PHOTO REPORT: Hollywood Studios 5/8/19 (Wait Times, Star Wars Autographs, General Construction Updates, ETC.)

Iain

PHOTO REPORT: Hollywood Studios 5/8/19 (Wait Times, Star Wars Autographs, General Construction Updates, ETC.)

Let’s take a lap around Disney’s Hollywood Studios and see what’s going on.

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It really wasn’t too busy today, by recent standards. At about 10 AM (an hour after open), the line for Slinky Dog Dash wasn’t even using the entire queue. I don’t think that 85 minutes wait was accurate either, seems too long for that few people.

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Even by lunch time, the lines weren’t bad. There was almost no one at the Sunset Ranch (although that might have to do with the quality of the food there…)

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If you get here early enough in the morning, you might run into this fun Citizen of Hollywood. He just stands there, reading the paper. If you go up and talk to him, he’ll probably hit you with a joke, like “Did you hear about the fire at the circus? Yeah, the fire was IN TENTS!” Or he might tell you to “scram!”. Really, it’s a 50/50.

Merchandise

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Here’s a fun fact in honor of Hollywood Studios’ 30th anniversary: Sid Cahuenga’s Antiques and Curios used to actually sell movie memorabilia. A lot of what they sold there was autographed photos of actors and celebrities. Some of them are still on the walls in there, albeit no longer for sale. It wasn’t really that long ago that they stopped selling autographs (2013), but I figured some of our readers might be unaware.

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You can still get autographs in the park, though! I hope you like Star Wars, though, because those are the only ones you’ll find. They have a selection in Star Wars Launch Bay.

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You can also find a selection as you’re exiting Star Tours, in Tatooine Traders.

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I found this fun new Aladdin pin today. You can wear it when you go see the preview for the new film at Walt Disney Presents.

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Lion King “Hangry” shirt ($34.99)

You ever been so hungry that it makes you angry? Then you’ve been “hangry”, and this shirt is for you. “Yeah, it’s dinner time, and we ain’t got no stinkin’ entrees!”

Construction and General Upkeep

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They’re hard at work finishing the rock spires for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

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They’ve got until August to finish it up. Better get a move on!

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Speaking of Star Wars, the crowds will be intense. They’re planning on widening this pathway to help ease the guest flow. They’ve been working on it for a while now. Hopefully they’ll be done soon; this is a terrible bottleneck on busy days.

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This will be our entrance to the planet of Batuu. I’m very much looking forward to this August.

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They’re still doing some work on the hand prints in the Chinese Theatre courtyard. You can really tell which ones have been re-done recently and which ones are older.

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Some of the non-hand print concrete blocks are marked for replacement as well.

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They did some minor work on the side of the building for Muppet*Vision 3D. There had been a small scrim up in this spot for some time. Looks like a wall extension.

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I’m surprised it’s taking them this long to adjust this. The facades that used to block this wall from view came down about three years ago.

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Outside the park they’re still doing some work near the Mickey topiary, around the flag poles. Looks like they’re doing a bit of concrete work as well.

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They also have a “rideshare” sign now, over at the Uber/Lyft drop off zone, just across from the Skyliner station. I guess this is the generic term for that type of service.

That’s all for today. We’ll keep tabs on all these projects so you don’t have to! Which addition to Hollywood Studios are you looking to most? Let us know!