Concept

The opening of the MGM Studios in May of 1989 revealed several things to the Walt Disney Company. First, that the park management and the regular line cast could meet a deadline, and it that the park was too small; something that was not immediately apparent to everyone involved. At its inception, MGM Studios "would only be a half-day adventure." The ticket price would be lower than the price of the other parks because there would be less content.

Other problematic concepts would quickly be changed. Like the 6 PM closing time and the statement that "the Great Movie Ride will never have more than a 45 minute wait." The thought before opening the park, was that as more attractions opened, the pressure on the individual elements would gradually decrease, and that there would be no need to expand the park. (In May of 1989 there were only 5 attractions open at the Studios.) In reality, the line for the Great Movie was closer to three hours, and stretched along the sidewalk in front of the building, and snaked down the entrance boulevard of the park. The line was so long in fact that it frequently got tangled up in the line for the Backstage Studio Tour which was also close to three hours. Six months after the grand opening, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular finished its technical rehearsal stage and was ready to open to the public, the opening of Star Tours followed. The Backstage Tour was detoured off of New York Street entirely to accommodate the large number of guests who were flocking to the new park. Expansion real estate was almost non-existent and a study was done to find a way to flesh out any remaining space at the park to handle the crowds. Two conclusions of the study were made. One: New York Street was far too big to be used as a traffic area for the Back Stage Tour, and so the focus remained on it as an area for attractions (like Muppetvision 3-D, and future stage shows) merchandise shops, and restaurants. Two: there was still a small parcel of land (which had recently been used as cast parking) that remained undeveloped.

Shortly after opening MGM Studios, the park was facing an identity crisis; was it Disney?, was it MGM?, didn't Ted Turner own MGM?, (People still ask befuddled cast members where that King Kong thing is!) At the same time, Disney was trying to associate itself with big Hollywood names and talent. In the last part of 1989 and the early part of 1990 Disney Imagineering had been trying to develop a new concept; a resort with a haunted theme, combined with a ride experience. What emerged from this miasma of influences was an idea for a "Haunted Hollywood Hotel." The big name that was to be associated with it was Mel Brooks. Well, as anyone who has worked in imagineering or any creative endeavor can tell you, things change as they move from concept, to drawing board, to blueprint, to actual attraction. Somehow Mel Brooks dropped out, probably for the better, as Mel would not have enjoyed the "If it doesn't work, cut it" ideology. Then, the idea of it being an actual resort where guests would check in and stay for a period of time was also dropped. This was probably also quite a good idea as the liability of having an attraction in, around or near an actual hotel would be enormous. Finally, the idea started to take some form as the decision was made to build it as a thrill ride. It was also decided that the building would be abandoned or semi abandoned, and it was to remain in the theme of a hotel. The drawings, conceptual models and the initial ride ideas started to be formulated during this period.

So You Want A Thrill Ride

As "drop thrill" rides go, there are many variations of the ten story version, which lifts a cab full of guests up to the top of a tower, switches to a track and then releases the guests who "free fall" to the curve in the track where they lay reclined as the cab comes to a stop. As this type of ride was widely used, it was believed to be fairly reliable, easy to duplicate, and no trick at all to theme out (Disney folks being expert at this). All that was needed was a location at the Studio, a general theme, some planning, and a capital expenditure. The new expansion of the theme park was also being planned and attractions figured prominently in the new designs. The general theme of the expansion being "Sunset Boulevard," it was thought that a "Dick Tracy" ride and "Benny the Cab" ride would be appropriate. In either event, the thrill ride would have to be far enough away to allow a smooth transition from the clean look of the rest of the park to the area that housed a dilapidated hotel.