Is the Great Movie Ride next?

[Tony Perkis]

I know. Just saying that attractions based on either (or any) movie are replaceable. Just because Alien can be labeled as the sci-fi equivalent of Jaws doesn't mean it holds a sacred position in an outdated theme park attraction. It can be replaced with something just as relevant that more people can relate to as well.

Alien doesn't deserve its spot in TGMR any more or less than Jaws deserved its spot at USF.

But replacing it with a popular Disney film, especially one whose legacy had yet to be determined, is a very short sighted way to operate the attraction.

Jaws was replaced because it was a money pit, and Universal had access to another cultural phenomenon that was worthy of its space. It's not like they replaced it with a Fast and Furious attraction.

 

[BigTxEars]

I wasn't talking about theme park presence. I meant the movies themselves. Alien definitely deserves a spot in The Great Movie Ride based on its cultural impact.

I like Aliens better than Alien myself by that is because Bill Paxton was freaking epic in that movie. Alien was a better movie overall.

But man...

Was there anybody not wanting that guy to get it, it the most brutal way possible? Great character and great acting IMO.

 

[BigTxEars]

I agree a update would be cool, with newer movies to boot. Lots of traditional Hollywood that I can respect. But some on the "newer" stuff from Hollywood is rich and deserving enough to be in the ride IMO.

That being said in my dream I would go for a much more "loose" ride and put in a bunch of fun movies I enjoy. The tradionalists would hate it (and me) but I think it would be fun. I also have really a good legal team in my dream so legal rights to movies don't matter!

I swear as the vehicle left the boarding area the sweet sweet banjos from "Deliverance" would play to let folks know this was not the normal GMR. Then I would thrown parts from both classic movies and from classic actors already in the ride. But I would also add in parts from newer stuff as well.

From Sci Fi I would throw in parts from "Serenity" (Firefly FTW!) "Star Wars" (not huge fan but gotta give respect where it's due) "Big Trouble In Little China" (stop it, you know you liked it!) just because it was such a fun movie. And "Alien" as it sent Sci Fi movies in a totally different direction than they had ever really been before IMO. But if I get Bill Paxton as a CM, we are going "Aliens" instead of "Alien" And the kiddos better cover their ears cause I am letting Bill go full bore from the movie script!

From Horror I would throw in "Scream" as it was just a fun movie that took a stale genre and kicked it back into the mainstream. Not sure but either "Halloween" or "Friday The 13th" would work for me, both have strong cases and deserve to be represented, awesome theme music in both as well. And "Evil Dead II" of course, that movie had more heart behind it than 95% of the movies made in Hollywood IMO. It gets in on that alone, but on top of that it was a fun fun movie.

I could go "Evil Dead III" as well, either works for me

From family movies I would throw in "The Goonies" as it's good enough...I would not throw in "ET" shoot me if I ever have to watch that snooze fest again in my life....I am also throwing in "Babe" cause that pig was just too cute and cool.....

Animation....oh crap that is going to be a longer list...."Chicken Run" "Princess Mononoke" "Road To El Dorado" (stop it I love that movie!), just pick six or so Disney movies, I am good with any of them I would bet. "Kung Fu Panda" and "Spirit" because it was a great movie and finally the "Iron Giant" as it was awesome as well.

Westerns....I don't care as long as this is represented....



Actions movies....."Way Of the Dragon" if Bruce is not represented something is wrong! And then I would throw in "Coffey" as Pam Grier is awesome as well. And because I am a selfish childish dictator in my dream I am throwing in "Out For Justice" with Segal in it.....yeah I know....but that remains the best "you done messed with my family and now you gonna pay" revenge action flick ever made. And William Defoe was just awesome in it. So your going to have to deal with "The Segal" factor!

War Movies....."Bridge Too Far" due to it being the best war movie ever made. "Longest Day"....epic movie making for an epic day in history........"Memphis Belle" an sometimes forgotten part of the war that was as important and heroic as any other.

Historical movies...."Braverheart"....crap what a great movie....

Now as some point along the way a CM (I would prefer some big hairy dude from the hills) is going to pop out and yell "SQUEAL LIKE A PIG BOY!" to wake up the kiddos on the ride....

Did I miss anything?

Look at it this way, the line will be really, and I mean really short for my ride. Come on in I will let you ride back to back without getting out of the vehicle!

 

[danlb_2000]

I like Aliens better than Alien myself by that is because Bill Paxton was freaking epic in that movie. Alien was a better movie overall.

But man...

Was there anybody not wanting that guy to get it, it the most brutal way possible? Great character and great acting IMO.

Game over man, game over!

 

[BigTxEars]

Game over man, game over!

LOL what a role. He was great in "Weird Science" but his role in "Aliens" was just epic IMO.

 

[Bairstow]

With the huge success of the Marvel movies Universal is pretty much getting free advertising and no way would they give that up for cheap. If the price was really only $10 million or so to buy out the contract do you really think Disney wouldn't have already done it by now? Obviously the price is way too high for Disney's liking.

The rumor I heard was that Universal was willing to trade the Marvel theme park license in exchange for Disney delaying the release of Oz the Great and Powerful and backing off of certain release dates for other movies.

It probably drives Universal nuts that all the attractions they built for Islands were designed and installed before the movies made the characters famous to modern children.
Spider-Man is great on its own terms, but the rest of the rides are so far removed from the aesthetic of the versions that children are familiar with that they come across as cheap and disappointing.

 

[DisUniversal]

The rumor I heard was that Universal was willing to trade the Marvel theme park license in exchange for Disney delaying the release of Oz the Great and Powerful and backing off of certain release dates for other movies.

Really? I heard they were willing to trade the Marvel license for an Anna and Elsa fastpass, a Maelstrom T-Shirt and 4 tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for Halloween night with the Villains' Sinister Soiree included. The last part was the dealbreaker.

 

[MKeeler]

Let me preface this by saying that the Great Movie Ride is one of my favorites and I would much rather see it get a great refurbishment than anything I'm suggesting below.

But, in wondering about what the rumors mean for the GMR, I tried to think of a replacement that I would be happy with. To that end, I have a question for those that may be more knowledgeable than me - would there be room in the building currently housing the ride, to take it all out and replace it with Cinemagique from Paris at the front entrance and add one or two dark rides from side or back entrances.

It's not a great solution, and would be realistically unnecessary if the most logical expansion pads are used, but this is the only scenario that I could come up with that would potentially be healthy for the park and somewhat acceptable to me if we're truly talking about replacing the GMR.

 

[Macca250]

It probably drives Universal nuts that all the attractions they built for Islands were designed and installed before the movies made the characters famous to modern children.
Spider-Man is great on its own terms, but the rest of the rides are so far removed from the aesthetic of the versions that children are familiar with that they come across as cheap and disappointing.

Well put, Superhero Island is mostly (if not entirely) based on the comic books pre movie releases and don't get me wrong I think the cartoony aesthetics are well realised. But you're right, for modern kids they'll be wondering why Universal put less effort into the land than their other offerings. I.e why does Harry Potter feature appearances from Daniel Radcliffe and co. yet Marvel features no Robert Downey Jr. or Mark Ruffelo etc. - just cartoons. It's certainly not a land based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I bet it really confuses some kids!

 

[Bocabear]

There have been so many advancements in image mapping projections, and the addition of projected elements to classic dark ride scenes (Like Alice In Wonderland at Disneyland), I am surprised they have not come up with a spectacular way to upgrade alot of the effects in the GMR using some state of the art technology among other things...The finale scene especially....what is the movie montage begins on the screen in front of us, and then expands 360 all around the vehicles...literally putting you in the middle of the movies... it would certainly be better than the anticlimactic 1980s craptacular finale that is there now..

 

[gljvd]

Their theme park business is one of the most profitable areas of the company year in and year out.

But, this is why I'm asking. I think if Marvel properties continue to make a billion, they'd be fools not to buy out that contract unless it was over 100 million dollar asking price.

Disney is starting to downplay X-Men . They are killing off Wolverine and they have stoped the majority of merchandise coming out for the property. FOX has the movie rights so they are trying to starve the IP from comics and merch to make it less valuable.

Fantastic 4 rights are also worthless at this point. THe new movies look horrible and will most likely do poorly.

Spiderman is making less money with each new movie and sony is in dire financial straits and recently sold all merch and tv rights back to Disney. They only have the movie rights now. If ASM keeps tanking Sony will be forced to reboot and if that does bad then the property will get sold back to Marvel.

They just have to play the long game and at some point Universal will want to can the marvel stuff and go with a new property.

Hunger Games would be a big deal for universal if they wanted to go that route.

 

[Bairstow]

There have been so many advancements in image mapping projections, and the addition of projected elements to classic dark ride scenes (Like Alice In Wonderland at Disneyland), I am surprised they have not come up with a spectacular way to upgrade alot of the effects in the GMR using some state of the art technology among other things...The finale scene especially....what is the movie montage begins on the screen in front of us, and then expands 360 all around the vehicles...literally putting you in the middle of the movies... it would certainly be better than the anticlimactic 1980s craptacular finale that is there now..

What would they map onto what is already essentially a flat screen? There's not a whole lot of room to work with there.

 

[bchbm2022]

If they ever remove the Alien part, I will never ride it again. Lol. The Alien series, minus Alien Resurrection, is my favorite film series ever! Let them replace the western section instead.

 

[Bairstow]

If ASM keeps tanking Sony will be forced to reboot and if that does bad then the property will get sold back to Marvel.

Since when is $700 million off a $200 million budget "tanking"?

 

[DisUniversal]

Disney is starting to downplay X-Men . They are killing off Wolverine and they have stoped the majority of merchandise coming out for the property. FOX has the movie rights so they are trying to starve the IP from comics and merch to make it less valuable.

Fantastic 4 rights are also worthless at this point. THe new movies look horrible and will most likely do poorly.

Spiderman is making less money with each new movie and sony is in dire financial straits and recently sold all merch and tv rights back to Disney. They only have the movie rights now. If ASM keeps tanking Sony will be forced to reboot and if that does bad then the property will get sold back to Marvel.

They just have to play the long game and at some point Universal will want to can the marvel stuff and go with a new property.

Hunger Games would be a big deal for universal if they wanted to go that route.

There is significant value for Universal in being able to prevent Disney from creating anything based on Marvel at WDW. I still think they'll make a deal someday, but it's not going to be cheap for Disney.

 

[DisUniversal]

Well put, Superhero Island is mostly (if not entirely) based on the comic books pre movie releases and don't get me wrong I think the cartoony aesthetics are well realised. But you're right, for modern kids they'll be wondering why Universal put less effort into the land than their other offerings. I.e why does Harry Potter feature appearances from Daniel Radcliffe and co. yet Marvel features no Robert Downey Jr. or Mark Ruffelo etc. - just cartoons. It's certainly not a land based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I bet it really confuses some kids!

Shouldn't confuse the kids any more than when they go to Disney and wonder why all the cartoon characters from Disney films have become either human or some human hybrid with a giant fixed expression foam head.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

Disney is starting to downplay X-Men . They are killing off Wolverine and they have stoped the majority of merchandise coming out for the property. FOX has the movie rights so they are trying to starve the IP from comics and merch to make it less valuable.

Fantastic 4 rights are also worthless at this point. THe new movies look horrible and will most likely do poorly.

Spiderman is making less money with each new movie and sony is in dire financial straits and recently sold all merch and tv rights back to Disney. They only have the movie rights now. If ASM keeps tanking Sony will be forced to reboot and if that does bad then the property will get sold back to Marvel.

They just have to play the long game and at some point Universal will want to can the marvel stuff and go with a new property.

Hunger Games would be a big deal for universal if they wanted to go that route.

This post seriously baffles me. You seriously think Universal will consider canning Marvel? You are solely basing all of this on films too as if that is all that matters. Sony's Spider-Man films are declining in popularity but the character itself is still by far Marvel's most popular. Merchandise flies off the shelf and the rides in MSHI are some of the most popular in all of Orlando. You're crazy if you think Universal will want to dump Marvel for a new property, what new property out there will be more profitable for them?

 

[Bairstow]

There is significant value for Universal in being able to prevent Disney from creating anything based on Marvel at WDW. I still think they'll make a deal someday, but it's not going to be cheap for Disney.

The rights are worth a lot more to Disney than to Universal right now, and until Universal has enough parks to occupy a family for 4 days, the relationship between the two resorts is still mostly symbiotic. Leaving Super Hero Island as-is is leaving a lot of money on the table for both companies.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

The rights are worth a lot more to Disney than to Universal right now, and until Universal has enough parks to occupy a family for 4 days, the relationship between the two resorts is still mostly symbiotic. Leaving Super Hero Island as-is is leaving a lot of money on the table for both companies.

How is this leaving money on the table for Universal? I'm seriously not understand some of the thought process going on in here. You think letting their biggest rival get a huge IP is somehow profitable for Universal? Spider-Man and Hulk are some of the biggest draws for the parks in Orlando along with Potter. Marvel merchandise is popular, Universal literally has no reason to even consider letting Disney have the park rights back unless it's for an extreme amount of money. Even then, if Universal does decide to give the rights back what are they going to do with that big piece of land in IoA that is the 2nd most popular area of the park? They won't risk that much downtime in the park and take the backlash of closing their most popular rides for money. There is literally no property they could replace it with that would be more popular (maybe DC Comics, MAYBE and that's a long shot). Universal and Disney BOTH profit from this agreement since Universal gets a major draw from the characters and brand to the park and Disney earns money on everything there without having to break a sweat. I see no reason for either side to budge or change anything for a long, long, long, long, long time.

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here but I'd rather Universal have the rights. If Disney got them we'd probably just get a crap attraction like a stage show or something at DHS and a bunch of M&Gs across the parks. I can't imagine Disney building something better than the Spider-Man ride at IoA anyways. I like things the way they are with Marvel, and I'm a huge Marvel fan boy.

 

[gljvd]

This post seriously baffles me. You seriously think Universal will consider canning Marvel? You are solely basing all of this on films too as if that is all that matters. Sony's Spider-Man films are declining in popularity but the character itself is still by far Marvel's most popular. Merchandise flies off the shelf and the rides in MSHI are some of the most popular in all of Orlando. You're crazy if you think Universal will want to dump Marvel for a new property, what new property out there will be more profitable for them?

Spiderman isn't their most popular. Iron-Man has replaced him , heck even Guardians of the Galaxy is now more popular. The other problem is that Universal isn't going to be able to add new rides to the park without approval from Disney. So your going to get to a point where the rides need replacing and it wont make sense to keep it.

Then you also have to factor in what Universal has access too IP .

They are restarting Jurassic Park franchise so they can expand rides on it.

Fast and the Furious is also a major IP

Then they have the Purge . They could make a horror section of their park. Classic Monsters and then more modern stuff like the purge. Halloween Horror nights is a big draw for them as it is.