Great Movie Ride one of the lowest ranked attractions at WDW (Condé Nast)

[draybook]

I wouldn't put it at the bottom but the new narration sucks something awful and takes away from the "live" tour aspect of it.

 

[NeXuS1000]

As much as I've loved GMR and love the idea of it, I can understand why it would rank so poorly - and I don't see how an update could do much to fix it, unless we talk a major, major overhaul.

If anything, they should focus it more heavily of being in the movies they're going through, instead of mainly talking about it and going through sets (the LARP pieces are by far the most interesting parts of the ride), but to do this well, they would need to bring in severely better effects and I think it would also greatly benefit from a different ride system that could support a more varied and sometimes high-speed pace.

All in over, it would almost require an entirely different ride. Could the concept work? Definitely. But I think it's fine if they change it to something Mickey-focused, a core Disney character without his own true, high-profile ride, especially if they change the overall theme of the park away from film-making.

Let GMR rest... it had a good run

 

[rkleinlein]

If anything, they should focus it more heavily of being in the movies they're going through, instead of mainly talking about it and going through sets

I agree completely. I've always thought that a ride celebrating movies should utilize the feeling of being in a theater watching movies on a screen. The theater seats could move, the scenes in the movie could jump out of the screen, and the audience could go into the movie--there are so many possibilities for something more exciting, with more movement in the ride vehicle, and with impressive special effect than the current slow and dull ride-through of movie sets. (I wonder if anybody reading this has been to Puy de Fou in France. I'm thinking of the Naval show with real sets and actors integrated with projected movies of sets and actors and the entire theater moves.) Of course this will never happen.

What should happen is updating at least one scene to show a newer movie, (and one that younger riders can identify with). The most recent movie in the ride now (Raiders of the Lost Ark) is nearly 40 years old! At the VERY least, the ending montage should be updated.

 

[Biff215]

As much as I've loved GMR and love the idea of it, I can understand why it would rank so poorly - and I don't see how an update could do much to fix it, unless we talk a major, major overhaul.

If anything, they should focus it more heavily of being in the movies they're going through, instead of mainly talking about it and going through sets (the LARP pieces are by far the most interesting parts of the ride), but to do this well, they would need to bring in severely better effects and I think it would also greatly benefit from a different ride system that could support a more varied and sometimes high-speed pace.

All in over, it would almost require an entirely different ride. Could the concept work? Definitely. But I think it's fine if they change it to something Mickey-focused, a core Disney character without his own true, high-profile ride, especially if they change the overall theme of the park away from film-making.

Let GMR rest... it had a good run

IMO the current ride system is a big piece of what's worth keeping. I understand that some are looking for something more thrilling, but that's not what this ride was ever meant to be. The slow pace allows you to take in all the details and builds suspense. Updated AA's and a few scene changes could work wonders for GMR. It's certainly not beyond repair, Disney simply doesn't want to spend money on updates and staff anymore. Let's not kid ourselves, a screen based trackless ride will be significantly cheaper to operate and maintain.

I agree completely. I've always thought that a ride celebrating movies should utilize the feeling of being in a theater watching movies on a screen. The theater seats could move, the scenes in the movie could jump out of the screen, and the audience could go into the movie--there are so many possibilities for something more exciting, with more movement in the ride vehicle, and with impressive special effect than the current slow and dull ride-through of movie sets. (I wonder if anybody reading this has been to Puy de Fou in France. I'm thinking of the Naval show with real sets and actors integrated with projected movies of sets and actors and the entire theater moves.) Of course this will never happen.

What should happen is updating at least one scene to show a newer movie, (and one that younger riders can identify with). The most recent movie in the ride now (Raiders of the Lost Ark) is nearly 40 years old! At the VERY least, the ending montage should be updated.

The problem with including newer movies is we don't know what will become a classic over the long term. To me, Alien is one of the scenes that could easily go, and that was relatively new when the park opened. The end montage has been updated over the years and does a decent job of covering the newer stuff, but it could use more frequent updates.

GMR could survive well into the future and still fit just fine as the park evolves if Disney wanted it to.

 

[tirian]

IMO the current ride system is a big piece of what's worth keeping. I understand that some are looking for something more thrilling, but that's not what this ride was ever meant to be. The slow pace allows you to take in all the details and builds suspense. Updated AA's and a few scene changes could work wonders for GMR. It's certainly not beyond repair, Disney simply doesn't want to spend money on updates and staff anymore. Let's not kid ourselves, a screen based trackless ride will be significantly cheaper to operate and maintain.

The problem with including newer movies is we don't know what will become a classic over the long term. To me, Alien is one of the scenes that could easily go, and that was relatively new when the park opened. The end montage has been updated over the years and does a decent job of covering the newer stuff, but it could use more frequent updates.

GMR could survive well into the future and still fit just fine as the park evolves if Disney wanted it to.

Most guests know it's about classic Hollywood, and the closing montage adequately addresses more recent movies. Updated AA technology and special FX would make this cutting-edge again.

 

[seabreezept813]

Thank you... you have hit upon one of the problems with the edutainment philosophy of the old Disney. People just didn't get it. It was about Great Movies, but, that doesn't mean that they were seen by the current generation or the one previous and even my generation. Since we didn't spend our lives stuck in our electronics we were part of discussions that our parents had we might have heard of them peripherally, but, had no real knowledge of their basic stories. It was just entertainment with brief descriptions of what we were looking at and that was it. People that didn't understand that concept were upset because they were expecting to see movies that they had actually seen in some recent time frame. That is why it is just as good today as it was when it opened. It was the same for everyone, with the exception of a couple of them, very few people had actually seen the movies, but, we were being told about the best of the best and still are. This was a park about the Hollywood of old. "The Hollywood that never was and always will be."

My stepdaughter LOVED GMR.. made us do it several times.. had not seen a single movie in the ride. Since, she's become interested in a few like Oz or Singing in the Rain. While the actors can feel hammy for adults sometimes, I think she loved the interactive take-Over, etc.

 

[JenniferS]

As much as I've loved GMR and love the idea of it, I can understand why it would rank so poorly - and I don't see how an update could do much to fix it, unless we talk a major, major overhaul.

If anything, they should focus it more heavily of being in the movies they're going through, instead of mainly talking about it and going through sets (the LARP pieces are by far the most interesting parts of the ride), but to do this well, they would need to bring in severely better effects and I think it would also greatly benefit from a different ride system that could support a more varied and sometimes high-speed pace.

All in over, it would almost require an entirely different ride. Could the concept work? Definitely. But I think it's fine if they change it to something Mickey-focused, a core Disney character without his own true, high-profile ride, especially if they change the overall theme of the park away from film-making.

Let GMR rest... it had a good run

LARP?

 

[AmandaS.]

LARP?

Live Action Role Playing = LARP
Basically the parts where you interact with the sets

 

[JenniferS]

Live Action Role Playing = LARP
Basically the parts where you interact with the sets

Thank you. Google failed me.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Get a load of this:

Animal Kingdom's prized coaster housed inside a Himalayan ascent has it all — unexpected surprises, constant thrills, and the type of compelling story that would have made Walt proud. It's a one-of-a-kind experience that needs to be seen to be believed, remaining a perfect ride in spite of its broken live-sized Yeti.

Are these people idiots? In no way would Walt be "proud" of an attraction whose climactic AA figure, the point of the whole ride, has sat there broken for YEARS. Christ!

And constant thrills? What constant thrills? That the ride goes really fast, sometimes? That it goes (gasp) backwards at one point? That it features a wholly unconvincing animated clip of the Yeti tearing up the tracks? Geez, these people are not just idiots, they're easily impressed idiots. Why on earth they think For-Ever-Broken-est beats the Tower or the Mansion or Pirates is a real head-scratcher. One would suspect they were, um, inspired by TDO to talk up barely-functioning Everest to provide an excuse to not fix the Yeti. The rubes like the ride just fine the way it is! Why spend the money? Quality? HAhahahaha! People don't buy our stock for that! Let the thing rot. Guests will never know the difference.

BTW, I thought opening Pandora would finally give TDO enough breathing space to work on Everest. At least that was the theory. Any chance of that even remotely happening for real?

 

[Biff215]

Get a load of this:

Animal Kingdom's prized coaster housed inside a Himalayan ascent has it all — unexpected surprises, constant thrills, and the type of compelling story that would have made Walt proud. It's a one-of-a-kind experience that needs to be seen to be believed, remaining a perfect ride in spite of its broken live-sized Yeti.

Are these people idiots? In no way would Walt be "proud" of an attraction whose climactic AA figure, the point of the whole ride, has sat there broken for YEARS. Christ!

And constant thrills? What constant thrills? That the ride goes really fast, sometimes? That it goes (gasp) backwards at one point? That it features a wholly unconvincing animated clip of the Yeti tearing up the tracks? Geez, these people are not just idiots, they're easily impressed idiots. Why on earth they think For-Ever-Broken-est beats the Tower or the Mansion or Pirates is a real head-scratcher. One would suspect they were, um, inspired by TDO to talk up barely-functioning Everest to provide an excuse to not fix the Yeti. The rubes like the ride just fine the way it is! Why spend the money? Quality? HAhahahaha! People don't buy our stock for that! Let the thing rot. Guests will never know the difference.

BTW, I thought opening Pandora would finally give TDO enough breathing space to work on Everest. At least that was the theory. Any chance of that even remotely happening for real?

I think there is a chance once the initial Pandora crowds quiet down some, perhaps around January. Then again I could also see them leave the yeti as is, since it has operated that way this long sadly.

 

[ford91exploder]

Get a load of this:

Animal Kingdom's prized coaster housed inside a Himalayan ascent has it all — unexpected surprises, constant thrills, and the type of compelling story that would have made Walt proud. It's a one-of-a-kind experience that needs to be seen to be believed, remaining a perfect ride in spite of its broken live-sized Yeti.

Are these people idiots? In no way would Walt be "proud" of an attraction whose climactic AA figure, the point of the whole ride, has sat there broken for YEARS. Christ!

And constant thrills? What constant thrills? That the ride goes really fast, sometimes? That it goes (gasp) backwards at one point? That it features a wholly unconvincing animated clip of the Yeti tearing up the tracks? Geez, these people are not just idiots, they're easily impressed idiots. Why on earth they think For-Ever-Broken-est beats the Tower or the Mansion or Pirates is a real head-scratcher. One would suspect they were, um, inspired by TDO to talk up barely-functioning Everest to provide an excuse to not fix the Yeti. The rubes like the ride just fine the way it is! Why spend the money? Quality? HAhahahaha! People don't buy our stock for that! Let the thing rot. Guests will never know the difference.

BTW, I thought opening Pandora would finally give TDO enough breathing space to work on Everest. At least that was the theory. Any chance of that even remotely happening for real?

Nope that would cost money and people like the ride just fine as it is...

 

[rob0519]

Condé Nast's Insider ranked every attraction at WDW and (conveniently) placed GMR, Ellen, and Stitch at the bottom of the list.

The rankings are quirky. Some attractions are in seemingly random places for odd reasons (e.g. Swiss Family Treehouse is ranked low simply because there are other things to do at the MK). Photos borrow freely from DL and WDW even though the article is only about Florida. But the authors are Disney fans because they lament the losses of the original Imagination and Living Seas, and highly recommend the Tiki Room and "original" TOT.

Condé Nast Traveler and its sister sites like Insider are regarded as some of the most influential travel publications for wealthy tourists. What do you think about these rankings?

http://www.thisisinsider.com/we-ran...n-everest-legend-of-the-forbidden-mountain-53

Gotta say, from my perspective, it's great for an air conditioned break from the heat. Other than that, I'd never go on it again. Hopefully, they will do something good with the space.

 

[Bairstow]

I'm always happy to go the Great Movie Ride, as it's truly the last of its breed- the grand scale, slow, animatronic showcase.

It's in dire need of an update now, though I'm not sure if changing out any of the movies, even Alien, is warranted.

 

[NeXuS1000]

IMO the current ride system is a big piece of what's worth keeping. I understand that some are looking for something more thrilling, but that's not what this ride was ever meant to be. The slow pace allows you to take in all the details and builds suspense.

Just because I'm arguing for a different ride system doesn't mean I'm asking for a higher pace. But the current ride, for example, would greatly benefit from more flexibility and pacing options, for example when driving between sets, which can be a bit slow and tedious.

Having more options on how to e.g. turn the ride vehicles, so they can face in different directions, could also greatly enhance the experience.

So yeah, the current ride system is pretty outdated. Even if the current concept is kept, it could greatly benefit from getting more modern e.g. trackless vehicles, where focus can be better directed, pacing can be more varied and the experience can feel more surprising.

 

[Giants14]

I disagree with a lot of that list

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I think the issue with the GMR has to do with the generations and the fact that there has been little updates to that actual ride to bring it into today's standards.

Take music for instance...you know how old people say that today's music sounds like noise and isn't real music? I think there might be some merit to that. Music has an "acceptance" lifespan of 2 generations. Now, I'm not saying that good music becomes bad music, but the term "music" and the style of music has a 2 generation lifespan.

When you're growing up, you're introduced to your parents music...that is your starting basis of music that you enjoy (because of repetitive listening.) As you mature and get a taste of your own music, you add the next generation of appealing music. Since your grandparents would be foreign to your style, it's "noise" because it's not what they are familiar with.

Like music, the same could be said about movies...but maybe in an even more dramatic way as it's not just the content and storytelling that would change generationally, but also the technology. For instance, my kids (7,4) have no interest in a movie that's black and white. No matter what the content is, it looks old to them and even the language (the phrases/terms used) isn't what they are familiar with. No matter how much we talk about the older films like Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, the younger generation (for the most part) won't have interest in them or even care to learn about them. Possibly as they get older they will search out the classics on their own but for the general population, it's a history lesson and not entertainment.