8 Myths About Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is full of fun attractions, dining, and other experiences. The park has been opened in 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios and has continued to change and evolve from there. Some several fun myths and secrets have been told about the park that you may have always wondered if they were actually true or not. Here are eight myths about Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the verdict:

8 – There was a plan for a Roger Rabbit themed mini-land at the park.

The Myth: Disney had a plan for Sunset Boulevard to receive an enhancement inspired by Who Framed Roger Rabbit that would feature a Red Car Trolley Line running on the street and dropping guests off at Maroon Studios and would have themed rides from the move.

The Verdict: True. The Maroon Studios would have been located where Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster currently resides. The attractions that were planned for the area were Toontown Trolley, Baby Herman’s Runaway Baby Buggy, and Benny the Cab. This came to a halt after a legal dispute between Amblin (Steven Spielberg’s company) and Disney over the use of the film and characters.

7 – You can see a lion on the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

The Myth: There is a myth that you look at the Hollywood Tower Hotel (which is the location for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror) at just the right angle you will be able to see a lion on the building. It is supposed to be on the side that faces the Swan & Dolphin. Supposedly if you look at night just from the right position, you will see two lights on that side that resemble eyes, then looking down from there, you can see a mouth, and the two towers look like shoulders. It is supposed to be easier to see at night than it is during the day.

The Verdict: Unsure. We haven’t been able actually to see this one for ourselves. There have been various sources online that state that they have seen it and others that have said that they have tried and couldn’t see the image of a lion. This is one that you will want to check out for yourself to see what you see.

6 – Toy Story characters drop to the ground when you say, “Andy’s coming”.

The Myth: There is a meme floating around and many guests that believe that all Toy Story characters will instantly drop to the ground and go lifeless if a guest were to shout “Andy’s coming” to preserve the realism for the universe they were created in.

The Verdict: False. They may give a funny reaction, but they won’t drop to the ground. It would cause a lot of damage to the very expensive costumes if they were to drop to the ground continually. Plus, constantly doing that in the heat while balancing the costumes also wouldn’t be very feasible. Maybe tell Woody to “reach for the sky” instead!

5 – The Tower of Terror experienced an elevator malfunction during the drop, leaving guests injured.

The Myth:  There was a group of guests riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror when it malfunctioned and dropped when it shouldn’t have and made an abrupt stop when one of the safety brakes kicked in to stop the elevator from plummeting to the bottom. Guests were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Verdict: True. This one is actually confirmed by numerous sources. There was a private party inside then Disney-MGM Studios after hours on September 15th, 1998. Around 10:30 PM at the event, there was an elevator of 20 guests that were riding the attraction when the ride vehicle did malfunction. The guests were taken to local hospitals for treatment of back and neck pains for the abrupt stop.

4 – The layout of the parks is a giant hidden Mickey.

The Myth: Disney’s Hollywood Studios was built and designed so that from a bird’s eye view, you would be able to identify the entirety of the park as a huge hidden Mickey.

The Verdict: True. The park was designed in this way and was the largest hidden Mickey. However, with all of the changes and expansions going on at the park, the original hidden Mickey is not really visible anymore.

3 – You can gobble for a free turkey leg at one of the snack carts at the park.

The Myth: There is a turkey leg snack stand at the park where you can gobble for the cast member and get a free turkey leg.

The Verdict: Partially true. At the location, the cast members will select a guest each hour that they will ask to gobble for a free turkey leg. So they do give a free turkey leg for gobbling, but it is only for 1 guest per hour on a typical day.

2 – The first three parks at Walt Disney World opened on the anniversary of a specific date.

The Myth:  There is a myth that circulated that the first three parks at Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (then Disney-MGM Studios), all opened on October 1st because it was also the anniversary of the date that Walt Disney was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army because he was caught drawing cartoons on Army trucks.

The Verdict:  False. This one is definitely completely untrue. First, Disney’s Hollywood Studios didn’t even open on October 1st. It opened on May 1st, 1989. Walt Disney also never enlisted in the U.S. Army. He joined the American Ambulance Corps of the Red Cross and lied about his age in order to join since he was too young at the time. He did leave service in October of 1919, but it wasn’t on the 1st of the month.

1 – The Tower of Terror was struck by lightning before opening. 

The Myth: The storyline for the Tower of Terror is based on a group of folks that enter an elevator during a thunderstorm when the hotel is struck by lightning, and the passengers disappear. The myth is that the hotel was actually struck by lightning before it actually opened.

The Verdict: True. This did actually happen. There have been various images and video taken of the event. Myth Busters also did a story on it to validate that it did occur. Pretty spooky, huh?