This Hollywood Studios attraction is a wonderful reminder of a bygone theme park mainstay

What happened to stunt shows?

There’s really no rhyme or reason for these shows fading away. It could be the complexities of making them work, how costly they were and the risks involved. It can also be the lowered crowds for many of them and the fact some folks just weren’t as inclined to enjoy them as they once were.

Maybe it could be linked to how stunt work itself has changed a lot with a reliance on CGI in movies and such action now seeming commonplace. It can also be a new generation not as inclined to sitting around for a half hour or so show. Of course, like all live entertainment, the pandemic did a number on such shows and made theme park owners more wary of spending money on these. 

It’s not that they’re totally gone as Universal Studios Orlando has the Bourne Stuntacular. Their Japan counterpart also has a show based on the hit anime One PIece. Some Six Flags parks still have Wild West shows, just not as huge affairs as they once were. Rather than huge sets and stunts, they're more on smaller stages and leaning toward comedy.

Nowadays, live entertainment at parks is more musical stuff than stunt shows, which always seemed a better fit for a movie-themed park. It simply appears that, like so many other entertainment motifs, stunt shows have lost some flavor, which is a shame.