Relief may be on the way for one of the best outdoor lounges at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. New support columns have been installed at The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge, adding weight to the theory that a structure providing shade and cover from Florida’s afternoon storms is on the way, according to photos from BlogMickey.com.
What The Columns Suggest
The Brown Derby Lounge occupies the patio outside The Hollywood Brown Derby, serving a smaller-bite menu and the restaurant’s famous Cobb salad alongside cocktails, all without requiring a dining reservation. Its one longstanding weakness has been the weather. The patio sits fully exposed, which means the lounge effectively shuts down whenever Central Florida’s near-daily summer thunderstorms roll through, and the seating bakes in the sun during the hottest stretches of the afternoon.
Support columns of the kind now visible are the skeleton of a canopy or roof structure, and their placement around the lounge footprint suggests coverage for the seating area rather than a minor decorative addition. Disney has not officially announced the project’s scope, though cast members have reportedly indicated a permanent shade structure will replace the movable umbrellas that previously covered the patio.
A Practical Upgrade In A Hot Summer
The timing could not be more fitting. This month Walt Disney World spent consecutive days under a heat advisory with feels-like temperatures reaching 110 degrees, exactly the conditions that make uncovered patio seating a tough sell. A shaded, rain-protected Brown Derby Lounge would instantly become one of the most pleasant places to escape the sun on Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards.
The lounge has remained open during construction, though it is temporarily operating from the smaller side patio around the corner, in the space once home to Starring Rolls Cafe, while the main patio is walled off. We will keep watching as the structure takes shape and share details once Disney confirms what is being built.
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