CelEARbrities

In April of 1989, Disney released the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park News, a publication aimed at making media outlets aware of the third gate that was opening at Walt Disney World on May 1. Inside the newspaper were articles on the attractions and experiences guest could encounter while on a real working studio lot. Articles included an annotated aerial photograph of the site still under construction, the Official Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Television Broadcasting in the United States, Mickey’s LiMOUSEine, Catastrophe Canyon, the Great Movie Ride, and plenty more.

With all of the content crammed into this twelve page broadsheet, one of the items that would be easy to overlook is the CelEARbrities. While in the modern era celebrity and character interactions are everyday occurrences and easily available on the internet for the curious, in 1989 locating an oft mentioned photo opportunity could mean scouring endless stacks of periodicals in search of the captured moment. In the bottom corner of one of the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park News pages sit photos of Mary Steenburgen, Julio Iglesias, George Michael, Robert Vaughn, and Patrick Duffy in the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, and Disney-MGM Studios with a veritable who’s who of Disney celebrity. Perhaps the most historical significant, or maybe just fondly remembered, is the image of Patrick Duffy with Future World Mickey and Goofy.We'll be taking a closer look at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park News throughout this spring as Disney-MGM Studios/Disney’s Hollywood Studios approaches the celebration of its two decades of Hollywood magic.