Mouse Extra

…or at least until you can think of something better.

Today’s Web Check column concerns an article on mgmstudios.org by Matt Hochberg.   Just to give you a little background on Matt, he has this great website, as well as awesome tribute sites for the Rock n’ Rollercoaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, as well as one of the best Disney World podcasts on the internet called WDW Today.   Bookmark all of Matt’s sites.  They are great fun.

Now, let’s talk about this piece called “Move the Hat!”.  As you can probably imagine, he’s referring to the big sorcerer hat in front of the Great Movie Ride at the Disney-MGM Studios.   I am one of the few people I know who truly like the hat, and do not want to see it removed or even relocated without some better idea for a park icon in its place.   Matt has a good idea, but I don’t think it addresses all the concerns.  He wants it moved directly above the turnstiles…

Think about how cool it would be to walk under the hat as you enter the park.   To quote Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park when they drive into the park, “What do they got in there? King Kong?”  The Hat’s larger than life aspect to it would be a grand spire that would set the tone for the park.

This is not a bad idea, and certainly better than the idea of simply tossing it into the Seven Seas Lagoon that most anti-hatters give me.   The problem here is that Matt and I don’t agree with this basic premise….

The problem with the hat is its location.  Basically, it ruined the Great Movie Ride courtyard.

I don’t care about that at all.  In fact, that big open space is rather silly.   But more importantly, I don’t want the Theater as the weenie in the center of the park.  It already failed in that role.  There is nothing at all creative about replicating this building, and having it front and center makes the place look like a bad imitation of Hollywood and not something unique or magical.  This was the problem I had with the Studios from the get-go.  The themeing was sub-par and boring.   They went after a 1930’s era look, but only got halfway there.  The hat at least hides some of the less interesting architecture behind something truly unique to Disney, and also from the proper period in film history.

But I am always open for ideas, and Matt has a reasonable one.   But his idea does not address the problem of that Great Movie Ride courtyard area being open and boring.  So what can be done?   Instead of moving the hat, why not keep it and change the exterior of the buildings on Hollywood Boulevard.  The idea of the “Hollywood’s Golden Era” has long since been abandoned by the Imagineers.   Perhaps something more fantastic is in order, something that better matches the sorcerer and not the other way around.  Any ideas???   (We’ll save those for another post)