Chinese Theatre in the Sun at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World

The morning sun illuminates the courtyard at the reproduction of the Chinese Theatre at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World.

As you may have noticed here, although our visits to Disney’s Hollywood Studios have been limited over the last few years, I have a certain fascination with the Chinese Theatre at that park. And also with the sun, even though rainy days have their good points, too. So this one photo from our December visit blends the two of those together rather well, wouldn’t you say? Thanks to the wide nature of the fabulous fisheye lens, I was able to incorporate most of the large courtyard into this one photo as we were hurriedly rushing through the line to the Great Movie Ride, which is located inside the Chinese Theatre.

Of course, this is a replica of the actual Chinese Theatre, or at least of its facade, found in the real Hollywood in California. It appears to be a quite faithful replica, because when I glance at a photo of the real thing (which I have not yet seen in person), I have to look twice to see if I am looking at a photo from California or from Florida. The Florida version even follows the lead of the originals by having handprints and footprints from celebrities in the courtyard, although I don’t know that any prints have been added recently.

Remember back in the old days when they used to have a Star of the Day, who would be in a parade followed by a handprint ceremony? I think the biggest star I ever saw there was Jane Seymour.  As her motorcade parade was passing by, I overheard one young lad say, “What has she been in?” His father answered dutifully, “Lots of movies and television shows.” “Like what?” “Well, I can’t name any of them, but lots.” That was before she hit the big time on the small screen as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, by the way.

Another photo, but of the same Chinese Theatre and the same sun. Just in case you thought they were different. As you get farther out, you can tell a little more that this isn’t the real thing. First off, the Great Movie Ride signs are a dead giveaway. Because the real Chinese Theatre doesn’t have a ride in it, but just movies. Also, you can see down the way here, and the surroundings definitely aren’t like they are on the real Hollywood Boulevard. I’m not saying that this one is better than the original or anything, but its location is definitely different. But if I were to attempt to photograph this same view of the original Chinese Theatre, I would have been run over by a car by now. And I probably wouldn’t have even gotten the photo first.

While the Chinese Theatre at Disney’s Hollywood Studios does look great in the sun and underneath a blue sky, it also looks cool at night, as well:

You can read more about the nighttime view in the earlier post Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and you can see a larger version of the photo above as well as a few other photos, too.

So while the Sorcerer Hat that used to be in front of the Chinese Theatre created some rather cool photo opportunities, I am ultimately glad that it has been removed to give even better views of this recreation of a famous Hollywood landmark.

A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray. - Proverbs 25:11

About the photos:

As I mentioned earlier, each photo was shot with a fisheye lens, which was my go-to lens for most of our December trip. What can I say? I really like the wide angles it captures.

Processing was similar for both photos, and they both use most of what are my current standard processing techniques, meaning that they end up looking quite a bit like all of my other photos. But when there is a nice, sunny day with a brilliant blue sky, how can you desaturate the colors? That just screams for bold, bright colors and nice warm tones. So I brought those out just a bit, as you can see in this before-and-after version of the first photo:

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: December 22, 2016
Location: Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Florida