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

[Cesar R M]

Um...

Even if the themeing is incredible, just watching this photo makes me wonder if that was a town near Turkey with a volcano shaped hill.
Including some floating museum ships.

 

[Cesar R M]

It is the quintessential Movie Palace. Imagineers thought it the perfect metaphoric castle for a new park that aimed to be different than Epcot and closer to the Magic Kingdom in terms of feel. The blocks of Hollywood Blvd. are laid out in the same scale as Disneyland's Main Street, USA. Cozier than MK, so it needed a cozier "castle" at the end.

So bad most of them seems to be slowly getting removed.
I wonder how sunset boulevard will look after adding marvel stuff on it. With the mismatch of shows, vintage california, the tower of terror and the food area and out of nowhere, marvel, space stuff, superheroes..etc..

 

[Cesar R M]

When you figure the buildings and facades that have been leveled over the past few months, the tower was just the tip of the iceberg. Probably the cheapest structure in the place. Just a few steel pipes, a big empty tank and some sculptured ears.

I wonder how much money demoing the Catastrophe canyon AND the stunt area costed.

I mean, they took their sweet time demoing the Catastrophe Canyon.

 

[marni1971]

The theatre is currently staying. There was a plan a few years ago to possibly remodel the exterior but I believe that now has been scrapped.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I wonder how much money demoing the Catastrophe canyon AND the stunt area costed.

I mean, they took their sweet time demoing the Catastrophe Canyon.

Considering the complexity of the Canyon set up, I don't think it took long at all. There was a lot there and a lot of it was solid steel. The vibrating sections of the tram way was also filled with heavy equipment. Hardly a tinker toy. The structure with all the pumps, piping, valves and the rest would have been a nightmare trying to take down safely. Contrary to things you see on TV you don't just stick some dynamite sticks on a corner and it all falls down. Even the ones you did see, like the hotels in Vegas took months of prep work for the 5 second implosion. Personally, I'd love to have just half of what they have spent in demolition in my bank account. I wouldn't be on the boards I would be exploring the world.

 

[wm49rs]

LOL. I know but I was cool with it because DHS desperately needs more attractions for children. Plus, it's always disappointing to exit Toy Story Mania and there is literally nothing else in the area to do. Not to mention the area is tight and crammed with people.

So, I liked the idea of moving TMS's exit toward the back where guests can enter a cute and colorful looking Toy Story Land. I am going to remain cautiously optimistic. And, you should, too.

Hi @wm49rs! I will always respond to you. You know why. You are just mad at me because the other guys jumped on you -- even though it was other posters who started it. But, because you lowered yourself to join in and pile on -- everyone just noticed you. So, you totally deserve what you get, IMO. Again, If you had just been yourself that would have never happened.

Good morning, @Bocabear! I heeded your wonderful advice and stepped away from the keyboard. And, I hope you see what has ensued -- the opposite. Now, the other posters are jumping on the bandwagon trying to further inflame the situation when it could have and should have died last night. LOL.

Anyway, I am determined to get back on topic and I've got a lot of posters including you that I hope to finish responding to. Thank you so much for helping me get this discussion back on topic!

No, I was just sleeping. And if you think comments from other posters on an anonymous internet forum bother me, then you truly weren't trained well enough for this little side role of yours....

 

[jt04]

The theatre is currently staying. There was a plan a few years ago to possibly remodel the exterior but I believe that now has been scrapped.

Hoping this is correct. It is the perfect icon for the park. Now hopefully they can get the inside right.

"It all started with a mouse....." is the perfect tagline to build an attraction around.

Sort of The Walt Disney Story meets the GMR meets the original Energy ride combined thoroughly in a Ninja blender and then fresh baked.

 

[wdisney9000]

By "The rest of us", I meant the people on the board (I would assume the majority actually), who don't LIVE on this board, and do not know all the silly little forum board side stories and dramas. All this back and forth drivel means NOTHING to us, and only serves to transform the good, useful discussion into 130 page b*&^% fests. Seriously....can SOMEONE answer what difference it makes AT ALL who here works at Disney or not!?!? Seriously....its not like this board is moderated by the company - You would think WDW employees would be welcome to post here.

To those of you acting like TWDC is placing shills here as some kind of "sinister" plot....one question.....To what end??? What do they accomplish?? Does it make the product better?? Does it make them money?? What then?? MAYBE, IF they are doing it in an organized way (which I am dubious about....to me it seems that many Disney "insiders" are acting a little, maybe more than a little, overly self important in this line of thinking. ITS A THEME PARK!), its to have a dialog, and perhaps better understand, a segment of their customer base. I'm sorry, but if you decide someone has an agenda, the obvious question it leads to is WHY?? To what end are they doing it for??

There is a difference between a Disney CM vs a paid social media advocate, or "influencer". At first, influencers, were just people with a large amount of followers on social media (twitter, FB, IG, etc) and were approached by companies to promote them without being overly obvious about it. That Coca Cola bottle you may see on the table when Kim Kardashian posts a picture wasnt put their by accident. Im just using that as an example. Not saying Kardashian is sponsored by Coca Cola.

It has evolved into much much more though. Now companies will pay a person to actively seek out negative comments on social media or message boards and do damage control, or steer the conversation in a certain direction. Im sure their are metrics to determine how successful it can be, but I doubt the companies are releasing that ino. It may seem small and insignificant, but these companies, especially TWDC take socila media VERY SERIOUSLY. Just look at how much money is spent on the DSMM (Disney social media moms). These are woman with an average of just a few hundred twitter followers or less yet Disney spends BIG money for them. Comped trips, free merch, several large events throughout the year in various parts of the country, free meals, etc. If they are willing to do that, dont hesitate to think they wouldnt have an army of online defenders of the brand. Now, whether Sybil, I mean, Siren is one, I have no clue. I would hope (for her mental well being) that she is, because if she isnt, she mimics the role to a disturbing and unhealthy degree.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I apologize for my laziness but 130 pages is a bit much for me to find out the facts while sifting through the bull....

Can anyone summarize if this is true? If so what is the replacement going to be? Thanks

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but the insiders here have said that the GMR is, sadly, going away. The good news (I guess) is that it's going to be replaced with a Mickey Mouse dark ride, which is, needless to say, long overdue. Still, it could be called sort of a silver lining. It's tragic that non-Disney-generated/adapted IP have been shunted aside of late for Eisner/Iger purchases. Some genuine Disney productions get next-to-nothing (Mary Poppins) while even more recent, and very successful, productions, like Tangled get...a bathroom. Meanwhile, flash-in-the-pan stuff like Cameron's Avatar get whole lands. Brain-dead moves like that have me convinced that Iger fundamentally doesn't "get" or even like Disney. He thinks jewels like Poppins and even Lion King are old and dated and the public isn't interested in them. If that weren't his mentality, he never would have pounced on Avatar as a counter to Universal's Potter attractions. What a maroon.

Sorry. Rant over.

 

[Zipadeelady]

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but the insiders here have said that the GMR is, sadly, going away. The good news (I guess) is that it's going to be replaced with a Mickey Mouse dark ride, which is, needless to say, long overdue. Still, it could be called sort of a silver lining. It's tragic that non-Disney-generated/adapted IP have been shunted aside of late for Eisner/Iger purchases. Some genuine Disney productions get next-to-nothing (Mary Poppins) while even more recent, and very successful, productions, like Tangled get...a bathroom. Meanwhile, flash-in-the-pan stuff like Cameron's Avatar get whole lands. Brain-dead moves like that have me convinced that Iger fundamentally doesn't "get" or even like Disney. He thinks jewels like Poppins and even Lion King are old and dated and the public isn't interested in them. If that weren't his mentality, he never would have pounced on Avatar as a counter to Universal's Potter attractions. What a maroon.

Sorry. Rant over.

Thank you so much for responding! And I really agree with you. So upsetting for GMR to close but if they at going to replace it I would want something old school. And yes why a whole land for Avatar? I'm sure it will be spectacular but.....Avatar? I would love Kuzcotopia!!

 

[The_Jobu]

Great Movie Ride is on the chopping block.
It has been said by insiders that a Mickey themed ride is replacing it.
The ride is currently planned to be somewhere from 5-7 minutes.

That's a shame. I just saw Martin's 1-hour documentary on it, fascinating stuff.

 

[Cesar R M]

The theatre is currently staying. There was a plan a few years ago to possibly remodel the exterior but I believe that now has been scrapped.

Thanks marny, thats a relief!

btw. What was actually the plan for the remodel? change it to another kind of theater? or change the entire facade to look like something completely different but leaving the inner parts intact?

 

[Cesar R M]

Considering the complexity of the Canyon set up, I don't think it took long at all. There was a lot there and a lot of it was solid steel. The vibrating sections of the tram way was also filled with heavy equipment. Hardly a tinker toy. The structure with all the pumps, piping, valves and the rest would have been a nightmare trying to take down safely. Contrary to things you see on TV you don't just stick some dynamite sticks on a corner and it all falls down. Even the ones you did see, like the hotels in Vegas took months of prep work for the 5 second implosion. Personally, I'd love to have just half of what they have spent in demolition in my bank account. I wouldn't be on the boards I would be exploring the world.

I actually remember about the impressive stats of the water pump and reservoir system.. truly amazing.
Then the fire pipes, tubing and spark effects...

 

[Cesar R M]

To those of you acting like TWDC is placing shills here as some kind of "sinister" plot....one question.....To what end??? What do they accomplish?? Does it make the product better?? Does it make them money?? What then??

Its called reputation.
The biggest enemy of big corporations and government is an INFORMED individual.
IF you have 2 huge companies playing monopoly and price fixing all their products.. and then by researching you found that 1 other company is selling the same product, with better specs and cheaper price..it will be the 2 huge companie's loss.
They sure have things TO LOSE if you FOUND about the small companies's products.

Would you love a company that treated their employees like trash or abuse their customers? Most would say no, but what if this company actively censored, pushed, etc.. to not have the stories of these abusers be known and then be drowned by chills or paid individuals's fake stories ?
Believe it or not, governments have done this. My own country does this to inflate fakely the popularity of our inept president.

In Disney's case... Disney is actively monitoring their own networks. You can simply go to the blogs and you will hardly find any negative comment. Why? because those are moderated to the extreme and any dissent and negative comments to ANY plan by The Disney Corp.. is instantly purified, edited or completely removed.

Thats not speculation, its fact.

As for the forums, I dont think Disney ACTIVELY puts chills. But there are quite a few who worked or works for the mouse or universal studios. Some of them might take very defensive stances for their childhood dreams company. For the eyes of some fans.. a company that is as close to their hearts might never do wrong.

 

[Cesar R M]

That's a shame. I just saw Martin's 1-hour documentary on it, fascinating stuff.

At least lets thank @marni1971 for taking the time to document all these attractions. Specially one that is set to be replaced.

 

[matt9112]

The hat was a giant plastic pin store in the middle of the park that in no way represented the idea of studio or movies. It represented one scene from a single movie which was Fantasia. The theater is a classic representation of the golden age of Hollywood and all the movies it encompasses.

Any of the Magic Kingdoms follow the model of the castle at the end of a turn of the century town, this is true. Yet what Magic Kingdom is trying to do and what Hollywood Studios is trying to do is different. Main Street is a fictional fantasy like twist on an American town. A town inspired by the towns Walt grew up with. Hollywood Studios you are meant to be in the world of Hollywood. While it is glamorous and much more clean and robust then the Hollywood we know, it is meant to be more of a setting of place. The hat did nothing to fix that. And also even if Magic Kingdom was wrong with the castle, two wrongs don't make a right so the hat still doesn't work.

I would add that a good way to put it is versions of places and themes that never exsisted in real life but our brains could piece together "this" as the perfect example.

 

[unkadug]

I would add that a good way to put it is versions of places and themes that never exsisted in real life but our brains could piece together "this" as the perfect example.

Very much like Eisner said... We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be.

 

[willtravel]

With all the props that were in Backlot tour and now GMR closing, I wonder what they did with props in Backlot and will do with what's in GMR? Ebay?

 

[unkadug]

With all the props that were in Backlot tour and now GMR closing, I wonder what they did with props in Backlot and will do with what's in GMR? Ebay?

landfill

 

[CanadianGordon]

I get the strangest feeling I missed something in this thread. Happy we're back on track. I wonder what will happen with the Wicked Witch AA figure once this ride closes.