Disney's Hollywood Studios

The change of name is official now, but there are still lots of signs around property that still mention Disney - MGM Studios. The water tower is still being painted, and there still is no sign above the arch way to the Animation Courtyard.
The signs on I-4 touting Studios attractions have all been changed to reflect the new name. I imagine they are not too concerned to change the signs on property so much yet, because it would just confuse our guests more. If they are not aware of the name change. So a gradual change makes more sense.
Toy Story Mania is coming along really wonderfully. I am very excited about it. Mickey Avenue will become Pixar Place. I tell everyone to "Pardon our Pixar Dust". They are laying down brick work to the building and the surrounding area. It will resemble the Pixar studios when finished. The bricks being used are from the company that supplied them for the original Pixar Studios. It will be breathtaking when finished.
Playhouse Disney just reopened. Bear in the Big Blue House is no longer there. sigh. They have added the Mickey Mouse Club, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins.
The Jedi Training Academy is a hit, and is so very popular. The new permanent stage is awesome and the show is fantastic.
The parade floats have arrived for BlockParty Bash coming to the park from Disney's California Adventure. This is a huge parade and it will be interesting to see how it works in our small park. The speakers have been put in along the parade route, the roads around the park in the cast areas have been reinforced. The weight of the floats would have crushed our streets. For sure it is the biggest parade to come to the Studios.
So, we have a new name, new attractions, new parade. Disney's Hollywood Studios is the place to be in 2008!

Awesome LV! I hope to continue to hear more updates from the beloved Studios

Since the name change of Disney-MGM Studios, i had wondered what would become of all the MGM Movie content in the Great Movie Ride. Well i found an article about the parks Name Change at Yesterland.com and it said

"...what about all the MGM content in The Great Movie Ride? Well, let’s see who made the films depicted in that ride and who holds the copyrights... Footlight Parade (1933) was a Warner Bros. film. And so was The Public Enemy (1931), starring James Cagney. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was Lucasfilm production, released in the U.S. by Paramount Pictures. Casablanca (1942) was a Warner Bros.-First National Pictures film. Alien (1979) was made by Brandywine Productions Ltd. and released in the U.S. through Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. Mary Poppins and Fantasia are, of course, from Walt Disney Productions.

How about the famous MGM musical, Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain (1952)? And the great MGM favorite The Wizard of Oz (1939)? After all, it’s the biggest, most complex scene in the entire ride. And how about the MGM films Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934), both starring Johnny Weissmuller? All of these MGM classics are now owned by Warner Bros., along with the entire pre-1986 library of MGM movies. That’s because Ted Turner bought MGM/UA Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian in 1986. Turner quickly sold most of MGM/UA’s assets—including the MGM and United Artists trademarks, which he sold back to Kerkorian. Turner kept the pre-1986 movies and television programs for his Turner Broadcasting System television empire. Turner merged with Time Warner (parent of Warner Bros.) in 1996.

With some exceptions, The Great Movie Ride is really The Great Movies-That-Are-Owned-By-Warner-Bros. Ride

Actually, some of MGM’s most valuable properties, including The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain, were never part of the overall contract between MGM and Disney. They were excluded from the contract and licensed separately.

Disney doesn’t disclose the terms of their licensing agreements with Warner Bros. and the other copyright holders of The Great Movie Ride content. Presumably, Warner Bros. and the others are happy to take Disney’s money to allow Disney to publicize their older movies (which might even translate to additional DVD sales for those companies). But if, for some reason, one of the contracts can’t be renewed at some point, it would be easy for Disney to change out a scene in the ride.

In any case, there’s no reason to worry that the end of the licensing agreement with MGM also means closure of The Great Movie Ride."