Disney’s Hollywood Studios won’t change name for the foreseeable future, says Disney

I don’t know if you heard the big rumor going around the Disney fan community in these early weeks of 2018. The rumor was that Walt Disney World had decided on a new name for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Disney’s Cinemagine Park was going to be the new name and there were a handful of fan websites insisting it was true.

We didn’t report on that story here because it seemed obvious to us that a name like Cinemagine would never work in the states. So it was either one of those rumors that a fan starts as a joke and then it takes on a life of their own, or something Disney was floating as a test balloon, which was quickly and deservedly popped.

We’ve known since the Disney shareholder meeting in 2015, when a 6 year old audience member quizzed the Disney board on a future name change for the park. Initially the answer was no, but then Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped in and said that the company was in fact planning a new name for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but that they hadn’t settled on one quite yet.

Since that meeting, the park’s theme has talent hard shift away from the movie studio model where guests were show how movies were made to a new model where guests become part of the movie experience itself. Yes, there are wide areas of the park that still maintain the old theme (Indiana Jones EPIC Stunt Spectacular is one large example), but the two next new lands set to open, Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, will be immersive experiences where guests will get to play just like their part of the movie themselves.

It’s become a park where the theme is once again to hide the magic, rather than reveal how it was done. This is a big change and the future of the spirit of the park is at stake as these changes are made.

The question remains, is Disney’s Hollywood Studios the name of tomorrow? For now Disney only says the name won’t be changing for the foreseeable future. That could be anywhere from six months to never. While the name doesn’t fit perfectly, it’s certainly much better than most other ideas I’ve heard. If that’s the case, then I don’t blame Disney for not wanting to go through the expense of a new park name until they know for sure a the new name will fit the new park. Since exactly how the new park will function in the minds of the guest remains to be seen, no action is the right course of action.

Do you agree that Disney’s Hollywood Studios shouldn’t change it’s name for the foreseeable future?