===Conception===
Like most things in Walt Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios can trace it's origins back to Walt Disney himself. In the 1960s, Walt wanted to build a theme park that would show guests the movie making process. At the time Universal Studios had a popular backstage tram tour and Walt wanted to do something similar on the back lot backlot Disney Studious. Due to land coasts and potential traffic problems this idea never came to fruition. Although the Disney Studios back lot backlot tour was never built, the idea would resurface later.
The genies for a theme park based on movie making really begins in the mid 1980s. Imageneer's led by Marty Skylar and Randy Bright were given the task of creating two new pavilions for [[Future World]] in [[Epcot]]. One of the pavilions they created was to be called the Great Movie Ride pavilion. The attraction would have taken guests through various movies and was very similar to the attraction that would eventually open at Disney's MGM Studious. Michael Eisner, then the CEO of the Disney Company decided that the idea for the pavilion was strong enough to warrant it's on theme park and told his Imageneers to begin working on it.
===Construction===
Construction began on Disney's MGM Studios in 1986. Besides being a theme park, Disney's MGM Studios was also a working studio. Both animation and live action studios were built, and guests would eventually be able to tour these studious to see how Disney made films. Imageneers wanted to create the perfect representation of the "Golden Age of Hollywood". To accomplish this the park was themed to look like a small version of Hollywood with replicas of icons such as Grauman's Chinese Theater and their own version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To give MGM an "icon" Imageneers created the a large water tower, "Earfull Tower." The water tower looked exactly like the one on the Disney Studio lot in California, with the exception of the large Mickey ears placed on top. The tower stood an astonishing 130 ft tall.
===Opening Day===
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 showed guests how TV production worked by recreating some of the greatest show's in television with guests as the cast members. A lengthy tour of the animation studio and a shorter tour of the production studio.
Disney's Hollywood Studios began On hand for opening day were camera crews from various 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 Sisters. 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. Michael Eisner, who became CEO of read the dedication: "The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company in 1984. Prior and is dedicated to his tenure with DisneyHollywood—not a place on a map, Eisner had been Senior Vice President at Paramountbut a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. It was there We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be."Michael Eisner learned MCAMay 1, Universal Studios1989 ==Changes Since Opening== Although only opening with five attractions, Disney's parent companyMGM Studios was quite popular and quickly expanded. Later in 1989, the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular opened on Lakeside Circle. The stunt show recreated stunts from the popular Indiana Jones series. Later in 1989 Star Tours opened. Star Tours is a motion simulator that transports guests the world of the George Lucas film series Star Wars. In 1990 New York Street was looking opened for a partner for a Florida Universal Studios theme parkpedestrians and the 3D show Muppets 3D was added to it. When he became CEO of DisneyAlso added to New York Street was the Honey, Eisner began planning a Disney park I Shrunk the Kids Playground. The large playground for kids was based on filmthe 1989 Disney movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. HoweverIn 1991, it was not until Universal made an official announcement two shows: Beauty and The Beast and the Voyage of their The Little Mermaid were added to the park that Eisner began serious work on his. In 1985 Disney signed a deal 1994 Sunset Boulevard was added to the Studious. The popular attraction the Twilight Zone Tower Terror was opened along with MGM that allowed Boulevard. On the Tower of Terror guests are transported in Alfred Hitchcock's The Twilight Zone where the board a haunted elevator. The elevator drops guests 15 stories before raising them back up and dropping them again! In 1997 the Monster Sound Show was replaced with the ABC Sound Studio One Saturday Morning. The new show was used to use MGMfeature cartoons airing on the now Disney owned ABC. In 1998, the night spectacular Fantasmic! was added to Disney's name and logo in their park for MGM Studios. The new firework show was a relatively modest feebattle of good vs evil staring Mickey Mouse. Disney Fantasmic! was able added to open their try and keep guests in the park, now called all day. In 1999 Sunset Boulevard got another thrill ride with the addition of the Rock N' Roller Coaster Staring Aerosmith. ===Disney's MGM Studios2000-2007=== With the turn of the 21st century, a full year before Universal Disney's MGM Studios began to change. Walt Disney's One Man Dream opened theirsin 2001 featuring both a museum and a short film. However In 2003, while fans were generally positive about the animation studio located at the park they also considered it to be incompleteclosed. At opening, This closure also ended the park Animation Tour that had four rides - [[The Great Movie Ride]], [[Magic been a staple of Disney Animation]], [[The Backlot Tour]]the park since opening day. In 2004, New York Street was expanded to include architecture found in San Francisco and [[renamed The Monster Sound Show]]Streets of America. The park did expand section of the Studio Tour that resided behind the Streets of America (Residential Street) was bulldozed in its first years, including it's first firework 2004 in order to make room for a new stunt show, "Sorcery Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, which opened in 2005. ===2007 Name Change===In 2007, Disney announced that it would be renaming the Skypark Disney's Hollywood Studios." The most significant addition was contract signed in 19941985 between MGM and Disney had expired in 2005, when Sunset Boulevard opened along with and Disney choose not to renew it. When announcing the [[Twilight Zone Tour name change, Meg Crofton the President of Terror]].The Walt Disney World Resort stated:
===Change of Name===
{{Quotation|The new name reflects how the park has grown from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer—in music, television, movies and theater,|Meg Crofton, President of Walt Disney World Resort}}
In 2007, Disney announced Reflected in the name change was the fact that it would be renaming over time the theme of the park had changed. Originally the park was set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but by 2007 the theme had clearly shifted to a more modern view of film making. By 2008 the park had been renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios. The contract signed in 1985 between MGM and Disney expired in 2005, and Disney chose not however it took more time to renew change all the contractaffect signs. In 1985 ===Disney's Hollywood Studios 2007-Present===Since the inclusion of MGM gave credibility 2007 name change their have been two major additions to a Disney film theme parkthe Hollywood Studios. Though Disney had some recent successesIn 2007, Mickey's Avenue was renamed Pixar Place, such as The Fox and all attractions on the Hound, they Avenue were not as strong of a film company as they had been closed. Opening in 1985. MGM, howevertheir place was Toy Story Midway Mania! The new 4D attractions lets guests travel through and play classic Midway games, had been while wearing 3D glasses. Toy Story Midway Mania was followed up by the studio most associated with American Idol Experience in 2009. The American Idol Experience is Located on Hollywood Boulevard in the Golden Age of AnimationABC theater and based on the popular television show American Idol. The attraction is an interactive show where guests get to see if they have what it takes to be the next singing sensation. ===Change of Name=== In By 2005, however, Disney was major player in film, TV, and home video markets. In addition, Kirk Kerkorian, who was the owner of MGM in 1985, had always been unhappy with the deal and was still influential in the company until 2005. This may have affected the decision not to continue the partnership. It is who made the official decision not to renew the deal, or if both parties simply allowed it to expire, but by 2008 the park had been renamed to Disney's Hollywood Studios.