At the end of Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Hollywood Boulevard still stands that magnificent reproduction of the famous Chinese Theatre. For so many of us who loved the original Disney-MGM Studios, this was the icon we connected to most. For nearly three decades it housed The Great Movie Ride, the crown jewel attraction that pulled you straight into the heart of old Hollywood.
Even though the ride sadly closed in 2017, the forecourt remains, and with it one of the park’s most meaningful bits of history: the celebrity handprints and footprints in cement, created just like the originals in Hollywood.
For longtime fans, this courtyard is one of the few parts of the park that hasn’t been reinvented or re-themed. It’s a small, unassuming area, but it carries the spirit of what the studios park used to be, back when movie production, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and Hollywood glam were the entire point.
When Disney-MGM Studios opened in 1989, celebrities who visited were invited to leave their mark in freshly poured cement, just as they would at the original Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (now known as the TCL Chinese Theater) in California. These impressions were created by the performers themselves, each one stamped with a date and sometimes a personal message, or their children’s signatures.
During the park’s early years, this courtyard buzzed with premieres, TV specials, and special events. For a while, it genuinely felt like a working studio.
Those early slabs are still sitting exactly where they were placed over 30 years ago. You can still find impressions from Audrey Hepburn (which is actually a funny story…), George Lucas, Robin Williams, Paul Reubens (who voiced the original Star Tours’ Rex, but signed as Pee-Wee Herman) Steve Martin, and the cast of The Golden Girls. Jim Henson’s is a favorite, complete with Kermit’s adorable little footprints alongside his own in faded green cement.
Here’s a full list of who you can find today:
- Eddie Albert
- June Allyson
- Alan Alda
- Harry Anderson
- Annette [Funicello]
- Lauren Bacall
- Warren Beatty
- Robby Benson
- Pat Boone
- George Burns
- Carol Burnett
- LeVar Burton
- C-3PO and R2-D2
- Carol Channing
- Cyd Charisse
- Chevy Chase
- Dick Clark
- Jackie Cooper
- David Copperfield
- Macaulay Culkin
- Tom Cruise
- Tony Curtis
- Geena Davis
- Rebecca DeMornay
- Gerard Depardieu
- Danny DeVito
- Neil Diamond
- Phyllis Diller
- Donald Duck
- Patty Duke
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Jamie Farr
- Harrison Ford
- John Forsythe
- Michael J. Fox
- Estelle Getty
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Goofy
- Louis Gossett Jr.
- Elliott Gould
- Mark Hamill
- Daryl Hannah
- Jim Henson
- Audrey Hepburn
- Pee-Wee Herman
- Charlton Heston
- Dustin Hoffman
- Hulk Hogan
- Bob Hope
- Ernie Hudson
- Kate Jackson
- Michael Jackson
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Billy Joel
- Van Johnson
- George Kennedy
- Charlie Korsmo
- Dorothy Lamour
- Michael Landon
- Angela Lansbury
- Jerry Lewis
- Ray Liotta
- George Lucas
- Ann Margaret
- Steve Martin
- Rue McClanahan
- Ed McMahon
- Bette Midler
- Ann Miller
- Liza Minnelli
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Rick Moranis
- Pat Morita
- Mickey Mouse
- Minnie Mouse
- Leonard Nimoy
- Donald O’Connor
- Maureen O’Sullivan
- Jack Palance
- Roger Rabbit
- Tony Randall
- Regis Philbin
- Jane Powell
- Jason Priestly
- Burt Reynolds
- John Ritter
- The Rocketeer
- Jane Russell
- Susan Sarandon
- Charlie Sheen
- Martin Short
- Sylvester Stallone
- Suzanne Somers
- Sally Jo Sousa
- Sissy Spacek
- Sally Struthers
- Lily Tomlin
- John Travolta
- Cicely Tyson
- Dick Van Dyke
- Jim Varney
- Patrick Wayne
- Betty White
- Cindy Williams
- Robin Williams
While Hollywood Studios has changed dramatically over the last few decades, and most of its filmmaking elements have been replaced by lands based on movie franchises like Star Wars and Toy Story, the handprint courtyard is one of the last remaining ties to the original park’s DNA. There’s something charmingly old-school about it. The slabs are handwritten, imperfect, and full of personality. You can walk through slowly, read the messages, find familiar names, and feel that early MGM nostalgia settle in.
It’s one of my most favorite things to take in as I slowly make my way to the park’s exit at the end of a Hollywood Studios evening. Once Runaway Railway’s front doors close up at park close, you have the entire courtyard to peruse at your leisure.
It may not be an advertised attraction, but for those who remember what the park used to be, these handprints and footprints offer something rare: a piece of the movie-making magic park that still feels exactly like it did in 1989.
