HISTORY
The original tour was much longer and more elaborate than later versions. The original tour drove through New York Street/Streets of America before driving through Catastrophe Canyon. That portion was eliminated due to need for more walking space caused by the park's surprise popularity. The second half of the tour was a walking tour. It encompassed the current water special effects tank, an effects shop, and the existing soundstages along Mickey Avenue and the soundstages that currently house The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Guests viewed the soundstages using overhead walkways. Portions of the walkway can still be seen in the park. Much of the former walking portion of the Backlot Tour became its own attraction, Backstage Pass which closed in April 2001, separate from the original tour. This greatly reduced the overall tour time.
The queue area
Upon entering the queue, guests were put into four different lines underneath a large canopy. Throughout the area were props from different movies, including Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and The Rock. A film also loops with director Michael Bay telling guests how some of the special effects scenes from Pearl Harbor were filmed. While guests are waiting, four volunteers are chosen to be used in the first part of the attraction.
Walking Tour
A number of guests in each line are taken into a show area with a large water tank in front of them. In the water tank are props reminiscent of Pearl Harbor: the deck and the engine room of a patrol boat. Cast Members explain how the water tank and props can be used in filming scenes from action films. Using the volunteers from before the guests are shown a special effects demonstration, known as Harbor Attack. One volunteer sits in the engine room and is overcome by a deluge of water (1000 Gallons of Water) coming into the room through a window from two dump tanks. The other three volunteers are standing on the deck when an attack happens. Explosions underwater, simulated torpedo bursts, and fireballs are used to simulate the attack. When filming is finished the footage is put together with previously recorded footage of airplane attacks and dialogue and shown to the guests.
When the demonstration is finished, guests continue into a large prop warehouse. The line moves guests up and down aisles of props used in different major productions including, Marvin's Room, The Santa Clause, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Great Muppet Caper, and George of the Jungle. Several of the props are tagged with information about each one. At the exit of the building the tram part of the tour begins.
Tram Tour
As guests exit the prop building they are boarded onto a tram for the main part of the tour. As the driver brings the tram through different areas, a prerecorded narration explains what is found there and tells the guests facts about it. Guests first travel past the Earffel Tower, the former icon of the park. The tram ride is the closest that guests can get to the tower in the park. After the tower the tram drives through the costume and materials building, which has a thru-way for the tram and windows for guests to see the costumes and people working. A highlight in the building is the room full of tires used for the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show.
When the tram leaves the building it brings guest through an outside area named the boneyard (named after an aircraft boneyard). In the boneyard are vehicles which were featured in many films. Props include the genuine steamroller used by Judge Doom during the climax of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, ships from the original Star Wars films, the duo motorcycles from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the escape pod from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, cars used in the Herbie the Love Bug films (the ex-parade vehicle Herbie was taken away from the All-Star Movies Resort [on account of children kept climbing on it] and is now on display here), bone cages from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Spaceship from Flight of the Navigator and boats and other vehicles used in other Disney-produced films.
After leaving the boneyard guests are told that they will be entering a current movie set while the cast is on break. It enters into an area known as , a rocky area with a fuel truck and water tanks inside of it. While the tram is stopped filming starts suddenly. An earthquake shakes the tram and causes the fuel truck to explode, sending a fire ball into the air. Then a flood of water comes rushing down from the canyon and from above the tram. When the earthquake subsides and the water stops, the set begins to reset for the next tram and the host on the tram tells guests how it was done as the tram goes around behind the set to show the back of the set.
After exiting the canyon the tram travels through parts of the boneyard again. Guests go past the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show stadium and practice areas. The tram also passes Walt Disney's private airplane. After this part the tram pulls to the exit and that part of the attraction is finished.
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Post-ride
In order to leave the attraction, guests had to walk through an American Film Institute museum exhibit based on AFI's 50 Greatest Villains. Many of the villains on the list are represented with life-sized figures in display cases, with drawings and pictures of them from their films. The entire list is presented with pictures of all of the villains on a wall in the building. While guests on the Backlot Tour must go through the exhibit to exit, it is not necessary to go on the tour to see the exhibit, as it is possible to enter it through the exit. The exhibit and store were closed in August 2014, a month prior to the attraction's closure
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