With all of the buzz surrounding DHS lately, I got to thinking about what could be done to modernize the GMR. As it is now, it is outdated, stale, and kind of corny; however, I believe that it has the potential to bring cohesion to DHS, something it is so desperately lacking at the moment.
The guests walk into the world famous Chinese Theatre, under the impression that they are just going to be seeing a movie. They go through the queue into the lobby and take in the atmosphere: the smells and sounds of popcorn popping, the miscellaneous movie memorabilia on display (really no different than the queue now). They are finally guided to their seats by ushers, with the seats of the theatre being the ride vehicle. The scene surrounding the vehicles will no longer be a “film set”, but rather the inside of the theatre with a curtain in front. An usher, our guide, introduces himself and appears a bit nervous, fumbling his words; this is his first time ushering and he is especially nervous because the previous usher mysteriously went missing whilst on the job.
The lights start to dim as if the movie is about to start. The curtain opens and a 1930s style ad starts to play demonstrating the safety spiel. Everything seems normal until the speaker in the ad starts talking to the usher directly, asking him if he’s ever been into the movies. The usher, although dumbfounded, replies yes of course he’s seen movies before and that his favourite is the Wizard of Oz (this will be important later...); however, what the speaker really means is if he’s ever been into the movies themselves. The movie seats start creeping forward through the movie screen and the usher (unsurprisingly) freaks out (unlike the present GMR, the usher has no idea what is in store for the rest of the ride).
I haven’t figured anything out yet for the middle of the ride, so I’m going to skip ahead to the end.
By the end of the ride, the usher has become much more comfortable and is no longer nervous. We go through the Wizard of Oz scene, and our usher, being in his favourite movie, leaves the guests so he can stay in Oz (thus, “going missing” just like his predecessor) and leaving the guests to their own devices. This is where it gets a bit confusing, and where I need suggestions the most...I like the idea of starting this journey in the theatre and then getting whisked away somewhere else, as if the guests, like the usher, “go missing” themselves within their favourite movies. It would be as if the rest of their experience in the park is an extension of the GMR, where you become immersed in the movies (Star Wars universe, Pixar Place, Muppet Studios, etc.) rather than just being on film sets. This would obviously require a re-working of the rest of the park so as to eliminate all those black, yellow and red “hot set” motifs as seen in the backlot tour. However, I don’t know how this could be executed without becoming too confusing.
Any ideas? What do you think?
The guests walk into the world famous Chinese Theatre, under the impression that they are just going to be seeing a movie. They go through the queue into the lobby and take in the atmosphere: the smells and sounds of popcorn popping, the miscellaneous movie memorabilia on display (really no different than the queue now). They are finally guided to their seats by ushers, with the seats of the theatre being the ride vehicle. The scene surrounding the vehicles will no longer be a “film set”, but rather the inside of the theatre with a curtain in front. An usher, our guide, introduces himself and appears a bit nervous, fumbling his words; this is his first time ushering and he is especially nervous because the previous usher mysteriously went missing whilst on the job.
The lights start to dim as if the movie is about to start. The curtain opens and a 1930s style ad starts to play demonstrating the safety spiel. Everything seems normal until the speaker in the ad starts talking to the usher directly, asking him if he’s ever been into the movies. The usher, although dumbfounded, replies yes of course he’s seen movies before and that his favourite is the Wizard of Oz (this will be important later...); however, what the speaker really means is if he’s ever been into the movies themselves. The movie seats start creeping forward through the movie screen and the usher (unsurprisingly) freaks out (unlike the present GMR, the usher has no idea what is in store for the rest of the ride).
I haven’t figured anything out yet for the middle of the ride, so I’m going to skip ahead to the end.
By the end of the ride, the usher has become much more comfortable and is no longer nervous. We go through the Wizard of Oz scene, and our usher, being in his favourite movie, leaves the guests so he can stay in Oz (thus, “going missing” just like his predecessor) and leaving the guests to their own devices. This is where it gets a bit confusing, and where I need suggestions the most...I like the idea of starting this journey in the theatre and then getting whisked away somewhere else, as if the guests, like the usher, “go missing” themselves within their favourite movies. It would be as if the rest of their experience in the park is an extension of the GMR, where you become immersed in the movies (Star Wars universe, Pixar Place, Muppet Studios, etc.) rather than just being on film sets. This would obviously require a re-working of the rest of the park so as to eliminate all those black, yellow and red “hot set” motifs as seen in the backlot tour. However, I don’t know how this could be executed without becoming too confusing.
Any ideas? What do you think?
