Changes
/* Attraction History */
During the development of the attraction there were a few changes to the ride's plot. Originally, the room that eventually became the Fantasia scene was going to house the Tornado scene from the Wizard of Oz <ref name= "Korkis"> http://allears.net/ae/issue802.htm </ref>. Likewise, the final scene in the attraction was also going to be an extension of the Wizard of Oz scene <ref name= "central"> https://web.archive.org/web/20080623221337/http://www.greatmovieride.com/originalconcept.html </ref>. In this 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”<ref name= "central"/>. Following this, the curtain would open showing that the bandit (or gangster) who had hijacked the ride earlier was still alive<ref name= "central"/>. Finally, guests would approach a large platform where models of all of the Audio Animatronic characters seen earlier in the ride would reappear and take a bow<ref name= "central"/>. Eventually however, Imagineers learned that they did not have the rights to use more of the Wizard of Oz then had already been used <ref name= "central"/>. MGM had originally agreed to let Disney use audio from the film's munchkin scene, the Wicked Witch of the West's dialog, and a small amount of Dorothea's dialog when she finds the Emerald City <ref name= "central"/>. With MGM unwilling to give up more rights for free, and Disney unwilling to pay, the ideas were eventually scrapped. Instead, a suspiciously windy Fantasia scene replaced the Wizard of Oz's tornado, and the montage of films replaced the Wizard finale<ref name= "central"/>.
Other changes during the Great Movie Ride's development were a result of Disney's attempt to get the rights to use the likeness of various celebrities<ref name= "Korkis"/>. In order to do this, either the celebrity themselves or their estate had to sign off<ref name= "Korkis"/>. The following changes were made to the attraction as a result of these negotiations:
* James Cagney's estate was unhappy with the outfit that the actor's Animatronic wore in the gangster scene. In order to make the figure more "classy", the family actually gave Imagineers Cagney's actual tuxedo<ref name= "Korkis"/>.
* Ingrid Bergman's family would not give Disney the right to use the actresses voice, thus her Animatronic does not speak<ref name= "Korkis"/>.
* Lee Marvin's character from the 1965 western, Cat Ballou was originally going to be included in The Great Movie Ride's western scene. When Marvin's children refused to sign the waiver however, Clint Eastwood was added to the scene instead<ref name= "Korkis"/>.
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 that originally featured a rotating cake and attached water pumps (as seen in the movie) was significantly toned down. The cake in the scene was constantly breaking down and the water pumps would fail, causing the ride path to flood. Disney Imagineers eventually decided to leave the cake stationary, and use 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.
