I strongly disagree with the closure of the great movie ride and the new direction of Hollywood Studios

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I really wish they hadn't closed The Great Movie Ride. However, I did get a chance to go on it one last time last May.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Again, the IPs had nothing to do with the closure. I referenced that only because it’s another part of the internet myths swirling around the attraction.

The GMR needed a massive update, and it was located within prime real estate, and Disney canceled a contract with a relatively new sponsor to put a really cool ride inside—although the Animation Courtyard is technically more appropriate.

Point is, crowd levels and IPs had nothing to do with the decision.

The new Mickey ride will be incredible. It’s too bad we couldn’t have both attractions.

I agree that general crowd levels and IP's had nothing to do with it, however, GMR attendance records very much influenced the decision to take it out and replace it with a crowd pleaser. I would think that people have to make up their mind and figure out that if they think Disney has a money grabbing mission statement that they would risk losing an attraction that drew them in droves. I don't know what was happening toward the end of it's life, but, if GMR was not filling full trains and running both shows when there was hardly anything else to do in DHS, then it is a no brainer to drop it like a hot potato.

 

[eliza61nyc]

No, the queue averaged 20–45 minutes on most days. Plus Disney owns the rights to most of those movies now.

Really? I have never ever waited 45 minutes to get on that ride. in 20 years but I go during slower times. 10 minutes max is all I've ever encountered.

So I'm not the big "don't change ever" person that everyone else seems to be.
nor do I know why they closed it but I am so happy they did. the ride was 2 days older than Christ, it was boring, most of he youngins had no idea what many of he movies were. lol James Cgney??? seriously. and if you got a cm who wasn't really into it, the attempts at acting were painful.

The only reason why 1/2 the people were on it was to get out of the heat.

 

[Andrew_Animatronic]

To me, MGM was never about the movies. It was about making them, and what the contributed to the American Dream. That old 1920s Hollywood feeling is nearly gone now, replaced with something new, IPs inserted to promote attendance of people in a way that the old park could not, and indeed was not meant to. But that's just my two cents.

 

[LUVofDIS]

I understand that things need to be updated or replaced to keep interest, especially in this day and age. Not saying I agree with every decision, just that I understand it.

The thing that upsets me the most about this is how Disney gives such a short notice. Maybe enough notice so that fans can come see it for a last time without having to drop everything and rush down would be nice and show a little fan respect. Those people, (decision makers at Disney) only gave just over a month for Flights of Wonder, luckily we were there in December to see it a few times and I actually was picked to have the raven steal the money from my hand. Yes, I know, I will be signing autographs later.

 

[Mickey5150]

Having a ride for Mickey Mouse as the centerpiece of a park is fixing a mistake over 60 years in the making. There has never been a ride for Mickey Mouse and that was a bigger travesty then closing down the GMR. I liked the GMR, been on it 100s of times and yes I wish it could have stayed but, oh well. It all started with a mouse and now that Mouse will finally get his ride.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Closing the GMR is unforgivable, up there with the closure of Horizons and the original Journey Into Imagination.

It was a mistake, end of discussion.

It EASILY could have been kept with some TLC and given new life, like so many closures. It’s frankly lazy on Disney’s part.

Truly disappointing.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Having a ride for Mickey Mouse as the centerpiece of a park is fixing a mistake over 60 years in the making. There has never been a ride for Mickey Mouse and that was a bigger travesty then closing down the GMR. I liked the GMR, been on it 100s of times and yes I wish it could have stayed but, oh well. It all started with a mouse and now that Mouse will finally get his ride.

The outrage is not about bashing the Mickey ride; rather, it is entirely about using the GMR as a sacrificial lamb to accomplish the goal.

Like Snow White and others, you can do BOTH, but Disney is too lazy and cheap to invest in 2 attractions to make both great. Their strategy is riding out attractions until they are almost ridiculously outdated and poor only to throw them away and act like they did everyone a favor.

 

[Gelatoni]

GMR was neat but extremely dated. It needed an overhaul badly....

 

[eliza61nyc]

The outrage is not about bashing the Mickey ride; rather, it is entirely about using the GMR as a sacrificial lamb to accomplish the goal.

Like Snow White and others, you can do BOTH, but Disney is too lazy and cheap to invest in 2 attractions to make both great. Their strategy is riding out attractions until they are almost ridiculously outdated and poor only to throw them away and act like they did everyone a favor.

I would not agree with cheap. building new rides is by no means cheap and there is a ROI to consider. how much would it cost to have updated the GMR? I can't imagine it would have been cheap at all. I look at it similar to having and maintaining an old car, it gets to the point that no matter how much you love it, the cost to keep the thing running, fixing it and new parts is not worth it, so you ditch it and get a new one.

It wasn't like it was sacrificing something good. it was old, tired and boring. why would you hold onto it?

I think if you asked most visitiors to HS what ride could they easily skip, GMR would come out the hands down winner.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I would not agree with cheap. building new rides is by no means cheap and there is a ROI to consider. how much would it cost to have updated the GMR? I can't imagine it would have been cheap at all. I look at it similar to having and maintaining an old car, it gets to the point that no matter how much you love it, the cost to keep the thing running, fixing it and new parts is not worth it, so you ditch it and get a new one.

It wasn't like it was sacrificing something good. it was old, tired and boring. why would you hold onto it?

I think if you asked most visitiors to HS what ride could they easily skip, GMR would come out the hands down winner.

They are cheap because they need to do the new ride AND refurb old ones.

It was "old, tired and boring" only because they drove it until the wheels fell off. It was a concept that could have been updated with new movies, new script, new effects, etc. If you haven't noticed, DHS needs more attractions, not less. Simply trading 1 for 1 doesn't solve the capacity issues.

 

[erasure fan1]

.

Like Snow White and others, you can do BOTH, but Disney is too lazy and cheap to invest in 2 attractions to make both great. Their strategy is riding out attractions until they are almost ridiculously outdated and poor only to throw them away and act like they did everyone a favor.

Exactly. And the beauty of the GMR was you had built in anti obsolescence. You would always have new movies to add to keep things fresh. You want to keep it fresh, how about not adding Jack to POTC and adding a fantastic scene to GMR. But like most of what they decide, they choose lazy.

I would not agree with cheap. building new rides is by no means cheap and there is a ROI to consider. how much would it cost to have updated the GMR? I can't imagine it would have been cheap at all.

It's cheap because in a park DESPERATE for rides, they decide to replace a ride instead of investing in both. Disney was cheap for not updating like they should have. They could have added plenty to the ride keeping it relevant but like most issues, it's cheaper to just let it sit as is.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

HS has s*cked for a long, long time. It's time for a complete reboot, and what Disney's working on. Of course, the parallel to Universal is a bit hard to ignore, but it is what it is.

Once TSL and SWL open up, I think the park will see a HUGE boost. Heck, I'll probably start going again.

 

[Chef Mickey]

HS has s*cked for a long, long time. It's time for a complete reboot, and what Disney's working on. Of course, the parallel to Universal is a bit hard to ignore, but it is what it is.

Once TSL and SWL open up, I think the park will see a HUGE boost. Heck, I'll probably start going again.

That's the problem. They let it go downhill to the point people hate it and then act like they are doing us a favor when they "reboot" it with new stuff.

It's THEIR fault it got to this state. They can't be the "heroes" swooping in to clean up a mess. Disney didn't buy this company and bring in a new vision...they are the company and their vision was letting TGMR slowly die.

 

[correcaminos]

GMR was neat but extremely dated. It needed an overhaul badly....

I absolutely agree. That's why I'm not near as 'enraged' about it as some people are. We rode it last June and I really couldn't help but think "boy this really is bad" in many sections.

I'm truthfully more upset about the Backlot tour.

 

[draybook]

OK, coming from a person that really liked the ride and rode it every trip, let's face it. The only part(s) really worth anything were the live scenes (gangster and western) and the Wizard of Oz. Other then that it was just something to look at until we got to those two places.

I'll have to disagree with you, sir. On a hot day, the Fantasia fan scene was the bees knees.

 

[Musical Mermaid]

I liked the old Hollywood theme and can’t stand Star Wars, so when they started putting Star Wars practically everywhere there and took out things I liked, the park became skippable for me. Toy Story kiddie rides, more Star Wars, and a Mickey Mouse (overrated character) ride will not attract me to the park. Franchises they have in that park that I like (Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Muppets), have horrible attractions to represent them and need serious updating, but they will probably just bury them under the ground in favor of something Marvel or Star Wars because they don’t know how to update their stale shows.

I am not from the age of all those older movies, but The Great Movie Ride gave me an appreciation for some of the old great movies where they didn’t solely rely on CGI and special effects. Apparently the children today need constant stimulation and thrills or they can’t focus.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I'll have to disagree with you, sir. On a hot day, the Fantasia fan scene was the bees knees.

OK, I'll give you that!

 

[tirian]

Really? I have never ever waited 45 minutes to get on that ride. in 20 years but I go during slower times. 10 minutes max is all I've ever encountered.

So I'm not the big "don't change ever" person that everyone else seems to be.
nor do I know why they closed it but I am so happy they did. the ride was 2 days older than Christ, it was boring, most of he youngins had no idea what many of he movies were. lol James Cgney??? seriously. and if you got a cm who wasn't really into it, the attempts at acting were painful.

The only reason why 1/2 the people were on it was to get out of the heat.

I agree with nearly all this, except you selectively quoted “45 minutes” instead of the “20–45” range and you admitted you only attend during slow times.

The CM actors were generally awful.

Kids found out who those people were because of the ride. Also, not everything has to be for little kids. This isn’t Fantasyland in the MK. The GMR jumpstarted my love for classic Hollywood, and I first rode it when I was six years old — as soon as my parents thought I could handle the Alien scenes.

Most people ride slow attractions for the air conditioning. I’m one of the horrible fans who thinks the Carousel of Progress needs a massive update because it’s boring.

EDIT: Notice, my parents controlled when I saw the aliens. They didn’t expect everything in the theme parks to cater to a preschool mentality.

 

[BraveGirl]

I liked the old Hollywood theme and can’t stand Star Wars, so when they started putting Star Wars practically everywhere there and took out things I liked, the park became skippable for me. Toy Story kiddie rides, more Star Wars, and a Mickey Mouse (overrated character) ride will not attract me to the park. Franchises they have in that park that I like (Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Muppets), have horrible attractions to represent them and need serious updating, but they will probably just bury them under the ground in favor of something Marvel or Star Wars because they don’t know how to update their stale shows.

I am not from the age of all those older movies, but The Great Movie Ride gave me an appreciation for some of the old great movies where they didn’t solely rely on CGI and special effects. Apparently the children today need constant stimulation and thrills or they can’t focus.

Ditto all of this. The shows were nice..... 25 years ago. Time to update and/or get rid of them. I mean, that stunt man "audience member" in the Indiana Jones show has been wearing the same Hawaiian shirt since the 90s. The last time I was there, every single person around me picked him out the second they all went on stage - if the audience knows your "tricks", it's time for new tricks.

I really hate Star Wars and am so sad that it has taken over what was once my favorite park. I miss the days of learning about movie making, from Animation, to sound, to back stage magic...that was what that park was about before it got taken over by Star Wars.