On the very first day of May 1989, the Disney-Hyperion Studios theme park opened its gates. The grand opening was attended by many A-list stars of the stage and screen. Walt, now 87, was also on hand. Also in attendance, the voice talents of the studio's upcoming animated feature,
The Little Mermaid, which is expected to hit theatres this coming November.
OPENING DAY ATTRACTIONS
Rather than have a railroad around the perimeter of the park, replicas of the red trolley cars shown in
Who Framed Roger Rabbit take guests where they want to go much faster.
HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD
The Main Street section of the park with a full service ATM, restaurants and shops. One restaurant in particular is the replica of the Terminal Bar from
Roger Rabbit.
The Great Movie Ride: The main attraction of DHS; a dark ride contained within the facade of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The riders are taken on a journey through Hollywood's most memorable cinematic moments, starting with an audio-animatronic of Alfred Newman conducting his most beloved piece, the 20th Century Fox fanfare. We then pass through the Musical corridor, where we see animatronics of Shirley Temple performing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" from
Bright Eyes, Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice in
Fantasia along with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke performing Step in Time from
Mary Poppins. Next, the film noir and western scenes take their respective cues from Fox's most successful films of each genre,
Laura and
The Gunfighter. The sci-fi corridor reveals itself to be the
Nostromo from New Line Cinema's
Xenomorph, with Veronica Cartwright's Ripley confronting the titular alien. Afterwards, the scenery shifts to Egypt where Indiana Jones and Sallah try to carry the Ark of the Covenant. Next, the Horror film corridor where the guests encounter Freddie Krueger in his boiler room. After that, we hit the beach to learn the
Planet of the Apes was really our Earth, evidenced by the remains of the Statue of Liberty. The ride vehicle then proceeds to a backlit soundstage where Mickey Mouse and Leopold Stokowski shake hands as they did in
Fantasia. For the grand finale, the guide addresses the guests, "Thank you for joining us on this journey through the magic of the movies! Before we wrap up this production, we have one last scene to go, the happy ending!" We then conclude the ride with the wedding scene from the final minute of
Cinderella.
ECHO LAKE
At Echo Lake, you'll find...
Back to the Future: The Ride
The ET Adventure
Star Tours
and...
The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
DOPEY DRIVE
Dopey Drive, inspired by the street on the Disney backlot in Burbank, is the home of attractions based solely on the classic Disney animated characters, with many more coming in the years ahead.
PRODUCTION CENTER
Where the backlot tram tour takes you behind the scenes at the soundstages, special effects shops and other production facilites that take residence at the park.
Everything you described about Disney Hyperion Studios makes it look like a dream come true.
