But Disney and Universal’s Orlando parks were only the beginning. Their openings kicked off a spree of movie-themed “studio” parks popping up across the world. Particularly for audiences of the 1990s, the draw of the “studio” park was immediate. Seeing “behind-the-scenes” was a novel concept, and both Disney and Universal’s parks gave guests the chance to experience – off the screen! – the best intellectual properties money could buy.
But just as importantly, such “studio” themed parks gave operators what they wanted, too… at these uniquely industrial parks, cavernous tan showbuildings and boxy “soundstages” could populate barren "studio lots." Where Disneyland and Magic Kingdom required immersion and detail, “studio” parks could instead feature convincing-enough streetscapes (or just open industrial plazas) that gave way to scaffolds, supports, and shelled facades with visible showbuildings towering behind.
Where EPCOT Center required brave and noble concepts in industrious pavilions, a “studio” park could place The Muppets and Star Wars in neighboring soundstages, explained away as a “working movie studio” where such inconsistencies were simply part of the fun.
But times change. Even by the latter half of the 1990s, the mystique of moviemaking was fading. VHS was making its exit as DVDs brought “behind the scenes” into our living rooms. The practical effects touted by Disney and Universal’s parks were becoming outdated remnants of yesteryear as digital effects became the leading choice.
Indeed, the 21st century left the public to take a second look at the Disney-MGM Studios (and its peers like the true
Disaster File: Walt Disney Studios Paris, above) for what it really was: a catch-all park that would serve to cram together any intellectual properties that couldn’t reasonably fit into Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Lacking the magic of the former and the ambitions of the latter, the “studio” concept was looking more and more like a dated cop-out.