![]() ![]() ![]() The first was Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom in ‘98. In what has to be a coincidence, since 1998 Disney World has opened new Toy Story attractions exactly every 10 years. The design is flawless, though, putting guests inside probably the most famous movie spaceship of all time. One pilot will get to push the ship into light speed, which is a pretty amazing experience, but if you aren’t in the pilot’s seat it’s not the most exciting ride. Once you’re behind the wheels it feels as much like a videogame as a ride, with guests performing one of three different roles-pilot, gunner, and engineer. The highlight comes before the ride, as you get to hang out in a recreation of the ship’s iconic cargo hold while waiting for your turn in the cockpit. Instead of an anonymous shipping vessel, though, you take control of a little ship called the Millennium Falcon. The only ride to open alongside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, this motion simulator is like a souped-up version of Star Tours. It also gets you off your feet and out of the sun for a half-hour, which is absolutely crucial during any theme park visit, especially in the summer. ![]() The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular doesn’t just play on our warm memories of the Indiana Jones movies, but with its practical effects and elaborate set pieces it reconnects us with how movies used to be made, and with the park that Disney’s Hollywood Studios used to be. Live stunt shows might seem a little old-fashioned in an era where most of what we see on the big screen is done with computers, but that’s a big part of its charm. One of the few remaining attractions from the park’s first year, this stunt show is also the last vestige of its original “behind the scenes” theme. Here are our favorite attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today-a list that doesn’t even include two of the best themed restaurants at all of Disney World, or the fantastic (and totally free) Skyliner gondolas, which have a station right outside the park. Classics like The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith continue to thrill guests, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular serves as one last thread to the park’s history, and the new additions of the last five years have rounded it all out into a park that guests of all ages can enjoy. Today Disney’s Hollywood Studios is perhaps the healthiest it’s ever been. And, crucially, all this recent development has brought several much-needed new attractions to a park that barely offered half a day’s worth of activities for much of its history. It’s not a consistent theme throughout the park, and the quality and presentation vary even among the areas that do strive for this theme, but at least it’s more of a clear direction than Hollywood Studios has had in a couple of decades. (It works a lot better with Galaxy’s Edge.) Meanwhile Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which opened in the old location of the Great Movie Ride in 2020, pulls riders into the world of cartoons, literally ushering them through a movie screen. Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened in 20, respectively, and both aim to put guests at the center of their own story. Just as the park’s name changed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008, the park’s focus eventually shifted from showing people how movies are made, to making people feel like they were in their favorite movies. Both the Great Movie Ride and the backlot tour had solid runs, but neither made it to the park’s 30th anniversary in 2019, and several other attractions about the magic of moviemaking had also come and gone by the late ‘10s. Its two major attractions on opening day were a studio backlot tour that took guests behind the scenes of a newly built studio that never really got to make all that much, and a beautiful dark ride about the history of movies that was perhaps a little too long and slow to become a real hit with the audience. When it opened in 1989 under the name Disney-MGM Studios, the park focused on how movies were made. If you haven’t been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the last decade or two, you might not even recognize the place. ![]()
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