News Disney Not Renewing Great Movie Ride Sponsorship Deal with TCM ; Attraction to Close

[NoChesterHester]

There would be near Universal support for it to be brought into the 21st Century rather than replaced.

When this ride was installed Disney needed the MGM catalog of IP's to flesh out the park. There was a licensing fee involved and any modifications would for certain incur greater fees. This is a different era in that now that there are plenty of in-house IP's and it is harder and harder to justify the expense.

Disney looks at the parks as brand advocacy more than anything these days. So the only possibility in this current corporate climate would be a massive refurb that removed all MGM intellectual properties and replaced them with Disney owned IP's. Sounds good... if you want a ride based on recent cinematic history. Huge gaps exist because there were large eras where Disney wasn't very prolific and it wouldn't be much of a cohesive tale of cinema as the ride today is intended to portray.

Therefore, a full-on worthy refurb is probably out of the question.

 

[HMF]

When this ride was installed Disney needed the MGM catalog of IP's to flesh out the park. There was a licensing fee involved and any modifications would for certain incur greater fees. This is a different era in that now that there are plenty of in-house IP's and it is harder and harder to justify the expense.

Disney looks at the parks as brand advocacy more than anything these days. So the only possibility in this current corporate climate would be a massive refurb that removed all MGM intellectual properties and replaced them with Disney owned IP's. Sounds good... if you want a ride based on recent cinematic history. Huge gaps exist because there were large eras where Disney wasn't very prolific and it wouldn't be much of a cohesive tale of cinema as the ride today is intended to portray.

Therefore, a full-on worthy refurb is probably out of the question.

Small problem with that, None of the movies in the Great Movie Ride are currently owned by MGM, With a few exceptions almost everything in the ride is either owned by Disney or Warner Brothers.
http://yesterland.com/mgm-end.html

 

[NoChesterHester]

Small problem with that, None of the movies in the Great Movie Ride are currently owned by MGM, With a few exceptions almost everything in the ride is either owned by Disney or Warner Brothers.
http://yesterland.com/mgm-end.html

That's not what I stated nor was it my point. Regardless, the vast majority of the movies are owned by Warner Bros with a licensing fee paid by Disney.

 

[marni1971]

When this ride was installed Disney needed the MGM catalog of IP's to flesh out the park. There was a licensing fee involved and any modifications would for certain incur greater fees .

Nope. They would have free reign with what they have to update. Certain AAs are already upgraded with compliance.

The real issue is the cost of updating the infrastructure. Like Energy it's been flogged to death. Then there's the cost of running it. After 28 years they've decided they can't afford it.

 

[MaximumEd]

Can't afford it? That's a good one. It's really sad that today's TWDC can't update and/or maintain GMR, can't fix a yeti, can't come up with original ideas for attractions, and keep choosing to gut and overlay. I'm just glad EPCOT got built in the 80's and that I got to see it once before it was left to rot. There's no way today's Disney could pull it off again. I know that's a big tangent from GMR, but just shows the lack of ambition and imagination.

 

[aladdin2007]

Can't afford it? That's a good one. It's really sad that today's TWDC can't update and/or maintain GMR, can't fix a yeti, can't come up with original ideas for attractions, and keep choosing to gut and overlay. I'm just glad EPCOT got built in the 80's and that I got to see it once before it was left to rot. There's no way today's Disney could pull it off again. I know that's a big tangent from GMR, but just shows the lack of ambition and imagination.

Agree they couldn't pull it off again. Not when bean counters and mall merch execs are running the parks (looking at you chapek) so what we get is no vision or anyone who really knows what they are doing, the Imagineering I grew up with in the 80s and early 90s is dead. Now they are just really young people glued to their phone screens throwing things left and right into whatever is faster easier and cheaper. Theme is out the door, hodge podge is in. Plush is more important than substance and capacity and all those other things that use to matter.

 

[Matt_Black]

Now they are just really young people glued to their phone screens throwing things left and right into whatever is faster easier and cheaper.

ANNND there's the requisite "Blame the Millenials" for something post.

 

[Timothy_Q]

ANNND there's the requisite "Blame the Millenials" for something post.

Even better considering the people in charge making the bad decisions aren't millennials

 

[MotherOfBirds]

ANNND there's the requisite "Blame the Millenials" for something post.

I know! Between all the brunch, bringing down every conceivable industry, and ruining Disney, where do we find the time?

 

[PrincessJulia1207]

Agree they couldn't pull it off again. Not when bean counters and mall merch execs are running the parks (looking at you chapek) so what we get is no vision or anyone who really knows what they are doing, the Imagineering I grew up with in the 80s and early 90s is dead. Now they are just really young people glued to their phone screens throwing things left and right into whatever is faster easier and cheaper. Theme is out the door, hodge podge is in. Plush is more important than substance and capacity and all those other things that use to matter.

Dear Bob Chapek,

 

[Bocabear]

Agree they couldn't pull it off again. Not when bean counters and mall merch execs are running the parks (looking at you chapek) so what we get is no vision or anyone who really knows what they are doing, the Imagineering I grew up with in the 80s and early 90s is dead. Now they are just really young people glued to their phone screens throwing things left and right into whatever is faster easier and cheaper. Theme is out the door, hodge podge is in. Plush is more important than substance and capacity and all those other things that use to matter.

Not to blame the millenmials, but it does seem like a real lack of creative vision these days...And it seems like super lazy design choices abound... not 100% everywhere, but most places.
Bland hotel interiors (Polynesian), Bland looking restaurant remodels(Flying Fish), Bland looking attraction interiors ( PFT, Enchanted Tales with Belle)...they can do better...they should do better....

 

[HMF]

Not to blame the millenmials, but it does seem like a real lack of creative vision these days...And it seems like super lazy design choices abound... not 100% everywhere, but most places.
Bland hotel interiors (Polynesian), Bland looking restaurant remodels(Flying Fish), Bland looking attraction interiors ( PFT, Enchanted Tales with Belle)...they can do better...they should do better....

I don't think this is a "Blame the Millenials" situation. I highly doubt Bob Chapek was born in the 80s, 90s or early 2000s.

 

[jakeman]

ANNND there's the requisite "Blame the Millenials" for something post.

Even better considering the people in charge making the bad decisions aren't millennials

I don't think this is a "Blame the Millenials" situation. I highly doubt Bob Chapek was born in the 80s, 90s or early 2000s.

No, but that demographic is the one they are starting to consider in their decision making because that generation is getting to the age where they have disposable income for vacations.

Whether that influence is positive or negative or Disney is making good decisions based on that influence is another discussion.

 

[TheGhostWithTheMost]

Only old people could blame young people for the problems that other old people like them are creating. Sod off. The millennials aren't interested in spending money on the parks because they're smart enough to realize it's not at all worth the price point anymore. The millennials are the only ones who have caught on and tried to vote with their money.

 

[Sped2424]

I don't think this is a "Blame the Millenials" situation. I highly doubt Bob Chapek was born in the 80s, 90s or early 2000s.

Well they gotta complain about the youth somewhere!!

 

[Casper Gutman]

Only old people could blame young people for the problems that other old people like them are creating. Sod off. The millennials aren't interested in spending money on the parks because they're smart enough to realize it's not at all worth the price point anymore. The millennials are the only ones who have caught on and tried to vote with their money.

I'm pretty sure this isn't true either.

Let's just blame Disney management and not the guests. We're more likely to be correct that way.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Nope. They would have free reign with what they have to update. Certain AAs are already upgraded with compliance.

The real issue is the cost of updating the infrastructure. Like Energy it's been flogged to death. Then there's the cost of running it. After 28 years they've decided they can't afford it.

I know I'm not the only person who finds it disgusting that Disney believes upkeep and maintenance of an existing attraction, like GMR, to be "too expensive", but has no problem shelling out several hundred million to replace it. They also can't: fix the Yeti; build a new nighttime parade; Rehab HM. But they can spend billions on MM+, SWL, a kiddie coaster for TSL...

 

[Bocabear]

I think the Millennial Blame was not directed at the guests but the talent hired for their imagineering department...

 

[Kman101]

I know I'm not the only person who finds it disgusting that Disney believes upkeep and maintenance of an existing attraction, like GMR, to be "too expensive", but has no problem shelling out several hundred million to replace it. They also can't: fix the Yeti; build a new nighttime parade; Rehab HM. But they can spend billions on MM+, SWL, a kiddie coaster for TSL...

Agreed. But the nitpick I have is that slinky isn't really a kiddie coaster it seems but amazing what they can spend on and then not spend money on

 

[sedati]

Not to blame the millenmials, but it does seem like a real lack of creative vision these days...

With the exception of Universe of Energy which gave us a slow moving theater through dioramas and films, every ride built for Epcot Center was either an omni-mover or boat slowly moving past dioramas and filmed segments. The themes were different, but the execution was blandly similar. Surely there were other ways to edutain us. I was sad to see recently that one of the early space pavilions included... a slow omni-mover through dioramas. Before Body Wars came to be, the plan was... a slow moving omnimover.

I hate trying to reduce things to such a simplistic form, but it seems the lens everything is currently viewed through. So can we say the omnimover was even more of a crutch than screenz are today?