TCM teams up with Disney to refresh Great Movie Ride

[Marc Gil]

Where did I say it was boring? Quote me where I said that The Great Movie Ride was boring.. and you cannot tell me that Jack Sparrow's AA doesn't look out of place compared to all of the other characters. The rides also never stop moving.. There isn't a stopped scene that makes you look at what is going on. There isn't an excuse for the AAs not to have the same quality movement as the AAs in Epcot's American Adventure. Just saying.

Touché, but the AA's are about the same quality if not better than American Adventure.

Gene Kelly, James Cagney, and The Munchkins move pretty well.

In fact, the entire Wizard of Oz scene is just perfect.

 

[Kman101]

The Oz scene is the best set of animatronics. I totally disagree about the rest of them though. They aren't at all up to par with other animatronics.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Shouldn't have to pay someone more to do their job. It's part of the job description for that role. I've never really had issues at the Jungle Cruise either. I think that there are likely ways they could address the motivation factor without having to give them a raise. Since I don't know the logistics of how those cast members are assigned/rotated/moved around during the day, etc, I don't feel educated enough to make suggestions as to how best to do it, but I am sure that methods exist that could help improve it. Refreshing the script I think would help.

Entertainment cast members get paid about 2-3$ more than regular CMs... I'd argue the spielers on GMR and Jungle Cruise should be classified as "entertainment" (and they've been fighting for it for years). Spielling for a ride like GMR or Jungle Cruise does does not equal what an attraction attendant does. The spielers should be paid more (well they all should be paid more, but I digress).

 

[ProfSavage]

Osbourne doing the narration wouldn't be a bad way to go... would make it like Spaceship Earth but for movies... Especially if he gives tidbits and trivia about the movies, etc. Anything more sincere than the CMs saying "X, my favorite movie from (year x)." That always was painful to hear.

Now, my armchair engineering:

Because it is automated, you don't need to CMs to act.

Remove Tarzan, put in Gone with the Wind. Picture it - that sweeping score, as Rhet turns to leave Scarlet... "Frankly my dear..." Yes please. Hell, do that on the left side of the ride, and do Atlanta burning on the other? I dunno, spitballing. Especially having Gone with the Wind go into Casablanca (my two favorite movies, back to back).

Then, change other half of the gangster/mob area to having the Godfather. Got to have the Godather.

Then change out the horror area to maybe Planet of the Apes? It is technically a horror/scifi movie. Yeah, that'll work.

And again, I beat a dead horse but put something at the begining for silent films before Footlight Parade... you know, like Chaplin and Fritz Lange? (I Just reallly realllllly want a Metropolis scene in there)

Okay I'm done.

 

[njDizFan]

Also loving the fact that an administrative assistant on vacation was the one who prompted this change. Kudos for seeing that synergy. Although I'm still POd at Turner for the colorization experiment in the 80's.

I think it should be mandatory for every teenager to watch 1 full month of TCM to get a little backround of the history of cinema. The history of cinema is like a history of our nation. Technology has changed the way we see the film but the themes have not changed only the context

 

[brisem]

Don't know if this has been posted yet.
The press release from today
https://d23.com/turner-classic-movi...ios-team-share-stories-centered-classic-film/

 

[FigmentJedi]

TCM's got minipages on the programming block and the Great Movie Ride now.

http://www.tcm.com/disney/index.html

http://www.tcm.com/disney/ride.html

Lineup starts with three shorts (Santa's Workshop, On Ice and Chip an' Dale), The Disneyland Story, The Reluctant Dragon, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier, The Vanishing Prairie, Third Man on the Mountain and Perilous Assignment (a making of Third Man on the Mountain episode of the Disneyland show).

 

[Sage of Time]

TCM's got minipages on the programming block and the Great Movie Ride now.

http://www.tcm.com/disney/index.html

http://www.tcm.com/disney/ride.html

Lineup starts with three shorts (Santa's Workshop, On Ice and Chip an' Dale), The Disneyland Story, The Reluctant Dragon, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier, The Vanishing Prairie, Third Man on the Mountain and Perilous Assignment (a making of Third Man on the Mountain episode of the Disneyland show).

*swoons*

Wish I had cable.

 

[Haymarket2008]

I love the idea of Robert Osborn narrating the entirety of the ride a la Spaceship Earth. Though I would miss that awesome narrator's voice who makes an occasional appearance. My belief is that the CM will not be there within a few years. It used to be entertaining now it is one of the most cringe worthy moments in all of WDW. I think they should take the ambiguous Gangster/Western scenes and make them into space for more scenes. Without the CMs there isn't any use for those areas.

 

[ProfSavage]

I love the idea of Robert Osborn narrating the entirety of the ride a la Spaceship Earth. Though I would miss that awesome narrator's voice who makes an occasional appearance. My belief is that the CM will not be there within a few years. It used to be entertaining now it is one of the most cringe worthy moments in all of WDW. I think they should take the ambiguous Gangster/Western scenes and make them into space for more scenes. Without the CMs there isn't any use for those areas.

Agreed

 

[Matt_Black]

I think Tarzan needs updated with better animatronics, but it should not be removed. First, the Tarzan series is an incredibly important film series, having had numerous successes. How successful was it? When the Communist uprising in Cuba happened, Johnny Weismuller and some buddies were on a golfing trip when they were approached by insurgents. Weismuller said, "Me Tarzan" and then did the famous yell. The guerillas not only didn't kill them or take them hostage, but escorted Weismuller and his entourage and gave him a hearty farewell with shouts of "Viva Tarzan!"

Second, Tarzan is very much the superhero prototype so, from a current pop cultural perspective, he is very important in that regard as well.

 

[disney4life2008]

I hope Robert Osborne bashes open the skull of the Disney suit who came up with that idea

Its a no brainer - Frozen will be added in some compacity and t

Don't know if this has been posted yet.
The press release from today
https://d23.com/turner-classic-movi...ios-team-share-stories-centered-classic-film/

WOW!!!!!! Now this is a update I can get behind. The Great Movie Ride is one of the treasures (for me) on all of WDW property. On extra magic hours (evening) I have been known to ride twice, lol. The refresh sounds amazing. And I hope it is done "classic" and includes more movies that represent the diverse culture of America - A Raisin in the Sun comes to mind. I suspect "Disney Hollywood Studios Presents" will change - isnt the park getting a new name?

 

[Figments Friend]

When i heard the news today, i had to stop over to my favorite Forum and express delight.

Very relieved to hear a official announcement regarding this Attraction, as it basically confirms it is indeed *staying* amidst the upcoming *house cleaning* slated to begin early next year.

There has been a lot of back and forth discussions over the past month or so about whether or not *The Great Movie Ride* was going to remain with the upcoming major changes coming.
Although i am not anticipating any major changes or extensive new Show scenes, it is good to know some effort is being done to freshen it up a little.

This can only be good news...and the new access TCM is getting in the form of those *nostalgic* archive programs for broadcasting is just great to hear.

Feeling happy for the DHS today !

 

[ttalovebug]

I am ecstatic about this news! This partnership just makes so much sense, and TCM is a quality brand that really cares about what they do. And yes, it's indicative of how low our standards are for the parks now, but I don't even care if there are updates to GMR at the moment- I'm just glad it's staying. I was really worried about it for a while.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Touché, but the AA's are about the same quality if not better than American Adventure.

Gene Kelly, James Cagney, and The Munchkins move pretty well.

In fact, the entire Wizard of Oz scene is just perfect.

They might have been when the ride first opened. But if they aren't maintained as well as they are in The American Adventure over time, then that quality will not show and the attraction will lose an aspect that makes it impressive.

An example could be comparing a youtube video of Country Bear Jamboree from opening day to present. The AAs used to be amazing and ran smoothly. Now they're just kind of.. Ehh.. With Tokyo keeping theirs in much better condition.

The ride just needs a huge maintenance upgrade! 'Nough said! That's all I was trying to say.

 

[Matt_Black]

Its a no brainer - Frozen will be added in some compacity and t


WOW!!!!!! Now this is a update I can get behind. The Great Movie Ride is one of the treasures (for me) on all of WDW property. On extra magic hours (evening) I have been known to ride twice, lol. The refresh sounds amazing. And I hope it is done "classic" and includes more movies that represent the diverse culture of America - A Raisin in the Sun comes to mind. I suspect "Disney Hollywood Studios Presents" will change - isnt the park getting a new name?

Diversity sounds great, but honestly? I wouldn't mind seeing a Shaft animatronic, no offense to Raisin in the Sun.

 

[CDavid]

They need something contemporary, like a scene from Frozen.

Uh, No. Just no.

It's also refreshing to see the majority of posters not complaining about this, but in the same respect, it is a no brainer and a great partnership.

Yeah the reaction here proves the point we're always making - we don't just doom and gloom for the hell of it, and we're not automatically down on everything that Disney does. When they make genuinely sensible moves that will change things for the better, we're all supportive.

There is no reason to complain over a generally positive development. I would hope that observation would help put to rest the erroneous notion, advanced by a few posters ("pixie-dusters") on these boards, that it doesn't matter what Disney does because they claim people will complain no matter what happens. That's never been an accurate assessment, and should be seen for the nonsense it is.

Shouldn't have to pay someone more to do their job. It's part of the job description for that role.

A position with greater job responsibilities and which requires a higher level of performance than related Cast Member roles should appropriately receive superior compensation. You should be seeking to recruit CM's into those roles which will deliver the performance you are looking for, and higher pay is part of that.

I'm really reminded of Spaceship Earth and Siemens. They came in in 2005, ordered the demolition of the wand, and THEN refurbed the ride.

I really hope that's a bad analogy, because they really botched the ride descent during that refurbishment (would have been fine left alone).

Is there anyway they can speed up those ride vehicles? The ride feels every bit of those 22 minutes, and not in a good way.

There is no reason to compromise the attraction experience to pander to those with short attention spans (that's too much a problem already). How do people ever manage to sit through a movie or sporting event - which runs closer to two hours - if they can't sustain interest in an attraction for more than a few minutes?

 

[pumpkin7]

They need something contemporary, like a scene from Frozen.

Oh! We have a phone company here in the UK, Vodafone (you've probably got it too) but their advertising campaign is all to do with being able to stream movies through your network and you'll never guess which movie/song they've picked? LET IT GO. OMG. I hear it daily, on the TV, on the radio... ARGH!!

Still, add some Disney movies for sure, but please, no Frozen songs! No more Frozen!

I really love the movie montage at the end though, coupled with the music, it really sets the mood for 'old time' Hollywood. (Does 1980's class as old time Hollywood yet? lol).

ON that note though, I am glad it's not going anywhere either. Do we have a refurb schedule yet, or is it just a case of sticking some logos around the ride and updating the pre and post show movies?

 

[WondersOfLife]

Touché, but the AA's are about the same quality if not better than American Adventure.

Gene Kelly, James Cagney, and The Munchkins move pretty well.

In fact, the entire Wizard of Oz scene is just perfect.

Just watched a whole video. You cannot tell me these AAs are better than American Adventure's AAs. I'm sorry.. and there are no lip movements either.

Sorry if that sounded pretty defensive on my side. I just have some strong thoughts on this attraction animatronics-wise.

 

[Marc Gil]

They might have been when the ride first opened. But if they aren't maintained as well as they are in The American Adventure over time, then that quality will not show and the attraction will lose an aspect that makes it impressive.

An example could be comparing a youtube video of Country Bear Jamboree from opening day to present. The AAs used to be amazing and ran smoothly. Now they're just kind of.. Ehh.. With Tokyo keeping theirs in much better condition.

The ride just needs a huge maintenance upgrade! 'Nough said! That's all I was trying to say.

That's pretty much the situation for every ride.

You should have seen this video of IASW in 1966. I never knew those dolls had so much motion.