Is There A Place for Television at the Disney Parks?
Have you ever been asked that conversation starter question about your passions? “If you had to talk about one subject without stopping for an hour in order to stay alive, what would you pick?" Most of the time, many pick obvious answers to this silly hypothetical: their family, recent movies, a book they love. For me, I would talk about the ABC Soap Opera Bistro from Disney’s California Adventure.
As the park celebrated its birthday last month, I dove back into the archives to look at opening day attractions for the park during its most incohesive. No matter what people think of the park’s origins at large (I will always love you, Superstar Limo), I stand by my claim that the ABC Soap Opera Bistro is one of the most brilliant concepts Walt Disney Imagineering has ever created.
For those unfamiliar, the restaurant was a sit-down establishment in the park’s Hollywood Backlot area. The menu was rather basic; it featured a who's-who of theme park sit down staples. Yet, the fun factor came from the environment. Guests were able to sit in detailed recreations of sets from ABC’s famous soap operas (General Hospital, All My Children, and One Life to Live) while eating their meals. The experience brought guests into the world of television.
To add to the immersive experience, actors walked around creating improv soap opera scenes, including guests in the ridiculousness. “Here’s your salad, sir. Also, how DARE you steal my diamonds when I wasn’t looking!" “Can I get you something to drink, you treasonous sister, you?" It amped up the beloved insanity of the soap opera world by bringing guests front and center. It took something like Hollywood Studios’ 50s Prime-Time Cafe and amped it up. No longer were your waiters just your mom, but they were your fraternal evil twin looking to wreak havoc on your meal. How stupid! I love it!
At the height of ABC’s TGIT line-up and the Shonda Rhimes takeover of primetime network television, I yearned for something like the bistro to make a glorious return. Instead of the sets from General Hospital, why not sit in the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital lobby from Grey’s Anatomy or Olivia Pope’s offices from Scandal while eating? Imagine actors running around, bringing guests into the show’s “case of the week". Maybe someone could’ve ever taught you How To Get Away with Murder.
Alas, the Shonda-peak passed, yet network TV is (slowly, but surely) starting to make a rebound after years and years of steady declines. ABC brand recognition remains, thanks to series like the aforementioned Grey’s Anatomy or the runaway success of Abbott Elementary. Is there still a way in 2025 to incorporate Disney’s television hits within the theme parks?
When I was a kid and imagined becoming an imagineer, I remember writing a letter to Walt Disney World on a whim with suggestions of possible attractions. (Can you believe I was made fun of in elementary school? and middle school? and high school? Who would’ve guessed!) At the top of my copy paper packet was the idea to bring The Pie Hole to Disney’s MGM Studios. Based on the ABC series Pushing Daisies, the pie spot from the series would’ve been a perfect addition to the Streets of America, adding a bit of ABC IP through delicious desserts. Of course, nothing came of it. Because I was eleven.
From 2007 to 2025, the theme parks still can’t figure out how to incorporate television into their parks in a meaningful way. While television’s legacy is more fleeting (it’s hard to represent a currently airing show without knowledge of how the pop culture zeitgeist will remember it in the decades to follow), it’s odd how no one has tried to maximize these show’s fanbases by turning them into concrete experiences. In recent years, the only concrete instance of this seems to be the Rumpelstiltskin sign that hung in Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a few years. It was nothing more than a sign, yet fans still loved seeing Once Upon A Time represented in the flesh.
If the currently-running is the biggest worry when it comes to viability, why not first start off with ABC’s legacy shows? Grey’s Anatomy, while still running, has cemented itself as a show that will be remembered for decades to come, whether or not it’s running. Why not build a mini Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for guests? Is there a way to have a mini Tool Time photo opportunity from Home Improvement? What about a real-life Chill Grill for fans of That’s So Raven? The breadth of beloved television produced by ABC Studios, Disney Channel, and 20th Television is profound. Why not flip the remote to find a path to bring television back to the parks? The fans will thank you. (I will only thank you if the ABC Soap Opera Bistro returns, however.)