Importers/Exporters of the Stars

The tramp steamer permanently moored in Echo Lake at Disney's Hollywood Studios is known as Min & Bill's Dockside Diner. On the surface, it's a convenient place to grab a bite from their galley of good eats, but it's also much more.

For one, the location is a tribute to a classic MGM film from 1930, Min & Bill, starring Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler. Dressler won an Oscar for her portrayal of Min Divot, a waterfront innkeeper who takes an abandoned little girl into her care. Beery earned his Oscar the following year for his work in The Champ. The image on the marquee above the entrance is a caricature of the actors.

Aside from the movie tribute in the title, Dockside Diner is also a great example of California Crazy architecture. Themed buildings like these became popular in the 1930s. The wacky designs served to capture the attention of consumers and sometimes provided a visual clue of what product or service was offered inside. Other examples of California Crazy at Disney's Hollywood Studios include The Darkroom photography shop on Hollywood Boulevard and Dinosaur Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction on the opposite shore of Echo Lake.

Enhancing the dockside theme of the restaurant are these crates stacked nearby. Look closely, and you'll notice even more fun details. Each crate is a reference to a classic movie from the American Film Institute's Top 100 list.

First up is #1 on the list, Citizen Kane (1941):

Here's AFI's #2, Casablanca (1942):

Gone with the Wind (1939) appears at #4 on the list:

While It's a Wonderful Life (1946) resides in spot #11:

Finally, a nod to a film which was not included in the original Top 100, but can be found at #11 on AFI's list of the Top 100 comedies in American cinema... The Producers (1968):

I should mention that these are the crates as they appeared in April 2009, when the above photos were taken. Over the years, the crates by the Dockside Diner have been at various times either blank or labeled somewhat differently (previously references have included The Wizard of Oz and Lawrence of Arabia). Being natural wood exposed to the Florida elements, the crates occasionally weather and need to be replaced, giving the writers at Walt Disney Imagineering another opportunity to work their clever brand of magic.