Backlot

The Backlot area of Hollywood Studios [1] is not, oddly enough, where the Backlot Tour is. Rather, this somewhat haphazard agglomeration of rides and attractions seems more like the area where the park designers said “We’ve got some cool stuff…now, where do we put it?”

Given its location in the back corner of the park, it’s actually quite easy to miss most of the Backlot area, especially the expansive Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground (which is adjacent to a food court with plenty of seating for grown-ups) and the superlative Muppet*Vision 3D attraction.

Although Disney’s abilities with the production of these 3-D theaters has improved in the years since Muppet*Vision 3D debuted in 1991, none have been able to approach the relaxed combination of smart-aleck humor, slapstick gags, and pie-in-your-face 3-D effects. (And yes, Statler and Waldorf provide plenty of heckling from their box seats.) One of the last productions overseen by Jim Henson, it has all of the charm and wit the Muppets were known for…but in 3-D.

Fans of the Star Wars movies may never get the fully-fledged theme park they’ve long pined for, but until then there’s Star Tours, a motion-simulator ride produced in collaboration with George Lucas. While the only movie character to make an appearance is C-3PO, the ride still evokes the thrill of flying a StarSpeeder 3000 through a galaxy far, far away. This is another attraction from the early days of the theme park, and it could greatly stand for a refurbishing to take advantage of the 20 years of digital technology that have happened in the meantime.

Four Disney parks have a Star Tours attraction, but only Hollywood Studios [1] has the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy, a live-action stage show that allows kids to interact with Chewbacca, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and other characters from the films.

In keeping with the Backlot theme, there are two movie-themed stunt shows, the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show—which shows off an array of chase-scene and car stunts—and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which, predictably, re-creates scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark.