Did you know that Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrated its 20th anniversary in May of this year? Ever since it was conceived in Walt Disney’s mind 4 decades or so ago, this theme park has reached unprecedented heights: it is now one of the most visited theme parks in the world. As with many other institutions, though, this park has its own secrets, and in celebration of the park’s 20th anniversary, the LA Times treated its readers to these secrets. Here are some of them.

Many buildings in the theme park are not as big as they seem. In fact, many of the architectural structures in Disney theme parks follow the concept of “forced perspective.” Following this concept, buildings have smaller scaling as one goes up. Many a visitor has found his mouth hang open in awe of the buildings thanks to forced perspective.

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is actually the first ever Disney roller coaster to invert riders. This applies to ALL of the Disney theme parks. So, more than an exciting ride, you’re also getting a piece of theme park history here!

The Sorcerer’s Hat is painted using a unique technique called “chameleon paint.” This hat is the main icon of the studio and was dedicated in 2001 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Walt Disney. The chameleon paint makes the hat change in color as people move from one place to another.

Here’s another piece of trivia about the Sorcerer’s Hat. All other Disney theme park icons have some sort of attraction except for the hat! That doesn’t take away from its popularity, though.

These are only several of the secrets, though. You might want to check the article from LA Times to discover the rest.

It looks harmless. Even boring. Just an office building, with names of production companies, which don’t even leave much impact to the average tourist.

Until they know the story behind the street.

8439 Sunset Boulevard, now called Piazze del Sol, used to be the site of Hollywood’s most exclusive brothel, called “House of Francis.” People would go here for a different kind of networking, and whatever happened behind its doors stayed behind those doors.

Today there are still brothels, but they are typically held in private houses.

Gower Street may not be the most popular or well known areas of Hollywood, but it’s played a big role in its history. This humble road was home to the very first motion picture studio was built here, the Christie Studios, founded by Al Christie in 1911. It later became the location of major players like Paramount Pictures, Sunset-Gower Studios (occuping the former lot of Columbia Pictures). The Oz Film Manufacturing Company also used to stand here, before it was bought out by Paramount.

Gower St’s Columbia Drugstore was also the favorite hangout of young movie stars who loved the soda fountain. They would also buy their hometown magazines and newspapers from the vendor outside the store.

So who’s Gower? He was not a producer, or an actor. Actually, he was a farmer who brought in the area’s first farming equipment — back when Hollywood was mostly pastureland. In the 1930s Hollywood actors called the place “Gower Gulch”. It was the height of the Western films and many extras would walk around in their cowboy costumes. A mall named “Gower Gulch” now stands here.

This is the world’s most famous theater — and a must-see for any Hollywood tourist.
It was first opened in 1927, and since then, it’s been visited by millions of people. There are plans to improve its facilities and turn it into a state of the art entertainment complex. Some are even lobbying to make it the permanent home of the Academy Awards.

Until that happens, guests are already happy to look at the handprints outside, especially since there’s no charge. You can also watch some of Hollywood’s first motion pictures. (The sound quality is incredible, and the screen really makes you think that you’re jumping into another era.)

True Hollywood trivia addicts can look at the full list of handprint ceremonies or even buy the book.

.

Some restaurants can boast of celebrity chefs, but some of Hollywood’s eateries have something else — celebrity owners.

Quite a few of the bars and diners are owned by stars, and have become favorite celebrity hangouts. There’s the funky vibe of Dan Aykroyd’s House of Blues (found along the Sunset Strip). Or the classy Schazi, run by Schwarzenegger (no, the waiters don’t say, “Ah’ll be back!” after they take your order).

Steven Spielberg’s Dive! restaurant shows his quirky personality, being shaped like a yellow submarine. Peter Fonda chose to make his Thunder Roadhouse look like a biker joint (love those Harleys).

You can also try J. Lo’s restaurant, Madre’s, or Kevin Costner’s uber-exclusive Clubhouse. The 70′s Show cast also opened their own diner, thankfully free of any tacky upholstery — it serves traditional Italian, so there’s no lava lamp in sight.

Hollywood is full of gorgeous and talented men and women. Many assume that in this town where they have so much, fairy tales will come true. Happy ever after would actually happen without need of any fairies or fairy godmothers.

Unfortunately that simply isn’t the case. Wealth and beauty do not automatically bring forth the fairy tale ending that many wish for. In fact, Hollywood has some of the shortest weddings.

Here are some of the shortest celebrity marriages Hollywood has ever seen:

Britney Spears takes home the prize for the shortest celebrity wedding. Her marriage to Jason Alexander barely lasted 48 hours. She said she just wanted to try being married. Did she think it was a dress?

After divorcing Sonny Bono, Cher seemed to have a hankering for the married state once again. So she up and married Greg Allman in Las Vegas. After a mere 9 days she called it quits saying that his drug and drinking problems were a bit too much for her.

Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley lasted longer. They made it to 3 months and fifteen days before saying I don’t want to anymore. Lisa Marie later married the former king of pop, Michael Jackson, which lasted 20 months.

The latest couple to file their divorce makes it to the list. After a mere four months, Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock are giving up on wedded bliss. Just goes to show that multiple wedding ceremonies do not equal a more united couple.

In my opinion, Hollywood stars are notorious for having a weird streak (some more than others). In Hollywood, saying strange things is actually encouraged as is the fondness for naming your child extremely un-tradtional names.

So in that vein, here are some of the worst things said by Hollywood’s finest. Kinda scary, especially when you think of how these people are idolised….

Angelina Jolie

“I am so in love with my brother right now!”

“On furnishing her new house: I saw these plastic horses – we’ll have them instead of chairs. People will climb in the saddle to sit.”

“Honestly, I like everything. Boyish girls, girlish boys, the thick, the thin. Which is a problem when I’m walking down the street. “

Paris Hilton

“Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything.”

“All British people have plain names, and that works pretty well over there. [Hmm... tell us about 'work' Paris]“

Britney Spears

?The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.?

In line with one of my posts, I’ve found more Hollywood quotes, this time not the worst, but actually so true and, in Madonna’s case – amusing. Oh, and regarding Jennifer’s, only true before you have kids. After that, they win over the hubby in the smell stakes hands down. Fred Allen by the way was an American comedian. He died in the 50′s.

Fred Allen

?A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.?

Lucy Liu

?I try to believe like I believed when I was five… when your heart tells you everything you need to know.?

Jennifer Aniston

“The best smell in the world is that man that you love.?

Madonna

?Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion.?

“I wouldn’t have turned out the way I was if I didn’t have all those old-fashioned values to rebel against.?

?Everyone probably thinks that I’m a raving nymphomaniac, that I have an insatiable sexual appetite, when the truth is I’d rather read a book.?

Elvis Presley

?Look guys, if you’re just going to stare at me, I’m going to bed!?

If you were to guess the company that would be the top employer in Hollywood I’m pretty sure that the first companies that would come to mind would be all related to the entertainment industry. If you take a look at the official list of the top employers in Hollywood you wouldn’t be that wrong since a huge percentage on the top 20 list do belong in the entertainment industry. You’ll be surprised though to find out that the number one spot actual belongs to the health care industry. Other industries that seem to be thriving in Hollywood include the tourism industry (hotels) and retail companies (Home Depot and Farmers Market).

So if you do want to move to Tinseltown but are pretty reluctant since you do not have any aspirations to be a part of the entertainment industry, whether as a writer or actor, you can brush your fears away as long as you have career aspirations related to health care and tourist industry. Oh, this also applies to you if you are business savvy.

Top 5 Employers in Hollywood

Kaiser Permanente Hospital
4747 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
5,530 employees

Paramount Pictures
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90027
5,000 employees

Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
3,800 employees

Universal Studios, Inc.
100 Universal City
Plaza Universal City, CA 91608
3,800 employees

Sunset Gower Studios
1430 N. Gower, Box 21
Hollywood, CA 90028
3,000

The Oscars is one of Hollywood’s most important award ceremonies. Any Hollywood buff worth his collection of movie posters should know as much about it as possible. Test your knowledge of the Oscars with this quiz.