Obviously, the Chinese Theatre is in the middle. That is the big ‘weenie’ for Disney’s Hollywood Studios drawing guests into the center stage area of the park from the main entrance.
Then there are four more buildings. At the far left is the Carthay Circle Theatre, then Legends of Hollywood is next to that. On the far right is Beverly Sunset with its iconic neon signage. The remaining building had me stumped at first.
Then I realized it was literally right next door.
Yes it’s the Planet Hollywood Store. The mural ties four big buildings on Sunset Blvd in with the park’s main icon. It’s a great bit of storytelling from Disney’s Imagineers.
Where do you generally shop when at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? What types of merchandise do you like to take home as souvenirs?
I read this site every day and am very grateful for it. Perhaps I can show that appreciation by sharing a little information:
The Legends of Hollywood store is based on the Academy Theater in Hollywood that was there from 1933 to 1975 until it became a church. It was in Hollywood and meant originally to be the home of the annual Academy Award ceremonies.
Planet Hollywood Super Store is based on the La Reina Theater in Sherman Oaks, California that opened in 1937.
The Once Upon a Time store does have the exterior of the Carthay Circle Theater on San Vincente Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was torn down in 1969 but hosted the premiers of the first Silly Symphony short Skeleton Dance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia as well as films like Gone With the Wind.
On the other side of the street that theater at the top of the block has the façade of the Warner Beverly Hills theater that opened in 1931 on Hollywood Boulevard. It became a parking lot in 1988.
The amount of detail in the original Disney MGM Studios in referencing classic Hollywood/Los Angeles landmarks is incredible.
Very cool article — and great additional info from Jim Korkis!
DHS has always been the park I’ve most enjoyed just walking around in — partly because it didn’t have nearly as many attractions that interested me as the other parks, but also because there is so much atmosphere to the theming. Hollywood Blvd./Sunset Blvd. and Echo Lake are the areas of the park I most enjoy.
I do miss the days when each of the stores contained unique merchandise. The stores no longer have quite the same appeal as they used to, since the same merchandise can be found pretty much everywhere. I always loved Villains in Vogue for some good villain-themed merchandise. Sadly, it morphed into a store that didn’t contain much “villain” at all, and then they just abandoned the theme altogether. (I once wrote Disney and asked why a villain-themed store was full of Jack Skellington merchandise, since he was the protagonist — not the villain — of the story. To their credit, they responded by telling me that he was a popular character whose image fit with the villain theme. I didn’t buy it, but at least they had a justification for doing it.)
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