LCA?
You'd think there would be more than enough in the way of productions to occupy DHS. Perhaps it's just not a good fit to colocate with an amusement park.
Lights Cars Action
The problem is the studios really had the feeling of being rushed and given limited resources when it opened. Because of that, Rather than being a decent theme park, or a decent studio location, it ended up being a location that was left severely lacking in both regards.
There really wasn't enough to do in the park, or space to absorb the crowds when it opened. Originally, the only guest areas were the area around Echo Lake, Hollywood blvd, the Animation Plaza, and the Great movie ride.
The Attractions consisted of Star Tours, the Indy Stunt Show, The Superstar Theater and Sounds Dangerous (or whatever was in that spot), The Great movie Ride, The Muppet stage show (where Little Mermaid is now), and the Animation and Backstage Tours. There was also the Beauty and the Beast stage show in it's original location......where Sunset Blvd now joins Hollywood Blvd
the Backstage Tour Trams Queue and Load was behind the Animation building where they sometimes hide a M&G these days. It would take you thru the production buildings that still exist as part of the tour, Catastrophy Canyon, The Residential Street and NY Streets. There was also the boneyard which contained old movie vehicles... The Blackbird from the 100 Lives of Blackjack Savage short lived TV Show (Seriously... that show was AWESOME! and I wanted that boat!), and even for awhile I remember a tank that was used in the filming of Thunder in Paradise (Hulk Hogan's old show). The trams then dropped you off into a little patch of guest area that was surrounded by off-limits backstage areas. This is the approximate area where the backstage tour now loads. At the time, it was a place to sit and relax, grab a bite to eat or do some quick shopping, before doing part 2 of the backstage tour. Part 2 consisted of the Water Talk, where you would then walk around the tank and enter the building behind the tank (instead of rounding that bend and then making a left towards the queue and loading of the trams now). The first stop would be a special effects storage area where they had various models and props used in films, and a few guests would be chosen to reenact the bee flight scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids. You would then walk thru the soundproofed catwalks of the 3 functioning studios where you would be able to see the sets and prductions happening within the studios before watching a final film and being let out back in the animation courtyard.
Due to the crushing crowds and the need to do something to relieve the pressure, They started opening up more of the backstage areas. First, you the Commisary and that road was opened. then the shortened the Tram tour to loop around the NY Arch before dropping off the tour guests so that they could open the NY Street area to pedestrian traffic, as well as the walkways between that area and the animation courtyard, in front of the studios.
It was during this time they also started working to add the Tower of Terror and Sunset Blvd, as well as adding Muppets and the Hunchback of Notre Dame theater.
It didn't take long before any serious production at the studios park disappeared because of the hassle of filming around all the guests, so you ended up with mostly game shows and things like the Mickey Mouse Club filming in the soundstages. Then Eisner killed the Florida Animation Department.... and the soundstages eventually went dark as production pretty much left the property entirely.
Ironically, the problems people complain about with the street layout at the park is a direct consequence of it's original layout. The original "front of the House" areas designed for guests had a bit of the ole' hub and spoke with the animation courtyard right next to the Central hub in front the Great Movie Ride, and Echo lake and it's attractions next to that. The "Back of house" areas used for production had a typical studio grid layout. As more of those backstage areas became front-stage areas, The back-stage Grid layout of the buildings and roads remained leading to todays' confusing mess.
Universal, which MGM was a hurried response to, Also opened with the idea of being a working studio with theme park elements. Over the years there too the production side has declined as the park grew and focused more on the theme park side of things (such as the complete redevelopment from 'Universal Studios Florida" to the "Universal Orlando Resort"). The Original full size production soundstages however remain to this day and are still used for all sorts of productions..... as well as the occasional Halloween Horror Nights house.
