This Day in Pop Culture for May 1

1989: Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park Opens

On this day in 1989, Disney’s Hollywood Studios (located about as far away from Hollywood as possible) opened its gates for the first time. Originally, this third Disney theme park in Orlando, Florida went by the title of Disney-MGM Studios until 2008 when the partnership of the two companies split ways. Though the intent was to feature the works of both studios, the park focused a lot more on Disney with the exception of The Great Movie Ride which celebrated some of MGM’s greatest films and just a small nod to Disney. The park is sort of Disney’s answer to Universal Studios. The 135-acre park celebrates Hollywood with designs set in the style of 1930’s and 1940’s art deco. When it opened, some TV shows and movies were actually filmed and a portion of animated movies were created on site. In recent years, the park has added a Star Wars and Toy Story “lands.” (Images: Wikimedia)