Sunset Boulevard Photo Tour
-- Sunset Boulevard Shops --
Photos by Brian Bennett and Ian Parkinson
Here is a photo tour from my most recent
visit to the Disney - MGM Studios. I've tossed in some pictures
by fellow MousePlaneteer Ian Parkinson to round things out a bit.
Sunset Boulevard Shops | Attractions
| Beverly Sunset
Shops
The Sunset Boulevard area of the Disney MGM Studios was
not open when the park originally opened in 1989. The Studios, at
that time, consisted of Hollywood Boulevard, the Echo Lake area, New York
Street, and the back lot.
In 1994, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened in the
Hollywood Tower Hotel. The shops along Sunset Boulevard had been
open for quite some time, but there was very little traffic down the street
since it's weenie, the Tower, wasn't yet operational.
At the very intersection of Hollywood and Sunset in the
park, there is an information booth and tip board. The tip board
provides information about the status of all of the attractions in the
park. The information booth is staffed to allow guests to make priority
seating arrangements at any of the park's restaurants. This is convenient,
especially for day visitors that don't have ready access to the dining
reservation service from their hotel rooms.
Just next to that information area is this lovely little
fountain. Behind it, in the picture, you can see Keystone Clothiers
on Hollywood across from the intersection.
Behind the trellis is Starring Rolls, the parks bakery.
If you're in the park early and you're dying for some coffee and pastries,
Starring Rolls is the place to visit.
Back on the other side of Sunset, there is a series of shops
that sell all kinds of wares. The row begins with Legends of Hollywood.
Just in front, though, is this pin trading station. You can't go
far in a WDW park without seeing a pin trading station, now can you?
The front of Legends of Hollywood is dressed up as a theatre
marquee. You'll see that treatment repeated at the end of the row
in a few minutes.
Of course, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and
Roo can all be found here on mugs, key chains, plush stuffed animals,
and just about anything else you can imagine.
Note, in this older picture, that the marquee doesn't have
Pooh's name in the premiere banner.
The purpose of showing this picture, though, is to point
out the large amount of people that hang out here on Sunset for rope drop.
The Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster are both E-ticket attractions
that draw big crowds. Arriving early is one way to minimize wait time
in the queue... but you'll still end up waiting here.
The Planet Hollywood Super Store has another cinema marquee
styling on the exterior.
Inside you can find just about anything that a movie/MTV
fan could possibly want. As for me, I usually walk through this
shop fairly quickly on the way to somewhere else... but that's just me.
Sunset Club Couture sells upscale clothing, jewelry, and
accessories. (I had to look that one up myself. "Couture"
is a word that means clothing or fashion store. Hey, we all learn
from MousePlanet!)
Watches, earrings, necklaces, rings and other things are
available here. It's a nice store and generally not too crowded.
The shop also has sports clothes, hats, and other merchandise,
too.
Mouse About Town is the first of several shops that make
up the Sunset Boulevard Shops (as they're known on the park guidemap).
This is a neat example of some nice art deco treatment. I love the
round bay windows, the rounded store marquee and the slatted windows above.
Here's a picture of another entrance into the row of stores.
It's much more subdued, but bridges the Mouse About Town and the Carthay
Circle Theatre facades very nicely.
And here is the Carthay Circle Theatre. Incidentally,
the real Carthay Circle Theatre was the one that Snow White and the Seven
Dwarves premiered in back in 1937 or thereabouts.
People at WDW must think I really weird, but I take an awful
lot of pictures of ceilings while I'm down there. Here's a classic
one, the Carthay Circle Theatre ceiling, with a great set of arches, a
fantastic chandelier, and a ton of art deco detail.
The Carthay Circle Theatre sells a lot of household items.
China, dishes, kitchen tools, and the like are available.
The store also has a great collection of mugs. if
you're into mug collecting or just like having a nice, big mug for that
morning coffee, you can find several here.
Cutting boards, oven mitts, creamers and sugar bowls, aprons
and other stuff are, too.
Hot pads, toasters, waffle irons, cookie jars, tea pots,
and other trinkets are displayed here.
Now Sesame Street fans, "which one thing just doesn't
belong?" One of the oddest things in the store, which doesn't
really match up with anything else, is the in-store artist that can draw
and fabricate a custom watch for you. It's really a nice thing, but I
think it would fit better in the more upscale stores down the row... at
least as far as themeing goes.
Sunset Boulevard Shops | Attractions
| Beverly Sunset
Shops
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