danlb_2000
Premium Member
That portion of the ride still scares the crap out of me.
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Great Movie Ride to Close?
- Thread starter sbkline
- Start date
That portion of the ride still scares the crap out of me.
On a lighter note too, and a cute tie in with HS, I just marveled at a cute nostalgic connection I didn't realize from childhood that I just remembered recently. I love the Muppet Show and I always watched it when I was small. I was so happy when they went to HS. I'll leave out the what could have been for this thread. So I have been skipping around with the Muppet Show box sets, and I had forgotten about Wayne and Wanda. So I did some checking out on youtube and didn't realize, especially until I saw them perform, er, totally mess up, LOL, Indian Love Call, which was a song from Rose-Marie, a classic movie. I didn't realize those Muppets were influenced from Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. It is a beautiful song, but it is bittersweet for me, because Jean Harlow loved that song, and they sang it at her funeral.
They are too cute and too funny. Seriously, if they had a show at HS I would be there…a lot. LOL! These two are so silly! Poor Sam, is at his wit's end. It is apparent too that Jim Henson and his team loved classic movies, music, and it was a big influence.
- I'll Know
and
- Goody Goody
They are too cute and too funny. Seriously, if they had a show at HS I would be there…a lot. LOL! These two are so silly! Poor Sam, is at his wit's end. It is apparent too that Jim Henson and his team loved classic movies, music, and it was a big influence.
- I'll Know
and
- Goody Goody
Another issue that may of been pointed out somewhere along the way...
If GMR closes permantly or too long term we have only one ride with no height requirement or non thrill element. (Star Tours has a 40 inch requirement and is thrilling to some) so there are no family rides except Toy Story Mania, which already has the issues as it is.
If GMR closes permantly or too long term we have only one ride with no height requirement or non thrill element. (Star Tours has a 40 inch requirement and is thrilling to some) so there are no family rides except Toy Story Mania, which already has the issues as it is.
Tom
Beta Return
The fuel for the fire is definitely a cost unique to the ride. The air conditioning, not so much. Disney has a very efficient cooling system, using cooling towers, chilled water an steam. And many of the energy sources serve dual purposes, making them even more efficient.
No matter what was in the building, they'd spend the same amount on climate control. And they'd even keep it running if the building was vacant, just to prevent moisture and mildew buildup.
The backlot tour was probably the most costly ride to operate, given the number of cast, the fuel/tires/maintenance on the trams, and the fuel used in the water show and CC. If they were looking for something to carve out of the fiscal budget, they made the right choice. GMR wouldn't have made quite a dent.
216bruce
Well-Known Member
I had forgotten about Wayne and Wanda. Thanks for posting these, it made my day. The Muppet Great Movie Ride would have been amazing and I probably would have ridden it repeatedly. It wouldn't have 'aged' at all.
They were mostly in the first season and then the "singing team" were fired by Kermit for being terrible. LOL! If you haven't, when you get a chance, check out their other videos. I wish there would have been more. The whole premise of how they try so hard, get so into it, and then something terrible happens to ruin the act connected to the song title, was funny. The rest of the clips are on youtube or the box sets. I think there was one too when Waldorf and Statler start complaining about them too.
Yeah, that Muppet Ride would have been awesome. I saw some concept art for it and proposed descriptions. Just a little bit more in their HS area and I would have been happy.
Ok, let's throw in another one. I Get a Kick Out of You. Let's hope for the best…lol!
imagineer boy
Well-Known Member
Yeah and we all know that Disney is a floundering small buisness in the middle of a bad economy just trying to make ends meet.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
Are you implying that Disney never closes things for financial reasons?
Just like small world then? Or Pirates?This ride needs to go. A lot of space and very outdated.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
216bruce
Well-Known Member
She was on the board at Pepsi and pushed for the idea after the board voiced their opinion that the ride didn't push the soft drink enough. Good for her!
AEfx
Well-Known Member
It's true - without Crawford stepping in between, it's very possible that we may have ended up with a totally different ride or they just would have used the pavilion for a non-ride attraction. To what extent is not known - for two contemporaries with such documented lives it's interesting that a lot of the details were not recorded as they were not in this instance. I don't think one single Crawford biography even mentions IASW by name, though there are scattered bits about the World Fair that year - but even that is only in a select few instances. A lot of the corporate Pepsi stuff is still rather in the realm of non-public info. I haven't read nearly as much about Walt in general - but based on just skimming a lot of it, I can't find anything significant on his side, either.
What we do know is based mostly on largely unpublished remembrances of folks involved that have spoken up in the last decade or so, including one that I spoke to independently myself about it. But what is there agrees that Pepsi asked for the UNICEF tribute, and when Disney came back with the plan, the Pepsi board voted it down. At this point, with 11 months to go before the fair, if Pepsi hadn't changed it's mind it probably would have not come to fruition at all.
Crawford was a very active member of the board (and not simply a figurehead) and at the time she may have even been the chairman (the record on when these two things overlapped or not is somewhat unclear but it's likely it coincided). At the time she was at the height of her power with the company, and basically said "look, we are doing this, fellas" and put her very well-manicured foot down. It was likely not just because she had known and liked Disney since they were teenagers in KS, but because she knew this would be a huge success with the public (which it was) and that Pepsi would benefit from the quality she knew Walt's team would put into it.
By most accounts it was the hit of the show, along with the rest of Disney's offerings (Lincoln, CoP, etc.). But as you can see from the pictures (IASW was the only one that the media one could take "on ride" pictures of) Pepsi came out the winner among the sponsors - every one of the kids on the ride had a Pepsi sailor cap, and cups of Pepsi product everywhere - each picture that had national distribution had probably 20 logos if you really look. And Crawford of course sipping her glass bottle of Pepsi (which, truth be told, very likely was mixed with 100 proof vodka from a flask in her clutch based on the time period).
On a side-note to a tangent, LOL - if anyone has anything on Crawford and this project - or of Crawford at Disneyland at all (it's sure she went at some point but this was before Disney put every name who walked through the gates in a photo shoot at the castle, LOL) - please shoot me a PM. There is very little about this connection out there.
Baldy
Well-Known Member
I loved singing in the rain
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
I could see them closing the GMR, not because it's outdated, but because of the location. As others have pointed out, the layout of HS is plain awful: small alleyways, dead ends, buildings blocking natural paths, etc. Compare the park to MK, EPCOT, or AK that follow an open, circular design. Then, you have Hollywood Studios. If they are spending considerable money in the park, they'd be foolish to not consider accessibility and how people navigate the park. I hate to say it, but relocating or removing the GMR and the BAH would open up the park and allow a natural pathway back to Pixar Studios, similar to walking through the castle to get to Fantasyland. Just my thoughts...
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
They may be able to relocated the BAH, but, if they closed GMR it would be gone forever. Do you have any idea of the size of that building?
It's that huge building just to the left of American Idol. The theater and the ride are labeled.
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
Valid point. If they move it, they won't plop it down elsewhere due to its size. But you have to admit the park is hard to navigate and removing the clog could go a long way to solve some problems. Personally, I really enjoy the ride and I don't want to see it going anywhere. But, with everything else they are considering doing, I don't see them holding on to it and the valuable real estate it offers. If you're going to redesign the park, you redesign the park. Except for the area by ToT, RnRC, and Fantasmic, most of the park could be up for debate.
Matt_Black
Well-Known Member
But are there enough GOOD Star Wars movies to fill a GMR ride. You've got Star Wars (I refuse to call it A New Hope), Empire Strikes Back, and.. uh... let's not talk about the other four.