The Great Movie Ride
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”.
The first movie that guests enter is Footlight Parade. Guests pass by a pyramid of chorus girls as bubbles float down from above. The tour guide then tells guests that they are visiting the 1933 Busby Burkley musical, which starred James Cagney, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powel. As the vehicles continue forward, the vehicles pass by Gene Kelly performing “Singing In the Rain”. As Kelly sings, the tour guide informs guests that Gene Kelly co-directed the 1952 classic.
The next scene that guests come upon is from Disney’s 1964 film Marry Poppins. Guests pass by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The duo sings the song “Chim Chim Cheree” from the movie. As the rid continues, the tour guide warns guests that they better hold onto their purses and wallets, as they are entering a bad neighborhood. As the cars enter a dirty alley, guests can see a fight going on in an apartment. The tour guide then says:
In fact, it looks a lot like the Underworld. The scene of such classic gangster films like Public Enemy. Starring one of my favorite tough guys, James Cagney.
At this point, Cagney appears on the right, where he yells for somebody to “open up in their”. On the left of the cars, two men are hiding behind some boxes, apparently expecting trouble. One of the men, named Beans tells his partner Squid to get down because somebody is coming. As the vehicles pass the two thugs, the stoplight up the street turns red. As the tour guide stops at the red light, a gangster emerges from the shadows, and hijacks the ride vehicle, telling the tour guide: Template:The heats on, see? And your fancy car’s my ticket outta here. So beat it!
After the gangster (whose name is reviled to be Mugsy) gets rid of the tour guide, a 1930’s car come screeching into the scene. The gangsters in the car begin to shoot at Beans and Squid, who are still hiding behind the boxes. During the gun fight, Mugsy makes her escape, leaving her accomplices behind. Telling guests that “Runnin’ a red light’s against the law, and I never break the law”, Mugsy shoots out the red light and the vehicles move onto the next scene.
The next scene that cars enter, is an old western town. Here, guests can see Clint Eastwood on their left, and John Wayne on their right. As guests pass by, Wayne warns them Template:Well, that’s a mighty tough territory you’re headin’ into, pilgrim. I’d think about turnin’ back if I were you.
Ignoring Wayne, Mugsy decides that she is going to collect the guests valuables, just as she starts the process, the voice of the town’s sheriff can be heard, telling the townsfolk that Mugsy is “the bank robber”. As gunfire begins from either side of the vehicle, Mugsy tells guests that she’s getting out of there, and guests proceed into the next room. As guests enter the next scene, the attraction’s narrator informs them that, “This is ‘Alien’. You are with Sigourney Weaver aboard the spaceship Nostromo. Something has gone wrong. One by one, the crew has vanished and somewhere in the ship, a terrifying creature waits to claim its next victim”. As warning sirens go off, guests are informed that ship will detonate in 10 minutes. Then, the alien can be seen overhead, it begins to try an attack the ship. After the first attack, the alien attacks again from the top, and then from the side. Mugsy decides that she has finally had enough, and guests leave the Alien scene.
The next room that guests enter holds the Indiana Jones scene. As the movie’s theme song plays, Indiana and his assistant are shown carrying the Ark of the Covenant. The ride’s announcer then says:
Here, in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” amid a thousand deadly snakes, Indiana Jones unearths a great treasure. Will Harrison Ford escape with his discovery? And what will be your fate? Beware.
As the vehicle continues forward, guests pass by hieroglyphics on the walls. On the right, a set of stairs leads to a glowing red jewel. The ride announcer informs guests that they are in an ancient burial chamber, where the priceless jewel is held. Mugsy, cannot believe what she sees, and she goes to get the stone, telling guests to stay put. After she exits the vehicle, the ride announcer tells guests that the jewel is guarded by a curse, and that those who defy it, will pay with their lives.
Just as Mugsy is about to reach the jewel, the Temple Guardian puts his hand up, telling them that if she disturbs the treasure of the God’s she will die. Mugsy is not discouraged, and she attempts to grab the jewel. After touching the stone, Mugsy goes up in smoke, and we learn that the temple guardian was actually our tour guide. Nothing is left of Mugsy except a skeleton. The tour guide, who has no returned to the vehicle, says that “That just goes to show you, anything can happen in the movies. Now let’s get on with the show.”
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.
