Disney's Hollywood Studios Facts

The idea for a park based on favorite movie themes originated with Walt Disney more than 40 years ago when "backlot tours" were limited to a privileged few. He first considered a park on his own backlot, then looked across the river from the Disney Studios in Burbank on land adjacent to Griffith Park. Lack of enough land combined with potential traffic problems caused him to look elsewhere; namely, Anaheim. The result was Disneyland. In the mid '80s, a greatly expanded production schedule for the Walt Disney Company demanded more facilities. Rather than buy expensive land in California, the company realized it had plenty of land in Florida and the opportunity to combine its new production facilities with a chance for Walt Disney World guests to see behind the scenes of movie and television production

Disney's Hollywood Studios opened on May 1, 1989.

The dedication plaque at Disney's Hollywood Studios reads - "The world you have entered was created by the Walt Disney Company & is dedicated to Hollywood - not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream & wonder & imagine, a place where illusion & reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was - and always will be."

The Earffel Tower, Disney's Hollywood Studios' water tower landmark, is 130 feet tall., and would wear a hat size of 342 3/4.

Gertie the Dinosaur, on Echo Lake, pays homage to pioneering animator Winsor McCay and his revolutionary 1914 animated cartoon, Gertie the Dinosaur.

Animated Feature Films produced at the Studios include "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Pocahontas," "Aladdin," "Lilo and Stitch" and "Brother Bear."

Films shot at the studios include: "Marvin's Room," "Passenger 57," "Oscar," "Quick Change," "Ernest Saves Christmas," "Splash Too," "Separate But Equal" (Emmy-winning TV mini-series) and "Instinct."

TV shows taped at the studios include: "Sheena," "Full House," "Wheel of Fortune," "World Championship Wrestling," "ESPN College Football Awards," "Talk Soup," "Step By Step," "Barbara Walters Special," "Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee," "ER" and the HBO 13-part series "From the Earth to the Moon."

Among the hundreds of actors, comedians and entertainers who've appeared at the studios are: Charlton Heston, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler, Ann-Margret, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Hanks, Liza Minnelli, Billy Joel, Kevin Bacon, Michael J. Fox, Gary Sinise, Samuel L. Jackson, Lou Gossett Jr., Drew Carey, Oprah, Susan Lucci and Britney Spears.