Disney-MGM Studios name change official! (Merged)

[Coheteboy]

MGM gets a name change and its a huge news, but DCA gets a billion dollar makeover, and Disney hasn't even acknowledged it. I wonder if Disney ever will.

MGM's new name is equivalent to them saying that the park is never finished and that it reflects the changing atmosphere... and that Disney is doing their part to bringing the best overall experience to their guests.


DCA's $1billion dollar budget is admitting that they were wrong to be so cheap. But they're still doing their part to bringing the best overall experience to their guests. And besides... they only have a budget and no concrete plans on what the money will be spent on specifically. Which is why no announcement was made.

[TheDisneyInquisitor]

MGM gets a name change and its a huge news, but DCA gets a billion dollar makeover, and Disney hasn't even acknowledged it. I wonder if Disney ever will.

It's one thing to say "hey, our contract is over with MGM and we are changing a popular park's name." It is a whole other thing to say "Hey, our park is crappy. We need to put over a billion dollars in it to make it bearable."

[Speedway]

It sounds like something you'd read in a discussion thread, and you'd cringe at.

[NatdRat]

I, like many others, think that the soon-to-be-new moniker is a bit of a dissapointment, but it could've been sooooo much worse. So while it may take a little time to get used to it, I can see it working in the long run.

Besides, to many of us it will always be Disney Studios/ Dis MGM.

[DisneyIPresume]

A lot of money to fix DCA is needed more than a name change. With DCA they could change the name all they want but it is going to do absolutely nothing to fix up their Hollywood Pictures Backlot. In California people know the real Hollywood is a dive, and with the Hollywood Pictures Backlot Disney had their chance to show what the real Hollywood could be and what it represents. Instead DCA got something mediocre at best and nothing to show any type of improvement over the real thing, except there are no homeless people, hookers, and drug dealers crawling all over the place.

Money is what is needed to fix DCA. The name change is sufficient in Florida because it is far enough from the real Hollywood for people to really notice a huge discrepancy.

[WDW1974]

As one of the 'insiders' here, I admit I'm very surprised by this. I had never heard this mentioned as a possible rebranding.

The ones I heard were Disney-Pixar (which by far was the one most felt they were going with), The Walt Disney Studios (which frankly sounds like the name of a movie studio and not a theme park) and Disney Studios Florida (which would have been perfect like a decade ago when the place actually was a working studio).

The name to me is just ... blah.

Not as bad as Disney's California Adventure, which has to go down as the worst Disney name for a theme park and one of the worst period, but close.

Disney's Hollywood Studios ... it's just blah. It's not evocative of what the park is all about ... at least now.

I haven't had a chance to speak with anyone at Disney yet, although I've shot a few messages out. But the only thing I can think of that pushed them into this from Disney-Pixar Studios is likely that the LucasFilm properties are going to have a much more prominent role (you might say, a starring one!) in the years ahead and they didn't want to piss George off by totally branding it Disney ... I dunno.

I think if that's the direction they were headed then simply the Disney Studios would have been fine.

The park has strayed far from its 'Hollywood that never was and always will be' roots when opened in 1989 ... unless they're planning on really going back to that (maybe using some of the new DCA concepts?) I just don't get it.

There's nothing Hollywood about a giant tacky hat ... or much of what's gone in there the past decade.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

I agree Disney's Hollywoodland WOULD be a better name.

Disney's Hollywood Studios sounds a lot like Universal Studios Hollywood.

You'd expect them to be about the same - and to be in California.

Further confusion stems from there being a Hollywood, Florida already.

And couldn't the casual newspaper reader on a flight to LA from Minnesota possibly read a blurb about this and expect to find a Disney Studio park in Hollywood when they get to California?

Personally I think they shouldnt rebrand it with something that causes confusion about the park's location (Florida) or purpose (studio). Or anything that draws a comparison to Universal's parks.

[WDW1974]

It's one thing to say "hey, our contract is over with MGM and we are changing a popular park's name." It is a whole other thing to say "Hey, our park is crappy. We need to put over a billion dollars in it to make it bearable."

Mikey ... DCA isn't a crappy park. You might know that if you actually went there.

What it is, is a very flawed one based on a new business model (by your old idol Eisner) that put shops and dining ahead of things like ... well, attractions ... and theming ...

And I sincerely doubt there EVER will be a statement that Disney is spending $1.3 billion to improve DCA because that would be almost saying what you did. What you'll get are announcements about new attractions and entertainment at a much quicker clip than we're accustomed to as they get to work on making DCA the wonderful park that it really can be.

Unfortunately, there are no $1.3 billion plans for the MK ... and Epcot and Disney-MG... oops, I mean Disney's Hollywood Studios too!

[Coheteboy]

Say it with me, friends. DHS. DHS. Yuu're gonna see those three letters a whole lot more now.

[Cmash95]

If this has been said already I am sorry but I didn't read all four pages. I believe that they chose the hollywood name because most of the attractions at the studios aren't based on disney or pixar but other hollywood attractions. I.E. TOT, INDIE, GMR, RNRC, etc. that way all attractions in the park are included in the umberella of "hollywood" and you can base other attractions on movies that aren't disney.

[Tim Lyons]

The name is ok. I like Walt Disney Studios Florida better, but at every turn that they take away Walts name the more people will forget hios methods.

[WDW1974]

It sounds like something you'd read in a discussion thread, and you'd cringe at.

It is kinda cringeworthy, Speedy.

[Witches of Morva]

ORWEN: Well, I'm TRYING to practice saying it as much as I can--

ORGOCH: --I like Dizzy M&M's best, my own dang self. This new one's gonna' be Dizzy's Follywood Studios I guess...

[EvilQueen]

so the Disney Hollywood California Studios of Florida didn't get the OK?

[pussnboots]

I agree Disney's Hollywoodland WOULD be a better name.

Disney's Hollywood Studios sounds a lot like Universal Studios Hollywood.

You'd expect them to be about the same - and to be in California.

Further confusion stems from there being a Hollywood, Florida already.

And couldn't the casual newspaper reader on a flight to LA from Minnesota possibly read a blurb about this and expect to find a Disney Studio park in Hollywood when they get to California?

Personally I think they shouldnt rebrand it with something that causes confusion about the park's location (Florida) or purpose (studio). Or anything that draws a comparison to Universal's parks.

I completely agree. I think it's kind of in the same league as "Disney's California Adventure", although that actually is in California obviously. Mentioning a real geographic location in the name of a park is just a bad idea, period.