Tap Handle #774: Bud Light - Disney MGM Studios Statue

Tap size:  10.5"

Rarity:  less than 10 seen, limited release

Mounting:  oversized ferrule in 5/16" anchor bolt

Anheuser-Busch created this tap in the late 1990's for Walt Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios theme park. Despite Disney's wholesome family image, beer was indeed sold in the park, but only on tap in restaurants, so the beer could not be carried into the rest of the park. These restaurants included The Brown Derby, Hollywood and Vine, Dockside Diner, and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano. The tap design ties into the Hollywood theme by resembling an Oscar, or Academy Award. Surprisingly, the figure is made of a heavy metal with a chrome finish. It screws into the base, which itself weighs at least 2-3 pounds. Once the top unscrews from the base, the base can be taken apart; it consists of a top and bottom plate, the heavy core, and the surrounding clear ring, which allows different labels to be inserted. The chrome oversized ferrule completes the look. Speculation is that there are perhaps no more than 12 to 15 of these in existence; due to their cost, durability and limited use, there likely wasn't a need to make more than that. As a result, no more than 4 or 5 have ever appeared on the secondary market; while a couple were reasonably priced, the others sold for a significant amount. I've seen a few others in the photos of private collections.

Debuting on May 1, 1989, Disney-MGM Studios was the third theme park to open at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, after the Magic Kingdom in 1971 and Epcot Center in 1982. The project began with an idea for a movie-themed pavilion, resembling a film soundstage, to be built at Epcot; it was later expanded into its own theme park, which now stretches over 135 acres. The name of the park was the result of a 1985 licensing contract between Disney and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, which allowed Disney the right to use the MGM name and logo for a studio-themed park. In its original conception, Disney-MGM Studios was to operate not only as a theme park, but also as a fully functioning television and movie production studio. Several feature films, including the lightweight comedy Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), were produced there before its opening as a theme park. By 2007, the sprawling theme park was hosting close to 10 million visitors in six themed areas, including the “Hollywood Boulevard” main entrance; the Great Movie Ride, a tribute to classic films such as Casablanca; and Star Tours, a ride based on the Star Wars movie franchise.

In 2008, the name of the park changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which ironically came a year after Disney closed their Hollywood Pictures division. Despite hosting Star Tours, Fantasmic, Muppets in 3-D, and the Great Movie Ride, attendance at this park suffered compared to their other parks. Disney attempted to remedy this by adding new thrill rides such as Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and it did inject some new life into the park. While there was an uptick, Disney realized they needed to do more, so over the last few years, major renovations have been added in the form of Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Some of the Disney-MGM material provided above is courtesy of History.com.