Will there ever be a Great Movie Ride update/refurb? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Will there ever be a Great Movie Ride update/refurb?
My apologies if this topic has been touched on before, but...
What are everyone's thoughts/opinions on The Great Movie Ride at HS? I get when that park opened as Disney MGM Studios, there was this idea to pay tribute to the "Golden Age" of movies. But, now...it just seems out of place. I mean, when is the last time any of us has watched a James Cagney gangster film. I can't even name one. Yes, there are some nods to Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones, and Casablanca. But, I think it has had its run and Disney should do something else there. Particularly, too, that this is so close to Pixar Place.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I have to confess I love this ride. Yes, some of the movies are dated but many are classics. I like the gangster scene. I hope this stays if they do a refurb.
I have to confess I love this ride. Yes, some of the movies are dated but many are classics. I like the gangster scene. I hope this stays if they do a refurb.
__________________
Can't wait for trip with DD August 2017!!!
Me&Hubby Daughterand Son
My entire family loves that ride! We love old movies and the classics, and at the end try to see who can identify more of the snippets than anyone else! I wish they'd bring the "Aliens" back!!
Bite your tongue! I hope they do not replace GMR! We love this ride, and truthfully it's nostalgic. Although I am only in my 30's, I love black and white movies. Disney did add some movie quotes at the end of the ride. What they do need to do is make sure the "guides" are good ones, and not boring. There were quite a few of them that made the ride more boring, it would have been better if they didn't do their thing.
My entire family loves that ride! We love old movies and the classics, and at the end try to see who can identify more of the snippets than anyone else! I wish they'd bring the "Aliens" back!!
We love GMR too - it's the first ride I ever rode at DHS (then MGM) and it means a lot to me. To me, it is what DHS is all about.
Teresa- what do you mean bring the "Aliens" back??? When we rode in Jan they still had the Alien section?
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
Teresa- what do you mean bring the "Aliens" back??? When we rode in Jan they still had the Alien section?
Sorry it has taken me so long to respond - I'm bad about not checking posts!
Anyway - back a hundred years ago, before parents got crazy and demanded NOTHING was to upset their babies, no matter their ages, the Aliens section had ALIENS in it. Not just the puny little pathetic ones you see now, but real ALIENS!! They popped out of the ceiling at you, came out of the wall at you, scared the living bejeezus out of you!
We miss that part! My kids used to laugh hysterically at them.
There have been times that some of the GMR Animatronics, including the Alien, have been inoperative.
Overall, I doubt the facade of GMR is likely to change. It's still Disney's Hollywood Studios, and the Chinese Theater is a Hollywood icon. Inside? There's a generation that simply will not watch black and white films. It's not part of their cultural background. So, Public Enemy with James Cagney is meaningless. The Godfather, however, would be a phenomenal replacement - far more universally known and appreciated. I never liked Alien, so a replacement wouldn't bug me. I'd much rather one of the bugs from Men in Black. Traditionally, though, Disney's solution has been to modify that final film. Unfortunately, the list of Hollywood's greatest hits only gets longer. At some point a total remake could be more effective than a re-cut.
The other alternative is to gut the attraction entirely, in favor of a new Great Movie Ride utilizing 3D, motion simulation, and the like. Would anyone object to that?
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
The other alternative is to gut the attraction entirely, in favor of a new Great Movie Ride utilizing 3D, motion simulation, and the like. Would anyone object to that?
Interesting idea and if it involved motion simulation, I may object, as we don't do too well with that. That's part of why I love Disney, there are so many rides we can easily do with no restrictions.
There have been times that some of the GMR Animatronics, including the Alien, have been inoperative.
Overall, I doubt the facade of GMR is likely to change. It's still Disney's Hollywood Studios, and the Chinese Theater is a Hollywood icon. Inside? There's a generation that simply will not watch black and white films. It's not part of their cultural background. So, Public Enemy with James Cagney is meaningless. The Godfather, however, would be a phenomenal replacement - far more universally known and appreciated. I never liked Alien, so a replacement wouldn't bug me. I'd much rather one of the bugs from Men in Black. Traditionally, though, Disney's solution has been to modify that final film. Unfortunately, the list of Hollywood's greatest hits only gets longer. At some point a total remake could be more effective than a re-cut.
The other alternative is to gut the attraction entirely, in favor of a new Great Movie Ride utilizing 3D, motion simulation, and the like. Would anyone object to that?
I totally agree with you Dave! I would love to see the other alternative happen though. They've had such advances in movie making in the last twenty years that a total update would be great.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
We always do this ride each trip. I like that new generations are shown some movies that they might never have seen. It might peak their interest and they'll find themselves looking for the oldies on Netflix. I know at least one Passporter LOVES James Cagney and has watched his movies frequently and she's young.
I don't mind makeovers, but I think the general gist of this attraction should remain if it happens.
Interesting idea and if it involved motion simulation, I may object, as we don't do too well with that. That's part of why I love Disney, there are so many rides we can easily do with no restrictions.
I also would object to the 3-D motion simulation. They already killed Star Tours for me so I can barely ride it once a trip (I can do rollercoasters, tea cups, anything else, but 3-D simulation? Nope.); I would if they did it to GMR.
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Daughter
and Son 
I hope they do not replace GMR! We love this ride, and truthfully it's nostalgic. Although I am only in my 30's, I love black and white movies. Disney did add some movie quotes at the end of the ride. What they do need to do is make sure the "guides" are good ones, and not boring. There were quite a few of them that made the ride more boring, it would have been better if they didn't do their thing.
Traditionally, though, Disney's solution has been to modify that final film. Unfortunately, the list of Hollywood's greatest hits only gets longer. At some point a total remake could be more effective than a re-cut.
if it involved motion simulation, I may object, as we don't do too well with that. That's part of why I love Disney, there are so many rides we can easily do with no restrictions.
I also would object to the 3-D motion simulation. They already killed Star Tours for me so I can barely ride it once a trip (I can do rollercoasters, tea cups, anything else, but 3-D simulation? Nope.); I would 
if they did it to GMR.
Hybrid Mode
