Originally Posted By magic0214 Curious to know what everyone's thoughts are on the updates. I am a okay with every single thing. I've always hated that spiel as a whole, as they staff that ride as Attractions, not Entertainment, thus creating really depressing deliveries of the script. Now, they have less to do, and more fun facts from Robert. Love the end montage, love the new pre show...LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Haven't seen (or heard) about it, but anything would be great. The Great Movie Ride should be a Signature Attraction for the Studios. It had been neglected for far too long. Glad they apparently updated the movie montage at the end. If they could update/replace a couple of the scenes shown during the ride I wold be a very happy man.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Two things 1. I've always thought 'The Great Movie Ride' was a colossal miss. The odd, slow-moving vehicles, the random movie scenes that come out of nowhere, and the embarrassingly cheesy tour guides always made me cringe. The whole thing never really worked for me. 2. Adding TCM and Robert Osborne is sort of cool but find that his narration and the random comments from the tour guides just makes it messy. The updated movie clip compilation at the end is much imptoved. This ride just never worked for me, sorry. :-/
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "I've always hated that spiel as a whole, as they staff that ride as Attractions, not Entertainment, thus creating really depressing deliveries of the script." Yes. Haven't seen the changes, but if this has been killed, it's an improvement.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Gotta agree with Jim. I always thought this ride was a did except for the Wizard of Oz sequence. Can someone tell us what the changes are?
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Here's a You Tube Hans <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://youtu.be/Ik78BJ37D7k">http://youtu.be/Ik78BJ37D7k</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert I liked the GMR. It is a relaxing attraction. I guess DLP's Cinemagique (avfantastic attraction by the way) is inspired by GMR.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I think I like the changes, since the attraction needed all the help it can get With the on-board narration, I hope that they've fixed/adjusted the speaker volumes, since our guide was impossible to hear in January. We could sort of tell what was going on because she was there talking, but if it was just a recording (like Robert Osborne's portions) we would have completely missed it I'm glad that the montage has been updated, but it seems like an odd mix of movies to me. Without having a direct comparison, it seems like there's a lot more focus on action movies (specifically from the 70's-90's), while brushing aside many of the classic films. I also don't like that they're using a lot more Disney music during the montage; that cheapens the experience to me. I really liked the Showboat number in the old version, so I'm sad to see that go I also think it's interesting that they're now showing Gone with the Wind in several places during the montage, in addition to using Tara's Theme for music. I always thought it was strange that it was left out of the physical ride, since it was in the MGM library and is always considered one of the greatest films of all time. I'm glad that it's getting some love, but it makes the montage feel a little unbalanced to me Overall, I think these are positive changes, but I wish the end montage had been done differently
Originally Posted By leemac <<I've always hated that spiel as a whole, as they staff that ride as Attractions, not Entertainment, thus creating really depressing deliveries of the script.>> It wasn't always that way I believe. I'm sure it switched out in the last decade - ops love to cut entertainment headcount as they are significantly more expensive. That's low hanging fruit to budget cutters.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I've always thought 'The Great Movie Ride' was a colossal miss.>> It's one of those attractions that must have looked a million times better on paper. The problem was that as a historical progression through the history of movies they missed hugely important milestones and therefore it just became a series of vignettes rather than anything cohesive. I always liked the idea of a guide interacting with the narrative rather than just being another studio tour-type experience. Personally I'd have created a generic ride through genres rather than tied to specific movies. I also thought that the sets weren't close enough to envelope guests into the experience. The UoE type conveyances didn't help. I'd have been happy to have seen the thing imploded. It really doesn't belong as the marquee family ride in the park. Dick Tracey Crime Stoppers would have been similar too if it had been built.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Hey Leemac, as I recall, the guides for GMR were always attractions based cast members, not entertainment. As for show itself, it always felt like a bona fide wax museum. :-/
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Here's a You Tube Hans" Thanks Jim! I don't visit WDW often. Other than the recorded spiel, new sponsor and updated film montage I don't see anything different.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Hey Leemac, as I recall, the guides for GMR were always attractions based cast members, not entertainment.>> Didn't know that. I was sure that the SOP for the attraction was originally Ent CMs so I'm glad to be set straight. I guess they were just so much more enthusiastic at the start. There weren't many better front line CM roles at D/MGM.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I liked the update shown on You Tube. It wasn't a massive change, but any change is welcome and hopefully an indication of more to come. I liked the new pre-show film, the narration, and the updated movie montage at the end. It made me want to be at the park, but I guess I've always liked the Great Movie Ride more than most people. Among other things, I love that it is a real rarity these days... a 20 minute Disney attraction. I don't find the ride vehicles all that strange... I have no quibble there. Overall you are as "close to the action" as you are in Pirates. I also think there is something of a grouping of films by genre. Musicals Busby Berkeley Singing in the Rain Mary Poppins Gangster/Western John Wayne James Cagney Bank Shootout Sci Fi/Action/Adventure Alien Indiana Jones Tarzan The short sequences for Fantasia and Casa Blanca seem shoehorned-in and don't really fit. I would be fine with seeing them deleted and devoted to something else. The final Wizard of Oz scenes of course stand on their own and are the highlight of the ride. I think the attraction could be improved considerably by improving the animatronics... too much of what is there is static. But I still think it is a worthwhile attraction... consider me one of its few fans.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA From what I remember, the part where Mickey is shown from 'Fantasia' was originally supposed to be that view Dorothy has from her window during the tornado sequence, with the various characters flying by (guys in the canoe, lady in the rocking chair, Miss Gulch and The Witch) as a transition to 'The Wizard of Oz' scene. And as I recall, Disney couldn't get the rights from MGM or they were thought to be too expensive. Go figure!
Originally Posted By magic0214 If this starts off well, and the feedback is good, I would LOVE some new scenes, specifically Gone with the Wind. That scene could be stunning. I agree with the "too much Disney music" on the end montage, but I like the additions and subtractions.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I dunno, but I suspect a major GWTW inclusion might not sit well with some WDW visitors. I'll let you guess who.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>It wasn't always that way I believe. I'm sure it switched out in the last decade - ops love to cut entertainment headcount as they are significantly more expensive. That's low hanging fruit to budget cutters.<< I think it happened around 10-15 years ago, when Equity raised a big stink about those CMs doing too much acting. They were then instructed to tone it down some so that they clearly couldn't be considered "acting" roles. Better for the bottom line, but it sure seemed to lead to the ride's slow decline through the years. A similar progression happened at the Jungle Cruise around the same time. On one of my all-time "favorite" trips, we got an International Program CM who was doing his best, but clearly didn't understand the idioms that the jokes were based on. When we got backed up at the end of the ride, he literally gave us a play-by-play of the jokes from the skipper in the boat ahead of us. He was trying his best, but it was bad
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>And as I recall, Disney couldn't get the rights from MGM or they were thought to be too expensive.<< I've also heard that story, though I'm not sure how much I believe it, since Oz still has a major presence (even if the Fantasia scene clearly looks like a tornado with the Oz art deco style). In another version of that story (true or not), the finale montage would have had the 2 sets of vehicles enter the room, with a divider down the middle to keep them separated. There would then be an interaction with the guide and the Wizard where the screen is now, and eventually "the man behind the curtain" would be revealed on the side of the vehicles. There's still space on either side of the vehicles in that scene that was theoretically for the curtain sets, but I'm not sure I buy this story as much as the tornado one >>I dunno, but I suspect a major GWTW inclusion might not sit well with some WDW visitors. I'll let you guess who.<< I think people would be okay with it. If they were able to keep the France pavilion open during the days of "freedom fries" and "liberty toast", I don't think there would be too much hubbub over Gone with the Wind. If those folks are as out of touch as you seem to think, they may not even pick up on the story's indictment of the old south, and just think it's a celebration of the past
