Great Movie Ride closes for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't think it was meant to be an e ticket. It's just an overlay of an existing ride. From video the AAs looks good when they work.

Disney built that meet and greet so it wouldn't have long waits. They have three rooms of Anna and Elsa that cuts down wait time.

Epcot hasn't been the same since Epcot center died.

I know you didn't ask for my review of Frozen Ever After, but thought I would provide it anyway

We liked it quite a bit - yes, you can tell it was fit into an existing track/layout but I thought they did a good job with it and the effects for the most part were quite good. The main Elsa room with the "freezing effect" was pretty fun

The one element that I think was underwhelming was when you were going to the Ice Palace, it was pretty static looking and could have been enhanced

All-in-all for being a glorified overlay I think they did the best they could have ... is the wait times justified? of course not but it is a pretty solid ride

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I would temper my enthusiasm if it turns out that the Ratatouille style ride system is not that great, meaning not E-ticket great, or if the Mickey Ride as kitted out is too abbreviated, tacky, overly video-based, and lacking in quality and re-ridability.

Whatever its faults (mostly staleness) TGMR was a solid E-ticket in its day, and a very elaborate, expensive and solid chunk of entertainment.

If the Mickey ride is no more elaborate and substantial than Midway Mania or Muppets 3D then I would say, what's the point? The character and the park both deserve an ambitious dark ride on a par with Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain.

Knowing they are going with a trackless system I am keeping in mind what Mystic Manor is, which is an amazing attraction ... if they do something like that with the effects (that are some screens but largely tangible) but Mickey themed with next generation animatronics, etc. I think it will be a great addition - and I think totally doable

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Mickey Ride? #BringBackTheHat (Someone had to say it!)

Honestly, we are all "failures" (at least those of us who spent too much time looking at this stuff). We shouldn't seen this one coming a mile away. What is the biggest gap with the Studios? No iconic center piece. They ripped out the hat, and we all said Earful Tower. They tore down the tower, and we all said... Hmm.. Ok, well I guess the icon is the Chinese Theater. All the while, Disney was ripping out and tearing down everything they don't own (ahem, ToT)... and here it was a park with a replica of a non-Disney property as its center piece?

But... rip that out, redo the facade in a Mickey-esque fashion? Give your new park a brand spanking new identity, with a brand spanking new Mickey centerpiece... Sold and sold.

So when does the E-Ticket Mickey Ferris wheel go in?

By the way... whats left that isn't "Disney-esque"? Aerosmith... Come on BH6 San Fransokyo Launch Coaster!!!!!!! Its coming boys and girls, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of our lives...

The one thing I always liked about MGM was that it didn't have a fiberglass castle with a Bibbidi and/or a bad restaurant in it...

It puts more pressure on them to provide things to do...instead of "DD" style fluff/garbage...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Knowing they are going with a trackless system I am keeping in mind what Mystic Manor is, which is an amazing attraction ... if they do something like that with the effects (that are some screens but largely tangible) but Mickey themed with next generation animatronics, etc. I think it will be a great addition - and I think totally doable

I'll TOTS on this one.

They have a lot a "provin'" to do with the projects currently underway

 

[rteetz]

I know you didn't ask for my review of Frozen Ever After, but thought I would provide it anyway

We liked it quite a bit - yes, you can tell it was fit into an existing track/layout but I thought they did a good job with it and the effects for the most part were quite good. The main Elsa room with the "freezing effect" was pretty fun

The one element that I think was underwhelming was when you were going to the Ice Palace, it was pretty static looking and could have been enhanced

All-in-all for being a glorified overlay I think they did the best they could have ... is the wait times justified? of course not but it is a pretty solid ride

That's what most are saying. I'm still going to ride it of course and probably more than once if I can.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Usually for trackless things there are guides set into the cement that broadcast radio waves to tell the cars where to go (Or the computer will tell the car to follow guideline A vs B). A warehouse I worked at in college used this for areas that had the multi-story-high shelves very close together. The forklifts were programmed to run on these guides so there wasn't a chance of a human driver running into the shelves. Disney may have advanced this concept to be fully computerized GPS in the rooms - I'm not sure.

It lets the ride cars do things a normal tracked car couldn't do. Things like go different speeds from others, weave between one another, spread out all over, move independently from the others. Removing and adding cars is probably much much faster and easier since they don't need to stop the other cars to pull one from the ride.

it also allows for a longer experience inside a set sized area - as cars can circle a room or back-track, etc. - so you can see more and and at different angles within one room compared to a traditional omnimover where you just have that one angle you are seeing any given scene in

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I agree people will go anyways to DHS because of the "Star Wars offerings" just like they did with Frozen summer fun.

Which reminds me...you have to go to the left to see the Star Wars show. The launch point is awful and towers
For the show block all the bursts to the right

FYI

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So I'm curious - I realize many people like the GMR, but does anyone consider it a true "E-ticket"? (And while I hate that term in referring to new rides - MY definition of an E-ticket is that it ranks as the highest must-do/popular ride.) I myself would put the GMR below every other ride in DHS - below Star Tours, ToT, RnRC, and TSMM. I know it's the ride the park was built around - but we hadn't ridden it in 6 or 7 years until our last trip, when we finally MADE our DD - at 12 - try it. She liked it enough she made us ride it a second time on the trip - and the second time was definitely NOT an improvement.

I'm just saying - not sure what exactly it'll be replaced with, but in my view not difficult to improve on it. The idea of a Mickey's (or maybe Disney's) Greatest Hits concept sounds great, with a trackless ride system. I've for years though a ride that shows the thrill of movies should have some sort of thrill of it's own. NOT a boring ride like this one!

When it first opened I think it was a true e-ticket. You had the interactive element with the guides and, at the time, the Wicked Witch was the most advanced animatronic they had ever produced

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Under the Sea takes you through the whole Little Mermaid story, no different from Peter Pan's flight. I haven't ridden Frozen yet, but I'll agree that there doesn't seem to be much of a story on that one.
Having ridden Snow White and the Pinocchio ride recently, I'd say those are less coherent in telling the stories than Under the Sea.

it's actually a new storyline for Frozen Ever After where you are traveling to the Ice Palace to see Elsa - so it mixes in elements from the original movie and the Frozen Fever short, etc.

It's a pretty lose story though but you can follow it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That's what most are saying. I'm still going to ride it of course and probably more than once if I can.

i definitely think it is worth riding - for the style of ride it is very good and great animatronics, etc.

Side note - we did a pre-park opening ADR at Akershus, got out at 8:50 and right in the standby line for the ride, they opened it a few minutes early and we were already off the ride by 9:02 ... then we had a FP+ for later in the day (could only book 30 days out so they only had afternoon times avaialble)

 

[Budshark]

Well the Chinese theater is staying...

Well now it's dumb.

 

[jpeden]

Off topic, but I don't understand the hate on the Little Mermaid ride. I thought it was pretty good when I rode it. Maybe I'm just too easily entertained. I mean, it's not Haunted Mansion, but is it intended to be?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That's what most are saying. I'm still going to ride it of course and probably more than once if I can.

It's an ok kiddie ride...
But as feared it's a very simple kiddie ride and it's now anchored in the world showplace.
It makes the three caballeros look like a graduate history course as far as cultural significance.

My problem isn't what's there...it's that the ride system is not working well now, it took an unreasonable amount of time and money.

"These things take time" doesn't justify the product.

And what was truly misguided from the start:
They could have just built a new omnimover...On the pad next door they wasted

It's always easier to knock down a house and build a new one than restore it...architectural fact.

But here...they had to take something OFFLine. That is symbolic of bad leadership in WDW and particularly Epcot.

 

[jpeden]

Well now it's dumb.

I'm sure it will be themed to where you're going to the movies to see Mickey's Greatest Hits or something like that which is premiering at the Chinese Theatre. I actually think it will work if they theme it right.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Off topic, but I don't understand the hate on the Little Mermaid ride. I thought it was pretty good when I rode it. Maybe I'm just too easily entertained. I mean, it's not Haunted Mansion, but is it intended to be?

Don't get me wrong...I like the little mermaid ride just fine.

It is what it is though...not a great technological effort and somewhat dumbed down/not ambitious for wdi.

Two main wdi criticism: 1. They take forever and spend too much. 2. They can't wow you (I don't mean thrills or Gs...I mean coming up with anything you haven't seen 100 times before)

Ariel is small world with modern computers.

 

[Moliphino]

To be honest...you're comparing a modern weak effort to older weak efforts.

I noticed you didn't mention pirates or haunted mansion...which of course are the gold standard of dark rides

I was comparing it to other classic rides of its kind, Fantasyland dark rides meant for all ages. They're not going to have original stories because they're based on pre-existing ones.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Well now it's dumb.

I kinda agree...

They should strip it and make it look like a replica of the Roy E. Disney building in Burbank.

...if the place is a shrine to Igers IP buys anyway...why stop short of the endzone?

 

[Budshark]

The one thing I always liked about MGM was that it didn't have a fiberglass castle with a Bibbidi and/or a bad restaurant in it...

It puts more pressure on them to provide things to do...instead of "DD" style fluff/garbage...

Ok. Now that's just funny.

How'd that pressure to provide more work out?

 

[jpeden]

Don't get me wrong...I like the little mermaid ride just fine.

It is what it is though...not a great technological effort and somewhat dumbed down/not ambitious for wdi.

Two main wdi criticism: 1. They take forever and spend too much. 2. They can't wow you (I don't mean thrills or Gs...I mean coming up with anything you haven't seen 100 times before)

Ariel is small world with modern computers.

I get what you're saying here - they do take forever and I do understand when you say it doesn't wow. Haunted Mansion and Pirates wowed when they were built. But do you think there's a restriction when it comes to trying to use traditional/new animatronics versus going full Universal with screens? Just playing devil's advocate here, but is part of it because we've become so technology driven as a culture that a ride such as Frozen/Little Mermaid just doesn't do it for us anymore with mostly animatronics like Pirates and the Haunted Mansion did for people when the park first opened?

 

[mikepizzo]

I know you didn't ask for my review of Frozen Ever After, but thought I would provide it anyway

We liked it quite a bit - yes, you can tell it was fit into an existing track/layout but I thought they did a good job with it and the effects for the most part were quite good. The main Elsa room with the "freezing effect" was pretty fun

The one element that I think was underwhelming was when you were going to the Ice Palace, it was pretty static looking and could have been enhanced

All-in-all for being a glorified overlay I think they did the best they could have ... is the wait times justified? of course not but it is a pretty solid ride

I have no recollection of any freezing effect when I went on it during our late June trip. I'm assuming it wasn't working back then.

Which reminds me...you have to go to the left to see the Star Wars show. The launch point is awful and towers
For the show block all the bursts to the right

FYI

I was thinking the same thing when I watched the Live Stream of them a couple weeks ago. All the explosions looked blocked. Maybe I'm in the minority...maybe it's due to my apathy for Star Wars...but I didn't think there was anything spectacular about watching clips of a movie projected onto a building...