Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>^^^Like?<<< The placement of things...the concept of how the park "works" with it's quirky backstory, BPB....
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Again, it's a park in transition. BPB doesn't fit at all, I agree, but I think it's a good parade, so I'm good with it.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 Very well put Jim, but you and I were both there at the time so we remember opening and ticked off guests...don't we? Why didnt production work at Disney-MGM? Several reasons. Eisner promised to push production to Florida so that there would always be something there to see. That didnt last long. The Florida production team would beg Cal to send productions but Eisner got so much heat from the production side of the business in LA that he didnt push hard or long. Disney-MGM was touted as a cheaper alternative to California to film at. It ended up being not true. Not much available experienced crews here so everyone was shipped in. As soon as you added the costs of flying, housing and food for crews the costs were comprable to California. No real savings being at Disney and the facilities could really only handle parts of a movie because of the limited soundstage size. Thats why tv became the go to productions. Even with some skilled people here, California producers preferred to work with people they knew and trusted. Disney decided that running a theme park was more important then being a production studio. Busy day in the park. Running full contigent of trams. Cat Canyon going off every 3 or 4 mins meant that productions had to shoot between explosions. There were several days of CM's being stationed outside of Cat Canyon relaying radio calls to another CM with the production team to warn about upcoming explosions. And you could hear the explosions on the soundstages. Many of the post-production groups bolted as soon as their contract with Disney was up. One manager of a group told me that working at the Studios was the worst experience of his career.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> Disney-MGM Studios was a project that simply should not have been greenlighted. << >> But, heck what else was there? Star Tours would open later...The animation studio walk-through was pretty cool. << You forgot "Meet the Muppets," a show with Muppet foamheads that was performed outside. I remember the summer MGM opened seeing a fight between grown adults trying to jockey for position to see it. It's too bad with MGM Disney went to a plan of opening 1/2-day parks with plans to expand them. MGM, with its handful of attractions, had no business being opened that first summer.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<You forgot "Meet the Muppets," a show with Muppet foamheads that was performed outside. I remember the summer MGM opened seeing a fight between grown adults trying to jockey for position to see it.>> At least back then there was still hope of the full "Muppets Studios" area being completed.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Again, it's a park in transition. BPB doesn't fit at all, I agree, but I think it's a good parade, so I'm good with it.<<< In transition from what to what? Half day park to generic entertainment? Seriously! And how long is this transition? When did it start? When will it end? At least with EPCOT, it was a DIRECT change, and if they had actually kept at the direction they took it in 1994, the park would be a lot more cohesive now. But that all stopped in 1998, and has taken a slower trek and way of "adapting" to meet the present. >>> Again, it's a park in transition. BPB doesn't fit at all, I agree, but I think it's a good parade, so I'm good with it.<<< I don't get how you can say that...It being good is one thing, but it ruining it's surroundings is another. For something to REALLY be great, it has to exist on it's own with great quality AND fit into it's park.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> At least back then there was still hope of the full "Muppets Studios" area being completed. << And Dick Tracy's Crime-Stoppers and the Roger Rabbit rides. Things that would've greatly improved the park had they been built in the park's first years.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>the Roger Rabbit rides<<< Want that SO bad. Watched the movie a few weeks ago...and WOW. PERFECT for DHS. MK is killing of Toon Town...Can DHS have it? A real one, I mean, like in DL, or in the movie. Not the crap MK is getting rid of .
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<But that all stopped in 1998, and has taken a slower trek and way of "adapting" to meet the present.>> Exactly the problem DHS is facing. It started off as the "working studio" deal, but they realized that wasn't going to work. It's been shifting to a living manifestation to "The Holloywood that never was but always will be", but that's to crappy planning and no budgets it can't transition worth a damn, so it's stuck in between. <<For something to REALLY be great, it has to exist on it's own with great quality AND fit into it's park.>> Sure, that's why I think it's good. Not great. Although if Pixar Place would be finished, it would fit a lot better, IMO.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Exactly the problem DHS is facing. It started off as the "working studio" deal, but they realized that wasn't going to work. It's been shifting to a living manifestation to "The Holloywood that never was but always will be", but that's to crappy planning and no budgets it can't transition worth a damn, so it's stuck in between.<<< If anything, it should stick to the "The Holloywood that never was but always will be" for the most part, and a backlot divided into separate genres of movies. It's MUCH too complicated as it is...Keep it simple. Like DL. Like MK. Like EPCOT. Like DAK. Thematic realms, each in their own spot. Not like the mishmosh of DHS.
Originally Posted By leobloom I things I like best about the Great Movie Ride: 1. It's not Disney movies that are spotlighted. For that reason alone, the ride is head and shoulders above anything they would attempt today. 2. Some of the scenes look very good. 'Singin' in the Rain', the generic Gangster scene, 'Oz,' the simplicity of the 'Casablanca' scene. 3. I enjoy the Western action scene with the fire more than the Gangster shoot-out. Could it be improved? Yeah, but in its current form, it's still better than most of the attractions in MGM.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I worked for Imagineering on the Studio project. I came into it about 16 months before opening. I worked for a couple of the show producers. Initially no one was too worried about the park. I think the general feeling was it was not going to be a full day park and that was ok. That was until the financial people decided that they were going to charge full admission to the park. I remember the day that the team was told. There was a general shock among the Imagineering team. By that time there was not much that could be done. The place was pretty well done. The GMR was without a sponsor for much of the construction. Disney was in deep discussions with Sears about sponsoring the attraction. The deal with Sears fell apart several months before opening and Coke stepped in. I believe (though I may be wrong) there were major concessions to Coke to get their sponsorship. There was a fulltime acting coach who worked with all tour guides, gangsters and cowboys. Everyone auditioned for their part. That was quickly abandoned and the coach held on for a bit by giving notes from riding the attraction but he was eventually let go. I remember standing in front of the GMR not too long after opening. The lines of the GMR, tram tour, animation and Indiana Jones converged in the center courtyard. I stood there, with some Guest Relation hosts and tried to point people to the proper lines. It was a mess. There were many many many meetings post opening about how to handle crowd control and flow. The street that the soundstages are on was open up (they were originally designed to hold production trailers like dressing rooms). Park hours were extended and access to the park was limited to keep the crowds more managable. Some of you will remember that the Backstage Tour was 90 mins to 2 hours long. You boarded the tram and did the tour. You were dropped off at the water tank and then you did the walking part of the tour. It was one of the biggest complaints the park got. Plans were made to split the tour into two parts giving guests the option to choose when they wanted to do either part of the tour. The attraction was very very labor intensive. 2 CM's per tram, loaders and unloaders, dump tank people, special effects rooms, walking tour guides. Star Tours did not open with the Studios because Disney's contract with MetLife gave Wonders of Life a one year exclusive on the simulator technology. Just a few memories of the Studios.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 Not to forget the decision to put in a nighttime show called Sorcery in the Sky which required half the park to be shut down due to fireworks. That was fun. Sorry you cant go to the back of the park due to the fireworks show in 2 hours.
Originally Posted By TTA << I think the general feeling was it was not going to be a full day park and that was ok. That was until the financial people decided that they were going to charge full admission to the park>> Thinking going into that one was that if we charge less for this than we do EC, or MK, the guests will realize it is an inferior product, and we all know they weren't about to admit to that. Thus, same pricing all around. Ugh.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper I don't agree. That would have worked if the park had been set up like that to begin with. But it's set-up wasn't for something like that, and at this point it would be more trouble than its worth. Sunset/Hollywood Boulevard and Echo Lake are good. They should keep the "this is how we make movies(and music, in RNRC's case)" vibe, along with Tower's real experience. What needs help is the back area of the park. In a perfect world it would become and area where you are dragged into the world of the movies. A change up of the Animation Courtyard could really help this out, as well as the transition in the Muppets realm. Obviously, using this course of logic, BLT and LMA would need to go(not something I would miss), along with The Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. In a perfect world, BLT and HISTK would be assimilated into Pixar Place, and LMA's plot, along with the surrounding area would become a "Marvel City" area with an accompanying E-ticket. Obviously that can't happen at this time so let's just say it gets tossed into Pixar Place as well, with an Incredibles overlay or bring in the old Dick Tracy concept back here, but themed to a mishmash of ALL cop movies/car chases. That would be one hell of a thrill ride. Then, round out Muppets Square, and add a Toontown back there, and bam, you got yourself one hell of a theme park. Of course that'll never happen, but hey.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Not to forget the decision to put in a nighttime show called Sorcery in the Sky which required half the park to be shut down due to fireworks. That was fun. Sorry you cant go to the back of the park due to the fireworks show in 2 hours.<<< I miss that show enormously. Such a great score, the first in park pyro show, and the Sorcerer Mickey at the end STILL gives me goosebumps. Great posts...Thanks for writing these up..
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Obviously that can't happen at this time so let's just say it gets tossed into Pixar Place as well, with an Incredibles overlay or bring in the old Dick Tracy concept back here, but themed to a mishmash of ALL cop movies/car chases. That would be one hell of a thrill ride.<<< I say they retheme RNRC to that. 1930's Cop Chase/Dick Tracy fits Sunset BLVD much more than the modern music industry.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I have worked the MSEP at the MK, Illuminations at EPCOT and Sorcery at Disney-MGM. And Sorcery was my favorite of the three...but a bear as a manager when you have to close the back half of the park.
