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

trainplane3

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
AJH219 said:
Because The Great Movie Ride was an iconic attraction and didn't deserved to be, basically, killed in favor of a Mickey Mouse ride when there were plenty of other place in the park it could have gone. (ex: the Star Wars Waste of Space Bay). Alas the crime has been committed and I'll forever be bitter over losing this great ride, even if the new attraction is great fun.
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And it also creates the point of "nothing is holy" at WDW. I think we all understand that rides will be changed over time, for better or worse (POTC, HM, JII) but a complete gutting just to create a new ride when there's "tons" of room for it elsewhere in the park is just wrong. UoE should've received a overhaul and WoL should've had something built into it. NFL brought new rides with the expense of losing the same number. But the idea that nothing is "untouchable" is brought up now. What's to stop a Time Racers scenario from happening to SSE?

GMR was DHS. Sure DHS is changing (for better or worse) but the ride was still very relevant. It should've received a refurb, remove some scenes and add new ones, bring new effects in. It could've been a even better ride for everyone. And then stick the Mickey ride somewhere else. The park is going to need capacity big time when SWGE opens and having a massive people eater like a "new and improved" GMR would've been great.
 
discomouse131

discomouse131

Active Member
trainplane3 said:
And it also creates the point of "nothing is holy" at WDW. I think we all understand that rides will be changed over time, for better or worse (POTC, HM, JII) but a complete gutting just to create a new ride when there's "tons" of room for it elsewhere in the park is just wrong. UoE should've received a overhaul and WoL should've had something built into it. NFL brought new rides with the expense of losing the same number. But the idea that nothing is "untouchable" is brought up now. What's to stop a Time Racers scenario from happening to SSE?

GMR was DHS. Sure DHS is changing (for better or worse) but the ride was still very relevant. It should've received a refurb, remove some scenes and add new ones, bring new effects in. It could've been a even better ride for everyone. And then stick the Mickey ride somewhere else. The park is going to need capacity big time when SWGE opens and having a massive people eater like a "new and improved" GMR would've been great.
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100% Agree! Mickey is long overdue for his own ride... just in another location. The GMR was just as iconic to DHS as SE is to EPCOT. The Chinese Theatre screams Hollywood to me and the GMR was the perfect attraction to be housed inside it. Refurb? Yes! Updates? Of course! Such a shame to see this icon be tossed away like yesterday's trash...
 
PizzaPlanet

PizzaPlanet

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
That is why they'll need something spectacular in that location in addition to the ride. I surmise they'll put a gigantic Mickey on top of the building or perhaps just two enormous ears.
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Do you think something like this would do the trick?
1516742529890.png
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
insert name here said:
Do you think something like this would do the trick?
View attachment 258738
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Unfortunately due to poor planning, the Sorcerer's Hat that ended up being built was only half the size of the original design. Had they built it twice as big and with two huge Ferris wheels for the ears, it would have been a wonderful icon for the park. I'm sure they have those old plans ready to go. It would not only serve as a great park icon but also provide guests with a breathtaking aerial view of the entire park.
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
Pete C said:
Can I get the TLDR version of why people are down on this attraction? Other than it replacing GMR (which personally I am fine with). I have clicked through countless pages and can't get a grasp on the problem with MMRR. Like why "Mickey deserves better". I read that the perspective changing tricks and projection technology was going to be pretty ground breaking. I also love the new Mickey animation shorts so no issue there for me. They are more true to the original Mickey cartoons than anything Disney has done in decades.
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TLDR is the GMR had a lot of adoring fans, I am one. If you didn't like the ride, there's little anyone can do to convince you. But it is sorely missed by many.

GMR was classic and beloved ride of a now dying breed. It was long, had lot of fantastic elaborate scenery and a healthy animatronic population. A lot of people including myself value these kinds of attractions much more than Disney's modern efforts. Mickey is going to be a much shorter mostly screen-based ride. One that is not even using most of the space from the original building. In park that is in desperate need of ADDITIONAL rides, not replacements or closures. Many were also unhappy when details about the Mickey ride itself (even on its own merits) were revealed.

Longer version-

The new cartoons are a very mixed bag. Some are good, others are bad. Some of them have some very nice background art, but the animation on the characters themselves have that ugly and janky looking "flash animation" vibe to them. Worse, they often give characters exaggerated, ugly and grotesque expressions more fitting of a Ren and Stimpy cartoon than Disney cartoons...
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mickeymouse-secondseason-a-580x333.jpg
https://i0.wp.com/laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mickey-mouse-in-ghoul-friend-an-animation-by-disney-shorts.jpg?resize=640,360&ssl=1
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/2b/f5/3e2bf5959dfa9c0860936304ee1d371b.jpg

There are other concerns about the ride, both in comparison to GMR as well as just based on its own merits. It's rumored to be quite short based on recent rumors, around 5 minutes or less I think. It also seems that the ride is going to rely heavily on video projection, relatively few physical show scenes (if any) and possibly no animatronic figures. I was disappointed at the scene test they showed of the ride at D23-


The ideal Mickey ride would have been a new build (not a replacement of an existing ride) and followed a considerably different story concept. Hopefully it would have been a lot longer too. I think a lot of us who always dreamed of a Mickey ride in our heads were hoping for a sort of "Mickey Mouse Through the Ages" concept. Each scene being based on one of his classic cartoons, perhaps starting from some of his oldest ones and progressing through his career until you reached his newer stuff from the 90s onward. There was a video game from the mid 90s that is a good inspiration for this idea, Mickey Mania (or Mickey's Wild Adventure in other regions). You start out in Steamboat Willie and make your way up to Prince and the Pauper (which was new at the time).


Armchair Imagineering in spoilers-
For one example of a scene- Imagine starting out the ride making your way alongside a riverbank as Steamboat Willie floats down alongside your vehicles. The scene is black and white and you see an elaborate animatronic Mickey at the helm whistling the classic tune alongside Minnie, Pete and a bunch of the animatronic musical animals from the short. Mickey smiles at the riders as he dances and then pulls the boat whistle. Color then springs to life on the scene's surfaces using modern digital mapping (I enjoy it when they use projection tech in this manner, to give existing physical scenery that would have been painted flats anyways some extra texture and life).
 
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rle4lunch

rle4lunch

Well-Known Member
So I'm at the parks this week. First day was yesterday, at DHS. Notables: Tot needs work, as many others have stated. RnR needs work, as many others have stated. Star Tours and Toy Story Mania work as directed.

Here's the sad part. We got to the park at 1120. Went on the 4 major rides, saw 3 live shows, had lunch at 1 and dinner at 6, and STILL had hour long blank spots in between in our schedule.

The sooner this park actually has something to offer the better. Gmr was okay, but it hasn't fit whatever theme wdo has been trying to fit in for the last 10 years, so I'm also fine seeing it go. At this point all the park needs is more quality attractions and some budget love/retheming to the rides that make the cut!
 
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Pete C

Pete C

Active Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
The new cartoons are a very mixed bag. Some are good, others are bad. Some of them have some very nice background art, but the animation on the characters themselves have that ugly and janky looking "flash animation" vibe to them. Worse, they often give characters exaggerated, ugly and grotesque expressions more fitting of a Ren and Stimpy cartoon than Disney cartoons...
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mickeymouse-secondseason-a-580x333.jpg
https://i0.wp.com/laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mickey-mouse-in-ghoul-friend-an-animation-by-disney-shorts.jpg?resize=640,360&ssl=1
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/2b/f5/3e2bf5959dfa9c0860936304ee1d371b.jpg

There are other concerns about the ride, both in comparison to GMR as well as just based on its own merits. It's rumored to be quite short based on recent rumors, around 5 minutes or less I think. It also seems that the ride is going to rely heavily on video projection, relatively few physical show scenes (if any) and possibly no animatronic figures. I was disappointed at the scene test they showed of the ride at D23-
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I see where you are coming from on the animation style, but they are just keeping up with the times. This is what will appeal to the current generation and have kids and teens queuing up for this attraction. I started watching them with my 5-year-old last month and he had an instant connection with them. I thought they were hilarious as well. I don't really agree with the Ren & Stimpy comparison. While there may be some instances that approach scenes from that cartoon, there is not even close to the amount of gross out humor and cringe-worthy violence in the new Mickey cartoons. I honestly hated Ren & Stimpy back in the day (high school for me). I thought it was over the top gross and not funny at all, so the fact that I really like the new Mickey tells me they are quite different. There is quite a bit of violence, yes, but I've watched some of the older Oswald and Mickey cartoons where characters are being set on fire, beheaded, beaten, etc. It's more like Walt Disney's original cartoons than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Roadster Racers for sure. My only beef with the cartoon is how they made Goofy too depressed looking.

As for the ride length, while yes it is far shorter than GMR, is 5 minutes really that short compared to similar rides? It's the same length as many of the most highly rated Disney rides like Flight of Passage, Soarin, Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Ratatouille. I also doubt there will be any AAs like you said, but I think there will be physical sets...ones that rely on projection mapping to bring them to life. I honestly think this ride could be something really different and fun.
 
hobovampire

hobovampire

Active Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
The new cartoons are a very mixed bag. Some are good, others are bad. Some of them have some very nice background art, but the animation on the characters themselves have that ugly and janky looking "flash animation" vibe to them. Worse, they often give characters exaggerated, ugly and grotesque expressions more fitting of a Ren and Stimpy cartoon than Disney cartoons...
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mickeymouse-secondseason-a-580x333.jpg
https://i0.wp.com/laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mickey-mouse-in-ghoul-friend-an-animation-by-disney-shorts.jpg?resize=640,360&ssl=1
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/2b/f5/3e2bf5959dfa9c0860936304ee1d371b.jpg
Click to expand...
This freakin' THIS. They look like Ren n Stimpy and the only good lookin characters are the ducks. Poor poor goofy, like he's not mentally handicapped Disney and yet you are SO INSISTENT. ugh I cannot stand it and its everywhere now.
 
trainplane3

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
Pete C said:
I see where you are coming from on the animation style, but they are just keeping up with the times. This is what will appeal to the current generation and have kids and teens queuing up for this attraction. I started watching them with my 5-year-old last month and he had an instant connection with them. I thought they were hilarious as well. I don't really agree with the Ren & Stimpy comparison. While there may be some instances that approach scenes from that cartoon, there is not even close to the amount of gross out humor and cringe-worthy violence in the new Mickey cartoons. I honestly hated Ren & Stimpy back in the day (high school for me). I thought it was over the top gross and not funny at all, so the fact that I really like the new Mickey tells me they are quite different. There is quite a bit of violence, yes, but I've watched some of the older Oswald and Mickey cartoons where characters are being set on fire, beheaded, beaten, etc. It's more like Walt Disney's original cartoons than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Roadster Racers for sure. My only beef with the cartoon is how they made Goofy too depressed looking.

As for the ride length, while yes it is far shorter than GMR, is 5 minutes really that short compared to similar rides? It's the same length as many of the most highly rated Disney rides like Flight of Passage, Soarin, Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Ratatouille. I also doubt there will be any AAs like you said, but I think there will be physical sets...ones that rely on projection mapping to bring them to life. I honestly think this ride could be something really different and fun.
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I think my issue with the new cartoons are the "meme" faces they stick on whatever character so you know it was a joke. Its a cheap shot to make people laugh because "lol internet memes" instead of putting effort into it. Maybe instead of that, write a better joke. It's like a laugh track but more in your face.

Oh and I'll add in the fact it looks like a overpriced Newgrounds flash animation from 2007. I know hand drawn animation is basically dead, but you can do interesting stuff in Flash if you actually want a unique style. At least Ren and Stimpy had a style, even if it was pretty grotesque at times.

I'm glad they're making new Mickey cartoons but I'm not happy with the overall style. The ride should be great from what our insiders have said. It just shouldn't have replaced GMR.
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
hobovampire said:
This freakin' THIS. They look like Ren n Stimpy and the only good lookin characters are the ducks. Poor poor goofy, like he's not mentally handicapped Disney and yet you are SO INSISTENT. ugh I cannot stand it and its everywhere now.
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Sadly, it's how it is now a days....Paul Rudish was a director on many of the early Cartoon Network cartoons like Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan...So you can easily see he was trying to keep that kind of humor in the shorts....

The animation isn't even through Disney..A Canadian Based animation studio called Mercury Filmworks does the majority of shows airing on Disney.....http://mercuryfilmworks.com/projects/

Now if you want to talk Ren & Stimpy....Disney Animation tried this with the Creator of Eek The Cat before he left and created this odd mess..
latest
 
Brer Oswald

Brer Oswald

Well-Known Member
Replacing GMR with M&M’sRR actually makes a lot of sense on Disney’s part. The Mickey ride represents a new Hollywood Studios that Disney is ready to launch. GMR represents the old Hollywood Studios, one that I personally loved, aside from its lack of attractions. I’m gonna miss the GMR, but I can only imagine the liscencing nightmare that it would have been to update. It was entirely composed of films from a company that broke off its partnership with Disney. They knew it either needed to be updated or replaced, and rather than spending the money to secure multiple outside licenses, they chose to replace it. I’m sure runaway railway will be great; I kinda wish they were going for a “Mickey vs his greatest villains from the comics and cartoons” attraction, but I’ll take what I can get! It also would’ve been cool if they made a new 30s cartoon area in DHS to house this attraction, but I digress. I’ll miss GMR, but I kinda like the idea of a Mickey ride being the central ride of the park.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Brer Oswald said:
It was entirely composed of films from a company that broke off its partnership with Disney. They knew it either needed to be updated or replaced, and rather than spending the money to secure multiple outside licenses, they chose to replace it.
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No. From the original post of this thread:

TheVisionarySoul said:
I've heard from a very reliable source inside Turner that The Great Movie Ride Sponsorship Deal (Only a 3 year contract was signed) is not up for renewal. This was not a TCM Decision, it was Disney's.
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This was Disney cutting off its nose to spite its face. Rather than refurb an existing attraction and renew a sponsorship deal, they chose to close The Great Movie Ride, basically gut the building, and put something else in its place instead of building new for a Mickey ride. Why have two attractions when they can have one with probably 1/4 to 1/3 the operating costs? Of course, it probably won't handle as many guests per hour, but since when is that a concern of TDO these days?
 
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