Lights, Camera, Promotion!

Back to the Studios and their 20th Anniversary! This is a limited edition preview booklet that I was very happy to obtain quite awhile ago. As you can see, Disney was really giving the park preview as much glamour and substance as possible!

The piece above shows the park layout at opening. Notice that The Great Movie Ride was called Great Moments at the Movies and sponsored by Sears? Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular was once known as the Stunt Show Theater? Things were clearly a bit in flux when this was produced.

Nothing like bringing out the stars and recent Touchstone hits to promote the park!

Television was not excluded from the promotional materials either. Production was scheduled to happen for hit shows as well as movies at the park. Here's where it all started, the tagline "Where fantasy is real and dreams come true!" is used to remind guests this is the domain of Walt Disney World.

What would Disney Studios be without the Disney part! Animation was the studios bread and butter enterprise, and here would be a chance to see the whole process up close! (Although I don't ever recall seeing an animator I knew by name...)

Star Tours on its way in 1990! Ah, the drawing power of the galaxy long ago! Gene Kelly, Trazan, and Casablanca. Something for everyone!

More stars and backstage secrets revealed- what a fun day this makes! The original incarnation of the park had a stronger emphasis on the process of movie making versus entertainment related thrills- that would come later.

The back cover, wrapping it all up!

This enticing advertising, along with a full park mock up presented in the Magic Kingdom on Main Street and a splashy television special, were all quite successful at bringing a great opening year for the park. Worked like magic! Disney magic, that is. In fact, the Disney-MGM Studios was so popular that guest capacity was an immediate problem. Plans were put quickly into place for expansion...

(Promotional piece and all art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)