Great Movie Ride

[Ryan]

Re: I know I am going into this more than anyone cares, but....

Originally posted by Sweetums
Here's what happens--when you are loaded onto the ride, you are either loaded on vehicle "A" (the one in front) or vehicle "B" (the one in back). The vehicles run at the same time on the same track. So, when vehicle "A" stops in the Western scene, vehicle "B" also needs to stop somewhere or it would run in to vehicle "A", therefore, it stops in the Gangster area.

That is exactally why you don't see the bank blow up. If you see the tour guide get highjacked by the gangster, then they don't have time to blow up the bank again when you go through. If you want to see the explosion, just tell the guide seating you that you want to see the Western Scene, or the "A" show. Everything else is the same, except for who will take over your vehicle.

The reason Disney took out the blood stains on the shirts is because it was disturbing too many people. I know there was also some legal issues with "stunt work" being perfromed by the tour guides. After the guide would be "shot" the pocket would be torn away and the guide would fall into a pit with giant pads in it. This could be dangerous and a few people were hurt. (one person really bad) So the show assesment team and imagineers rewrote that part of the show, and it's what you see today.

Just a bit of more trivia, the toughest part of the show for tour guides now is when they come out of Annubis. (the part where the highjacker turns to a skeleton). The guide has very little time to run down the stairs, re-set the vehicle, and quickly take off. It is then that they have to spiel the toughest section of the ride. I think the imagineers were trying to really test the first group of guides, because the rhetoric is very complex, long, and very short amount of time to say it before you get into Tarzan. I remember many of times, I would be so out of breath going into Tarzan, only to finish and sit down, try to catch my breath and then hear the all too familar sound of a kid kicking the back of my seat. I would turn around and just glare. :lol:

 

[mousecar]

It seems to me it would be kinda dangerous around that statue in the dark. Especially going down the steps. Have CMs ever tripped going down?

 

[Maria]

Re: Re: I know I am going into this more than anyone cares, but....

Originally posted by Ryan


the toughest part of the show for tour guides now is when they come out of Annubis. (the part where the highjacker turns to a skeleton).

Thanks for clearing that up! I was wondering what on earth Annubis was! :hammer:

 

[Worldphile]

Re: Re: I know I am going into this more than anyone cares, but....

Originally posted by Ryan


If you want to see the explosion, just tell the guide seating you that you want to see the Western Scene, or the "A" show. Everything else is the same, except for who will take over your vehicle.

I am absolutely going to try this next time. In all the years we have been to WDW (and we ride the GMR 2-3 times per trip) neither one of us can ever remember being taken over by a cowboy. We have always gotten the gangster.

Do they always run the cowboy version? We usually go during value season, so the attendance is down when we are there. Does that make a difference?

 

[Ryan]

Re: Re: Re: I know I am going into this more than anyone cares, but....

Originally posted by Worldphile


Do they always run the cowboy version? We usually go during value season, so the attendance is down when we are there. Does that make a difference?

Well...That's something that could change. During slow times, they sometimes will only run one show, BUT...it doesn't mean you can't see the show you wanted. You just might have to wait an extra few minutes until the next ride set comes through. If they send one "B" (gangster) show, then the next one will be an "A" show (cowboy). So...if only one car goes and the other is empty, then that character that you are NOT watching, gets extra break time. (something they ask for a lot)

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by mousecar
It seems to me it would be kinda dangerous around that statue in the dark. Especially going down the steps. Have CMs ever tripped going down?

I have heard about someone falling down the stairs once, but that was before OSHA made Disney change the way the stairs were. From what I hear, when the Studios first opened, the stairs went straight down, without a handrail. OUCH! The stairs were and are still uneven in height. So I can't even imagine trying to race down those stairs and not fall. Disney eventually changed them to do a little snake action like you see now, and added a handrail. It makes it easier, but not easy. After doing it more than 100 times, you get used to it and can almost skip down them. I got to where I didn't even need to look at them anymore.

Another thing about the vehicles is that each one has a front bumper that protects it from "crashing". On the front bumper is a very sensitive sensor and if anything touches it, it triggers a fail-safe, and the vehicle becomes disabled. In other words, it won't move. The only way to make the vehicle move again, is to have a maintence tech come out and reset your vehicle. Not something any guest wants to sit through and waste their time doing. So...to prevent bored tour guides from messing up everyone's day, if that ever happens the guide gets wrote up. (there's a Disney term for getting wrote up, but it eludes me right now) If the tour guide is good, the guest will probably never realize that anything wrong had happened, until the tech arrives at the vehicle. This only happened to me once, and it's because I tried running to the vehicle to fast when I was coming down from Annubis, and my knee bumped the sensor. If you think about it, there is very little cushion between each ride set, so if one car is delayed, EVERY car gets delayed. For some reason I never got wrote up, which I'm not complaining about.

 

[Sweetums]

Hidden Mickey

Just thought of something else fun to look for next time you are on the GMR...

Right after you leave the Singin' In the Rain set and are heading into the Gangster scene---look to your left. There is a movie poster for the movie "The Public Enemy". Just below the poster, you will see some famous feet!

 

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

Re: Re: Re: I know I am going into this more than anyone cares, but....

Originally posted by Worldphile




Do they always run the cowboy version? We usually go during value season, so the attendance is down when we are there. Does that make a difference?

i have for years ALWAYS gotten the cowboy... i didnt even know there was a gangster scene until i was there 2 weeks ago... it was so fun

i also kinda noticed that the timing was a little better in the gangster car... we seemed to line up better with casablanca and marry poppins and others, we heard more of the lines and saw no repeats or loops (as i remember seeing in the cowboy car)
right??

and i do remember the expolosion from 2001 so its probably still there.

 

[durhay]

My favorite part of the ride is Mary Poppins with a steel beam sticking out of her back. Not the best job of hiding her support.

 

[Katherine]

When ever we went on it we always got the gangster scene I didn't know there was another scenerio! Thanks for the info I'lltry to get on to see the cowboys next time I'm there.

 

[One Lil Spark]

One time I went on it, the audio went out in the Wizard of Oz scene. It was awful b/c all we heard was tons and tons of clicking. :hammer:

Our guide just kinda laughed and said "here, I'll do the voices and tell you what they're saying" and went on to imitate the munchkins until we moved on.

 

[JLW11Hi]

Lol, thats hilarious One Lil Spark!

I would think that being the tour guide for the GMR must be one of the most complex for the CMs, and probably requires a bit of acting talent? I know sometimes we get CMs that are great at their parts, but others that, well...

The best one I had was this gangster guy. He was awesome.

One of the harder things I would think would be the part in the Wizard of Oz, where the CM has to talk to the Wicked Witch AA. I am guessing that all of her movements are timed, meaning she will pause for a certain length of time, giving the CM a chance to say her lines. I am sure itcould take a while to get used to saying the lines the right speed, without sounding like you are talking really fast to fit it in. Plus, they have to say "before someone drops a house on you" the exact time the witch looks up and around as if to be looking out for a falling house. I know that not all of the CMs get it perfect all of the time, I have seen it where they are very late on their lines, with the witch looking around before he even mentions a falling house, or being very early on their lines, where it seems to take a while for the witch to react.

For the CMs that worked on the ride, have you ever had any difficulty with the Wicked witch, or any other "acting" parts of the ride?

 

[Sweetums]

I always prided myself on being in synch with the witch. One time though, I was trying to make my friend laugh so I changed the line. That summer, my friend and I would always go around quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. One line in particular was "get to the chopper!" from Predator (I think). Stupid, I know...So, anyway, my friend was riding in the front row and we get to Oz. I wanted to make him laugh, so instead of saying "before someone drops a house on you" I say "now get out of here before someone drops a chopper on you!" Of course my friend was rolling but the rest of the guests just stared at me. I quickly realized that that was NOT a good thing to do, but it was kind of funny in retrospect. :lol:

 

[leeocean]

I love the GMR but I think a good CM on the ride makes a world of a difference. The last time we went we had a pretty shoddy experience with a kid who was just there - it was no fun.

 

[Sweetums]

That has really bugged me too the past couple of times I have ridden. The Tour Guides have been very low energy and monotone with their voice.

I used to have fun on my tours and I think the audiences did too. One time I even got a standing ovation.

*old man voice* But these young punks today, what do they know about showmanship? In my day, we were happy just to have a job, even if it meant listening to "Hurray For Hollywood" 800 times a day.... and we didn't complain about falling down the Annubis stairs either. If you fell, you got back up and you kept on going and you didn't whine about the bleeding or the fracture you suffered. You'd wait until the Finale theater and fashion a tourniquet or splint out of your suspenders. THEN, when the guests had all exited the vehicle, you MIGHT go back in the back and get some ice--But that's only if you didn't have to go and do the B show.

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by Sweetums
I wanted to make him laugh, so instead of saying "before someone drops a house on you" I say "now get out of here before someone drops a chopper on you!" Of course my friend was rolling but the rest of the guests just stared at me. I quickly realized that that was NOT a good thing to do, but it was kind of funny in retrospect. :lol:

That is hilarious....I can just imagine hearing that from a CM. It is sad that some of the tour guides just do not show the expression needed for the job. In the early days, they used to have auditions to be a tour guide, but then the guides started complaining that they needed actors pay if they had to do that. So...they did away with that and now you have people that should be selling icecream, actually doing a 20 minute Ben Stien Spiel.

I have so many funny stories and will share them if anyone cares, but one of the funniest times I can remember is when I was in training. I had this very nice trainer who was so paitient with me, and about the first or second time I was actually doing the show as a guide, we pulled into the Wizard of Oz. Well... my trainer was sitting in the seat next to me, and it was my turn to talk with the witch. I was feeling semi-confident with my speil, but not totally. At the end of the Oz spiel the guides ask the Mayor "Excuse me sir, which way do we go?" He replies "Follow the yello yada yada yada." Unfortunatly for me this Mayor also wears a large clock around his neck, so when I was done with the witch spiel, I looked to the Mayor, and the only thing I could think of was, "Excuse me sir, What time is it??" No one in the ride really caught on, but my Trainer was laughing so hard that she was crying. It is still so funny to think about it, but that's live action for ya.

 

[thedisneyfan]

The last couple of times we went the bank did not blow up in the western scene! I don't know if this was part of budget cuts or if the explosion mechanisms needed rehab and got it during this last close down this past May? Anyway the CMs on the attraction have been rather low energy CMs which does detract from the enjoyment of the ride. And on October 1, 2001 after 9/11 when we said da** the terrorists and went to WDW, it was only running the one que---gangster scene. It was odd only having one car running through the scenes and at the end movie!

 

[EvilMOuse]

What people are saying is true in my experience, the ride is dying because of newer CMs just not making the ride exciting enough. I rode in summer last year at night and the guide sounded totally bored. I get that its a tough gig, but disney should be doing better. Its a shame, i loved the ride when i first went....the alien part terrified me, i nearly cut off the bloodflow to my mothers arm :lookaroun
Dies anyone believe that GMR will ever again see the wonder of its glorious antiquity?:veryconfu
Sadly i doubt it

 

[Sweetums]

Originally posted by Ryan


That is hilarious....I can just imagine hearing that from a CM. It is sad that some of the tour guides just do not show the expression needed for the job. In the early days, they used to have auditions to be a tour guide, but then the guides started complaining that they needed actors pay if they had to do that. So...they did away with that and now you have people that should be selling icecream, actually doing a 20 minute Ben Stien Spiel.

I have so many funny stories and will share them if anyone cares, but one of the funniest times I can remember is when I was in training. I had this very nice trainer who was so paitient with me, and about the first or second time I was actually doing the show as a guide, we pulled into the Wizard of Oz. Well... my trainer was sitting in the seat next to me, and it was my turn to talk with the witch. I was feeling semi-confident with my speil, but not totally. At the end of the Oz spiel the guides ask the Mayor "Excuse me sir, which way do we go?" He replies "Follow the yello yada yada yada." Unfortunatly for me this Mayor also wears a large clock around his neck, so when I was done with the witch spiel, I looked to the Mayor, and the only thing I could think of was, "Excuse me sir, What time is it??" No one in the ride really caught on, but my Trainer was laughing so hard that she was crying. It is still so funny to think about it, but that's live action for ya.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

That is hilarious! A similar thing happened to a friend of mine when he was in training. There was a line just after Annubis and right before Tarzan when you are passing the skeletons. You were supposed to say "don't worry, they're only dangerous if their eyes are glowing red (pause)...Does anyone have any eye drops?" (this was "funny" because the skeleton's eyes do glow red.) Instead, after the pause he said "Does anyone have any aspirin?" :veryconfu

I had to audition to be able to work at GMR. I was wondering if they still did that but it sounds like they don't. That is a shame. Though, I guess I sort of understand, because I remember the complaints about not getting paid as talent. Also, the complaints about not getting stunt pay. I guess management got tired of hearing about it. I felt lucky that I got to be a part of the attraction rather than just loading people on so I didn't mind. Granted, I only did it for a couple of summers, not full time for years and years.

 

[Ryan]

clarify

WOW! I never thought about CM's only loading people on the ride rather than doing everything like it is now. Right now, there are four people in each rotation. There is only one rotation that doesn't have a person who is a tour guide for two parts of the rotation and that's the position who greets you at the main door way when you walk into the Chinese Theater. All of the other people you see in the Pre-show area (except the disability walk position) run the vehicles at least part of their shift. So the person who instructs you on which row to sit in, will soon be on break, who will then be going to the "A" (cowboy) vehicle.

I just wanted to clear something else up. A lot of people are talking about the bank not blowing up. The GMR will never allow guests to have an "A" show if the bank doesn't blow up. That is what they call an "instrumental piece" of the show. It's kinda of like if Star Tours didn't move. They would "101" the show. It would be closed. However, if the bank is broke, they can still run the Gangster show, because the bank doesn't blow up on the "B" show. So...that may be why people think the bank is broken. The same scenario can be used if the Gangster show is broken, but that doesn't happen very often. The car sometimes is broke and stays in the garage, but they will still run the show. I just wanted to clarify this misunderstanding that was happening. Disney will never intentionally let you see something broke. If it breaks and you see it, then you are most likely the last person to see it, before they 101 the show and get it fixed.