It took me an inexcusably long time to get to this very special shot…but today is her day.
This, of course, is Gertie—one of the original icons of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. She’s been sitting in her spot on Echo Lake since the park opened (as MGM) on May 1, 1989.
She was built as a tribute to the roots of animation, inspired by the 1914 animated short “Gertie the Dinosaur” by Winsor McCay that is considered one of the first true examples of character animation. McCay’s Gertie was groundbreaking for her personality and lifelike movement, which made her the perfect symbol for a park dedicated to the history of film and animation.
She’s designed in what’s called the “California Crazy” roadside architecture style, meant to feel like a kitschy roadside attraction straight out of the golden age of travel, and that’s how she’s stayed, unchanging except for the occasional holiday garb, for almost 40 years.
We trekked over to Studios to go to 50's Prime Time over the weekend—we have family in town and it's their favorite fried chicken on the planet and I don't disagree. As we were walking over, the sun was setting and Gertie looked gorgeous. We got called for our table and I begged their forgiveness to run around the bend of Echo Lake and grab this angle since I had my Leica with me. (Having a quality camera that I can throw in my purse has been a game changer on nights like this.) I took this at 23mm, f/4.0, 1/250 seconds, ISO 3200.