The Sorcerer's Hat was the icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios, the third of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The structure was inspired by the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film, Fantasia. Mickey Mouse's gloved hand and ears underneath the hat are visible emerging from the ground. With its opening on September 28, 2001, it replaced the Earffel Tower as the park's icon in marketing material. It was used as a venue for pin trading and sales, and also served as a backdrop to many special events and shows. High School Musical Live culminated several dances from several Disney Channel shows that performed several times daily in front of the hat. Disney characters made meet-and-greet appearances around the hat throughout the day.Built in front of The Great Movie Ride, the Sorcerer's Hat debuted on September 28, 2001 as part of the 100 Years of Magic celebration at Walt Disney World Resort. During the celebration, interactive kiosks were installed underneath the Sorcerer's Hat where guests could learn about Walt Disney's life and career. When the celebration ended in early 2003, the kiosks were removed. On May 20, 2011, the Sorcerer's Hat served as the venue for the grand opening ceremony for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
Disney's Hollywood Studios, originally Disney-MGM Studios, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division. Based on an idea by Marty Sklar, Randy Bright, and Michael Eisner, the park opened on May 1, 1989, and is the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning, the park is dedicated to show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood, California in the 1930s and 1940s.The park's icon was originally the Earffel Tower from the park's opening until 2001, when the Sorcerer's Hat—a stylized version of the magical hat from Fantasia—was built at the park's central hub. It then served as the park's icon until its removal in January 2015. The tower was subsequently removed in April 2016. Currently, the park remains without an official designated icon, although both the Great Movie Ride and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror are represented as such in marketing materials.