Say Goodbye to the Sorcerer's Hat at Disney's Hollywood Studios

I wonder if they will put up something else hat-like, since they have been using the hat in their marketing as the symbol of the park the same way they use the catle, Spaceship earth, and the Tree of Life.

I wonder if the theater will even remain...according to some sources, they are at the very least redoing the entire interior of Great Movie Ride, this makes me wonder if they're taking it out entirely to put in a new centerpiece. (an even BIGGER sorceror's hat?

October 24th will be rued as the day the theme entertainment industry died.

A giant Olaf is going there instead

The Jack Sparrow thing was easily the worst thing you could possibly do at Disney, so I won't lose any sleep over seeing it go bye bye. As for the hat, yeah it was an obstruction, but I absolutely loved seeing it at night. If the Chinese Theatre is going to be the park icon again, shouldn't a Great Movie Ride update be in the works so that the attraction that draws you in doesn't look outdated? By the way, has anyone seen any work being done where the Backlot Tour used to be?

I wonder if this could possibly mean a new Buena Vista Street for the Studios! It would be nice to see the Studios get a DCA style makeover to better compete with Universal in Florida. With Backlot Tour closing, Sorcerer's Hat being knocked down and Legend of Jack Sparrow closing, something big that's been unannounced will soon be happening!

Time to do the Happy Dance! I am so glad it is finally going away!

Rumors are they will be closing indiana jones and muppets for star wars land and jack sparrow for more toy story rides and lights motor action and backlot tour for cars land AWESOME!!!!

I'm glad that they are getting rid of everything that was bad about that park. As someone already said above, a DCA makeover would be nice.

Did the car dealership or roadside tourist trap ask for their tacky cheap hat back? It would fit perfect in Dinoland USA. The Earffel Tower (the true icon of MGM) should become a viewing tower and bring back it's Santa hat.

Disney Hollywood Studios is gonna become HUGE.

I'm actually glad to see it go. I miss the façade of the Chinese Theatre at the end of the street.

It is becoming clear that Disney is reinventing that entire park - and good for them. The park needs new focus. I've said it before, I would be really happy to see Disney embrace a philosophy of showcasing classic movies as the focus of their Studios Park, and let Universal take the route of being hip-and-current movie ride showcase. Both are great ideas for a movie studio park. Disney is better poised to embrace the family classics than Universal. Run with it Mouse House. More variety in Florida means better vacations (and an emptier wallet, unfortunately).

B Goodwin writes: "It is becoming clear that Disney is reinventing that entire park ..."

I Reply: Add in Pandora and you can expand that perspective and post "Disney is reinventing the genre ... yet again."

I admit I bought the story that the hat was removed from the map to make the map easier to see and less cluttered. Now that the news is official, I'm really excited. As I'd mentioned previously, my annual pass expires October 31st, and I'm waiting for some concrete plans before I renew. I really love what I'm hearing so far, though I won't renew until well after the plans are revealed.

I don't know what Disney has in mind for Hollywood Studios, but I have quite a bit of optimism now, with the hat and stage leaving, in addition to the Backlot Tour and American Idol Experience having closed. These areas are all adjacent to Pixar Place, which makes me think they are being selective in their choices for what to close. It's not as if they closed Sci Fi Diner, Anaheim Produce, and One Man's Dream, which are not in any way connected.

I won't speculate on what they'll replace all of this with, but I hope it's grand. And considering the specific locations of what they've closed, or are closing/removing, it makes me think they have a cohesive plan in place.

I haven't been this excited about Disney in a long time. Go Big Mouse!

Adorable.

"don't count on seeing that view forever, going forward"

What are you not saying? Please more rumors.

I'm glad to see the hat go. I would like to take a photo of the theater in the background as intended. But I'll be upset if this is just a temporary reprieve.

While the hat should go, the stage should remain. That's the question of how they will put back the stage or relocate it. The stage became a fixture of the park. It'll seem strange to not see the stage anymore.

Anonymous user 71.180.66.239, The Orlando Cars Land rumors were officially dispelled by Disney a while ago. I'll miss that hat. It's been there my whole life.

Great news, I hope a red train and fun period appropriate entertainment rolls in soon.

I can't wait to see what happens in this park. I know people are saying it's not cars land because of what Disney said, but plans can change in a blink of an eye. All it takes is Disney not wanting to pay for research and development for a new land and BAM!!! We then can very likely have a cars land... Pixar place now has A LOT of room to expand... That's all I'm saying... All I'm asking is PLEASE don't give give us that crap you put on and Disney Studios and Hong Kong disneyland with toy story play land.. I'll just keep my money with Six Flags if that's the case.

I can't wait to see what they do with the Studios, I hope they give this park a complete DCA-type makeover because it needs it badly.

Are they just demolishing the hat or are they going to move it somewhere else? Can't wait to get pics of the theater again!

I'm seeing lots of mentioning of the stage (assuming the one they use for Star Wars weekends, etc). I was there last weekend. The stag was gone. Only the hat and the store below.

With George Kalogridis as President of WDW I would not be surprised to see some of the updates DCA received. The DCA refurbishment all happened under his leadership of Disneyland Resort.

Taking things away is only exciting if they're planning on replacing them with better things, *fingers crossed* could be some exciting developments!

I personally think the park needs a complete rebranding :-)

Hollywood Studios has a weird closure coming up in a few weeks; a Thursday at 4pm. Is that a private party or a press event?

This fits the perceived plan that the lagoon area will be filled in and become Star Wars. To support this, Idol and Sounds Dangerous are already closed. Indy is strongly rumored to close in early 2015. The hat becomes a major theme disruption for Star Wars and has to go.

The central walkway will undoubtedly change. They still need a break between the walkway and Star Wars that supports a sudden transition. It has to handle traffic volume. Effectively, we have a classic movie walkway, Star Wars on the left, disney animation to the right, and Pixar to the back. There's a lot of space to reconfigure the studios area to finish Pixar. Muppets may keep their corner. The ToT/ RnR coaster walkway is still a mashup for future work. Real question is if classic movies fits the new park or is it rebuilt with a new modern Disney studios theme built to support modern Disney marketing.

Bye Hat. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. (*cheers and lets off streamers*)

I'm waiting to hear people start complaining about it's removal due to it being a beloved icon of the park. hahahaha. Some people will complain about any removal these days. This one can't come soon enough for almost everybody. Great Hat, just in the wrong place.

The Prince Caspian thing was WAY worse than the Jack Sparrow thing.

I would love to see the hat moved to the entrance area, the place where they have displayed the Monsters University carved shrubs. This would allow it to still be used in promotional material for the park and would still allow guests to have this beloved photo opportunity while bringing back the original Old Hollywood look of DHS.

Only one thing comes to my mind: marvel attractions and rides

Noo! I'm so upset that the hat is leaving .Me and brothers have been able to make a lot of memories under that star clad sorcerer hat, and I was hoping to be able to relive those memories with my very young cousins.The back lot tour is not that upsetting because not a lot of people knew about it .But what will be 're pop leasing the iconic (at least for my generation ) hat ? Will the back lot tour area be used as another cast member spot or maybe a marvel attraction ?

- girl loves Disney

hasta la vista