Changes

Construction on the Great Movie Ride began in 1986 <ref name= "Studios"/>. When creating the replica of the Chinese Theater that would house the attraction, Imagineers used the original blueprints of the 1927 Meyer and Holler building for reference <ref name= "Korkis"/>. Furthermore, when building the theater Imagineers chose to create the building to scale and not use forced perspective <ref name= "Korkis"/>. When the building was being constructed, the 22 ton central roof was built seperately separately and then placed atop the structure <ref name= "Korkis"/>. Finally, the Great Movie Ride opened with the Disney MGM Studios on May 1, 1989<Ref> http://www.thisdayindisneyhistory.com/Disney-MGMGrandOpening.html </ref>.

Since its opening, The Great Movie Ride has only seen two a few major changes. The first change to the attraction came shortly less then a year after its openingit opened. The Footlight Parade scene that originally featured a rotating cake and attached water pumps (as seen in the movie) , was significantly toned down<ref> . 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<ref> http://www. studioscentral.com/great-movie-ride-footlight-parade </ref>. More recently, bubbles have descended on guests in this scene. The other next major change to the Great Movie ride came in 1998, when Coca Cola ended its sponsorship of the attraction. Next, in 2001 the theater's spires were removed <ref name= "Martin"> http://www.martinsvids.net/?cat=3</ref>. This was done at the time that the large Sorcerer's Hat was constructed in front of the theater <ref name= "Martin"/>. in 2008 when the Wicked Witch of the West Audio Animatronic was replaced with a newer model.