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

[wannabeBelle]

It is unfortunate that they always move at a glacial pace. They announced TSL a year ago. There is no reason it shouldn't be within a year of opening, which would have been at a reasonable time to close GMR for this project. Thank goodness Star Tours and Indy will stay open for the time-being, at least.

Agreed. I was there the May after they had close the BLT and was over in the back looking around in the shops set up for Star Wars weekends. They literally hadn't done a thing to the entire area of the BLT attraction ( or as much as I could see). It was about 5-6 months after the closure at that point. Very frustrating to have attractions being cut to have the area stand dormant for a long amount of time. Don't get me wrong, BLT needed a refresh or to go, but in favor of another attraction, not to just lie dormant. Marie

 

[tribbleorlfl]

If we were still on the old ticket system, would a M&G even garner more than an "A" ticket?

But that's not @Figment2005 's point, though. They are simply saying M&G's ARE attractions. Many people on here might not wait in line for them and it certainly can be argued Disney shouldn't be using valuable space to house them, but that doesnt make them any less attractions.

Personally, I never saw the alure of M&G's until my daughter came along. My son went from being scared of them to "Its just a man inside a suit." But my daughter, she buys into the "magic." The first time she meat A&E, the pure joy on her face made the hour we waited in line worth it and no ride we went on that day could match it.

 

[the-reason14]

Why does everyone freak out from some rumor someone heard from somebody who knows something. Relax and enjoy. No reason, at all, to get upset about things like this. Be happy for what we have and if you don't like Disney anymore, don't go, it won't hurt any of us who love it and keep going.

Because as of late, these so called rumors that someone heard from somebody else have been accurate and coming true. Rides that are perfectly themed, being replaced with ones that are not so much. This is current trend Disney, so of course we are going to freak out. And if it continues, then I(can't speak for anyone else on this)won't go anymore. Similarly, if you don't like the "freak outs threads" don't read and reply to them.

 

[Bocabear]

I believe that the reason If You Had Wings was free was because it had a sponsor. I think the same was true for CoP.

Almost every attraction in the park had a sponsor... RCA sponsored Space Mountain, Country Bear Jamboree was sponsored by Frito Lay and someone else, Florida Citrus Growers sponsored the Enchanted Tiki Birds, Small World was sponsored by someone... Can't remember now... If You Had Wings and Carousel Of Progress actually used the sponsor name as part of the show... well I guess you can argue, so did Space Mountain...RCA Leads the Way... not sure why these attractions were free then...

 

[yellowrocket]

Almost every attraction in the park had a sponsor... RCA sponsored Space Mountain, Country Bear Jamboree was sponsored by Frito Lay and someone else, Florida Citrus Growers sponsored the Enchanted Tiki Birds, Small World was sponsored by someone... Can't remember now... If You Had Wings and Carousel Of Progress actually used the sponsor name as part of the show... well I guess you can argue, so did Space Mountain...RCA Leads the Way... not sure why these attractions were free then...

Carousel of Progress gladly proclaimed it's connection with GE - more than any other sponsored attraction (other than If You Had Wings). The GE Sponsorship of COP ended when Horizons opened, and their sponsorship shifted over there. Eastern Airlines was ALLLL over If You Had Wings - so much so that, during the age of ticket books, it was free because of the sponsorship.

 

[Bocabear]

Carousel of Progress gladly proclaimed it's connection with GE - more than any other sponsored attraction (other than If You Had Wings). The GE Sponsorship of COP ended when Horizons opened, and their sponsorship shifted over there. Eastern Airlines was ALLLL over If You Had Wings - so much so that, during the age of ticket books, it was free because of the sponsorship.

Space Mountain too...there were RCA logos all over the place... RCA presents the Home Of The Future...RCA presents the sound of tomorrow....and the theme song... it should have been free...lol

 

[Phil12]

I believe that the reason If You Had Wings was free was because it had a sponsor. I think the same was true for CoP.

Yes indeed! Disney has a long history of having paid advertisements as attractions.

 

[FigmentJedi]

But the whole idea of the park was to tell the story of movie industry and demonstrate to the public how it was done - what happed to that?

The working studio thing never caught on in Florida because getting a West Coast dominated industry to produce stuff in Florida was like herding cats plus Eisner's whole "Kill 2D animation and consolidate everything under Californian supervision" got rid of the animation studio that was the one group actively producing stuff.

Not to mention DVD extras and the internet made the idea of showing guests how movies are made seemingly obsolete.

 

[BrerJon]

It is unfortunate that they always move at a glacial pace. They announced TSL a year ago. There is no reason it shouldn't be within a year of opening, which would have been at a reasonable time to close GMR for this project. Thank goodness Star Tours and Indy will stay open for the time-being, at least.

The Toy Story Playlands in Paris and Hong Kong both opened around a year after they were announced and construction began. Florida's seems much less ambitious, with just a bog standard coaster and a flat ride, so shouldn't take much longer if they put their minds to it, so it's a mystery why it isn't open already.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

The working studio thing never caught on in Florida because getting a West Coast dominated industry to produce stuff in Florida was like herding cats plus Eisner's whole "Kill 2D animation and consolidate everything under Californian supervision" got rid of the animation studio that was the one group actively producing stuff.

Not to mention DVD extras and the internet made the idea of showing guests how movies are made seemingly obsolete.

What's interesting about that is that production in California has become too expensive for many TV shows and films. If Florida had gone the way of Louisiana, Georgia or North Carolina with legislative efforts to woo production, DHS could have been flooded with production right about now. In that way, Eisner had great foresight - it just didn't pan out in time for WDW to take advantage. Now TV shows are fighting each other tooth and nail to find available soundstage space anywhere in the US or Canada.

 

[garagely]

In a theme park that was originally themed to movies/movie production, they've removed the special effects tour, the backlot tour, the formerly functioning animation studio, and now an attraction riding through film history is going to expire. Facepalm.

 

[DinoInstitute]

The Toy Story Playlands in Paris and Hong Kong both opened around a year after they were announced and construction began. Florida's seems much less ambitious, with just a bog standard coaster and a flat ride, so shouldn't take much longer if they put their minds to it, so it's a mystery why it isn't open already.

While there is one less new attraction, I think the DHS edition is significantly more ambitious. It's definitely a lot bigger, and it has a large, custom coaster as opposed to just another off the shelf ride. That said, I still agree with you that the fact that it's still 2 years away from opening is mind boggling.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If Disney does indeed remove The Great Movie Ride, then I will lose interest in returning to DHS (or whatever its revised version is called). That may sound like hyperbole, but hear me out.

Disney's current strategy going forward appears to be copying Universal's. Not just in terms of building rides based on movies, but having a park with districts that have no real connection to each other beyond being based on IPs owned or acquire by the company. It's what Islands of Adventure has always looked like, and what Universal Studios Florida is turning into. That means in five years, Orlando will have three theme parks that essentially do the same thing. Given that's what Universal has always been to some extent, and both its parks are included in the same admission ticket, it very much diminishes the appeal of visiting the Disney equivalent. Worse, many of these new rides coming to DHS are copies or variations of what will already exist in other Disney theme parks (including all of Star Wars Land, the park's main selling point in the next decade).

When Disney-MGM Studios first opened it differentiated itself from Magic Kingdom and EPCOT by not only offering educational attractions, but practical studio facilities and Disney takes on other Hollywood films (Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Oz, Alien etc). It offered "interactive" experiences long before MM+, with things like the 50s Prime Time Cafe and the Monster Sound Show, and ways to frequently and appropriately promote current or upcoming releases (as was done with many parades and shows).

"Disney's Hollywood Adventure", doesn't appear to do any of this. Not only is the studio aspect gone (as has been the case for some time now), but there is no current effort to produce any attractions that relate to Hollywood history, nostalgia or anything that isn't explicitly Disney® as of 2016. It's just a collection of Disney rides and settings, that doesn't have any strong narrative concept to tie them together or even have the appeal of being centered around a lake like IoA. That GMR is being considered for removal before any of the tired stage shows have been replaced is also ridiculous.

The new version of DHS will undoubtedly be more popular than its immediate predecessor, but as someone who already visits Disney California Adventure, Universal Orlando and Walt Disney Studios Paris, I find it hard to get excited about a theme park that simply mixes all of them together for the sake of creative and financial ease. "Hollywood", as both an abstract concept and real place, provides many opportunities for themed attractions, as do the films not yet explored in this field by either Disney or Universal. There is no need to replace a high-capacity, ambitious, and exclusive attraction like GMR, with anything else. There is land for expansion, and other, weaker aspects of the park that could be replaced. Considering the price of admission, Disney should be offering more than a Universal imitation with recycled ideas. Even Eisner knew that when he decided to get his studio park open first.

 

[Siren]

I don't think it would be shoehorned...that show building is bigger than most other buildings on property...it is massive.

Hi @Bocabear! Mickey Mouse is fun and vibrant and a bit zany sort of like the BAH.

The Chinese Theater is none of that -- it's classy, elegant and so sophisticated. So, the two themes just don't bode well together, this would totally clash. Theme is very important to me.

I know you want to hang on to the theater but sometimes we have to move forward. I was so sad when we lost that big tacky hat. I was also disappointed when we lost toon town but I understand it was for the better. I hope this helps, bocabear!

 

[danlb_2000]

Hi @Bocabear! Mickey Mouse is fun and vibrant and a bit zany sort of like the BAH.

The Chinese Theater is none of that -- it's classy, elegant and so sophisticated. So, the two themes just don't bode well together, this would totally clash. Theme is very important to me.

I know you want to hang on to the theater but sometimes we have to move forward. I was so sad when we lost that big tacky hat. I was also disappointed when we lost toon town but I understand it was for the better. I hope this helps, bocabear!

 

[Siren]

Why? There's still finite space around it. All that would happen would another building of the same (or slightly smaller) size would replace it.

Marni, the ceiling is just way too low for the new ride. It needs to be tall like Space Ship Earth or Cinderella's castle, as it will also serve as the new icon for the park.

The Chinese Theater is very old, the new Mickey ride deserves to be housed in a brand new state of the art building.

Today's building standards and expectations have totally changed -- it's like The Grand Ceremonial House at the Poly versus Aulani.

 

[danlb_2000]

Marni, the ceiling is just way too low for the new ride. It needs to be tall like Space Ship Earth or Cinderella's castle, as it will also serve as the new icon for the park.

The Chinese Theater is very old, the new Mickey ride deserves to be housed in a brand new state of the art building.

Today's building standards and expectations have totally changed -- it's like The Grand Ceremonial House at the Poly versus Aulani.

A lot of Disney's rides are just big plain industrial buildings with theming applied, the inside of the GMR building can become anything they want it to be and beyond the ride system there is very little that needs to be "state of the art". If it's going to be a single level ride, it doesn't need to be any taller. The Chinese Theater façade will likely stay and it could still server as the park icon. Have you ever seen the castle in Disneyland? It's not much taller then the Cinese Theater. Even if they were to replace the theater façade, there is no reason to get rid of the show building.

 

[danlb_2000]

Hi @Bocabear! Mickey Mouse is fun and vibrant and a bit zany sort of like the BAH.

The Chinese Theater is none of that -- it's classy, elegant and so sophisticated. So, the two themes just don't bode well together, this would totally clash. Theme is very important to me.

I know you want to hang on to the theater but sometimes we have to move forward. I was so sad when we lost that big tacky hat. I was also disappointed when we lost toon town but I understand it was for the better. I hope this helps, bocabear!

Mickey got his start in movies, so having a Mickey ride a building that looks like one of the world's most iconic movie theaters is hardly bad theming.

 

[Mike S]

If Disney does indeed remove The Great Movie Ride, then I will lose interest in returning to DHS (or whatever its revised version is called). That may sound like hyperbole, but hear me out.

Disney's current strategy going forward appears to be copying Universal's. Not just in terms of building rides based on movies, but having a park with districts that have no real connection to each other beyond being based on IPs owned or acquire by the company. It's what Islands of Adventure has always looked like, and what Universal Studios Florida is turning into. That means in five years, Orlando will have three theme parks that essentially do the same thing. Given that's what Universal has always been to some extent, and both its parks are included in the same admission ticket, it very much diminishes the appeal of visiting the Disney equivalent. Worse, many of these new rides coming to DHS are copies or variations of what will already exist in other Disney theme parks (including all of Star Wars Land, the park's main selling point in the next decade).

When Disney-MGM Studios first opened it differentiated itself from Magic Kingdom and EPCOT by not only offering educational attractions, but practical studio facilities and Disney takes on other Hollywood films (Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Oz, Alien etc). It offered "interactive" experiences long before MM+, with things like the 50s Prime Time Cafe and the Monster Sound Show, and ways to frequently and appropriately promote current or upcoming releases (as was done with many parades and shows).

"Disney's Hollywood Adventure", doesn't appear to do any of this. Not only is the studio aspect gone (as has been the case for some time now), but there is no current effort to produce any attractions that relate to Hollywood history, nostalgia or anything that isn't explicitly Disney® as of 2016. It's just a collection of Disney rides and settings, that doesn't have any strong narrative concept to tie them together or even have the appeal of being centered around a lake like IoA. That GMR is being considered for removal before any of the tired stage shows have been replaced is also ridiculous.

The new version of DHS will undoubtedly be more popular than its immediate predecessor, but as someone who already visits Disney California Adventure, Universal Orlando and Walt Disney Studios Paris, I find it hard to get excited about a theme park that simply mixes all of them together for the sake of creative and financial ease. "Hollywood", as both an abstract concept and real place, provides many opportunities for themed attractions, as do the films not yet explored in this field by either Disney or Universal. There is no need to replace a high-capacity, ambitious, and exclusive attraction like GMR, with anything else. There is land for expansion, and other, weaker aspects of the park that could be replaced. Considering the price of admission, Disney should be offering more than a Universal imitation with recycled ideas. Even Eisner knew that when he decided to get his studio park open first.

Both Universal parks are not included in the same ticket. You need a park hopper or AP just like Disney to do both in one day.
Nvm.

There is one thing to say though: In 2020, when all is said and done and everything we currently know about is open, USF will still be an overall better and more rounded out park than DHS. Both parks will have gone through a remodel of sorts as well.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Both Universal parks are not included in the same ticket. You need a park hopper or AP just like Disney to do both in one day.

What I meant is that with a Universal ticket (hopper or multiy-day) you can visits those two parks. To visit both DHS and UNI, you need two different kinds of tickets (a Disney pass and one for UNI).