The Walt Disney World Resort recently announced that Disney-MGM Studios will change its name to Disney’s Hollywood Studios by January 2008.

Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton explained the changes: “The new name reflects how the park has grown from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer — in music, television, movies and theater. As Disney continues to grow and invest in our family entertainment business, we constantly explore new ways to deliver high-quality, immersive experiences for our guests. As a park all about entertainment, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will deliver like never before. Now we can say that Hollywood is literally our middle name”

It will be interesting to see how the theme park changes over the next year. I remember when it first opened - I fell in love with MGM because it showcased the golden age of Hollywood. With new attractions and a new parade based on popular Pixar films, it will be interesting to see how a theme park audience will respond to a forward-looking, movie-based theme park.

In addition to the name change, new attractions and experiences are also in the works. The most interesting of these additions would seem to be “Toy Story Mania!” which will put guests in an interactive “Toy Story” competition, zipping into a world of exciting midway-style games hosted by many of their favorite “Toy Story” characters.

This sounds a lot like the current Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin ride at the Magic Kingdom, only more interactive. If that’s the case, the ride should be a blast and very repeatable for those of us that head out to the parks more than a few times during the year. Too bad we’ll have to wait until the summer of 2008 to find out.

For complete information on the name change, check out the press release at www.wdwnews.com.

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