A refresh for an opening day Disney’s Hollywood Studios attraction was announced. The Great Movie Ride has been entertaining guests since the 1989 opening of the park. This attraction has featured great moments from movie history.
The attraction was the biggest partnership between Disney and MGM Studios, who was originally brought in to help anchor the movie-rich theme of the theme park. Since then, Disney has gained ground in becoming a blockbuster maker, and MGM was gone from much of the park, and even the name. But, a license remained for Disney to use many of the movies in The Great Movie Ride.
Now, Turner Classic Movies, TCM, has announced a partnership with Disney for not just the attraction, but their own cable channel. The cable channel showcase will pick from animated shorts, animated features, and live-action films and tv shows for viewers enjoyment.
Treasures from the Disney Vault will premier on December 21 at 8 pm and will showcase classic Disney films and shows. The first slate will be some holiday classic shorts, The Reluctant Dragon, Third Man on the Mountain (an inspiration for the Matterhorn Bobsleds), Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier, and a few other films including some from True Life Adventures. The showcase will be a regular installment on the TCM cable channel.
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, TCM will revamp the now classic attraction with some new features. A new pre-show will feature TCM host Robert Osborne, and will give insights and details about the movie scenes guests will enjoy on the attraction. For the finale of the attraction, a montage has shown highlights of several movies, and TCM will update it and make it new. After exiting, there will be a chance for people to get photos in some classic genre scenes. The queue will see some cosmetic refreshes with digital posters and new signage to reflect the sponsorship.
Overall, this is a great deal for guests and companies alike. Viewers will have better access to watch vintage Disney shows and features, and even some history and insight into them all. Guests to the Walt Disney World Resort will have an enhanced version of a great ride (no pun intended).
It sounds like the main part of the attraction will be untouched, but it’s not completely stated. Will the same movie scenes remain? It’s not clear. Certainly, this is a chance for both companies to make a new version of the ride, but it always depends on budgets. Even if the plot and scenes of the attraction do not change, it is still an enjoyable ride that will be even more enjoyable.
I’m looking forward to the refresh. I’ve always liked going on the attraction, and anticipate the update. As for the cable channel show, this will be a great addition to television viewing! I’ve been a longtime fan of classic Disney, and loved staying up late to watch Walt Disney Presents on the Disney Channel. When the channel was redone to have more of a teen appeal, I missed things like Vault Disney and showings of Zorro. I’m glad that there will be a place to watch these shows again.
Be sure to check out Treasures from the Disney Vault, and we’ll keep things as updated as we can about the Great Movie Ride.
Until next time, have a marvelous day!
