Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney World. Now today, I conclude my Top 6 Trilogy by counting down the Top 6 Attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Admittedly, this one was bit tougher because A. this is my favorite park because the idea of a park celebrating Hollywood or the glorified Hollywood as it were is a great idea and there are certain attractions I haven't been on here yet such as Toy Story Mania, the line was too long for my parents or Rock n Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror, which I have no desire to go on, really! But all the same, I came up with a pretty decent list, I feel. With that out of the way, let's begin.
6. Beauty and The Beast: Live On Stage
Now this is pretty simple as it is just a small scale stage adaption of Beauty and The Beast. Now like a lot of stage shows at theme parks, it cuts things. But this one isn't as bad as The Little Mermaid stage show also found at Hollywood Studios. This show like Gran Fiesta Tour from yesterday is another great break attraction. That's a theme, you'll see with a lot of the attractions on this list is that they are great "break" attractions. The costumes are great and the music isn't half bad either, of course, when you have Beauty and The Beast to work with, it's hard to screw up the music. So, this one comes highly recommended from me.
5. Muppet*Vision 3-D
Ah, memories. This was my very first 3-D attraction, I ever experienced as a youngster and at the time, I didn't get some of the jokes. Who knew the Muppets could go over the head of a six year old? Anyways, I think part of the big reasons, I love this attraction is that it captures the humor of the Muppets quite well. Even if the character of Waldo is a little annoying.
There are still other great things such as Fozzie's remote control pie, Bean not feeling wanted. Sweetums running out into the theater and Statler and Waldorf.
Now I do have one minor issue. As much as I love this attraction, why hasn't Disney updated this attraction? It's starting to show it's age and that's not a good thing. I mean, they didn't even do anything when The Muppets (2011) was released to theaters whereas they could've done something simple like shoot a scene with Walter or put props from the film in the queue area but no, they didn't. This attraction could benefit from an update. Granted, that isn't as annoying as the fact that the Muppet gift shop has more Phineas and Ferb merchandise then Muppets merchandise. Ah,well. Oh before I forget Muppet*Vision has my all time favorite Disney reference. A Net Full of Jello
Any guesses, on what the reference is. Hint: it's a person and she was on the original Mickey Mouse Club.
4. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Man, I've always loved this stunt show. It's a pretty straightforward stunt show showing how the stunts from Lost Ark are pulled off. Such as the classic boulder scene.
Or the classic plane scene.
Now one of the great things about this show is that it has a lot of audience interaction as they use audience members for some of the less dangerous stunts. Now I will say this isn't a complaint with the show but I am rather surprised, that they haven't thought about adding any of the stunts from the other films. Granted, I imagine that may be too hard to work as the crew are so used to the stunts they already perform and that could catch someone off guard, I imagine. Ah, well. This is still a very fun show all the same.
3. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Our second Lucas attraction on this list and the third attraction Lucas attraction to appear overall. I loved the original Star Tours and unlike my thoughts on Muppet*Vision, I didn't think it needed any updating but let's just say that I'm so glad that I was wrong because I loved the updated version of Star Tours just as much as the classic attraction and this may be blasphemy but I've always liked Star Tours better then any of the Star Wars films. It's true, I can't explain it but it's true. Okay, what is it I love about this update? Well for starters, 3-PO pilots the ship. That's pretty cool and it's one of those rides, where you'll never get the same ride experience as they have a vast amount of worlds and scenarios that could happen such as Darth Vader calling out one of the riders as a Rebel Spy.
Or you may run into "Mesa Racist Stereotype", sadly he was included too. However I was relieved I did not have to see that abomination when I rode the ride. This is everything a simulator ride should be, it's intense, gripping or I was just gripping onto the seat. Sorry bad joke and it uses the Sta Wars worlds in a great fashion for a ride. And this is some of the coolest 3-D, I've ever seen on any attraction. Mark my words, Star Tours: The Adventures has the possibility of surpassing it's predecessor in terms of popularity and I do not say this lightly.
2. The Great Movie Ride
I have to be very honest, I'm shocked that this one is only at # 2 seeing as this is my favorite ride at Hollywood Studios. This takes the concept of experiencing movies to new heights as it takes you through scenes of classic cinema such as The Wizard of Oz, Alien, Lost Ark, Mary Poppins, some John Wayne movie and many more. What is it that I love about this ride? Well to me, The Great Movie Ride encompasses what Hollywood Studios is about. Celebrating the love of film and as someone who enjoys film and has taken two courses on analyzing film, this attraction speaks to me on a personal level. It's a joy of wonderment and excitement getting to see these classic scenes from cinema play out as if I'm there with the characters. I know this probably sounds corny but that is one of the big reasons, I love it so and this may sound strange but is almost a more adult attraction. Not like say Tower of Terror, where that could terrify a little one, I don't believe young children could be able to appreciate what this ride is truly about. They may just find it boring. And in a strange way, this ride is part of the reason, I wanted to learn more about film to see how these classic scenes are actually brought to life. Sadly, this ride seems to be overlooked in some parts of the fan community and people just laugh it off as an old attraction and they don't get the same sense of wonder, I get whenever I go on this ride. People have suggested this ride should be updated to include new films such as Avatar. My response to that.... NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look, I've talked about some attractions that I think could use updating and this may make me sound like a hypocrite but this ride is perfect as it is. The intent of this ride or at least the way, I view it is that it's meant to celebrate and embrace classic Hollywood. The films of years gone by such as Gene Kelly in Singin' In The Rain.
Look, I usually don't get upset if rides are updated because that's part of the park but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd be furious if I saw a scene like something from Avatar as part of the ride. Because to me it would just feel out of place on this attraction. This ride is very personal to me and I rarely make claims about rides like this but in my opinion even including the silly story about the car being hijacked is perfect as it is. And you don't need to mess with perfection. And this ride should remain, the way it is because it was direct inspiration for the park itself. Yeah, you see originally Hollywood Studios was only supposed to be a pavilion at EPCOT and this was going to be the star attraction of said pavilion but the idea grew to be bigger then that. This ride in many respects is a tour through the various years and genres of film from Tinsel Town and I love it because of that. Each time, I go on this ride I fall in love with the art of cinema all over again. This is a beautiful tribute to classic films and if you ever get the chance to go to Hollywood Studios, I beg you to take the time to go on this ride. You may not love it as much as I do (I haven't found anyone that does) but you may understand my appreciation. At least for me, this is a MUST DO, whenever I go to Hollywood Studios. I've always held the belief that this beautiful wonderful ride is the heart of Hollywood Studios. And now, I know your probably thinking after talking so passionately about this ride, what could top it. You'll see.
1. Walt Disney: One Man's Dream
Okay, I'll be honest, this one is kind of cheating. You see, it's not an attraction in the traditional sense as it's not a ride or a show. Then what it is, you may ask. Well, other then Heaven on Earth for this Disney fan, it's a museum. That's the jist of it, yeah a museum beat out something like Star Tours for my # 1 spot. Why? Well, let's compare it to my # 2. If The Great Movie Ride is the celebration of classic cinema. Then One Man's Dream is the celebration of the accomplishments and hard work of my idol, Walt Disney. And that's why I love it, it's a history lesson on Disney, not just Walt but the company as well. I personally could spend hours here looking at the things they have on display such as a multi-plane camera similar to the one that was used for The Old Mill. To me, that's more exciting then Star Tours. Getting to see that is getting to experience a piece of Disney history and I'm sorry but I'll take Disney history over Kermit the Frog or Darth Vader, any day of the week. It's such a simple thing, yet I have troubles sometimes identifying why I love this so much and it wasn't until I came with this list, that I realized, this is my favorite thing at Hollywood Studios. Let alone, maybe even all of Disney World. For a huge Disney fan such as myself this place is filled with treasures that I love being able to see in person. Such as the costumes from Mary Poppins and also this place has easily my all time favorite Walt photo.
I love that picture so much, I want a framed copy of it to hang in my bedroom. And if you do check this out, make sure you stick around for the film. It's basic knowledge (well at for someone whose read five biographies on Walt) but it's still pretty entertaining. It talks about all of his ups and downs and as the film title suggest In Walt's Own Words, you get to hear it from the man himself. Still not sold, what if I told you, Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews was the host for this film. How about that? It's great and I wish that Disney would think about selling the film at the parks, so the fans could take it home with them as I know many hardcore Disney fans would love that. So yeah, my # 1. Probably not what you were expecting and it may not be the most thrilling thing in any of the parks but I love it for what it is.
Well, that completes the Top 6 Trilogy. I hope you've enjoyed this but we aren't done yet as we've still got a lot more to go through as we take A Look at Disney World. Continuing with what, I'm sure will my be weirdest if not most sanitary article tomorrow.
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