Great Movie Ride - what would you change?

[Hoodie]

I was just thinking about this, mainly because I was thinking how we'd probably have to skip it this year with 2 little ones. Alien is too much for them, which is a shame because I think the rest of the ride would be OK. Honestly, I've never cared for the Alien scene anyway.

That led me to "what else is wrong with this ride" First - the sound system. I think it's been 10 years since I actually heard the dialouge from either the guide or the mobster/cowboy. Also, I really don't like the gangster bit. I don't know if it's the people who just don't react anymore or the CMs, but no one cares when they "hijack" the cars. I think I remember hearing that they toned everything down after 9-11, but not sure if that's still ongoing or that's the issue. It's hokey and not a good hokey.

The line definitely needs to be re-vamped. With the techonology available now, it could be amazing. At the very least they need to lengthen the preshow movie. I've been in there on some busy days and watched the same thing 3 times. It should be long enough so you don't see a repeat while you're waiting.

I love the Forest Gump idea. I don't know if Disney could add that, but that could be a great scene with current technology. Of course keep the Wizard of Oz. I think the biggest problem would be for Disney to get the rights to create some new scenes. The reason we have the ones in there was because either Disney owned the rights or MGM owned them. With the dissolution of the Disney-MGM partnership, Disney would be pretty limited in what they could put in without some big purchases and negotiations and we know how much Disney wants to do THAT.

 

[Joanna71985]

The Great Movie Ride CM needs to wait until everyone gets into the scene before talking about it.

More movie clips in the GMR queue area so the same ones are not seen over and over.

That's not possible, unfortunately. There's only a certain amount of time to get the lines out, and the cars are too long to be able to wait

And the purpose of the pre-show clips is to be a preview (all the clips are from scenes of the ride), just like there are previews before a real movie.

Cast Members: Mostly I'm embarrassed by/for them. I remember when they seemed to attract fairly talented kids to act in these roles, but the last few years have seen one dreadful CM after another (apologies if your child/friend/neighbor is one of them...I'm sure they're the exception to the rule). Why not pick some cream of the crop kids, like the do at Jungle Cruise? Why do the gangster CMs all sound like Rosey O'Donnell, when it's supposed to be the gangster streets of 1930s Chicago?

For the record- the CMs at GMR are picked the same way the CMs at JC are

 

[I Love Pluto]

The Great Classic Composers are Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, etc. They are not the composers of today, nor should they be. They wrote genius music compositions to remember and cherish.

The Great Movie Ride is the same. It shows the Great Classic Movies. I wouldn't change the ride because it would ruin the history shown.

I would, however, get RID of the Gangsta scene. It is difficult to understand what the "gangsters" are saying. Maybe the Wicked Witch could drive the car through. Now THAT would be fun!

 

[navysaylorgirl]

It's the GREAT Movie Ride -- not the "Hollywood churned out 962 movies this year and even though they all were mediocre at best we have to feature them cause they are contemporary" ride.
There's a reason films like Casablanca, Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, All About Eve (There are clips of the last 2 in the montage at the end) are featured. They've stood the test of time. They are classic cinema. Instead of getting rid of them because they are "old" maybe we should hope that rides like this may introduce a new generation to some wonderful old classics.
GMR is one of my favorites at HS. It's slower pace is soothing and enjoyable. I like this for in the middle of the day, to break up the interminable schedule of show after show that is HS. Besides "thrill" rides like ToT and RnR Coaster, there are very few "rides" at HS, and I for one am glad that GMR is one of them.

 

[skier_pete]

It's the GREAT Movie Ride -- not the "Hollywood churned out 962 movies this year and even though they all were mediocre at best we have to feature them cause they are contemporary" ride.
There's a reason films like Casablanca, Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, All About Eve (There are clips of the last 2 in the montage at the end) are featured. They've stood the test of time. They are classic cinema. Instead of getting rid of them because they are "old" maybe we should hope that rides like this may introduce a new generation to some wonderful old classics.
GMR is one of my favorites at HS. It's slower pace is soothing and enjoyable. I like this for in the middle of the day, to break up the interminable schedule of show after show that is HS. Besides "thrill" rides like ToT and RnR Coaster, there are very few "rides" at HS, and I for one am glad that GMR is one of them.

You know, I dislike the GMR a lot, and I don't really know exactly why. Every point that navysaylorgirl makes in this post is a very good one. I like the fact that they use "Classic" movies as opposed to trying to be contemporary, but otherwise the ride does nothing but bore me. Some portions I sort of like (the gangster/cowboy takeover) but none of it really works well for me. Well, I really like the final montage a lot.

The thing to me is any ride that is devoted to movies should be about the *thrill* of movies. And I don't mean thrill in the sense of a roller coaster. I talk about how a great movie / scene makes you *feel*. The GMR always feels like walking through a wax museum. The scenes are SOOO static, and that is NOT what movies are about. Casablanca is one of my all time favorite movies, yet the scene in the GMR never evokes the feelings I get in that movie. Part of that is a good movie makes you feel like your part of the movie, that's what they need to do here.

How to *fix* it, though. That is a tough one.

First, replace the slow moving cars with a circular vehicle that can move more quickly, though not superfast. Everyone is facing outward in the circle with two to three rows, the center circles slightly elevated, so all circles have good view. The car moves more quickly from scene to scene with the lights dimmed (not fast mind you, but maybe about 3 times faster than the current vehicles. I think of Carosel of Progress motion here.) When you get to a new scene, the lights come up and you find your car in the center of that scene. Everyone gets 3-D glasses and the car slowly (at current GMR speed) rotates, allowing you to take in the whole scene.

I think of the stretching room in HM as to how I want to do these scenes. A scene from a western in which you arrive into a western saloon just as a brawl is about to start. The technology is there with projection screens and 3-D glasses combined with the animatronics to make it feel like there are "real" people there fighting. I want it to feel like you are in real danger, like you could get swept up into the brawl.

Then move onto the Well of Souls scene from Indiana Jones, but now you are trapped in it with Indiana Jones. You need to find a way out. At the end, a wall blasts out and darkness envelops. Now you are on spaceship, the Nostromo. I think you could make this scene more real and actually show less. Show a screens where a crew member is talking to the audience, flashes of light - no smoke and mirrors. (Anyone that got to see ExtraTerrorestial encounter before Stich took it over would have an idea how t make this feel like a real scary moment.) If that's too scary - instead change this to a scene from Star Wars, where your watching a space battle from the bridge of a starship. The Wizard of Oz scene can stay, but again combine what is already there with 3D projection screens to make you feel like you've actually landed into OZ, and there are 100s of munchkins, and the wicked witch wants to get you. Again, by making the car move faster between scenes, the more you are feeling that you are "escaping" just in time and make people be "thrown into" these movies.

Anyways, I don't know if I described that very well, and its pure fantasy anyways, as they'd never completely re-do the ride. But using modern movies isn't the solution. That just makes it feel MORE dated in a few years. Make it feel more immersed, more visceral. I think that's what it needs.

Just my 2 cents.

SP

 

[lugnut33]

They need to make the Alien scene more scary and lifelike.

 

[tcpm]

They need to make the Alien scene more scary and lifelike.

The alien scene used to be a little different. Used to be some sort of an alien come down over your head.

 

[tcpm]

This ride is actually our families must do at hws. However I think it can use a Makeover. Not redoing the whole ride. Just a little update I wouldn't mind.

 

[Experiment113]

The alien scene used to be a little different. Used to be some sort of an alien come down over your head.

I knew it!!!! I thought I remembered an alien come down above ur head!! But it didn't happen on the ride. I was sure it was going to come down above my head and scare me.

 

[Experiment113]

I would add narnia to one of the scenes in the ride. I love that movie!

 

[Joanna71985]

The alien scene used to be a little different. Used to be some sort of an alien come down over your head.

He still does (just doesn't come down as far as he used to).

 

[ClemsonSoccer9]

I think the GMR is risking going the way of Jaws. The last time i rode GMR (like Jaws tended to be at the end) the CM narration seemed to be almost sarcastic. It was if they felt they had to entertain in spite of the scenes rather than let the scenes themselves entertain (much like the guides on Kilimanjaro Safaris). Maybe a refurb and script update will help this problem

 

[wishing4PA]

Part of that is a good movie makes you feel like your part of the movie, that's what they need to do here.

How to *fix* it, though. That is a tough one.

First, replace the slow moving cars with a circular vehicle that can move more quickly, though not superfast. Everyone is facing outward in the circle with two to three rows, the center circles slightly elevated, so all circles have good view. The car moves more quickly from scene to scene with the lights dimmed (not fast mind you, but maybe about 3 times faster than the current vehicles. I think of Carosel of Progress motion here.) When you get to a new scene, the lights come up and you find your car in the center of that scene. Everyone gets 3-D glasses and the car slowly (at current GMR speed) rotates, allowing you to take in the whole scene.

I like your ideas!

 

[Princessnurse926]

I totally agree. The "Great Movie Ride" has adult classics, that everyone can relate too. Alot of those movies are classics and shouldn't be forgotten and deserve to be showcased in the attraction. However, a few recent updates wouldn't be bad at the end.

 

[aml3679]

I think they need to change it up a bit ... it has gotten stale IMHO.

 

[lugnut33]

The alien scene used to be a little different. Used to be some sort of an alien come down over your head.

It's still there, and he does move a little again. We rode it this past Nov. and I made certain to note the alien above. It was pretty weak though. It should shoot down farther and be scarier.

 

[flightdave82]

It's still there, and he does move a little again. We rode it this past Nov. and I made certain to note the alien above. It was pretty weak though. It should shoot down farther and be scarier.

While I agree with you, the problem is that if they made it "scarier" then you will have all the parents complain and push disney to remove the scene all together just like the did for "alien encounter"

Oh man was that an awesome ride/show. damn parents can't read signs anymore and made disney take it away for the stupid stich escape!

 

[Faldred]

For my part, I like the overall idea of GMR, but removing the "interactive" part and replacing the large vehicles with a continuous loading dark ride system, mixed with a general face lift and updating, sound like great ideas to me.

 

[Joanna71985]

I don't think removing the tour guides is a good idea (because then GMR will be just as bad as Backlot Tour and Living with the Land).

 

[rrushford]

Change it to all Disney movies. First it's a lot easier to make animated characters look real. Second there's plenty of Disney classics (with classic songs) for some main scenes. Third, throw in some characters from lesser movies interacting with each other in between the main scenes. It'd be great each year I go to look for characters from the latest animated film or one long forgotten. Little changes make it more reridable. I know there are classic movie buffs who wouldn't like this but I think there are a lot more Disney film buffs.