Goodbye, the Great Movie Ride.

It is the day after. I can't believe you're gone...</3

Walt Disney World

If you're reading this thinking I'm writing about recent breakup, you're wrong. This post is about the Great Movie Ride, a ride which used to be located in Disney World's Hollywood Studios and that officially closed its doors for good yesterday August 13th. It lasted longer than most loved celebrity couples, if that tells you anything.

The Great Movie Ride was the last remaining operating attraction that had been open since Hollywood Studios' opening in May 1, 1989, and it took riders on a guided tour through various cinema classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, The Public Enemy and Singin' in the Rain which were recreated. This Disney ride utilized 59 Audio-Animatronics, various props and special effects to create a genuine recreation of more than 13 beloved cinema classics.

The Great Movie Ride is being replaced by Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, an attraction ride that was announced in July of 2017 during Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. This Mickey Mouse themed ride, which will become the very first Mickey Mouse ride-through attraction ever, will let riders "join Mickey and his friends like never before," and will partake in "surprising twists and turns, dazzling visual effects and mind-boggling transformations that happen before your very eyes." The ride is expected to be finished in time for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021.

Concept of upcoming Mickey ride, unveiled in July 2017 during D23 Expo.
Credit: Disney Parks

Wikipedia

So what's the big deal about the Great Movie Ride and its closure? What's wrong with the new expected Mickey Mouse ride through attraction? You're probably asking yourself, shaking your head.

For starters, there's the history surrounding the Great Movie Ride. This Disney ride was the last operating ride that had been open since the very opening of Hollywood Studios, which naturally has sentimental value for many Disney enthusiasts and people who have gone to the park since it's beginning. Then there's the fact that this ride had cultural value, as the Great Movie Ride was indeed a "Celebration of Classic Movies" as it proudly proclaims in is poster. This ride took people through important cinema classics from The Public Enemy (1931), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Singin' in the Rain (1952) up toward later cinema classics such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The ride didn't just show the many cinema classics, but it recreated iconic scenes from these cinema classics and provided voice over narration that tried to educate people a little bit more about the diversity within cinema, its cultural impact, and just what cinema truly is.

With that said, a great deal of the sadness and frustration surrounding the closure of this ride isn't solely due to the fact that this ride was very much loved and appreciated (after all, there's a reason it ran for almost 30 years), but also due to what the closure of this culture ride and many others means and that is the increasing disappearing of cultural rides. The Great Movie Ride isn't the only cultural ride that closed for good, as the Universe of Energy, which was located in Disney World's Epcot park, closed the same day as the Great Movie Ride, and Walt Disney: One Man's Dream which is located in Hollywood Studios is expected to close sometime this year.

Although I completely understand that just like any other business, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts must adapt to customer demand, actualize to keep up with competition, and offer new rides and thrills to keep customers coming, it is this switch toward producing more commercial entertainment which I feel isn't well-balanced in relation to entertainment with cultural value that is disappointing to see. When Walt Disney was still alive and seeing into the development of the Disney Parks, he professed many times to be interested creating rides and attractions that would celebrate technology, culture, and the future, rides that would educate park goers, to which I agree. It is thanks to cultural rides like the Great Movie Ride that they gave me something refreshing and educational to look forward to, and in the case of this specific ride it reminded me of my strong love for cinema and just why I'm passionate about film and its capabilities.

I've loved Disney and Disney Parks since I was little, so although my heart hurts and I don't agree with some of the decisions that Disney has taken, I will continue to love and support them, and hope the best for their upcoming rides and productions.

But enough about my sappy ranting, how do you feel about the Great Movie Ride closing? Are you sad like I am or it doesn't personally bother you? Whether you agree with me or not, would love to hear what you think.

As always, sincerely, Dora Goto