34. Studio Backlot Tour
Hollywood Studios is dedicated to the Hollywood of old. Not the one in California, but the one in our minds. A Hollywood where the streets are paved with gold and the famous never grow old, a place that never was, yet always will be.
Originally the Disney-MGM Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer allowed their name to be used and helped fund the park until they realized Disney were violating their contract by building a working studio in the park and they sued with Disney filing a countersuit due to MGM opening a theme park in Vegas. A judge eventually decided that both were allowed to do what they want and it wasn't until 2008 that Disney changed its name to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Like a movie studio, the park has multiple areas that blend into each other as a mass of streets. It can sometimes be a bit confusing to traverse but it's easy to get used to. The other real con is a lot of the attractions are spaced out/are shows, so there aren't too many rides around the park, leaving it sometimes feeling a little empty. Like, most parks might take a whole day or more to really explore, but this one feels like half a day. Luckily, most of the rides here are worth the visit.
Fittingly located in the one area that really looks like the other side of the studio, the Studio Backlot Tour is exactly what it sounds like: a tram ride through the backlot area of the studio, beginning at first in a standing show area based around special effects(explained by a pre-taped Michael Bay). Filming the fictional "Harbor Attack," a couple "special volunteers"(usually found by asking guests at the entrance if they'd like to skip the line) are put in the place of stuntmen and are rocked by explosions and doused in water(one unlucky guest in the "engine room" is overcome by a massive deluge of water), before the scenes are put together, with the final result being shown to the audience. After a brief queue through a prop room, the tram ride really begins.
The tram takes you through a number of sights, among them the Earful Tower(a water tower that used to be the park's symbol), the costumes building and a vehicle boneyard featuring everything from Herbie the Love Bug to Judge Doom's steamroller to the escape pod from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The tour climaxes at a movie set that is currently being used for filming, but the crew is on break right now so it's no big d if we check it out. Too bad Catastrophe Canyon begins filming during the tram's stop. Suddenly the whole area shakes, the fuel truck EXPLODES IN A MASSIVE FIREBALL and the whole canyon floods, with the tram at the end of the flood's path. Just because you didn't participate in Harbor Attack doesn't mean you get out of getting soaked.
Following the big finish, the tram goes around the set and explains how this movie magic was made(it involves water and fire). Tram moves towards the end and you can walk through a building and look at an AFI gallery of the greatest movie villains(look it's the Alien costume oh boyyyyy) and that's it. Tram end. It's probably the closest thing to a Universal-style "behind the scenes" thing in the park.
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