Disney is PURPOSEFULLY building lines at The Great Movie Ride

curemyreed

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
I just flew in from 7 days in the parks. I am utterly disappointed with Disney in regards to what they have done with The Great Movie Ride. Every time I observed the ride I witnessed no one entering the Fast Pass line and the posted standby line wait at 20 minutes! If you have been to this ride at low attendance times during the first couple of hours after park opening, then you know this is a "walk on" ride. By the time you weave through the big room just before loading onto the ride cars, it is never long before boarding. Well, Disney has instituted some changes that purposefully cause the standby line to build. I can only assume it is to encourage Fast Pass Plus use for a ride that DID NOT NEED IT.... :furious:

Here are four changes I noted that caused the wait for the ride to be longer:

1. You are forced to weave through roped off lines outside the theater before weaving through the lines you have always had to navigate within the building. There is no reason to add this outside queueing. The inside was never even 1/5 full.

2. The doors from the waiting theater into the vehicle-loading room closed and those waiting were forced to spend much more time than previous to FP+ implementation watching the movie clips being shown....again adding to the time spent waiting.

3. I rode this on three different occasions. Each ride vehicle is actually two cars hooked together. Each of those three times that I rode the vehicle in front of me and the vehicle behind me only had guests seated in one car, so the second car was empty. This left guests waiting in that theater watching the extended movie clips who could have filled those seats!

4. Here is the one that just got me fuming at the blatant way Disney is building the wait for standby riders on purpose and completely unnecessarily. Are you familiar with the last room that the ride vehicles pull into to watch the film clips? In the past, three separate ride vehicles consisting of two cars each would pull into the room before the doors close and the clips started playing. Well, now, a single vehicle pulls in to watch. Why, I ask you? This absolutely slows down the time it takes to experience the attraction. What possible reason could Disney have for taking fewer guests through the ride and at a slower pace?!!!

Has anyone else noticed these changes? The very idea that Disney would make changes to make a wait longer has me infuriated!!! Especially, because it appears to me that it is being done to "sell" the idea of getting a FP+ for this ride.
 
You... You aren't describing any changes. You're describing how the ride is supposed to run. Like the last one. That's how the ride runs when they aren't running the bandit scene which is most of the time.

The third one way was probably quicker. If they waited for full cars every time you would wait longer. Do you have any real data on the second one or was it just a gut feeling
The first one... Really? Have you seen the lines on New Year's Eve? Have you been to the magic kingdom when the line for the jungle cruise, potc, and splash mountain mix and mingle on the splash bridge? That's what happens when the standby line outgrows the stanchions. Way better to have more and it's really not that much.

I think you're just being paranoid.

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You... You aren't describing any changes. You're describing how the ride is supposed to run. Like the last one. That's how the ride runs when they aren't running the bandit scene which is most of the time.

The third one way was probably quicker. If they waited for full cars every time you would wait longer. Do you have any real data on the second one or was it just a gut feeling
The first one... Really? Have you seen the lines on New Year's Eve? Have you been to the magic kingdom when the line for the jungle cruise, potc, and splash mountain mix and mingle on the splash bridge? That's what happens when the standby line outgrows the stanchions. Way better to have more and it's really not that much.

I think you're just being paranoid.

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I'm not understanding each of your references...can you clarify what you mean?

They aren't waiting for guests to show up to fill the cars. The guests are right there wanting to board. CM's are only letting in enough guests to fill one of the two cars in the ride vehicle, then shutting the doors so that guests standing there in the waiting theater have to wait until the next vehicle pulls up and empties. The CM's then bring in enough guests to fill one of the two cars in the ride vehicle, leaving waiting guests behind. Why? Why take half full vehicles when you have guests standing there available to board?

As for your last point...I specifically noted this is a low attendance period and at a time of day when the attraction is not inundated with guests. The standby lines had not outgrown the stanchions. There was absolutely no reason to have any queues set up outside as the inside lines were not even 20% occupied. This wasn't New Year's Eve nor was it a crowded day at the Magic Kingdom with ride lines so long they co-mingled.

As for describing how the ride is "supposed to run"....Huh? What does that mean exactly? The bandit scene was most definitely running. Why take only a single vehicle into that theater?
 
I rode the great movie ride twice last week and I have no clues what you are talking about. Maybe it was just a slow one for you because when we were there the week of Thanksgiving there was no wait. The stand by line was held for the film but only for a few minutes, as it has always been in the past.

The first time we rode it there were only two (so 4) connecting ride vehicles in the last "movie" part of it. The last time there were all three running so maybe you went during a slow time when they didn't need all three going. They have not changed that.
 


I also noticed that lines are being held at the great movie ride for no apparent reason.
 


I kind of see both sides of this. Of course, I don't want to wait longer in line (just read any of my posts re: FP and that should be apparent).

BUT... I think there's something to be said for taking time to experience the "pre-shows." Nothing irks me more than being shuffled into the pre-show for Dinosaur and it's already half over. Or being pushed through the recording studio at RnRC and they don't even show the pre-show (well, it may have been running, but they just pushed us through in between the loops). And the WORST is walking into the foyer of the Haunted Mansion and the picture has already changed and they just herd you into the portrait gallery! :headache:

I want to start Haunted Mansion by hearing "Welcome Foolish Mortals... to the Haunted Mansion." If it's not going to cause a logjam problem for others in the line, I'll often let people ahead of me at the door so we can go in first and get to see it.

I would much prefer that they close the doors when a pre-show is about to begin and have the next group wait a few minutes, so EVERYone gets the full experience. Seems like they used to always do that, but at some point started compromising in order to push more people through faster. I guess it's another by-product of the ever-increasing and not having the ride capacity to meet the demand.

Maybe (even after all these years), I'm still approaching Great Movie Ride with the same sense of wonder as when it was brand new (I can be nostalgic like that), but if the film clips haven't looped back to beginning, I wouldn't consider a few extra minutes to be THAT bad. I kind of lie getting to see them. Shoot... I recall the early "MGM" days when we waited 30-60 minutes for GMR and had to watch those clips over and over.

Many rides run fewer cars when lines aren't that long (I've been to Six Flags, etc. on a slow day and the roller coasters have very few people waiting, but with only one train, it still sometimes takes 15-20 minutes to ride), but it IS odd that they would run with a lot of empty seats. They're not getting any cost savings for operating the ride with empty seats.

I might be in the minority, but I think that... although pre-shows do serve a "crowd control" function (and some people might view them as just giving you a distraction while you're waiting in line), most of the pre-shows are designed to provide the back story, etc. and I consider them part of the attraction. Those pre-shows are part of the experience as the imagineers envisioned the attraction. I think it's a shame to skip them in order to save 2-3 minutes.
 
To your 3rd point...we sat near the back of the 2nd car on our trip in November, and it was a terrible seat....we were so far from the guide, and the first car was entering a different room and getting the spiel, while we were still back in the previous scene.....it definitely detracted from the overall experience. So, maybe if it isn't crowded, they don't put people back there for that reason??
 
I kind of see both sides of this. Of course, I don't want to wait longer in line (just read any of my posts re: FP and that should be apparent).

BUT... I think there's something to be said for taking time to experience the "pre-shows." Nothing irks me more than being shuffled into the pre-show for Dinosaur and it's already half over. Or being pushed through the recording studio at RnRC and they don't even show the pre-show (well, it may have been running, but they just pushed us through in between the loops). And the WORST is walking into the foyer of the Haunted Mansion and the picture has already changed and they just herd you into the portrait gallery! :headache:

I want to start Haunted Mansion by hearing "Welcome Foolish Mortals... to the Haunted Mansion." If it's not going to cause a logjam problem for others in the line, I'll often let people ahead of me at the door so we can go in first and get to see it.

I would much prefer that they close the doors when a pre-show is about to begin and have the next group wait a few minutes, so EVERYone gets the full experience. Seems like they used to always do that, but at some point started compromising in order to push more people through faster. I guess it's another by-product of the ever-increasing and not having the ride capacity to meet the demand.

Maybe (even after all these years), I'm still approaching Great Movie Ride with the same sense of wonder as when it was brand new (I can be nostalgic like that), but if the film clips haven't looped back to beginning, I wouldn't consider a few extra minutes to be THAT bad. I kind of lie getting to see them. Shoot... I recall the early "MGM" days when we waited 30-60 minutes for GMR and had to watch those clips over and over.

Many rides run fewer cars when lines aren't that long (I've been to Six Flags, etc. on a slow day and the roller coasters have very few people waiting, but with only one train, it still sometimes takes 15-20 minutes to ride), but it IS odd that they would run with a lot of empty seats. They're not getting any cost savings for operating the ride with empty seats.

I might be in the minority, but I think that... although pre-shows do serve a "crowd control" function (and some people might view them as just giving you a distraction while you're waiting in line), most of the pre-shows are designed to provide the back story, etc. and I consider them part of the attraction. Those pre-shows are part of the experience as the imagineers envisioned the attraction. I think it's a shame to skip them in order to save 2-3 minutes.

Agreed! What's the point of the pre show if you aren't going to see it! :confused3

Granted, my family knows all of the lines to the various shows by heart, but it's sooooo part of the experience. I hate missing it or being shuffled along and made to miss it. :(
 
I was there last week and I actually do get what the OP is talking about. The posted wait time for the ride was 10 minutes, but we did wait closer to 20 minutes before loading. The second car behind us was only half full, but there were guests in line behind us who didn't get to board. I thought it was really odd, but didn't come up with any "conspiracy theory" behind it. :) I also remember there being three cars pulling up to see ending scenes, where we were the only only car viewing it. :confused3
 
:rotfl2: no fair! I like this ride!

I do. I don't really like it anymore, but I ride it because 3 things always amaze me:

1.The ride operator is always named CB. That guy logs a lot of hours.
2.No matter who my vehicle host is, James Cagney is always their favorite bad guy.
3.Also, no matter who the host is, their favorite genre of movies is the horror film.

I just can't stand to pass by these amazing coincidences.
 
I do. I don't really like it anymore, but I ride it because 3 things always amaze me: 1.The ride operator is always named CB. That guy logs a lot of hours. 2.No matter who my vehicle host is, James Cagney is always their favorite bad guy. 3.Also, no matter who the host is, their favorite genre of movies is the horror film. I just can't stand to pass by these amazing coincidences.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille is CB actually :)

Bandit is the western scene. If you're in a dispatch where they only have one train and it dispatches from the second position, on the left, they're only running gangster and you will be the only train in the last room.

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They have been running it that way, during all but the busiest times, for quite a while now. It is nothing new and has nothing to do with FP+
 
That queue has always been there. We have been in it from start to end many times.
If you scroll down on this page updated in 2009, you can see a picture of the queue entrance, including the beginning of the queue.
http://www.yesterland.com/mgm-end.html
It's always been there, not always used.
 
1. You are forced to weave through roped off lines outside the theater before weaving through the lines you have always had to navigate within the building. There is no reason to add this outside queueing. The inside was never even 1/5 full.

2. The doors from the waiting theater into the vehicle-loading room closed and those waiting were forced to spend much more time than previous to FP+ implementation watching the movie clips being shown....again adding to the time spent waiting.

3. I rode this on three different occasions. Each ride vehicle is actually two cars hooked together. Each of those three times that I rode the vehicle in front of me and the vehicle behind me only had guests seated in one car, so the second car was empty. This left guests waiting in that theater watching the extended movie clips who could have filled those seats!

4. Here is the one that just got me fuming at the blatant way Disney is building the wait for standby riders on purpose and completely unnecessarily. Are you familiar with the last room that the ride vehicles pull into to watch the film clips? In the past, three separate ride vehicles consisting of two cars each would pull into the room before the doors close and the clips started playing. Well, now, a single vehicle pulls in to watch. Why, I ask you? This absolutely slows down the time it takes to experience the attraction. What possible reason could Disney have for taking fewer guests through the ride and at a slower pace?!!!

Has anyone else noticed these changes? The very idea that Disney would make changes to make a wait longer has me infuriated!!! Especially, because it appears to me that it is being done to "sell" the idea of getting a FP+ for this ride.

1. When I was there in October, we didn't have to weave outside, only inside. But I'll see what happens next week.

2. This also was like this the last time I was there. But only for a few minutes.

3. Now this, would bother me. If there's people out in the queuing area, why wouldn't they fill the cars? That I don't get. I've never not been in a car that wasn't full if there's people waiting. Matter of fact, I always seem to end up in the back of the second car.

4. I do remember when the 3 cars would pull in and watch the movie clips at the end, but this has been like this for a while now. I don't think it has anything to do with FP+.

All that said, I wouldn't put it past Disney to try to make people think they need a FP+ for a ride that they really don't though. They have to do something to "sell" those FPs.
 
We were there last week, too. Walked on, many times, no wait. A couple times we poked our heads in and saw lines, and turned around and walked out. Same as every trip! We know the ride well enough to know that crowds can build unexpectedly, especially at mid-day.

And this visit we actually got to experience the bandit scene for the first time ever, in seven trips! :thumbsup2

The queue enters from the side, instead of from in front, but that's the only difference I saw.

I was actually a teeny tiny bit disappointed we never got to see any of the film clips in the first room, as I rather enjoy them.

1. Extra ropes (not that we noticed them, but I believe you when you say they were there!) don't make the wait any longer. They just mean you have to walk a few more feet.

2. The doors always close, holding a certain number of people back in the waiting room. They let in small groups, periodically. In years past, I've stood in lines that filled the waiting room, and this in ALWAYS the case, regardless of how many or how few people there are. In this visit, we've consistently walked right up to the group at the doors, and were let right into the theatre after a minute or two.

3. The back car is only filled during high-crowd times. It's a less enjoyable experience (as you can barely see the CM at the front), and when the crowds are low the CMs do their best to ensure everyone gets the best ride possible. When you see empty back cars, that's because they're being considerate, not diabolical.

4. For years and years, as long as I've been visiting (first visit, 2005), the Great Movie Ride runs just one car during low-crowd periods. They only break out the second car if there's a need for it. If you think about it, this makes good sense - why run an empty car, creating wear and tear on the vehicles and increasing the possibility of break-downs, when there's no need?

There's no conspiracy here. This has nothing to do with FP+.
 
The ride is in DESPERATE need of a MAJOR overhaul - but even some minor overhauls could REALLY help.

Um - change the film clips at the end to digital? I know that Disney has PROBABLY heard that the digital film HAS been invented.

And our cast member the last time was horrifically terrible. Off to Captain EO for you.
 

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