Good morning, Hollywood! It’s pretty hot today, but we’ll do our best and take in all the sights and sounds of Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood

You’ve probably noticed this nice little logo on many of the trash cans throughout Hollywood Studios.

If you look hard, you can actually still find some examples of the older version of this logo in certain places.

This one still has the Mickey Mouse-shaped “Earful Tower” on it, which was demolished to make way for Toy Story Land.

There’s even an example on the facade for this shop on Hollywood Boulevard.

As you may or may not be aware, there’s a new version of The Lion King in theaters right now. There are surprisingly few mentions of it in this park, whereas the other three parks seem to be plastered with Lion King.

Merchandise

There’s a selection of Lion King merchandise at the 5 & 10, but much less than in say, Animal Kingdom.

The original Lion King soundtrack is on display behind the counter.

There was a new pin released in honor of the new version.

“Realistic” versions of the characters adorn it.

There’s a new line of character pens popping up in the parks. I only found Genie here, but there are more to choose from elsewhere.

Need something to hold your small accessories but you need it to scream Monsters Inc? (Pun intended) Well, here you go!

We’ve seen the Junk Food brand clothing and accessories recently, but now that art is making its way to phone cases. I like this one a lot, personally.

Star Wars

The opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is literally right around the corner, and it looks like they’re making some last minute visual adjustments to what will be the entrance on Grand Avenue.

They added some concrete railings/barriers to the top of the wall. It gives it a bit of extra flair.

The other entrance (but most likely exit only, during the first couple weeks and months) will be in Toy Story Land. While there, we were able to catch a fun performance of the Green Army Men Drum Corps! Check out the video below:

Speaking of Star Wars, let’s duck into Launch Bay for some air conditioning.

They had a couple Photo Pass photographers set up here to entertain guests. One had a porg to pose with, the other had lightsabers.

This space is headed for some changes in the near future, with Darth Vader taking over for Kylo Ren in August. I think we can expect this area to slowly change over the next many months as guests are drawn to the other side of the park for Galaxy’s Edge.

Where else but Hollywood Studios can you buy photos of everyone’s favorite character… “Bistan”?

One of the things I like about the current slate of Star Wars options is watching the characters exit to backstage from the stage show, “Star Wars: A Galaxy, Far, Far Away”. No word on how long the current show will stay once Galaxy’s Edge opens. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Park Entrance Update

Now it’s time for your regular update on the security bag check area: it’s still moving right along. I would say they could be done within weeks if they stay on pace.

Et Cetera

Just a heads up, if you duck into the Xbox Game Port to get out of the sun (I wouldn’t recommend it), just be aware: they took out the Fuel Rod machine in here.

This space is now officially completely useless.

That’s it from Hollywood Studios for today. Check back with us next time to see what the parks have in store for us!

Henry Taylor