New ride closure rumors

[Wizzard419]

As if the fanboys needed another reason to bitch and moan, now we have the potential new ride replacement rumors.

http://www.examiner.com/article/walt-di ... ttractions

It would be welcome to see GMR gone since the disconnect is so great (in content and presentation) that people probably end up either looking on their phones to figure out what movies are being presented or they are simply doing something more interesting.

[MrPhil]

Thx for the rumors/link.

Interesting. I was actually wondering how long it would take after the success (imho) of Frozen for them the think about a ride (or whatever addition to the parks). Maybe the can reuse the old plans / sketches done for the first idea of the ride in the "old days" as referred to by the Bonus-Features on the Blue-Ray

GMR realy is dated, in 2013 we primarly enjoyed it for it's outside make up - brought back memories of our 2012 trip to California
On the inside, even my walking encyclopedia concerning movies (aka my girl friend) could not identify all scenes in the pre-show movie. On the other Hand, the Alien scene will stay with me for ever, scared me good when I was much younger

[cy1229]

We typically try not to discuss or respond to rumors because they are exceptionally fluid. However, none of this surprises anyone who has been lurking about on these forums, and many of us agree with the discussed changes.

I just wonder what, if anything, would replace GMR.

[Amy]

None of those rumors seem to be particularly new or unfounded. As cy1229 mentioned, I believe most of us would agree with the changes or updates. I'm thinking Maelstrom was only a matter of time until it became some sort of Frozen tribute. If they are smart, it will just be some sort of overlay that won't be hard to change once if the Frozen madness dies down.
There have been rumblings about them changing to movie for Soarin' for awhile now. I think it will be nice to have a different movie experience than the same old movie from DCA. Figment was just mentioning a few days ago about how she likes the version in Cali better even though they are pretty much exactly the same. She feels the exterior and queue is better in DCA, to me they are sort of interchangeable since they are so similar.
I hope they come up with something brand new for the 3D or 4D movie at the Imagination pavilion. I really hope they don't go with a Star Wars or some other recognizable franchise there. Use your imaginations WDI and imagineer something brand new for guests to enjoy and fall in love with...sort of like Dreamfinder and Figment all those years ago. And while they are changing the movie, hopefully they are tweaking or re-imagineering the attraction too!
Along those same lines, I hope the Great Movie Ride doesn't become a Star Wars ride. I'm sure they will be finding room for a Star Wars based attraction anyhow, but couldn't they update/redo TGMR without making it specific to one movie?
And the Poly changes are already underway. I'm excited to see what they do with the Trader Sam's concept in WDW. I do hope it is bigger than in DL, that venue is tiny!

[theBIGyowski]

Here are my thoughts...

Maelstrom: I am 100% in favor of this attraction being overhauled and I think that it will be better no matter what they change. The current attraction is about as lame as you can get...and this is coming from someone who actually enjoys it. The only way a permanent "Frozen" re-do will work is if Disney plans on expanding on the Frozen world with more movies or a TV spin-off. Even then...not sure how Frozen fits into a water ride.

Great Movie Ride: I love this attraction...but it definitely needs to be redone. They can keep the same format...traveling through the movies...but update the movies and perhaps add some new special effects that Disney has been using all of the world in other parks. Since they own Marvel...include some of that stuff. There are a million ways to keep the spirit of the attraction while updating it to make it more enjoyable.

Soarin': A change here is long overdue. While it's a must-do on every trip to WDW...it would be nice to have something new to experience. They created a ride that could be easily changed once new footage is shot and new smells decided on. I hope this one happens.

Poly Fountains: While I am sad to see them going away...I know that the ends justify the means. Everyone will be better off with the Poly getting a face lift.

[Wizzard419]

Soarin' itself (unless they want to re-do the entire attraction's décor) doesn't need to fully shutdown for the change as they could do the bulk of the work in one theater and then repeat it in the other, allowing for a shorter shutdown.

[theBIGyowski]

Good point. That is an advantage that Soarin' has over most other attractions.

However...you will still have some downtime while Concourse B is being updated because they will want to do a "Grand Opening" before showing the new version. So you'd have Concourse A shutdown for updating...with Concourse B showing the current version...then both closed while B gets updated.

[horizons1]

Yeah, some of these we knew were coming or needed.

Maelstrom - the ride starts great but I have never liked the ending, how the ride just stops after the dramatic climax. They could do a lot with the existing flume footprint. Just don't take the ride element away. World Showcase is severely lacking in true rides.

GMR - I would prefer they get rid of that darn hat and restore the Chinese Theater as the "weenie" for the Studios. What goes inside the show building could be an all new attraction. Fine by me. I ride GMR out of nostalgia but admit to getting bored by the time I get to the Oz scene.

[Wizzard419]

Good point. That is an advantage that Soarin' has over most other attractions.

However...you will still have some downtime while Concourse B is being updated because they will want to do a "Grand Opening" before showing the new version. So you'd have Concourse A shutdown for updating...with Concourse B showing the current version...then both closed while B gets updated.

Yep, but your downtime will presumably be shorter since only one theater would need to be worked on. Though it could be super fast once they have an approved program for one side and they could transfer it over for fine tuning, scent cannon change over, etc. Or it could have been built so that both theaters are using the exact same program and changing one changes both.

If they do actually go through with it, they probably would want to keep the ride down as little as possible since it is one of the most popular things at the park (Though it is funny how the present DCA wait is less than half of what the Epcot's wait is right now).

[Goofyfan]

I Know that the above attractions need updating....but.....being the old FA** that I am.... I still enjoy the attractions.

[Cardinals314]

Frozen going into EPCOT is a no brainer for Disney Executives trying to get more cash with Frozen. I have been hearing along the lines of some physical sets, AAs, and a few video screens. It's still up in the air if Frozen is taking over the entirety of Maelstrom or if it will be kind of shoe-horned like Grand Fiesta Tour. Frozen really deserves to have it's own free standing attraction that isn't built over another.

The new Soarin movie has been in the works for a while, even when I posted about it (and got some flak for it) but no worries. With Shanghai Disney Land getting Soarin it perfectly makes sense not to use the California film version. Heck there are even some talks for a third Soarin theater in Epcot, which I am not holding my breath that much since the talks of Frozen.

For Great Movie Ride, I can't see Disney getting rid of it but do see them doing an update for it. GMR was the reason that MGM (Hollywood Studios) was built. The talks of the Star Wars section are still around the lake area where Indiana Jones currently sits. Also many people forget that there is an empty building right next to Toy Story Midway Mania. When will Disney decide to ever use that space (probably for something Pixar related).

Yes Disney is going to replace Captain EO. It was outdated when they brought it back after Michael Jackson's death. I haven't heard of anything to replace it. Frozen is the priority now in EPCOT so I wouldn't hold my breath for the replacement of this quite yet.

[Wizzard419]

Not a "no-brainer", actually it's a terrible idea because when you tie something to a franchise, your ride becomes stale within a few years of whatever the latest release is.

"Soarin' 2" still has not had anything confirmed, so presumed to not be real until announced since a ride with an hour+ wait does not need a content update.

The reason DHS was built was because they wanted to compete with USO, USO has changed their methodology, continuing on the old tactic of USO would be bad, therefore gut the building and put something relevant in. If you question this, realize that in 1994 they also learned that the "Theme park in a movie studio" theme did not work and started making every experience an immersive one.

[Cardinals314]

when you tie something to a franchise, your ride becomes stale within a few years of whatever the latest release is..

Try saying that to the people that go all the time lol. Disney is focused on building attractions based on franchises. Sure they build stuff that doesn't have any tie ins, but Disney is so successful by how they tie their characters and franchises into everything. If old franchises get stale, then why make a new Snow White ride then.

The only way I see GMR leaving is if the park ever changes its name to something that isn't related to Hollywood. With the name, GMR fits in the park. Yeah it's not a movie studio anymore, which what hurt backlot tour, but GMR didn't need an actual working studio to be a good ride

[Wizzard419]

At WDW, they do not... even at DLR, the ride gets stale. They are learning that franchise based rides get a surge at the start but if they are a dead franchise then it kicks back just as hard. Not like anyone cares about any movie created prior to 1990 now, do they? The only reason Peter Pan gets as long a wait as it does is due to the unusual presentation.

Just like the tour, I can easily see a park without GMR, even when it was brand new it was dated. I can also see a park without the Indy stunt show. They do not even try update scripts, sets, etc. to reflect that the movie was released so long ago that the original actors don't even resemble their characters. The entire park was built on a flawed concept, if the content cannot be updated in a timely fashion then it gets stale as there is no evergreen setting. As it is costly to update content in most attractions, they are forced to keep things stale.

[Cardinals314]

Indy does need to get replaced. It's been exactly the same since it opened. I have the same feelings for Beauty and the Beast. I do truely believe that any plans that there were/rumored/whatever you thinkfor a overhaul in the park have been delayed because of My Magic plus (that subject is a whole other topic)