Great Movie Ride

[lindym]

We were just at Disneyworld last week and saw that the Great Movie Ride was closed. A cast member and the maps said they were refurbishing it. Does anyone know how it is being changed or what they are doing to it. Any ideas would help!

 

[gtrist4life]

Your post reminded me of one I read on the trip reports board a couple weeks ago.

The gal who wrote the trip report was with a CM friend of hers.
The CM said that the green light had been given on re-doing The Great Movie Ride into a Villians ride.

This may be what the refurbishment is for, but wouldn't a makeover that involved be announced or leaked by now?

Peace
G4L

 

[lindym]

A Villians ride would be really cool and very exciting, but i don't see how Disney could change that whole ride into a villians one in that little amount of time. I think it is supposed to reopen on april 13 of 2003. Whatever it is, i can't wait to see what it turns out to be!

 

[Safari Steve]

This is, from all accounts, a standard 6-week clean-up rehab. Likely sets will be repainted as necessary, figures will be re-costumed, and the whole attraction will recieve a thorough cleaning. Audio systems the final montage, and special effects may be touched up, but I don't have any specific information on that. In any event, the attraction will be very much the same when it reopens, just brighter, cleaner, and smoother.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

They are also repairing stress fractures on the Chinese Theater facade which should end any rumors of that being removed.

 

[Bob O]

While i love the idea of a Villians ride, i would much perfer it to be an addition to the park while keeping the Great Movie Ride in its curreent location with maybe a few changes but mostly intact. We need to stop removing rides to add rides!!!

 

[grinningghost]

Originally posted by Bob O
While i love the idea of a Villians ride, i would much perfer it to be an addition to the park while keeping the Great Movie Ride in its curreent location with maybe a few changes but mostly intact. We need to stop removing rides to add rides!!!

My feelings exactly. I mean, if they keep going at the rate they are now, there won't be any movie-themed attractions at the Studios (which was billed at opening as a tribute to Hollywood's Golden Age of film). As much as I like it, I'm still trying to figure out what Aerosmith has to do with movies.

 

[Safari Steve]

As much as I like it, I'm still trying to figure out what Aerosmith has to do with movies.

Disney/MGM Studios officially changed its focus to "all areas of show business" around 1999. This change was reflected in the new parking lot names (Film, Television, Stage, Music).

The Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, The Magic of Disney Animation, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Playground, and the Studios Backlot Tour represent Film.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Sounds Dangerous, Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Play it!, Muppet*Vision 3-D and Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage represent TV.

Beauty and the Beast, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and (the fondly remembered) Hunchback of Notre Dame shows represent Stage (Broadway-type productions)

And Rock and Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith takes place at a Hollywood record company (G-Force Records), representing Music.

 

[Testtrack321]

So does that mean we will now have to suffer Superstar Limo so it can finnish the last part of the MGM Studios? (paparazzi)

 

[King Triton]

Replacing it with a new Villians ride is a GREAT idea!

I love it!!! I hope this is true!

 

[Safari Steve]

Was that a joke?

 

[Another Voice]

Actually, the inside joke is that the focus of the Disney/MGM Studios changed from "Hollywood" to "Plush Sales" as soon as Pressler took over.

That's the story behind all the 'Villains' ride rumors. Disney is always searching for profitable merchandising lines. Winnie the Pooh is hugely profitably for the company (until the court takes the license away) but their last big "new" line was 'The Lion King'. The Villains line (an offshoot of the Disneyland 'Fantasmic!' merchandise) turned out to be a rather nice surprise – especially with adults. Big, but not huge. Cries went out immediately to exploit and expand its popularity as quickly as possible. WDI, smelling the chance for job-saving projects, leapt at a chance. So out can all the sketch books.

'The Great Movie Ride' has been on the vunerable for a long time now. Filled with expensive Audio Animatronic figures, royalty-based movie clips and (worst of all) non-Disney product – it's on the chopping block each quarter ABC ratings fall short of expectations.

The cheapest plan that's been "rumored" would have removed all of the physical sets inside the building and replaced them with large screens, water sprinklers and wind machines for showing 3-D movies. Think of it as a roll through 'Honey I Shrunk the Audience' (although it was snidely referred to as Paul's Budget 'Spiderman'). Taking the idea even further and to a "granduer level", the Villains would have served as the very light themeing that would have stapled onto the carnival rides of 'Shadowland' (also called Disney's Villain Adventure after the park with the same business model).

There have been other ideas for the 'Great Movie' space as well. When Eisner was very happy with 'SuperStar Limo' there was a concept to yuck-up 'The Great Movie Ride' in a similar fashion with stylized sets and figures of celebrities. Or since the show building itself is really just a big warehouse, there were several concepts to put the 'Soaring Over California' clone inside.

But even cheap replacements still cost capital. At the moment capital for the parks is as rare as hit shows on ABC. In the corporate view of the world, it's simply cheaper to keep the existing, more expensive operations going rather than invest in something new without an immediate payback.

 

[YoHo]

Considering that Superstar Limo is nice and Shut Down in California, why would anyone suspect it of being BUILT in Florida?

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Considering that Superstar Limo is nice and Shut Down in California, why would anyone suspect it of being BUILT in Florida?

I'm pretty sure AV meant this idea was tossed around before DCA opened.
Personally, I would love to see a Villians ride modeled after 'Spiderman'. I finally got a chance to ride it this January, and it is a fantastic ride. That said, I don't think it should go in TGMR's building. The ride inside the Chinese Theater needs to remain a more general look at the movies, or at entertainment in general, and not be focused so tightly on a single subject. Plus it should have no height restrictions, which 'Spiderman' has.
I'd love to see GMR revamped a bit, but not too radically - I think the "moving theaters" are a little too long, I'd cut the silly "gangster takes over the vehicle" part, and I wouldn't mind replacing some scenes with more scenes from Disney movies or ones that they would pay less royalties for.
A villians ride should be located closer to the Animation studio.

 

[Planogirl]

After riding the latest butchered version of Journey Into Imagination, I shudder at the thought of what the Disney execs could do to the Great Movie Ride. I never thought that they could take a lame ride and make it even worse but wow, was I ever wrong! Since they removed all semblance of imagination from Journey Into Imagination, maybe they will just remove all references to movies from The Great Movie Ride? (Yes, I'm disgusted! )

I don't suppose there's any hope of the big hat going away so that the theater is visible again? I was surprised when I saw the construction walls around the hat and even more surprised when a CM told me that they were removing a sign.

 

[MelissathePooh]

Superstar Limo - boy thats a few minutes of my life I'll never get back!

I remember DR saying to me - "from what I've read and heard its supposed to be pretty stupid", but never in my wildest dreams did I understand how much of an understatement that could be.

Melissa

 

[scarlett873]

Originally posted by MelissathePooh
Superstar Limo - boy thats a few minutes of my life I'll never get back!

I remember DR saying to me - "from what I've read and heard its supposed to be pretty stupid", but never in my wildest dreams did I understand how much of an understatement that could be.

Melissa

i'm with you on that one!!

i waited in that line for 25 minutes...for a ride that lasted 30 seconds!!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

After riding the latest butchered version of Journey Into Imagination, I shudder at the thought of what the Disney execs could do to the Great Movie Ride.

Are you talking about the most recent version, or the one of a few years ago? I just rode Imagination in January, and I thought it was much better than the version they had in 1998, although not as good as the original.

I remember DR saying to me

I've heard of "DS" and "DD" and "DH" and "DW", but what's a "DR"?

i waited in that line for 25 minutes...for a ride that lasted 30 seconds!!

Oh come on, it's at least a few minutes long.

 

[raidermatt]

Douglas- DR is her husband...its the name he posts under (d-r).

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by Douglas Dubh
I'm pretty sure AV meant this idea was tossed around before DCA opened.
Personally, I would love to see a Villians ride modeled after 'Spiderman'. I finally got a chance to ride it this January, and it is a fantastic ride.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Disney did "remodel" TGMR towards a villians theme, that what you would have would be a huge disapointment when you compared it to Spiderman at Universal.