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

[MisterPenguin]

I bet they've already taken the bandit/gangster AAs (and possibly Ripley) and started outfitting them with clonetrooper gear, getting that part out of the way two years in advance.

WDW = Walt Disney Westworld

 

[bclane]

WDW = Walt Disney Westworld

Wouldn't that be something!?

 

[erasure fan1]

I believe the ride closure had more to do with not wanting to pay and advertise a non Disney brand when they can advertise a Disney brand instead. Same thing that happened to Tower of Terror in California.

But if they wanted to advertise the Disney brand they could have. That was the beauty of The great movie ride, if you wanted, it could never go out of date. They could have advertised the heck out of their brand. But they chose the shoe horn approach again.

 

[asianway]

But if they wanted to advertise the Disney brand they could have. That was the beauty of The great movie ride, if you wanted, it could never go out of date. They could have advertised the heck out of their brand. But they chose the shoe horn approach again.

Swap Oz with Sugar Rush and a King Candy AA. Possibilities were endless. You could have gotten rid of every non Disney IP and had an enhanced ride

 

[Cesar R M]

Thank you. Most of the AAs are gone. Same for the smaller Energy ones.

So the question is, are they going to a landfill or refurbished and repurposed to other rides?

 

[Cesar R M]

WDW = Walt Disney Westworld

You gave me chills, Imagine a Mickey Mouse robot gaining sentience.. but behaving kinda not so good, like the first cartoons.

 

[Beacon Joe]

WDW = Walt Disney Westworld

Bring me an 1873 Winchester short and a LeMat... and have Elsa, the snowman, and the Dreamfinder meet me at the town square at high noon.

 

[invader]

I hope they somehow save the Public Enemy mural/picture/thing

 

[larryz]

Bring me an 1873 Winchester short and a LeMat... and have Elsa, the snowman, and the Dreamfinder meet me at the town square at high noon.

Actually, they said they're just sending one...

 

[admiral-ari-x]

Looking at all of the videos made me cry (as per usual with these sad occasions...) I got to ride my last time in April, and the line was about 50 minutes- worth it though, I got to see the cowboy hijacking for the first time before the ride closed! Such an absolute shame it's gone But now all this demo has me nervous... how much of this ride can be/will be slavaged or preserved? Any specific bits of news are appreciated!

 

[Tom Morrow]

Speaking of Westworld.... everyone should watch HBO's Westworld series. So far there are only 10 episodes, and it's amazing.

 

[RoysCabin]

The whole notion of movies “deserving” to be the parks is a big part of why The Great Movie Ride is being ripped out. It is a metric that has absolutely nothing to do with the guest experience.

This is a key point that I think doesn't get brought up enough.

For starters, "Movie X, Movie Y, and Movie Z ALL deserve to be in a park" is not a conducive line of thinking in creating well-crafted theme parks; it's too much of a "stuff everything in" mentality that cares little for cohesion and what optimizes the guest experience. Obviously I don't blame a company like Disney for wanting to capitalize on a hot property in the parks now and then, but this leads into the second point: there is no more "now and then", because Disney, now a larger entertainment conglomerate than ever before, has a new potential blockbuster out just about every other weekend.

Simply put, there are just too many movies that come out from Disney-owned studios to fit everything into the parks. I get that's why they're aiming for concepts like Star Wars Land, where they can just get as much in as possible from the property into a set number of acres, but then there's the entirety of Marvel, more animated movies than ever before, etc. When the original parks opened Disney averaged an "animated classic" every few years: last year alone had both Moana and Zootopia, and I'm not even including whatever output Pixar has on the way. It just isn't feasible.

This really does hurt, too; the loss of the moving theater, AA-heavy concept ride is a huge blow to the style of attraction that made Disney World what it was for my family and I, and it does lead to some tough questions about whether this is still a resort that appeals to that sensibility and whether I can really bring myself to drop multiple thousands of dollars to visit with any annual regularity. That's not me pouting or getting into a huff, just having to be real about whether this is "meant" for fans of the old style anymore.

 

[YodaMan]

Signs on the Chinese Theater are down

 

[WDWTank]

I find it depressing that Disney still hasn't learned from the closing of Horizons.....

 

[WDWTank]

Just watched the video, and nope, not her. I'm glad you had a positive last ride though.

@wdwmagic on behalf of Leah, thank you for posting the album online. She's really touched.

Wait were you a tour guide for the TGMR? That's Awesome

 

[Princess Leia]

Wait were you a tour guide for the TGMR? That's Awesome

Nope, I wasn't, but my friend was

 

[HMF]

I find it depressing that Disney still hasn't learned from the closing of Horizons.....

Very few people in the executive levels of the company are still around fromback then to learn anything.

 

[Movielover]

I find it depressing that Disney still hasn't learned from the closing of Horizons.....

What, that they shouldn't close rides and replace them?

You sir need to learn how the world works my friend.

 

[disneygeek90]

What, that they shouldn't close rides and replace them?

You sir need to learn how the world works my friend.

Add, don't replace. Update, don't remove.

 

[Movielover]

Add, don't replace. Update, don't remove.

Again, don't realize how the world works... Gotta stop living in that magical bubble!