Yesterday during the Q&A portion of the Walt Disney Company’s Shareholder Meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared to accidentally announce that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is getting another name change. This came after a question about a potential name change from a 6-year old child.
“It’s not announced. We used to be MGM Studios, we changed to Hollywood Studios and we’re doing some significant work there right now that I guess will result in a name change,” Disney CEO Bob Iger answered. “Now we can announce that. It’s not been announced, right? No.
“We’ll announce that we’re changing the name but we won’t announce what we’re changing it to. How’s that?”
Originally called Disney-MGM Studios, this park at the Walt Disney World Resort first got a name change in 2008 when it became Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Expect a lot of speculation in the coming months about what the new name for Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be.
A name change isn’t the only thing that is changing at this park. Recently, the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat that had been an icon for the park was removed with the original view of The Great Movie Ride now being the central icon. The Great Movie Ride itself is getting some upgrades as well. Recently the Studio Backlot Tour ended its run, as did the American Idol Experience. Toy Story Midway Mania is getting another track added. An expanded Star Wars presence is widely speculated to come to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well.
What do you think of these changes for this park? Do you think that this park will still be focused on Hollywood or will it need a rededication?
The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be.
—Michael Eisner, May 1, 1989
