Great Movie Ride to Close?

[Launchpad McQuack]

With properties like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Pixar, the Muppets, Guardians of the Galaxy and other Marvel based themes to use they could call it Disney's Intellectual property park? The "IP" for short.

The GMR is already based on previously existing IPs. IPs (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Muppets, Twilight Zone, all of the things in Superstar TV and GMR) have always played a huge role in MGM/DHS. It's just all a matter of how they are presented.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

If that goes….I don't even know what to say. You go to SSE, it is an icon and there is a ride experience. You go to the the Castle, there is dining, shops, it is an icon, etc. You got to AK. You have the tree, Bug's Life, lovely etchings, it is the symbol at that park.

You take away Graumann's….a ride, the icon, exhibits, the cement names and hand imprints, Bob Hope, Lauren Bacall, etc, the stars that were there for the dedication (that actually showed up to the real theatre for their film premieres during the Era, Golden Age Hollywood movie clips etc. It was one of the biggest symbol from Old Hollywood. Look on youtube for old premieres at the theatre in CA. If you went to a premiere there, all the greats did, you had arrived. And there were other lovely theaters of the age like the Egyptian too, which Sid also built, but this is probably the more iconic.

If it is removed, you lose the cohesive anchor of the park. A big blow to the identity. Ok, maybe they don't care, granted. But you walk past shops and architecture down to the GRM/Chinese theatre. There are examples inspired by Great old California architecture and of the period. Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, etc. Ok, the Hollywood and Vine, still in theme, but the food…the jury is out as far as I've seen. You have the Derby, and everything going down to Sunset Boulevard to TOT. Shops and eateries.

Ok, update the movie, install new scenes, rotate, refurb, make some changes, whatever. But if that building goes and whatever is in it. Big problem. Actually I'll add an "s" to problems to make it plural. . Then you have just cut out the heart of the veins of the park theme and its origin.

I couldn't live with it, personally.

I think of a loop many years ago, and my heart soared, hearing Max Steiner's Gone With the Wind suite, and I looked around me. I fell in love with that park.

 

[CDavid]

This ride needs to go. A lot of space and very outdated.

No, it most certainly does not.

You shouldn't confuse an emphasis on movies from different eras as evidence of being "outdated". The Great Movie Ride was never intended to be a showcase of present-day blockbusters; Indeed, contemporary films generally would quickly become outdated, while classic films will never completely pass out of style.

If The Great Movie Ride needed to be removed as outdated - again, not true - then so would most of the Magic Kingdom need to be bulldozed (Main Street is over a century 'out of date').

 

[whiterhino42]

I know a lot of you have a great nostalgic love for the great movie ride but it needs a MASSIVE overall IMHO.
I'm a ride wimp so I like the slower, mellow rides. I'm also a huge movie fan as I grew up in Los Angeles and dreamed of acting. Having said all that the Great Movie Ride bores me to tears...and it shouldn't! The acting bit has to go it's atrocious. Some of the movies represented...I've never even heard of & that's from a 42 year old movie buff. Some of the scenes are in terrible condition. I don't think it needs a little tweaking, I think it needs a MASSIVE overhaul. I wouldn't get rid of it...but I would re-do it. Classics like Wizard of Oz will never not be known but some represented movies are not classics and the whole ride itself needs to be redone. The sets are amazing but somehow the ride is lacking.

 

[Tom]

lol the Examiner.

lol Jim Hill.

Any actual reliable sources on this?

No.

On a related note, I just want to go on the record to say that I have it on good authority that DHS will be completely closing in the near or distant future. It is 100% confirmed that it's on the chopping block. Now, if they end up NOT closing the entire theme park, it will only be because they changed their minds at some arbitrary and undocumented time in the future. NOT because my information is bad.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

My grandmother loved Leslie Howard. Money was scarce during the Great Depression, but when she could get some change, not very often, she could go to a movie, or passed a stand on the street and see her girlhood crush's picture.

We will never have that again. Hollywood has changed. The studio/star system was unique and was crumbling by the late 40's/early 50's.

My grandfather remembered being a young man and an usher when Gone with the Wind came out. People went dressed up to the movies. Hats, gloves, dresses, suits, coats. He was poor, and it was big for him during that era. In the coming time, he was finally old enough to enlist in WWII, and life changed forever.

The Derby is gone, Ciro's, the Mocambo, etc. MGM's backlot was sold and many props/costumes/items too, for example. The same for other studios and situations. Some buildings were torn and many things in general were thrown out, destroyed, or not valued and preserved. We have Olivia de Havilland, Louise Rainer, and a few greats still living, but time is passing. Even Universal Orlando has somewhat old Hollywood facades in the one park, but HS still has that over them. They are doing better with Potter and other things as far as holding a cohesive theme and development.

This park, HS, created a time capsule. I couldn't wait to see it develop further from 1989. I was disappointed, but there were some great points, like TOT, 50's and other things, to be fair that are wonderful,and should have guided other later developments. Some did, some didn't.

I would hate to see a clear niche and a wonderful lasting thing they could have, go to waste, or crash and burn.

Listen to this: This is what this park is all about to me. I wish they would make it all it could be.

Oh, and I think other parts of the park would be great for other elements. Go ahead, establish Star Wars, Pixar, other things, but please retain old Hollywood and please add and sustain.

 

[whiterhino42]

I love old Hollywood I just think the park never developed it as it should have.

 

[SirNim]

If that goes….I don't even know what to say. You go to SSE, it is an icon and there is a ride experience. You go to the the Castle, there is dining, shops, it is an icon, etc. You got to AK. You have the tree, Bug's Life, lovely etchings, it is the symbol at that park.

You take away Graumann's….a ride, the icon, exhibits, the cement names and hand imprints, Bob Hope, Lauren Bacall, etc, the stars that were there for the dedication (that actually showed up to the real theatre for their film premieres during the Era, Golden Age Hollywood movie clips etc. It was one of the biggest symbol from Old Hollywood. Look on youtube for old premieres at the theatre in CA. If you went to a premiere there, all the greats did, you had arrived. And there were other lovely theaters of the age like the Egyptian too, which Sid also built, but this is probably the more iconic.

Here's a deal: Remove the BAH, remove the pagoda-top and Chinese trappings from the façade, reskin the building to become an even larger version of the Carthay Circle, preserve the show scenes, remove the ride vehicles, and redevelop the building into WDW's first members-only ($15k/yr) exclusive restaurant/bar/lounge à la Club 33 or The 1901 Lounge where you can dine, dance, and drink with the animatronic Stars.

(postscript: Remove the Carthay replica on Sunset, for the sake of continuity.)

 

[Goofyernmost]

I agree... a few scene changes it all it really needs. I will repeat DO NOT touch Wizard of Oz and by no means add any thing Frozen(just doesn't belong). Another thing...I think the whole driver/gangster little act needs to stop also.

Not stopped, just better acted. Without that the Indiana Jones area becomes detached. There is a certain charm to the corniness of the scenes, but, without people that can pull it off it falls kinda flat. Also, Disney, I'm talking to you here, allow a little script freedom on that section. The script could have been written by a three year old and there are many opportunities for some funny things to be said.

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

If GMR closes they seriously have to rename the park. Heck, they might as well close it down and reopen it. There's so much currently unused real estate as it is, that may not be a bad idea.

Btw, someone mentioned that DHS might be getting a name change soon anyway? Is that true? What is the proposed name change?

 

[TomP]

Some of the movies represented...I've never even heard of & that's from a 42 year old movie buff

Please don't take offense, but you're not much of a "movie buff" if you're unfamiliar with the movies represented in GMR.

 

[whiterhino42]

Please don't take offense, but you're not much of a "movie buff" if you're unfamiliar with the movies represented in GMR.

That's not true... I'm not talking about the sets.....everyone knows Casablanca, Singing in the Rain etc.....but some of the smaller, things....no. I guarantee I know more movies than 95% of the population so if I don't know it then maybe it needs to be changed up.....because almost no one will. I think the idea of the ride is great... I'm not saying put a bunch of modern movies in.....just update the stuff that doesn't fit. Get rid of things no one knows. Get rid of the atrocious acting. And somehow I think it needs a better ride vehicle.

 

[whiterhino42]

If GMR closes they seriously have to rename the park. Heck, they might as well close it down and reopen it. There's so much currently unused real estate as it is, that may not be a bad idea.

Btw, someone mentioned that DHS might be getting a name change soon anyway? Is that true? What is the proposed name change?

We have heard Hollywood Adventure but no one knows if that is true.

 

[Timekeeper]

With a soundstage that size, I could see a total revamp with different ride vehicles, maybe something like Spider-Man/Transformers through the classic movies scenes (the motion wouldn't need to be as aggressive). Whatever comes of it, I would like for it to retain its potpourri approach to the classics, instead of a single-film-based attraction.

Guests could enter a soundstage area and board a automated ride vehicle that serves as a slow tour of the film studio's archives. While casually proceeding through rows of film cannisters and film props in a warehouse, a portal opens and sends guests into interactive scenes from classic films...

 

[FrankLapidus]

That's not true... I'm not talking about the sets.....everyone knows Casablanca, Singing in the Rain etc.....but some of the smaller, things....no. I guarantee I know more movies than 95% of the population so if I don't know it then maybe it needs to be changed up.....because almost no one will. I think the idea of the ride is great... I'm not saying put a bunch of modern movies in.....just update the stuff that doesn't fit. Get rid of things no one knows. Get rid of the atrocious acting. And somehow I think it needs a better ride vehicle.

Like what? I wouldn't consider myself a movie buff but there is nothing in that ride that I hadn't at least heard of even if I hadn't seen it. As a movie buff who knows more than 95% of the population, what is in there that you've never seen or heard of on screen?

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

We have heard Hollywood Adventure but no one knows if that is true.

Thanks!

 

[imagineer boy]

No.

On a related note, I just want to go on the record to say that I have it on good authority that DHS will be completely closing in the near or distant future. It is 100% confirmed that it's on the chopping block. Now, if they end up NOT closing the entire theme park, it will only be because they changed their minds at some arbitrary and undocumented time in the future. NOT because my information is bad.

If this happens then I may just consider giving up on Disney entirely.

 

[Goofyernmost]

No.

On a related note, I just want to go on the record to say that I have it on good authority that DHS will be completely closing in the near or distant future. It is 100% confirmed that it's on the chopping block. Now, if they end up NOT closing the entire theme park, it will only be because they changed their minds at some arbitrary and undocumented time in the future. NOT because my information is bad.

Tom, I trust that you would not lead us down a long crooked path to nowhere, so I will cancel my future plans to ever go to Disney again. That's how sure I am of your information unless, of course, I change my mind at some arbitrary and undocumented time in the future. You can take that to the bank. It's a sure thing.

 

[CDavid]

That's not true... I'm not talking about the sets.....everyone knows Casablanca, Singing in the Rain etc.....but some of the smaller, things....no. I guarantee I know more movies than 95% of the population so if I don't know it then maybe it needs to be changed up.....because almost no one will. I think the idea of the ride is great... I'm not saying put a bunch of modern movies in.....just update the stuff that doesn't fit. Get rid of things no one knows. Get rid of the atrocious acting. And somehow I think it needs a better ride vehicle.

Why do you need to be familiar with the movies represented to appreciate and enjoy The Great Movie Ride (GMR)? I doubt most people who ride the Rock n' Roller Coaster are specifically Aerosmith fans, most guests have never been to Morocco, France, Arendelle and the other countries of World Showcase, and neither do you need a degree in history to appreciate The American Adventure or the Carousel of Progress. So, why cannot GMR present an experience using movies with which everyone is not familiar?

Further, exposing guests to a whole world of classic cinema with which they were previously unfamiliar tends to broaden people's horizons and enrich their lives. It would be an awfully boring life if we never experienced any new stories (movies, books, etc.) we weren't already familiar with.

And what, one might reasonably ask, is wrong with the ride vehicle? It's not supposed to be a thrill ride.

 

[whiterhino42]

Why do you need to be familiar with the movies represented to appreciate and enjoy The Great Movie Ride (GMR)? I doubt most people who ride the Rock n' Roller Coaster are specifically Aerosmith fans, most guests have never been to Morocco, France, Arendelle and the other countries of World Showcase, and neither do you need a degree in history to appreciate The American Adventure or the Carousel of Progress. So, why cannot GMR present an experience using movies with which everyone is not familiar?

Further, exposing guests to a whole world of classic cinema with which they were previously unfamiliar tends to broaden people's horizons and enrich their lives. It would be an awfully boring life if we never experienced any new stories (movies, books, etc.) we weren't already familiar with.

And what, one might reasonably ask, is wrong with the ride vehicle? It's not supposed to be a thrill ride.

I'm not a thrill ride person so I certainly don't want it to be a thrill ride but an updated ride vehicle would greatly enhance the ride IMHO. Some never want change.... I like the rides premise but I want it updated. That's how I feel about it & so do a lot of others..you are entitled to your opinion too.
And no you don't need to know all the movies but it's lacking right now to me and that is a shame because it could be so amazing.