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The Great Movie Ride is an attraction located in [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]].
==Attraction History==
The attraction that would one day be known as the Great Movie Ride actually began as an idea for Epcot. In the early 1980’s a team of Imagineers, led by Randy Bright and WDI president Marty Skylar were tasked with creating two new pavilions for Future World in [[Epcot]]. The team came up with two ideas, the [[Wonders of Life]] pavilion, and the Great Moments at the Movies pavilion. While the Wonders of Life was green lit for inclusion in Epcot, the Great Moments and the Movies attraction was set aside by Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
The original plans for the Great Moments at the Movies, called for the pavilion to be placed in between [[The Land]] and the [[Journey Into Imagination]] pavilions. The basic plot for the attraction would not only have given guest an inside look into how films were made, but it would have also allowed them to enter the films themselves. The façade for the new pavilion would have featured a movie set back drop, with a ticket booth for an entrance. The façade was intentionally designed to look fake, as a commentary on Hollywood itself. After seeing the Great Moments at the Movies concept, Michael Eisner decided that the attraction was strong enough to build a whole new park around. Eventually, Disney decided to create the Disney MGM Studios, with the Great Movie Ride as the new park’s centerpiece.
Since the Great Movie Ride (as it was now called) was now going to be the focus of a new park, Disney Imagineers decided that they needed to create a new façade for the attraction. Since the Disney MGM Studios, were set in the golden age of Hollywood (the 1920s-1930s), Imagineers decided to house the attraction inside one of Hollywood’s landmarks, Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Since the attraction was no longer going to be housed in Epcot, Imagineers also decided that the Great Movie Ride’s plot would focus less on education, and instead it would take guests on a journey through various classic films. Originally, the final scene in the attraction was going to be an extension of the Wizard of Oz scene. Guests would have come face to face with the Wizard, who would say his famous line “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”. Following this, the curtain would open showing that the bandit or gangster who had hijacked the ride earlier was still alive. Finally, guests would approach a large platform where models of all the of the Audio Animatronic characters seen earlier in the ride would reappear and take a bow. The Great Movie Ride opened with the Disney MGM Studios on May 1, 1989.
Since its opening, the Great Movie Ride has only seen two major changes. The first change to the attraction came shortly after its opening. The Footlight Parade scene, which originally featured a rotating cake and attached water pumps (as seen in the movie), was significantly toned down. The cake in the scene would constantly break down, and the water pumps would fail, causing the ride path to flood. Disney Imagineers eventually decided to leave the cake stationary, and sue lighting effects instead of water pumps. The other change came in 2008, when the Wicked Witch of the West Audio Animatronic was replaced with a newer model.
==Attraction Plot==
On the Great Movie Ride, there are two different experiences, one involves a 1920s gangster hijacking the ride, and another involves an old west outlaw.
===Gangster Version===
The Great Movie ride begins with guests boarding their ride vehicles and being introduced to their tour guide. After asking if everybody is ready, the guide tells them its show time, before telling C.B. (famous Hollywood director Cécile B. Demile) that everyone is ready to go. As C.B. yells “Action!” the ride vehicles begin to move and the song “Hooray for Hollywood” begins to play. As the tour begins, the tour guide tells guests that the Great Movie Ride brings movies to life and puts guests “right in the middle of the action”.
Following the return of their tour guide, guests enter a dark area filled with skeletons. The tour guide tells them that the horror genre’s golden age may have come in the 1930’s and 40s, however the genre is still very popular today. The attraction then moves to a jungle scene. Guests are informed that they are inside one of the Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller. On their left, guests can see Weissmuller swing by on a vine, while Jane (played by Maureen O’Sullivan), and Cheetah the chimp look on from the left.
As guests leave the Tarzan scene, enter the famous closing scene from Casablanca. On their right, they can see Humphrey Bogart telling Ingrid Bergman that she has to get on the plane. As guests pass the scene, the tour guide references the film , saying: " Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The best last lines of a movie ever. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the classic romance, "Casablanca". Leaving Casablanca, guests briefly enter the world of Disney's Fantasia.As Sorcerer Mickey causes waves to splash, guests can feel a soft breeze. In this scene, the tour guide tells guests that Mickey’s master, Yensid is actually just Disney spelled backwards. At this point, guests enter the Wizard of Oz. On their left, the Wicked Witch of the East can be seen, crushed by a house. Around the room, Munchkins pop up and sing "Ding dong, the witch is dead". After the vehicle is in the room, the tour guide tells guests:
{{Quotation| Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. How often do you get to say that? I'd say we're over the rainbow in one of the most beloved movies of all time, "The Wizard of Oz."}}
All of the sudden, the Wicked Witch of the West appears in a cloud of smoke and asks the tour guide of she killed her sister. When the guide replies no, the Witch warns that she is going "to get you, and your little dog too". Following the witch's departure, the tour guide wonders aloud how they will ever get home. On cue, a munchkin appears, exclaiming "Follow the yellow brick road". As the ride begins to move again, the tour guide tells guests to sing along. Moving forward, guests pass Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion as they walk towards Oz.
===Closing Montage===Finally, the trams stop moving in front of a large movie screen.Here guests see film clips from various movies, including: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Great_Movie_Ride_films ===Bandit Version===The bandit version of the Great Movie Ride, is the rarer of the two shows that guests can experience. On this version, the tram cars are not hijacked in the gangster scene. Instead, when traveling to the Western town, the tour guide notices that the bank is being robbed. Not wanting to "let this happen on (his) watch", the tour guide goes to stop the bandit. Unfortunately, is is quickly captured by a bandit and her partner. As the bandit begins taunting the tour guide, the sheriff tells him/her to "reach for the sky". After an ensuing gunfight, the bank starts on fire, causing the bandit to jump in the tram in order to escape. Like the gangster, the bandit is ultimately done in during the Indiana Jones scene, where the tour guide rejoins the ride. ==Fun Facts and Trivia==
