Changes

Disney beat Universal to the punch when on May 1, 1989 Disney's MGM Studios opened. When it opened the park consisted of three separate parts . The theme park was made up of the Hollywood Boulevard, Lakeside Circle and the Backlot annex. The rest of the park consisted of the production studio and the animation studio. The Studios only had five opening day attractions. On The Great Movie Ride, guests boarded large trams and rode through scenes from famous movies. Audio Anamatronic's were used to recreate these scenes. At the end of the ride guests see a compilation of clips from "great movies". The second and third opening day attractions were The Monster Sound Show and Superstar Television. Both of these attractions were interactive stage shows hosted by Sony. On the Monster Sound Show guests were able to help add sound effects to a "all-star haunted house mystery". Superstar Television on the other hand, showed guests how TV production worked by recreating some of the greatest show's in television with guests as the cast members. A The other opening day attractions were a lengthy tour of the animation studio and a shorter tour of the production studio.

On hand for opening day were camera crews from various television stations. Actor John Ritter hosted the festivities, and celebrities such as Mickey Rooney, George Burns, Ann Miller, Willie Nelson, Jane Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, Dick Van Dyke and The Pointer Sistersattended. Tony Randell, President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher all appeared in video clips. The festivities started with Smokey Robinson singing and dancing has way down Hollywood Boulevard. and Michael Eisner read reading the dedication: