who are getting sick on ‘Mission: Space,’ they should just shut down — or at least slow down — the gravity wheel that towers over the queue area. That would probably cut back on the number of guests who are getting off the ride nauseous.”

You know, that may actually be a halfway decent suggestion. I’ll try and pass it off to the folks at WDI. Who — right now, anyway — are still anxiously flailing about, trying to find some sort of solution for their “people-are-getting-sick-on”Mission: Space” problem.

Your thoughts?

Television & Shows

The Untold Story of Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios: How Daytime TV Took Over the Parks

Published

2 weeks ago

April 24, 2025

Jim Hill

Super Soap Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios

A long time ago in a galaxy that … Well, to be honest, wasn’t all that far away. This was down in Florida after all. But if you traveled to the WDW Resort, you could then experience “Star Wars Weekends.” Which ran seasonally at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Disney World from 1997 to 2015.

Mind you, what most folks don’t remember is the annual event that effectively plowed the road for “Star Wars Weekends.” Which was “Super Soap Weekend.” That seasonal offering — which allowed ABC soap fans to get up-close with their favorite performers from “All My Children,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live” and “Port Charles” — debuted at that same theme park the year previous (1996).

So how did this weekend-long celebration of daytime drama (which drew tens of thousands of people to Orlando every Fall for 15 years straight) come to be?

Michael Eisner’s Daytime TV Origins and a Theme Park Vision

Super Soap Weekend was the brainchild of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner. His career in media began with short stints at NBC and CBS, but it truly took off in 1964 when he joined ABC as the assistant to Leonard Goldberg, who was the network’s national programming director at the time.

Eisner quickly advanced through the ranks. By 1971, he had become Vice President of Daytime Programming at ABC. That meant he was on the scene when One Life to Live joined the lineup in July 1968 and when All My Children made its debut in January 1970. Even after being promoted to Senior Vice President of Prime Time Programming in 1976, Eisner stayed close to the daytime division and often recruited standout soap talent for ABC’s primetime shows.

Fast forward nearly two decades to July 31, 1995. The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire ABC/Cap Cities in a $19 billion deal. Although the acquisition wasn’t finalized until February 1996, Eisner was already thinking ahead. He wanted to use the stars of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital to draw people to Disney’s theme parks.

He had seen how individual soap stars were drawing huge mall crowds across America since the late 1970s. Now he wanted to bring dozens of them together for something much bigger.

Super Soap Weekend Takes Over Disney-MGM Studios

The very first Super Soap Weekend was announced in June 1996, just a few months after the ABC deal closed. The event was scheduled for October 19 and 20 at Disney-MGM Studios and was a massive success.

The weekend featured panel discussions, autograph sessions, and photo opportunities with the stars of ABC’s daytime dramas. Thousands of fans packed the park for the chance to meet their favorite actors. Due to the overwhelming response, the event became an annual tradition and was eventually moved to Veterans Day weekend each November to better accommodate attendees.

Longtime fans like Nancy Stadler, her mom Mary, and their close friend Angela Ragno returned year after year, making the event a personal tradition and building lifelong memories.

West Coast Events and the ABC Soap Opera Bistro

Disney even tried to recreate the event out west. Two Super Soap Weekends were held at Disneyland Resort, one in April 2002 and another in June 2003.

At Disney’s California Adventure, Eisner also introduced the ABC Soap Opera Bistro, a themed dining experience that opened in February 2001. Guests could dine inside recreated sets from shows like General Hospital and All My Children, including Kelly’s Diner and the Chandler Mansion. The Bistro closed in November 2002, but for fans, it offered a rare opportunity to step into the world of their favorite soaps.

SOAPnet, Port Charles, and the Expansion of Daytime TV at Disney

Eisner’s enthusiasm for soaps extended beyond the parks. In January 2000, he launched SOAPnet, a cable channel dedicated to prime time replays of ABC’s daytime dramas.

During his time at Disney, General Hospital also received a spin-off series titled Port Charles, which aired from June 1997 to October 2003. The show leaned into supernatural plotlines and was another example of Eisner’s commitment to evolving and expanding the soap genre.

The Final Curtain for Super Soap Weekend

In September 2005, Eisner stepped down after 21 years as head of The Walt Disney Company. Bob Iger, who had previously served as President of ABC and Chief Operating Officer of ABC/Cap Cities, took over as CEO. While Iger had deep ABC credentials, he didn’t share Eisner’s passion for daytime television.

In the fall of 2008, Disney hosted the final Super Soap Weekend at what was then still called Disney-MGM Studios. That same year, the park was rebranded as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney began shifting away from television-focused experiences.

Within the next five years, the rest of Eisner’s soap legacy faded. One Life to Live was canceled in January 2012. SOAPnet was rebranded as Disney Junior in February 2013. Later that year, All My Children ended its 41-year run on ABC.

Only General Hospital remains on the network today, the last standing soap from the golden age of ABC Daytime.

A New Chapter for Daytime TV and Super Soap Fans

The soap genre may have faded from its former glory, but it’s not gone. On February 24, 2025, CBS premiered a brand-new daytime drama called Beyond the Gates, marking the first new soap launch in years.

Meanwhile, All My Children alum Kelly Ripa has been actively working on a revival. In September 2024, she mentioned a holiday-themed movie set in Pine Valley that would bring back many original cast members. The project was in development for Lifetime, though its current status is unclear.

And what about Super Soap? Fans like Nancy and Angela still hope Disney will bring it back. Even if it only featured the cast of General Hospital, it would be a welcome return for longtime viewers who miss that one weekend a year where the magic of Disney collided with the drama of daytime TV.

If you want to hear firsthand what it was like to be part of Super Soap Weekend, be sure to listen to our I Want That Too podcast interview with actor Colin Egglesfield. He shares behind-the-scenes memories from his days as Josh Madden on All My Children and what it meant to be part of one of the most unique fan events in Disney park history.

History

The Super Bowl & Disney: The Untold Story Behind ‘I’m Going to Disneyland!’

Published

3 months ago

February 6, 2025

Jim Hill

One of the highlights of the Super Bowl isn’t just the game itself—it’s the moment when the winning quarterback turns to the camera and exclaims, “I’m going to Disney World!” This now-iconic phrase has been a staple of post-game celebrations for decades. But where did this tradition begin? Surprisingly, it didn’t originate in a stadium but at a dinner table in 1987, in a conversation involving Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and aviation pioneers Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.

The Unlikely Beginning of a Marketing Sensation

To understand the origins of this campaign, we have to go back to December 1986, when the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the nine-day journey on December 23, 1986, flying over 26,000 miles before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Their historic achievement earned them national recognition, and just days later, President Ronald Reagan awarded them the Presidential Citizen Medal at the White House.

Meanwhile, Disney was gearing up for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland, set for January 12, 1987. Following its usual playbook of associating major theme park attractions with real-world pioneers, Disney’s PR team invited astronauts Gordon Cooper and Deke Slayton to the launch event. But in a twist, they also invited Rutan and Yeager, who were still making headlines.

A Dinner Conversation That Changed Advertising Forever

After the Star Tours opening ceremony, a private dinner was held with Disney CEO Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and Eisner’s wife, Jane. During the meal, Eisner asked Rutan and Yeager, “You just made history. You traveled non-stop around the planet on a plane without ever refueling. How are you ever going to top that, career-wise? What are you two gonna do next?”

Without hesitation, Jeana Yeager replied, “Well, after being cramped inside that tiny plane for nine days, I’m just glad to be anywhere else. And even though you folks were nice enough to fly us here, invite us to your party… Well, as soon as we finish eating, I’m gonna go over to the Park and ride some rides. I’m going to Disneyland.”

Jane Eisner immediately recognized the power of Yeager’s statement. On the car ride home, she turned to Michael and said, “That’s a great slogan. I think you should use that to promote the theme parks.” Like many husbands, Michael initially dismissed the idea, but Jane persisted. Eventually, Eisner relented and pitched it to his team.

The Super Bowl Connection

With Super Bowl XXI just around the corner, Disney’s PR team saw an opportunity. The game was set for January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena—just miles from Disney Studios. What if they convinced the winning quarterback to say, “I’m going to Disneyland” live on-air?

Disney quickly struck a deal with both quarterbacks—Phil Simms of the New York Giants and John Elway of the Denver Broncos—offering each $75,000 to deliver the line if their team won. Simms led the Giants to victory, making history as the first athlete to say, “I’m going to Disney World!” on national television.

A Marketing Triumph

That year’s Super Bowl had the second-highest viewership in television history, with 87 million people watching Simms say the famous line. The next day, Disney turned the clip into a national commercial, cementing the phrase as a marketing goldmine.

Since then, “I’m going to Disneyland” (or Disney World, depending on the commercial) has been a staple of championship celebrations, spanning the NFL, NBA, and even the Olympics. What started as a casual remark at dinner became one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

A Lasting Legacy

Jane Eisner’s keen instinct and Disney’s ability to act quickly on a great idea created a tradition that continues to captivate audiences. The “I’m going to Disneyland” campaign remains a testament to the power of spontaneous inspiration and smart marketing, proving that sometimes, the best ideas come from the most unexpected places.

To learn more about Disney’s ties to the world of sports, check out I Want That Too: A Disney History and Consumer Product Podcast.

Television & Shows

How the Creators of South Park Tricked A-List Celebrities to Roast Universal – “Your Studio & You”

Published

4 months ago

January 12, 2025

Jim Hill

Universal Studios has a rich and storied history, but few moments are as peculiar—and as hilariously cutting—as the creation of Your Studio & You. This 14-minute parody film, commissioned in 1995 to celebrate Universal’s new ownership under Seagram’s, brings together an all-star cast, biting humor, and the unmistakable comedic fingerprints of Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Long before South Park debuted on Comedy Central in 1997, Stone and Parker were already carving out a reputation for their irreverent style, and Your Studio & You perfectly encapsulates their knack for turning even the most corporate project into something delightfully subversive.

Matt Stone & Trey Parker Before South Park

Stone & Parker were already known out in Hollywood as funny guys. Thanks largely to “The Spirit of Christmas,” which was this video greeting card that they’d crafted for a Fox executive – who then distributed this infamously funny thing (which had Our Lord Jesus Christ & Santa Claus literally duking it out for the holiday affections of Cartman, Kenny, Stan & Kyle) to friends & family.

This was the early 1990s. No internet. Each copy of “The Spirit of Christmas” was made on VHS tape and then mailed. Went viral the old-fashioned way. It’s rumored that George Clooney made over 300 copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” and passed these VHS taps along to friends and family.

Things didn’t move as fast as they do today. “The Spirit of Christmas” still became a sensation out West.

Zucker Brothers

Matt & Trey also had other supporters in the entertainment industry. Among them David Zucker, who was one of the members of ZAZ (i.e., Zucker Abrahams Zucker), the talented trio that made “Airplane!” in 1980, “Top Secret!” in 1984 and the three “Naked Gun” movies.

The original “Naked Gun” in 1988
“Naked Gun 2 & 1/2 : The Smell of Fear” in 1991
and “Naked Gun 33 & a 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994

All five of these parody films had been made for Paramount Pictures. But in the Late Winter / Early Spring of 1995, Universal had persuaded the Zucker Brothers to come over and set up shop in a bungalow on their lower lot. With the hope that – at some point further on down the line – David & his brother Jerry would start making funny films for Universal.

Zucker Brothers featured in "Your Studio and You"

And it’s during this same window of time (We’re now talking April of 1995) that news breaks that Seagrams (Yep, the adult beverage company. Who – at the time – was making an absolute fortune on the sales of wine coolers) was about to buy a majority stake in MCAUniversal. We’re talking control of 80% of that company’s stock. Which would effectively make Seagrams the new owners of Universal Studios.

Edgar Bronfman

And Edgar Bronfman – the owner of Seagrams – knew that Universal had had a tough time with its previous owners – which had been the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan. Matsushita had bought MCA back in November of 1990 for $7.5 billion but had never really understood the entertainment industry.

This is why – after repeatedly butting heads with Lew Wasserman & Sidney Sheinberg (i.e., the heads of Universal Studios & the Universal theme park respectively) when it came to creative control of this company – Matsushita decided to wash it hands of the entire enterprise. Agreeing to sell their holdings in MCA to Seagrams for $5.7 billion (effectively taking a nearly $2 billion loss on this investment).

And Bronfman … He knew that some bad feeling had developed between Hollywood’s creative community and the Japanese owners of Universal. The thinking was that executives at Matsushita Electric had just not gotten what it took to make movies & TV shows.

And Edgar? Right from the get-go, he wanted to show that Seagrams was NOT going to be Matsushita Electric Redux. Bronfman was looking for a way to send a clear message to Hollywood’s creative community that Universal’s new owners got it. That they were willing to work with Hollywood to make the best possible movies & TV shows at Universal.

And how did Edgar decide to get this message across? By making a funny movie.

Zucker Commissions Trey Parker for “Your Studio & You”

Mind you, Bronfman himself didn’t make this film. The owner of Seagrams reached out to David Zucker. Who – after initially agreeing to produce this introduction-to-Universal film – then farmed out the production of the actual project to Trey Parker. Who – just two days before shooting was supposed to star on the Universal Lot – persuaded Matt Stone to come help him on this project.

Which brings us to “Your Studio and You.” Which is a parody of an educational film from the 1950s, right down to being shot in black & white and featuring a very generic soundtrack.

Now what’s amazing about watching “Your Studio and You” today is that this 14-minute-long film features some of the biggest names working in Hollywood back in the mid-1990s. We’re talking about people like recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone, Michael J. Fox and Angela Lansbury. Not to mention two of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg & Jeffrey Katzenberg.

And what’s especially interesting about watch “Your Studio and You” is that – as you watch these performers go through their paces in this motion pictures (which – most of the time – involves doing some innocuous task while holding a Seagram’s wine cooler) – you often get the feeling that this star is not in on the gag.

So how did Matt & Trey get away with this? Simple. There was never actually a script for “Your Studio and You.”

Filming “Your Studio & You” at Universal Studios Hollywood

Mind you, David Zucker would always insist that there was. Especially when he’d phone up celebrities on the Universal Lot and say “Hey, I’m sending over a couple of college kids later today. They’re working with me on a new parody film. It’s something that we’re doing for the new owners of Universal. I need just a half hour of your time. We’re shooting something special for the party we’ll be holding when the Seagrams people first arrive at the Studio. Absolutely. You’ll definitely get an invite to that party. So can I count on you to help these kids out? Beautiful. They’ll be over there later this morning.”

And then Matt & Trey would show up and say “… Dang, Miss Lansbury. We’re sorry. We must have left our copy of the ‘Your Studio and You’ script back in our office. Which is clear on the other side of the Lot. So – rather than waste your time – why don’t we do this instead? Follow us over to the Psycho House. Where we’re then going to get footage of you painting the front porch on Mother Bates’ house while you say ‘Gosh, with all of the wonderful improvements going on around here, everyone is going to want to work at Universal.’ Oh, and can we also get you to wear this button on the front of your blazer which reads ‘Universal is A-OK’ ? “

And over & over again, the biggest names who were working for Universal at that time took part in the production of “Your Studio & You” because A) David Zucker vouched for Matt Stone & Trey Parker and B) this was something that was being made for the new owners of Universal. And it’s just natural to want to get in good with the new boss.

Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and Jaws

But no one at Universal anticipated that “Your Studio & You” would wind up being as sharp edged as the finished product turned out to be. I mean, it’s one thing to bite the hand that feeds you. But “Your Studio & You” ? It doesn’t just bite the hand. It takes the hand off at the wrist.

It’s a brutally funny film. With one of the meanest moments reserved for Steven Spielberg, who plays a driver on the Universal Studio Tour who’s trying to persuade a tram full of bored tourists (one of whom is played by Jeffery Katzenberg) that the “Shark Attack” scene down by Jaws Lagoon is actually exciting.

Spielberg actually says lines like “ … Whoa, whoa. What is going on here? Ladies and gentlemen, this never happens. Look out! It’s a shark! Whoa, that is one big scary shark.”

Mind you, as footage of this mechanical shark repeatedly coming up out of the water is shown, “Your Studio & You” ‘s off-screen narrator (who is voiced by Trey Parker says):

“But what about tomorrow? If we don’t keep in step with the times, things that were once neat and thrilling can become old and stupid.”

“Your Studio & You” Reception

This film was supposed to be shown only once at the welcoming party for Seagrams executive on the Universal Lot. And I’m told that – when Edgar Bronfman saw the finished product at that party – he reportedly turned to David Zucker and said “ … That’s a little more mean-spirited that I think it needed to be.”

And with that, “Your Studio & You” was supposed to go back into the Universal vault, never to be seen again. But when “South Park” debuted on Comedy Central in August of 1997 and then became a sensation for its biting humor, there was suddenly a lot of interest in what else Matt & Trey had done. Which is why copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” began to circulate. And – over time – copies of “Your Studio & You” began to bubble up.

Which – as Stone & Parker have repeatedly pointed out – was just not supposed to happen. Largely because none of the celebrities who appeared in “Your Studio & You” had never signed releases for Universal’s legal department. Because – again – this was for a movie that was only going to be shown once at a private function on the Universal Lot.

Matt mentioned (as part of a career retrospective at the Paley Center in LA back in 2000) that “ … they wouldn’t even let us keep a copy of the finished film.”

It’s a funny but brutal movie. And worth taking a look at today especially if you’re a theme park history buff because it shows Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Jurassic Park: The Ride” still under construction on the Lower Lot. That attraction would finally open to the public in June of 1996.

“Your Studio & You” became a lot easier to see after Seagrams sold off its share of Universal to Vivendi in 2000. Copies began propagating online after that. Though Universal Legal will periodically make an effort to get the latest copy of “Your Studio & You” taken off the Internet because – again – none of the performers who appear on camera ever signed the proper releases and/or were paid for their efforts.

That said, if you’re up for a mean-spirited laugh, “Your Studio & You” is well worth 14 minutes of your time. That said, once you watch this thing, be warned: