WCW Disney tapings

The WCW Disney tapings were a series of television tapings of professional wrestling matches conducted by World Championship Wrestling at the Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

In 1993, WCW began taping in-ring footage for their syndicated television shows (such as WCW WorldWide, WCW Pro, and WCW Prime) at the Disney/MGM Studios. Eric Bischoff who had become the executive producer of WCW, wanted to get away from the old school Southern arenas to a more modern arena, with bright lights. The ring in the studios was on top of a rotating platform that expanded the ringside area and increased the distance between the ring and the seats.

Because the footage recorded would often be shown on television months later, the tapings often exposed bookings and storylines well in advance. WCW was usually forced to have wrestlers appear with title belts before they had won them in regards to the current storyline. This was regarded as a major breach of kayfabe at the time, and ultimately led to WCW's departure from the National Wrestling Alliance in September 1993.

The crowds present for the tapings were most often tourists that were given free passes to the tapings, handed free souvenirs and merchandise, and coached to cheer and boo on cue. Much of the Hulk Hogan merchandise seen during the beginning of his tenure in WCW was handed out by WCW staffers, and wearing the merchandise was often a requirement to be allowed to occupy a seat within view of the cameras.

Many of the wrestling fans that got in reported what they saw to the insider sheets and the burgeoning Internet discussion forums, including rec.sport.pro-wrestling. The results of the tapings laid out most of WCW's booking plans months in advance, effectively removing the suspense in title matches for fans who were aware of the taping results, and discouraging workers from putting in more of an effort to earn title reigns, since most of the title reigns were set in stone due to the shows that were already in the can.

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