Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Watercolor
Sort of Like the Old Days
The Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios is the newest in the Walt Disney World watercolor series from Steve’s Sketchbook. Yes, the park is known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios now. But I like to think of this as being the old days with the original name.
One way you can tell this is from the old days is because the Earfful Tower is still there. That was the name of the Mickey Mouse shaped water tower that was there when they were going for a “working movie studio” theme. These days, the theme is just more of a general movies theme. However, a Star Speeder from Star Tours zooms overhead. Disney history fans will remember that Star Tours did not open until almost eight months after the park itself opened. So while this artwork represents the early Disney-MGM Studios years, it is not necessarily representative of that first year. Also, the Earfful Tower was not actually that close to the Chinese Theater. That is what we call artistic license.
I do have lots of fond memories of those old Disney-MGM Studios days. It was an exciting time, probably due in part to the fact that the whole park was fresh and new and different. It still is fun now, of course, and I am sure that the new Star Wars addition is great. I will see it in person one of these days.
Hindsight
In hindsight, maybe I should have developed this a little further. This view makes it look like the Chinese Theater is all that is there at the end of the street. Some other buildings or something else might have been nice. But then that would have taken some of the focus off of the Chinese Theater. I like having it as the center of attention, especially because for so many years it was hidden by a larger Sorcerer hat. The hat was nice enough, but I like the view of the theater even better.
I always did like the spotlights coming from behind the theater at night, so I included them here. Also, I have seen that they installed new spotlights in just the last few weeks. So I must not have been the only one who liked them. Others have been using their hindsight, too.
Bible Verse
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. - Proverbs 14:29
About the Artwork
I do not have much different to say than what I have said in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot posts. All of these have been stylized looks at the parks and not photo-realistic looks. I can take photos for that. For these, I just wanted to capture the feel of each park, or at least what I feel of each park. Once I do the last one (which I have not started yet), I might try something different, like attraction-specific pieces. And maybe not just outside architecture, either. That would be a fun next step!
