Great Movie Ride closes for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

[TheMaxRebo]

The reason the wait times have increased is because it has become a FP+ attraction, Previously there was no FP there. Similar to what happened at SSE in Epcot and HM in MK. Standby lines have doubled or more at some of these attractions.

well, not just that it became a FP+ attraction, but b/c it is in a park with tiering and you have to reserve 3 FP+ so of the non-tier 1 attractions your choice is pretty limited ... same things goes for SSE in EPCOT

 

[mamapenguin]

This is terrible news. I have always loved GMR, we have skipped WDW for several years and have been enjoying DLR instead....I'm not sure how I'm going to like all of the changes. We will be there in March and August.

 

[Madonna3]

Disney effectively put Disney dollars "back on the map" in my hypothetical example. They would inflate their relevance by threatening to not have them anymore.

Same can apply to a ride. Anyone remember when they announced that one Epcot ride was going to be going away? And everyone was up in arms about it because it was their favorite ride even though it was basically a walk on? So on the last day the lines were hours and hours long?

Artificial relevance.

yes, but that can also work in reverse and devalue relevance. For example, using your Disney Dollars example, since Disney was no longer making them, people found them worthless and some lady sold me a collection valued around $600 or more for $25.

 

[mikepizzo]

yes, but that can also work in reverse and devalue relevance. For example, using your Disney Dollars example, since Disney was no longer making them, people found them worthless and some lady sold me a collection valued around $600 or more for $25.

Well technically my Disney Dollars example is just Disney threatening to get rid of them and not actually getting rid of them, and while I understand what you're saying I feel the lady that sold you the collection had some backwards thinking. She would have to assume that Disney would no longer honor what is essentially a gift card. That's a pretty far leap. Also, typically when something goes away, and is not replaced by anything, it becomes more rare. The rarer something is the more valuable it usually tends to be. Notice I said "and is not replaced by anything".

This notion that those Disney Classic VHS's that came in the clam-shell box are valuable is pretty ridiculous. There would need to be a very, very, small amount of those kinds of things left and even then the market would be so small that they probably wouldn't be worth anything. If you can go into your local thrift store and find them on the shelf for 40 cents...those aren't worth anything. The reason is because there is another means to obtaining the item. About 50 different kind of "Collector's Edition" DVDs.

So while I agree that some people may think something is worthless based on the fact that it's going away, I feel they would be in the minority of the group.

 

[DrKev]

This notion that those Disney Classic VHS's that came in the clam-shell box are valuable is pretty ridiculous. There would need to be a very, very, small amount of those kinds of things left and even then the market would be so small that they probably wouldn't be worth anything. If you can go into your local thrift store and find them on the shelf for 40 cents...those aren't worth anything. The reason is because there is another means to obtaining the item. About 50 different kind of "Collector's Edition" DVDs.

This is true. I keep a quality VHS player and have every possible Disney video because it's fun and cheap to hunt them at thrift shops. Kids don't care about dvd quality.

 

[unwritten01]

- my autistic son loves movies - especially classic ones - always our first day/first ride.. uh-oh... might have to trade off HS for Universal.

 

[Purplestorm]

Before they changed the ending montage, I would tear up every time I rode it! It will be sad to see it go bc it encompasses all-ages/abilities/stages ride that lets you be "in the movies"... Sometimes it is not about putting something better/faster in place... even kids benefit from the simplicity this offers. I feel like this is the equivalent to letting kids get bored so they turn on their imagination and build a fort verses sitting in front of the best new video game (not saying this ride is boring or video games are bad... just that a less "fancy" ride can be great too)

 

[Purplestorm]

Before they changed the ending montage, I would tear up every time I rode it! It will be sad to see it go bc it encompasses all-ages/abilities/stages ride that lets you be "in the movies"... Sometimes it is not about putting something better/faster in place... even kids benefit from the simplicity this offers. I feel like this is the equivalent to letting kids get bored so they turn on their imagination and build a fort verses sitting in front of the best new video game (not saying this ride is boring or video games are bad... just that a less "fancy" ride can be great too)

 

[mdsouth]

I agree so strange there is no Mickey Mouse ride, a ride that includes all the "gang" is what disney needs most but I wish they would keep the classics around and extend the parks!!

I totally agree! Mickey needs his own ride!

They've tried in the past a full feature, and I believe one is still in development phase at WDAS. It's not that Mickey is more so a symbol than a legitimate character, it's always been that Mickey is a character that's really hard to write for. Walt had this problem immensely during the making of the original shorts, and even canceled the series when he felt that they ran out of story ideas for Mickey himself.

It can be done though. The first Epic Mickey was definitely an amazing example of his potential as a main character

I think there are lots of possibilities for a Mickey full length movie and I feel that there would be lots of people who would love to see one.

Although the script and acting is cheesy, I really do enjoy parts of the ride (Wizard of Oz,Casablanca,Mary Poppins, ending movie montage). I hope that whatever they do they keep it a movie ride. At this point Disney probably feels that not enough of the movies in the ride are things kids know. If they update it with newer (or more popular classic movies) it could be more successful.

But they definitely need to change the acting parts. I cringe everytime.

My idea is to change the ride to showcase Mickey. They can start with a scene from his first ever film appearance in Plane Crazy in which Minnie also premiered. Then they can do a scene from Steamboat Willie to honor not only Mickey but this movie's huge impact historically as the first ever animated movie with sound. From that they can show segment of The Karnival Kid (first time Mickey speaks - his first words are "Hot Dogss" and a segment from The Band Concert (first time Mickey appeared in color), Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip, Fantasia, Fun and Fancy Free, Mickey and the Beanstalk ( and these are all just movies prior to 1950!).

There is definitely enough material for the Imagineers to work with that also honor the history of the movie industry! So, it really is time to give Mickey his due and create a ride that centers around him and the Fab Five!

 

[DisneyWorldGeek]

I've always loved GMR, but then again I'm the kind of person who will pay the extra $10 for a BluRay disc just for the bonus features. I'm sad it will go! But to be fair to people who aren't behind-the-scenes geeks, GMR isn't exactly a ride you'd hop on 8 times in a row. (RRC anyone?) I can see Disney's reasoning behind this change, especially since DHS is going in a whole new direction. Plus, since most of the movies showcased in GMR aren't Disney's, think about all the royalties that have to be paid!

I agree with mdsouth...a Mickey-esque GMR would be awesome! Though I hate that this classic is getting scrapped, I hope Disney puts something just as great or better in its place.

 

[Sweettears]

I've always loved GMR, but then again I'm the kind of person who will pay the extra $10 for a BluRay disc just for the bonus features. I'm sad it will go! But to be fair to people who aren't behind-the-scenes geeks, GMR isn't exactly a ride you'd hop on 8 times in a row. (RRC anyone?) I can see Disney's reasoning behind this change, especially since DHS is going in a whole new direction. Plus, since most of the movies showcased in GMR aren't Disney's, think about all the royalties that have to be paid!

I agree with mdsouth...a Mickey-esque GMR would be awesome! Though I hate that this classic is getting scrapped, I hope Disney puts something just as great or better in its place.

I believe Disney owns the rights to the films used in GMR. Could be wrong.

 

[rteetz]

I believe Disney owns the rights to the films used in GMR. Could be wrong.

Yes they have the rights to use those films in the GMR.

 

[mikepizzo]

I believe Disney owns the rights to the films used in GMR. Could be wrong.

Yes they have the rights to use those films in the GMR.

I'm pretty sure Disney is still paying Warner Bros. per minute to use The Wizard of Oz in The Great Movie Ride. The film's copyright's are pretty interesting.

 

[rteetz]

I'm pretty sure Disney is still paying Warner Bros. per minute to use The Wizard of Oz in The Great Movie Ride. The film's copyright's are pretty interesting.

That is interesting. I didn't think it was a one time fee or anything so of course they are paying for it.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

This would be very sad if that happened.

 

[ELSA711]

We experienced the GMR for the first time during our Thanksgiving vacation and loved it! Hoping to see it again next year before it closes. We are going mid June, do we have a shot to see it again.

 

[rteetz]

We experienced the GMR for the first time during our Thanksgiving vacation and loved it! Hoping to see it again next year before it closes. We are going mid June, do we have a shot to see it again.

As of right now there is no closing date so yes you have a shot.

 

[skier_pete]

One thing to remember - there is ZERO basis in the real world to believe this is going to happen in 2017. Sure a fairly reliable rumor-spinner said it, but it doesn't really pass the "sniff" test in my view. Two major problems with it:

(1) Ride is sufficiently popular as to not need replacement. This is not Stitch or Ellen, there is a steady line of people entering this ride at all times. This alone might not be enough but...
(2) The park is already ride thin until at least 2019. Remember, part of the reason Disney won't fix the Yeti is they feel that DAK can't be without EE for a long period of time. DHS has FIVE rides available to it.

Here's currently max operating ride capacity of the five DHS rides - in riders per hour (includes the new TSMM track).
RocknRoller Coaster 1620
Tower of Terror 1800
Toy Story Midway Mania 1350
Star Tours 1620
The Great Movie Ride 2160

Realize that is only 8,550 riders per hour on rides. This is comparable to DAK (which they won't take a ride off-line to fix), but Epcot is about 12,500 and MK is almost triple that at 25,000. (Yes, I'm not including "shows" in this, but those are a different animal.) Note also GMR has the largest capacity of all the rides at DHS.

Now let's take away GMR - our ride capacity for the park drops to 6,390 people per hour - a 25 % drop in rider capacity. In a park that average attendance is 29,000 people, peaking on busy days around 40,000 people. If we assume an average day at DHS is a 11 hour day (9 AM to 8 PM) your total rider capacity is 70,290. With 29,000 people, that means the average person can ride 2.4 rides in a day (down from 3.25 with GMR on line). But people expect to ride rides in theme parks - so lines for the other rides go up if this shuts down - cause most people aren't going to be happy with 2 rides in a day. MK meanwhile is somewhere around 8-9 rides per day average.

And here's the thing - if I can do this math, so can Imagineering and Management. They know the situation in that park, a situation that won't be relieved until 2018 at LEAST.

So I'm saying - this rumor doesn't hold up to the "sniff" test - in other words - it stinks. Closing Stitch for something new, or closing Ellen for GotG doesn't have the stench that this does - the parks can take those outages because those rides aren't that popular. The DHS Tower of Terror rumor had this exact same stench - capacity numbers at DHS can't take the hit - and turns out that one wasn't true either.

 

[rteetz]

One thing to remember - there is ZERO basis in the real world to believe this is going to happen in 2017. Sure a fairly reliable rumor-spinner said it, but it doesn't really pass the "sniff" test in my view. Two major problems with it:

(1) Ride is sufficiently popular as to not need replacement. This is not Stitch or Ellen, there is a steady line of people entering this ride at all times. This alone might not be enough but...
(2) The park is already ride thin until at least 2019. Remember, part of the reason Disney won't fix the Yeti is they feel that DAK can't be without EE for a long period of time. DHS has FIVE rides available to it.

Here's currently max operating ride capacity of the five DHS rides - in riders per hour (includes the new TSMM track).
RocknRoller Coaster 1620
Tower of Terror 1800
Toy Story Midway Mania 1350
Star Tours 1620
The Great Movie Ride 2160

Realize that is only 8,550 riders per hour on rides. This is comparable to DAK (which they won't take a ride off-line to fix), but Epcot is about 12,500 and MK is almost triple that at 25,000. (Yes, I'm not including "shows" in this, but those are a different animal.) Note also GMR has the largest capacity of all the rides at DHS.

Now let's take away GMR - our ride capacity for the park drops to 6,390 people per hour - a 25 % drop in rider capacity. In a park that average attendance is 29,000 people, peaking on busy days around 40,000 people. If we assume an average day at DHS is a 11 hour day (9 AM to 8 PM) your total rider capacity is 70,290. With 29,000 people, that means the average person can ride 2.4 rides in a day (down from 3.25 with GMR on line). But people expect to ride rides in theme parks - so lines for the other rides go up if this shuts down - cause most people aren't going to be happy with 2 rides in a day. MK meanwhile is somewhere around 8-9 rides per day average.

And here's the thing - if I can do this math, so can Imagineering and Management. They know the situation in that park, a situation that won't be relieved until 2018 at LEAST.

So I'm saying - this rumor doesn't hold up to the "sniff" test - in other words - it stinks. Closing Stitch for something new, or closing Ellen for GotG doesn't have the stench that this does - the parks can take those outages because those rides aren't that popular. The DHS Tower of Terror rumor had this exact same stench - capacity numbers at DHS can't take the hit - and turns out that one wasn't true either.

I can definitely see them waiting until 2018 to close this but the current rumor is they want it open for 2020 which would have it close in 2017. When in 2017 is up in the air. I think the biggest reason GMR is somewhat popular is because there is so little to do in DHS. If there was more to do this wouldn't be as popular.

 

[jkh36619]

One thing to remember - there is ZERO basis in the real world to believe this is going to happen in 2017. Sure a fairly reliable rumor-spinner said it, but it doesn't really pass the "sniff" test in my view. Two major problems with it:

(1) Ride is sufficiently popular as to not need replacement. This is not Stitch or Ellen, there is a steady line of people entering this ride at all times. This alone might not be enough but...
(2) The park is already ride thin until at least 2019. Remember, part of the reason Disney won't fix the Yeti is they feel that DAK can't be without EE for a long period of time. DHS has FIVE rides available to it.

Here's currently max operating ride capacity of the five DHS rides - in riders per hour (includes the new TSMM track).
RocknRoller Coaster 1620
Tower of Terror 1800
Toy Story Midway Mania 1350
Star Tours 1620
The Great Movie Ride 2160

Realize that is only 8,550 riders per hour on rides. This is comparable to DAK (which they won't take a ride off-line to fix), but Epcot is about 12,500 and MK is almost triple that at 25,000. (Yes, I'm not including "shows" in this, but those are a different animal.) Note also GMR has the largest capacity of all the rides at DHS.

Now let's take away GMR - our ride capacity for the park drops to 6,390 people per hour - a 25 % drop in rider capacity. In a park that average attendance is 29,000 people, peaking on busy days around 40,000 people. If we assume an average day at DHS is a 11 hour day (9 AM to 8 PM) your total rider capacity is 70,290. With 29,000 people, that means the average person can ride 2.4 rides in a day (down from 3.25 with GMR on line). But people expect to ride rides in theme parks - so lines for the other rides go up if this shuts down - cause most people aren't going to be happy with 2 rides in a day. MK meanwhile is somewhere around 8-9 rides per day average.

And here's the thing - if I can do this math, so can Imagineering and Management. They know the situation in that park, a situation that won't be relieved until 2018 at LEAST.

So I'm saying - this rumor doesn't hold up to the "sniff" test - in other words - it stinks. Closing Stitch for something new, or closing Ellen for GotG doesn't have the stench that this does - the parks can take those outages because those rides aren't that popular. The DHS Tower of Terror rumor had this exact same stench - capacity numbers at DHS can't take the hit - and turns out that one wasn't true either.

Solid logic. I do see this ride going away. It may infact have to wait until SWL opens due to the attraction level because I agree with rteetz, there is a wait because there isn't much else to ride. I do know some people like this ride but it is very meh for me. The size of the area GMR has leaves a world of possibilities for the Imagineers. I'm excited to see what takes its place.