06/11/2026
Did you know that giant dinosaur sitting in Echo Lake has a much bigger Disney story than serving ice cream? 🦖✨
Most guests know Gertie today as Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream of Extinction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
What many people do not realize is that Gertie is actually a tribute to Gertie the Dinosaur, a groundbreaking animated character from 1914 created by Winsor McCay. Walt Disney often cited early animation pioneers as inspiration, and Gertie represents an important piece of animation history. 🦖 Gertie is one of the few Hollywood Studios icons that celebrates animation history before Walt Disney Animation Studios even existed.
For Disney adults especially, this is exactly the kind of detail that makes Hollywood Studios more interesting than it first appears. 🎬
The park is filled with tributes, hidden references, and stories that most guests walk past without ever noticing.
Today, Gertie may be serving soft serve ice cream from the shores of Echo Lake 🍦, but she is also a reminder of where animation began and why Disney continues to celebrate its roots.
These are the kinds of details I love helping clients discover because Disney is often at its best when you understand the story behind what you are seeing. ✨
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