WDW Magazine April 2016 - Disney's Hollywood Studios | Page 135

There were four stops to this tour. The first stop took you inside
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. You got to see a short clip
featuring the puppies from the movie combined with
information about some of the animatronic puppets, including
Kipper, a mechanical dog. There was a model of Kipper, without
the fur, so you could see how this “movie dog” worked.
In the second stop, the Special Effects Shooting Stage, a
volunteer was chosen to sit on a fake bike in front of a blue
screen. Using movie magic, the selected guest was inserted into
a scene where they acted as though they were on a runaway
bike, just like Roger in the live action film 101 Dalmatians.
The third stop was a tour bridge over the soundstages.
Sometimes they were used as working soundstages where
guests got the chance to watch something actually being
filmed. In the spring of 1997 some lucky guests got to watch
Tom Hanks film From the Earth to the Moon. If there wasn’t a
show on the soundstages, the guests received an overview of
different productions that were filmed there over the years.
Just before the fourth and final stop of the tour, guests
watched a small video to set the stage for how soundstages
are used to create movie magic. Once the doors opened,
guests were able to peek in on the fantastic world of Cruella
De Ville. Guests got the chance to see part of the mansion
interior, Cruella’s office, and Cruella’s car.

DATES IN
DISNEY
HISTORY
APRIL
Disney’s All-Star Sports
Resort opened on April
24, 1994
Disney’s Animal
Kingdom opened on
April 22, 1998
Blizzard Beach opened
on April 1, 1995
Expedition Everest
opened on April 7, 2006
Gran Fiesta Tour starring
The Three Caballeros
opened on April 2, 2007

Disney’s Backstage Pass to 101 Dalmatians closed in 2001.

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Masimore