Pizza and hot dogs are perhaps the most popular food for fair goers, so when Great Adventure added the Fun Fair area, it made sense to add a pizza and a hot dog stand.  Though cosmetically changed over the seasons, the restaurants have been park favorites since 1975.


For Great Adventure's second season, increased capacity was needed all around, with additional rides and attractions being added along with more facilities like restrooms and food outlets. With the huge expansion to the park known as Fun Fair, additional facilities were added to compliment the new rides.

Two new restaurants were added serving traditional fair foods as part of the theme of the new section. The twin restaurants were the Pizza Filling Station, and Hot Dogs! Hot Dogs!, and they featured dining at outdoor tables beneath the trees.  The two new restaurants increased the number of restaurants in the park and helped to ease the lines for food.

The names of the restaurants went through several changes over the seasons, with the Pizza Filling Station becoming La Pizzeria for many years.
Hot Dogs! Hot Dogs! was a relatively short lived name, though the restaurant generally sold hot dogs and french fries for several seasons. In 1987 Splashwater Falls was introduced across the way from the restaurant, and the name was changed to Splashwater Snacks.

In 1992, the Fun Fair area became Action Town, but really big changes would be in store for the following season with the creation of Movietown.
While Six Flags was under Time Warner ownership, creating cohesive themed sections in the parks was a priority. They looked to use the vast catalog of Warner movies and companies in the parks and help promote the companies as well as create interesting and exciting experiences in the parks.

At Great Adventure one of the most ambitious theme projects was undertaken with the creation of Movietown. 
Plans were created to utilize the existing structures, and the two restaurants were joined to create the HBO Backlot Commissary. Original plans were very elaborate, and when construction took place things were scaled back. Even the scaled back plans created a unique and immersive dining experience in the park, with movie sets and props surrounding the dining area between the two buildings.

During the 1992-93 off-season all of Movietown was a construction area with the existing buildings and rides getting facelifts as the new themed area was created. The centerpiece of Movietown was Batman: The Ride, but everything in Movietown was part of the show.

While the new coaster took shape behind it, the HBO Backlot Commissary makeover was going full speed ahead. The facades of both buildings were updated and improved, with new profiles. The two buildings were linked with a new marquis which served as the entrance to the dining courtyard created between them.
  As opening day of the 1993 season approached, the new facility really started to take shape. The impressive marquis was fitted with new signs and neon, taking on the look of a theater marquis similar to the animated promo spots for HBO. 

One feature of the marquis was a traditional letter board which allowed plastic letters to be posted so the messaging could be changed as necessary.  The letter board would go on to feature the slogans that HBO used in their advertising like "Just you wait!", "It's not just TV, it's HBO", and "Something special's on" 
  The final touches on the restaurants were in place as spring arrived. New signage and lighting helped to complete the update.  The back sides of the buildings received almost as much attention as the fronts with Gotham City style building facades being added to the back corner facing the exit of Batman: The Ride and the side of the other building facing the Batman Stunt Arena.

  While the building makeovers were impressive, the really unique and elaborate part of the Commissary was the new courtyard dining area. The walls around the courtyard were designed to look like move sets with most facing inward, but one section facing out toward the new coaster, and showing the back of the set. This section featured props and equipment used in movies creating the feeling of a real studio experience for guests. The restaurant walls featured frames for displaying movie posters and could feature classic films or movies slated for release that summer (all Warner Brothers films of course).  
  The courtyard was outfitted with brand new tables, chairs and umbrellas in bright colors to match the HBO logo. The chairs were all "directors chair" style canvas with the HBO logo on them. 

With the Commissary's proximity to Batman: The Ride and the Batman Stunt Arena, big crowds stopped to have lunch and become part of the movie experience. Just beyond the courtyard the twisting track of the coaster could be seen (and heard) over the walls. 
  In the following seasons changes to the HBO Backlot Commissary included menu changes as the food choices and vendors were changed.  The props slowly were removed as they succumbed to the elements and vandalism. The tables and chairs proved to be inadequate for the thousands of guests that visited, and required replacement with more durable furniture.  
Flipping the HBO Commissary Scenery 
  Though it was designed to have the back side facing into the courtyard, the section of scenery that makes up the wall was reversed in 1998 and the props were removed.  The support structure which had been designed to house props and create a backstage feel now faces towards Batman: The Ride.  
  After Six Flags was sold by Time Warner, the new owners let the theme elements throughout the park deteriorate. Some things were removed as license fees were deemed too expensive and trademarked names and logos were removed. The HBO name was removed and the restaurants became known as the Backlot Beer Garden. 

The once elaborate Backlot became a generic patio and saw fewer and fewer guests as tables were added to the area in front of the restaurants and with no scenery there was no reason to venture inside the courtyard.  Once again vendors changed with Papa Johns Pizza coming in along with Dippin Dots. 
  Some of the most elaborate theme elements of the backlot facades have been the signs, with an old west theme for some and a city street scene for others, making them look as though they were random sets from various films.  
  Restaurant Names Through the Years 
1975 Pizza Filling Station/Footlong Hot Dogs
1976-1978 Pizza Stand/Hot Dog Stand
1979-1986 La Pizzaria/The Top Dog
1987 La Pizzaria/Splash Water Specialty/Orange Julius
1988 La Pizzaria/Splash Water Specialty 
1989-1991 La Pizzaria/Splash Water Snacks
1992 La Pizzaria/Theater Snacks
1993 HBO Commissary
1994-1998 HBO Backlot Commissary/Salad Court/Cinema Snacks
1999 HBO Backlot Commissary/Cinema Snacks
2000-2003 Mama Flora's Pizza/Cheese Steak Shop
2004 Mama Flora's Pizza/Mama Flora's Grill
2005 Mama Flora's Desserts/Mama Flora's Grill
2006-2010 Papa Johns/Mama Flora's Grill
2011 Movietown Pizza/Mama Flora's Grill
Today the Backlot restaurants are secondary facilities, operating limited hours and sometimes remaining closed if park attendance is low. With the removal of so many attractions in Movietown and the closure of Old Country the flow of guests through the area has dwindled making the area something of a ghost town beyond Batman: The Ride and the Dark Knight Coaster.