Everyone seems to know the story behind the Universal Studios and Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) rivalry. Long story short, both Universal and Disney raced to build and finish their own Hollywood themed parks in the late 1980’s, with both parks opening within a year of each other. You can read the longer story here.
But despite the friendly rivalry, it’s undeniable that both parks started with a similar idea – to bring a chunk of Hollywood to Florida, where guests could learn more about the film industry while getting a sneak peak at things happening behind the scenes. However, as similar as they were when they opened, both parks are also going through a similar change that may affect how we experience each park from now until the future. With Disney’s Hollywood Studios going through a complete overhaul (and reportedly dropping the ‘Studios’ portion of its name) and Universal getting rid of pretty much all of its “backstage” attractions, it’s clear that both of these parks failed in their original intentions. So what went wrong?
1. The declining popularity of “Behind the Scenes” attractions
Image: Josh Hallett, Flickr (license)
One of the things that made both Disney-MGM Studios and Universal Studios unique in central Florida was both of these park’s emphasis on letting guests see backstage and behind the scenes. While parks like Magic Kingdom encourage guests to believe in fictional worlds of fantasy and tomorrow, MGM and Universal actually wanted guests to break down the barrier between themselves and the movies that they loved.
When Disney-MGM Studios opened, nearly half of its land was dedicated to soundstages and production offices. The Backstage Studio Tour was an opening day attraction that took guests on a two hour tour of the backstage areas. Over the years, as this attraction’s popularity dwindled (and the working studio part of Disney-MGM was scrapped), the “studio” portion of the tour was cut, and the experience became a shell of itself before eventually closing in 2014 to make way for Toy Story Land.
Another iconic portion of the park was The Magic of Disney Animation building, where guests could watch as movies like Mulan were being animated. However, because of costs associated with using this building for its true purpose, this is another “studio” attraction that outlived its original purpose, turning into a meet and greet hub in its final years before it was closed down to make way for the Star Wars Launch Bay.
Image: Disney
Universal Studios had an even bigger emphasis on bringing guests behind the scenes. Attractions like Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies, MCA Recording Studio, and the Production Studio Tour showed guests how movies were made, while Nickelodeon Studios, a full production studio, let guests be in the audience as their favorite shows were being filmed.
Currently, there are only a few of these behind the scenes attractions left between these two parks. The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, still teaches guests about how stunts are performed and filmed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and at Universal Studios the Horror Make-Up Show shows guests how horror makeup and special effects work, and Animal Actors on Location, demonstrates how animals are trained for various roles.
With so many attractions closing, both Universal and Disney had to ponder the following question: do people really want to go behind the scenes, or would they rather lose themselves in the fantasy of their favorite film? The answer to modern theme park-goers is plainly obvious…
2. Harry Potter changes everything
Image: Universal
Replacing many of the lost behind the scenes attractions are rides and shows based on various popular brands and intellectual property. For example, The Magic of Disney Animation was replaced by the Star Wars Launch Bay while Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies was replaced by Shrek 4-D. Surprisingly, very few newer attractions are replaced by attractions based on original concepts or ideas. In fact, the rise of these popular brands has lead to a new trend in the theme park industry – brand specific lands.
For the most part, theme parks in Central Florida are organized into lands or areas based on general concepts – Magic Kingdom is split into lands themed around storybook genres while Epcot is split into Future World and World Showcase. Disney’s Hollywood Studios lands are less defined, with themed areas called Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Echo Lake, Animation Courtyard, Pixar Place, and Streets of America. Universal Studios is similarly roughly split, although it does try to theme areas around geographical locations like New York, Hollywood, and World Expo, among others. This trend all changed with Islands of Adventure opened. It instead split its park into islands that (mostly) each represent a specific intellectual property like Marvel, Jurassic Park, and Dr. Seuss.
Though Islands of Adventure was an interesting concept, it wasn’t an overnight sensation. Until 2010 that is, when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter supassed everyone’s expectation, breaking record after record for the park in its opening days. Universal had to expand, but Islands of Adventure was out of room. Even though an immersive land didn’t quite fit the “theme” of Universal Studios Florida, executives knew that more Harry Potter would bring more guests, and thus the plan for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, was born.
3. A new tone is set for Universal Studios Florida
When this second Wizarding World opened in 2014, it represented a turning point. For the first time, Universal Studios had a themed land based on one specific brand. Not only did it have rides, but it had stores, restaurants, at atmosphere themed around an existing property. What is unique about Diagon Alley, compared to the original theme of the park, is that it truly makes guests think they are in a magical version of London. There is no peaking behind the wall to find a employee or sign explaining how the effect was created. Instead, it pulls out all the stops, making the experience feel as real as possible.
In fact, this can be true of much of Universal’s recent development. When you first walk through the turnstiles and follow the street ahead, you will notice two attractions standing next to each other – Shrek 4-D and Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. Shrek 4-D is the older of the two and opened in 2003. The soundstage that it is housed in does still resemble a soundstage from the outside. The walls above the queue line have still images of the film along with the words “Soundstage 4-D Universal Studios” painted on the sides. Meanwhile, Minion Mayhem, which opened in 2012 and is housed in a similar looking soundstage, has a facade entrance that looks like Gru’s house, with posters hung on the walls encouraging guests to join the minion union. All together, Minion Mayhem’s decor makes riders feel as if they are really entering Gru’s supervillain headquarters, as opposed to just a building with a ride in it.
Although Diagon Alley is the only official land in Universal Studios based on one property, they do have one unofficial land as well: the Springfield area, based on the TV show The Simpsons. Originally, the area was just The Simpsons ride, with a nearby store being themed as Springfield’s favorite 7-11 ripoff, the Kwik-E-Mart. However, in 2013 Universal rethemed the International Food and Film Festival quick service restaurant and reopened it as Fast Food Blvd, a food court type building that houses popular restaurants and bars from the series, like Moe’s Tavern, Krusty Burger, and The Frying Dutchman. Three additional food and drink stands were built in the area, as well as spinning ride called Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl.
Image: Disney
Meanwhile, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been busy planning more specific, brand-centered lands of their own. In 2015, Disney announced that it will be building a Star Wars land and a Toy Story land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. There have also been rumors of a Muppet land as well. Once again, this would be the first time in the park’s history that a section of the park will be dedicated to one specific intellectual property (although Pixar Place, a small area with Toy Story Midway Mania! has been around for years).
4. The studio concept dies for good
Image: Disney
It appears that both parks are deciding to focus on the worlds created by Hollywood, as opposed to how real Hollywood actually functions. So what does this mean for the future of both parks? Expect more rides, attractions, restaurants, and shops based on popular characters and properties and the continued decline attractions based on the backstage world. Expect more immersive experiences that make you feel like you are really in the world as opposed to a theme park. And expect both parks to feel like Islands of Adventure, where you go from one themed area to another.
Based on both park’s history, it doesn’t look like either Universal Studios Florida nor Disney’s Hollywood Studios will bring back the behind the scenes theme. However, that doesn’t mean there will never be a behind the scenes attraction again. Take, for example, Universal’s upcoming attraction Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. Although many details haven’t been released yet, Fallon did confirm that parts of the ride where filmed in the legendary Studio 8H, where Saturday Night Live is filmed. Is it possible that a least part of the attraction will include a behind the scenes look at some of the studios in 30 Rockefeller Plaza?
Image: Universal
However, it appears this new attraction may be the exception rather than the rule. If we are to take a broad guess at what the future of both Universal Studios and Disney’s Hollywood Studios would look like, it would probably include some amazing attractions and experiences based on your favorite properties, but guests will most likely will never get a good glimpse behind the scenes again.
