Originally Posted By sjhym33 We were at the Disney Hollywood Studios on a very hot Sunday. A couple of quick observations: 1) Time to take that other empty Soundstage and add a second Toy Story Mania. A good 80% of the guests at rope drop ran there first to either ride or get FP's. At our return time the Standby Line was at 140 mins and in the 10 mins or so we were at the merge point Standby did not move one inch. We were on the FP line and it took over 20 mins to get us on. Very popular ride + empty Soundstages= A no briner (add a second ride). Several years from now if the ride slows down they could offer two different experiences. 2)Disney Hollywood Studios has really lost its identity. No longer a working studio, no longer has an working animation department , the place seems a hodge-podge of attractions with no real rhyme or reason. The place needs some strong Imagineering guidance and quick. 3) Tower of Terror New Drop Sequence- Probably my favorite of all the incarnations. Some nice little surprises in terms of effects and the drop sequence has more air time than ever. Very nice. One of the attractions we rode yesterday to get out of the heat was the Great Movie Ride. To me the GMR has always been a good idea not well executed. The whole tour guide/gangster/unapealling narrator voice thing has never really worked the way that it was intended. Yesterday was a great example. The tour guide was terrible. Had no personality, seemed uniterested and confused at points. In the gangster scene you couldnt hear the gangster so the whole plot point was lost. The gangster looked bored and the change back towards the end has always been anti-climatic. Actors aside, the AA figures are not very good. Several have never looked like the actors they represent (Siqourney Weaver should have sued) and they all look plastic. The Aliens section which was relevant when the Studios opened takes up a lot of track time and doesnt pay off well with the aliens leaping out. Time for it to go away. And the Footlight Parade has been a waste ever since the water feature and spinning has been taken out. The GRM could be one of the best attractions at the Studios. I think it is time to do a rethink about the attraction, lose the tour guide/gangster trade off and give the thing a great update. Imagine what the attraction could be with the right mix of movies, effects and Imagineering magic.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper All good ideas. And, I'm with you on a complete overhaul of the Great Movie Ride. There are a number of Disney movies that could be represented in there and give the attraction a nice facelift.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I agree. This "con cept" for an attraction is wonderful if "performed" as originally created. Never knowing which performance you would be watching added to the fun. ANd children experiencing the Wild West Robbery with the explosive dynamite or the gangster with the shootout...was there a third performance??? Now it seems the only performance experienced is a lackluster gangster scene. Show some respect Disney and update and maintain attractions,please.And thank you.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Oh boy...be ready to be disagreed with. A lot. <<1) Time to take that other empty Soundstage and add a second Toy Story Mania. A good 80% of the guests at rope drop ran there first to either ride or get FP's. At our return time the Standby Line was at 140 mins and in the 10 mins or so we were at the merge point Standby did not move one inch. We were on the FP line and it took over 20 mins to get us on. Very popular ride + empty Soundstages= A no briner (add a second ride). Several years from now if the ride slows down they could offer two different experiences.>> Can't agree here at all. Building 2 of the same ridew is a horrible idea. There's no need for it. The reason TSMM has such a long line is that it's one of the few family-type rides at the Studios. Just build more of them, and you'll see it's line go down. Other than that it's an attraction that should not have fastpass. <<2)Disney Hollywood Studios has really lost its identity. No longer a working studio, no longer has an working animation department , the place seems a hodge-podge of attractions with no real rhyme or reason. The place needs some strong Imagineering guidance and quick.>> It's in a transitional phase as we speak. Whether or not that transition is complete is up to TDO and Burbank, not WDI. <<One of the attractions we rode yesterday to get out of the heat was the Great Movie Ride. To me the GMR has always been a good idea not well executed. The whole tour guide/gangster/unapealling narrator voice thing has never really worked the way that it was intended.>> Completely disagree. GMR is one of the top 10 attractions at WDW, and is a modern classic. <<The tour guide was terrible. Had no personality, seemed uniterested and confused at points. In the gangster scene you couldnt hear the gangster so the whole plot point was lost. The gangster looked bored and the change back towards the end has always been anti-climatic.>> That's going to happen with any live spieling attraction at some point. It's a shame, btu you can't blame the ride for one bad experience. <<Actors aside, the AA figures are not very good.>> This I'll agree with. <<The Aliens section which was relevant when the Studios opened takes up a lot of track time and doesnt pay off well with the aliens leaping out. Time for it to go away. >> No, no, no. Alien is one of the best movies of all time, and covers 2 genres of horror and sci-fi. Absolutely no reason to get rid of it, but a nice update would go a long way. <<The GRM could be one of the best attractions at the Studios. I think it is time to do a rethink about the attraction, lose the tour guide/gangster trade off and give the thing a great update. Imagine what the attraction could be with the right mix of movies, effects and Imagineering magic.>> GMR is already one of the best at the studios. All it needs is some updated effects and AAs. Losing the actors would destroy yet another attraction with great personal touch and REAL guest interaction with a REAL person, not with a touch screen. And what ios "the right mix of movies"? How can you get better than what's already there? It's the "Great" Movie Ride, not the "What's Popular Now" Movie Ride.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<All good ideas. And, I'm with you on a complete overhaul of the Great Movie Ride. There are a number of Disney movies that could be represented in there and give the attraction a nice facelift.>> But it's not the Great Disney Movie Ride. It's the Great Movie Ride. More Disney synergy would not make the ride improve at all, IMO.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Now it seems the only performance experienced is a lackluster gangster scene. >> Bandit is only performed on high capacity days due to it being expensive to run the explosion effect. Still, they'll do it for you if you ask.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub It would be fun to see the Disney GMR(theme) concept in a different location though besides HS,maybe.?. The current themed selections are important to keep for the "live" theatrical interaction and for the Live 3D effect being immersed into the gangster fight or the wild west shootout. ANd a great sensory xperience for children especially entering OZ. We tend to forget that young people today rarely experience a real steam train ride or a relaxing boat ride or a trolley ride or even a live theatrical performance. I know the Live performers are expensive for Disney to continue and we need to petition Disney to keep this experience ALIVE. WE have much to be thankful foR when it comes to Disney.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Agreed in all points. I honestly think TSMM should have been built with several more tracks to soak up more guests. Or, as Hokie said, build more rides. As for GMR... It needs some touch up...and dare I say it... Automated narration? It's like the JC... A dud CM really leaves the ride hanging. >>>It's in a transitional phase as we speak. Whether or not that transition is complete is up to TDO and Burbank, not WDI.<<< From what to what, I dare ask? Half day studio park to bland entertainment park? Its a shame, seeing the 1930's Hollywood portions of the park really sparkle. If anything, drop most of the mishmash, and expand on THAT.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<As for GMR... It needs some touch up...and dare I say it... Automated narration?>> God no. You should be banned for even bringing that up. I've literally rode GMR more times in the last 3 years than I ever have before, and I have to say I think I've had 1 bad CM that entire time. <<Half day studio park to bland entertainment park?>> No. And I'm not having this discussion with you again.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>God no. You should be banned for even bringing that up. I've literally rode GMR more times in the last 3 years than I ever have before, and I have to say I think I've had 1 bad CM that entire time.<<<< Banned for a difference in opinion?! How MAGICal. Had a decent CM last time, but it wasn't up to par. All of ther rides were duds. Bored and tired, and honestly shouldn't be working there. >>>>No. And I'm not having this discussion with you again.<<<< Cuz you know I'm right? ;-) Granted, I like the park...it has it's moments, but there is a lot that needs fixing.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Banned for a difference in opinion?! How MAGICal.>> No, because it's an awful idea. Less and less personability in the parks traded for the cheap road. And I don't know where you find all these terrible CMs, because for the life of me I never see them.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>No, because it's an awful idea. Less and less personability in the parks traded for the cheap road.<<< It worked great in LwtL, but there's no acting there. But having a bad CM is also less person ability, and bad show. It's a turn off. At least the automated spiel would do away with that. But I would rather have the acting, I agree. It just has to be GOOD acting.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<It worked great in LwtL, but there's no acting there.>> Eh, I'd still rather have the live spiel. <<But having a bad CM is also less person ability, and bad show. It's a turn off. At least the automated spiel would do away with that.>> I'd take the chance of having a bad CM 100x over the smae-old boringness of a pre-recorded spiel. Again, I can't remember the last time I had a bad ride there. And I've ridden that thing 2-3 times a day before. Where do you find the bad ones.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<but they are in abundance. >> There's no way they're in abundance. I'm sorry, but they aren't. If that were the case the rides wouldn't get such good ratings from the guests.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I opened the GRM so I think I have a pretty good understanding of its original intention. I sat in the auditions of the original narrators, gangsters, cowboys. I am well that a bad narrator does not mean the ride stinks. I have had good narrators and good gangsters. It still doesnt mean the ride doesnt need a good rehab. I dont think I said to gut the building and put something new in there. What needs to happen is a rethink on the storyline, new scenes, new effects and new AA figures where needed. I disagree that the GMR is a classic. It may seem like a classic at the Studios, but I think that says more about the Studios then the GMR. Its a nice attraction but I would never consider it a classic.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<t still doesnt mean the ride doesnt need a good rehab.>> Which I agreed with...I said the AAs and effects need updating. But that's about it. There's no need to re-do the storyline. It fits the park perfectly. As for new scenes, there's nothing in the ride I think deserves to be replaced, other than Tarzan and Fantasia, but I don't know if much can be done in the Fantasia room. << It may seem like a classic at the Studios, but I think that says more about the Studios then the GMR.>> No, it seems like a classic because it is. it has everything a Disney ride should.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> There's no way they're in abundance. I'm sorry, but they aren't. If that were the case the rides wouldn't get such good ratings from the guests.<<< well, I keep getting them.
