Do people even GO to the Great Movie Ride anymore?

That's funny bali, because for me it's a "Must-Do"!!

For as much as I have it memorized, am no longer enchanted by the schtick, and have even been able to figure out in advacne whether I'll get the cowboy or the gangster, I still feel I have to do GMR every time!

Of course! That's one of my favorite rides at the Studios.

I'm embarrassed to say that I think I can count the number of times I've ridden this on one hand. It's kind of like a lot of the shows where I think it's good and well done, but I usually only go see it again when I'm with someone who hasn't gone before.

I go, but I have to admit I enjoy the video while waiting in line, and the one they show as you actually enter the ride far more than the ride itself.

For me Dark rides are always a must do, especially a monster like TGMR. Maby it is time to bring in some new movies and phase out some older ones. I wonder how many of these classic movies kids, or even some adults, know.

That's a good point. I think your enjoyment of the ride has a lot to do with your relation to the particular movies. For example, I really like the Alien part because I'm big on that movie, but there are a lot that I could take or leave.

OK fellow Disney fans, don't blast me TOO bad for this, but overall I find this ride about as hokey as they get.

Maybe its that "hes past 50 and has seen it way too many times", but the audio-animatronic actors in this ride have only SLIGHTLY more acting talent than the cast members who usuall accompany you along.

Thats why I ride it for the previews and entering movie. If it wasn't for that, I'd never go on it.

It does have a good waiting area doesn't it? DHS has a lot of the really good queues, I think. ToT in particular I think has one of the best waits. In fact I'll go start a topic:

Top 5 Waiting Areas In Disney World

I have to say, I'm with you on this one. I love the older movies--the Gene Kelley sequence for instance--but the "story" of the ride has gotten a bit boring for me (CM overtaking the gangster/cowboy).

I'm not sure animatronic figures are supposed to have acting talent, but I've seen some new animatronics in other rides (the new Spaceship Earth has a great one!) that make TGMR's robots pale in comparison.

Time for an update.

In that video, I get a chill when they play the few seconds from Showboat and the music kicks into HIGH gear! It is enough to take you back to the glory days of film!

When TGMR first opened, the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz sequence was THE most advanced audio-animatronic of it's time. Today, while still impressive, it seems almost ordinary as new and vastly improved AAs continue to arrive.

The first time I road TGMR I thought That the Wicked Witch was another actor. (Like earlier in the ride) It wasn't till the second trip I realized it was an animatronic.

You gotta cut me some slack though it was my first time to a Disney park and I wasn't youst to the Disney level of attraction.

She is still pretty amazing, I have to say. I know the animatronics are getting better and better, but I'm still impressed by the oldies.

As has been documented, I came to WDW late in life, so the first time I rode PotC they had already updated it for the movies. When I saw the first Johnny Depp animatronic I really thought it was an actor standing there. Although I think that's the best one in any of the parks. In fact:

The Best Animatronic In the Park thread.

It would have been interesting if they had had some different 'routes' through the ride where you could get different combinations of movies per trip.

I still like this ride, but I agree with some of the posts here. The ride should be refreshed with new movies. I know someone on here said they like the Alien scene, but that part is long enough they could tear it down and put two movies in there. How cool would it be to give us a Star Wars scene - Luke and Darth Vader fighting with a light saber or something of that nature? They should also do something with the Fantasia room that never got completed.

Actually, the last two times I went to Disney World, almost two years apart, I had the SAME CM -- and she was terrible both times!

I found this online -- I'd remembered hearing that it wasn't completed for budget and time reasons, but how cool would this have been:

Although you'd never notice while on The Great Movie
Ride, the original concept to the attraction brought guests full-circle
from the opening sequence to the finish. Legal hashing, time, and
budget all became concerns, forcing Disney to alter the attraction's
original narrative.
The
original version of The Great Movie Ride had quite a different fnale
sequence than it does today. Today, the finale sequence leads guests
into a large room with a movie screen in front, slightly above eye
level. The tram enters the room and a montage of various films begins
to play.
The original concept for this area
was to have the guests continue their trip into the Emerald City,
extending the previous sequence in which Dorothy and her companions
following the yellow brick road.
The Original Ending
The
last scene was built incredibly large because it was meant to be
divided into two areas: one for track A (the gangster hijacker) and
another for track B (the bandit hijacker). The tram would turn left or
right as you entered the Emerald City into the Wizard's chamber. Near
where the movie screen currently is, the Wizard's ominous head would be
floating in bellows of flame. The Wizard would reenact the scene up
until the line âPay no attention to the man behind the curtain.â
At
that moment, the live cast member (a gangster or bandit, depending on
which track) would appear from behind the curtain and take a bow. The
large platforms surrounding the room were to display various other
animatronic movie characters seen previously in the ride. As if the
entire ride had been a performance, the tram tour guide, the
gangster/bandit, and animatronic characters would bow in unison to the
guests while an roaring applause played on the sound system.
http://www.greatmovieride.com/originalconcept.html

That sounds fun--thanks for sharing the link. It makes a lot of sense that the GMR would have something significant at the end instead of...well...piddling out there

Wow I had no idea. That would have been fun. Although duplicating so many animatronics couldn't be cheap.

They should add that in the next ride update. (Along with the new movies)

It really could use an update if it wants to be a "premiere" ride, I think.

Has anyone heard recently about a facelift for this place? Or a removal of the giant hat so that it's the icon for DHS once again? I could have sworn I heard that somewhere...

It desperately needs an update. I loved it during my first trip and was very underwhelmed during my second. All I could think of was how bored everyone under the age of 30 must be on this ride. Most of the movies they talk about are movies that generation has never even heard of, starring actors they've never even heard of.

They should totally update this ride with more contemporary movies to appeal to the younger generations (and I include myself in that, because even though I've heard of the actors and movies in the ride, I wouldn't say they're anything that interest me a great deal). I'd be much more excited if they did Lord of the Rings, the Die Hard movies, the Matrix, and stuff like that. Maybe keep 1 or 2 of the older movies to show how movies got their start and evolved, but then move on to some of the amazing movie innovations of recent years.

Star Wars is a great idea. Alien is the first one that popped into my mind that was probably starting to drift a bit out of the public consciousness.

While I haven't heard anything about this . . I have to agree/complain. I hate the hat. It blocks the view of tgmr. I think I have gripped about this on every trip since they put it up. I understand the want/need to have a focal point like SE, Cinderella's castle and the tree of life . . but I just hate the hat.

I took my boyfriend there for the first time last summer, and he agreed. He felt it took away from the experience instead of adding to it. I would love to see it relocated.

Sarah

It is interesting though, because DHS's supposed icons thus far have all been duds in my opinion. The hat comes the closest but it still feels like they just threw up something big because all the icons up to that point had been unimpressive.

did he like the other park monuments? i think the other three are top notch.