Retro Disney World Podcast

The Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure was one of the early attractions at the Disney-MGM Studios that opened in late 1990, following the success of the film Honey I Shrunk the Kids which opened in 1989. Before we start, let’s read a small blurb from a WDW press photo:

‘A Big Ride For Little Tykes: Kids who visit the ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure’ can climb on board an extra-large sized ant, just like in the hit movie! The gigantic scaled backyard play area is the newest addition to the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park and has made a ‘big’ impression on park visitors. With three-story-tall blades of grass, lifeboat-sized cereal bits, and a twenty-foot tall paper clip, the re-creation of the movie set allows guests to experience the special effects of movie-making firsthand (1991)’

In this episode we start with the film itself and the success of this movie. Back then, this movie was made way different and it lent perfectly to the Disney-MGM Studios and the reason for the park attractions. We dig into the ride from start to finish, including the location at MGM-Studios and how each little part of this attraction was presented. If you attended this as an adult or a child, you had different experiences. As a kid, it was an amazingly cool playground that made you really feel like you were in the movies. As an adult, it was a chance to take a minute to relax, and most times, the adults participated with their kids, which is awesome.

This entire attraction lasted until 2016, which is insane if you think about it. We also get into some rehabs that occurred, which saw some new add-ons put into the play area due to sponsorships and partnerships. Some items were needed while others were very specifically placed for a reason. Overall, this was super close to an opening day attraction for MGM-Studios and everyone treats it as one of the originals from that park, which it felt like. Nowadays, this is currently Galaxy’s Edge and there really is nothing left of it. We hope you enjoy this look back on this classic attraction that took the concept of a playground and ramped it up to an eleven.