The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

What's up everyone? I recently took a trip to WDW and went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the final year of The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. That's right... January 6, 2016 was the final time the lights will ever shine across The Streets of America. So here are some photos that I've taken of the lights so they can live on.

In honor of the 20th anniversary, this Tinkerbell light was added. This was the best pic I could get of it.

 

 

Here are a few blurry pictures of the lights I took throughout the last few years. They were mostly the same with a few subtle changes.

 

Of course the best part of the lights was the "dancing" portion. Every 20 minutes or so the lights would dance in-sync with Christmas music. I can't capture that in pictures, so here are a few videos I took: 

I hope you enjoyed my little tribute to the light show. I'm going to miss them, but it sounds like great things are on their way to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Will you miss the lights? Are you looking forward to what's coming next? Comment below!

The Removal of the Sorcerers Hat

So today I thought I would discuss my thoughts on the removal of the Sorcerer's hat at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I do have memories of a hat-less Hollywood Boulevard, and memories of when I saw the hat for the first time. I thought, "Finally MGM has a real icon!" I thought the park icon should be front and center like the Tree of Life, Spaceship Earth, and Cinderella Castle.
 
I knew the water tower was the icon, but to me the icon should be seen from any part of the park, and you could only see The Earful Tower from the Backlot Tour and some areas in the distance. It wasn't until I started going to Disney message boards that I even realized people didn't like the hat. They brought up good points that I hadn't really thought about.

First of all, it disrupts the theme. Hollywood Boulevard really does feel like you're going downtown in California. The hat at the end of the street kills that as everything on Hollywood Boulevard is a replica of buildings in Hollywood and various other places. There's a great article about this at yesterland.com called "Real Buildings That Inspired MGM Studios." It's six parts and shows how many of the facades, fountains, and stores are inspired by real buildings and such. That's why The Chinese Theater at the end of the street fits in so well, being that it's a replica. You have to appreciate how much thought is put into these facades, like most areas of Disney, when most guests likely do not give a second thought about what these buildings are.

Secondly, it kind of looks like a giant parking cone. Once that was pointed out, I couldn't stop seeing it as a big cone with stars on it. Finally, the area underneath the hat originally had kiosks underneath it with facts about Walt Disney. That evolved into One Man's Dream in a new location, turning the area below the hat into a generic pin store. I think that was a bad decision and added another level of  tackiness to the hat.

Obviously the hat needs to go from its current spot, but I think the park still needs an icon. Maybe one that's outside the park gates so that it doesn't intrude on the carefully thought out layout. The Earful Tower was mainly seen from the Backlot Tour and with that closing, we won't have any way to get a good view of it. I think they could make a better, more permanent looking and less parking cone-like hat outside the park. Or something entirely different. My only question left is- will the giant hidden Mickey in the middle of the hub be restored?

What do you think of the removal of The Sorcerer's Hat? Do you think it should be moved to a new location of the park? Do you think the park needs a new icon? Comment below!

My Hopes for Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios or DHS (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) is rumored to be getting an expansion. Since the Backlot closed there have been many rumors out there. Certain insiders on message boards have confirmed a few things, that Toy Story Midway Mania should be getting an expansion with a new track added, and that an indefinite plan is coming to add new attractions where the Backlot Tour was, as well as removing the Hat at the entrance.

DHS has always been lacking in things that appeal to me. When I go to DHS I never ride Tower of Terror or Rockin' Rollercoaster. I always say I'm going to try them, but I never do. I do like thrill rides such as Test Track, Big Thunder Mt., etc but the ones at DHS seem too intense for me. I always ride The Great Movie Ride, Toy Story Mania, and Star Tours. I'll often eat at The Brown Derby or 50's Prime Time Cafe, walk around One Man's Dream, see Muppet Vision 3D, and once in a while see the shows like Lights, Motors, Action, and The Little Mermaid. I would only go on the Backlot Tour once every two or three trips.

I think an expanded Toy Story Mania could be a good thing, more capacity should mean lower lines and if we get the expansion, new rides should help alleviate capacity issues. Something also unconfirmed coming to DHS is Toy Story Playland from Paris and Hong Kong. What can I say about this? As long as that's not all we get I guess I would be OK with it, but I kind of hope for more than a clone of a cheap land with basic amusement park style rides. Radiator Springs Racers may not be feasible but I think it would be a good addition. That Monsters Inc. Coaster rumored for years would be nice as well. Since these are Pixar Movies it would obviously fit in Pixar Place. That area needs to have more than just one attraction.

How about a Frozen E ticket? People are upset we are losing The Maelstrom to Frozen. I get Disney wants it added quickly, but adding a new E ticket ride to DHS would give them more time to build while people ride the version in Norway. I personally don't think DHS is in worse shape than DCA. Yes they had more rides, but how many were carnival style rides? Paradise Pier and A Bugs Land was/is filled with them. They didn't have an audio animatronic show either like The Great Movie Ride. Radiator Springs Racers and The Little Mermaid managed to give them AA attractions. 

Obviously there could be a lot more to do at DHS. I know Star Wars is rumored to be added as well, but not necessarily as apart of this expansion. I hope for at least 5 new D/ E ticket rides in the expansion. Maybe a few B/ C tickets as well. What do you want to see in a DHS expansion? Do you have any topics you would like me to discuss my opinions on?