The Great Movie Ride: Is the Movie Magic Still Alive Here?

The Great Movie Ride was once the great flagship ride of Disney's Hollywood Studios, which used to be called, "Disney's MGM Studios". Now it hides behind the giant sorcerer's hat which is the central iconic landmark of the park. (That hat is to Disney's Hollywood Studios as Spaceship Earth is to EPCOT.) The ride is housed inside a replica of L.A.'s famous, Grauman's Chinese Theater. This theater is a legend from the golden age of Hollywood and it makes for a great thrill for any film history buff. Honestly, I'd be glad just to see that replica up close and experience the plush lobby area with film artifacts inside beautifully lit display cases.

But to be fair, I'm at a pretty high level of geekdom, therefore am easily impressed with anything having to do with my niche interests, of which film and theme parks are both included. Take that for whatever you will as you read this review. Also exciting are the celebrity handprints outside of the theater. My particular favorites are those belonging to the cast of Golden Girls, Harrison Ford, Audrey Hepburn, and Paul Reubens.

The wait for the Great Movie Ride seems to differ drastically. Sometimes you can walk right on, other times the line is out the front door. But that's most rides at the park. The line moves fairly quickly and as I said, there's plenty to look at before you board the ride, including a large theater showing classic movie previews. So it's not an unpleasant wait, like, oh say, Mission Space over at EPCOT.

The ride itself is a favorite of mine, but I also got to ride it as a kid. So there's nostalgic value there for me. For those who have never ridden the ride before, there may be a bit of disappointment. There's an episode of Futurama from the first season in which the entire moon is now a giant theme park, and they ride a ride called, "Whalers on the Moon". Ironically, it's meant to come off as a parody of, "The Pirates of the Caribbean", however I find that it's honestly more similar to the experience you'll have on the Great Movie Ride.

The trouble with the Great Movie Ride doesn't lie with its central premise. That idea is strong, putting riders inside of their favorite films, free to live out those classic movie moments. The problem lies in the proximity that riders have to the animatronics. The animatronics still look amazingly strong, the sets are good, and there is something genuinely thrilling about experiencing this ride. But riders today are spoiled; we're far harder to please than we were when this ride was new. Pirates still works because the illusion of the ride is so complete. That ride is about the water, the lighting, the sound, and the animatronics are all just a part of the show.

On the Great Movie Ride, the animatronics are the show. But some more jaded fans or more sophisticated viewing audiences will not be impressed with this one anymore, which actually makes me really sad to even say. To top it off, the ride culminates with a long montage of classic movie moments, and there are some clips in it that can really take you out of the moment. For example, clips from the first, "Charlie's Angels" movie, which appeared there at least as late as 2007. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call that a classic or even a "great movie".

If you're a die-hard movie geek or a fan of any of the films featured in the ride, then go ahead and give it a shot. If you have hard to please teens along, you may want to skip it. Personally, I still love it and think it's totally ride-worthy, but it doesn't have the same energy that it used to. The tour guides on the ride used to be top-notch, now they come across as being sort of cynical about what they're doing, like we're all supposed to be in on the joke that the ride isn't cool anymore. I don't know about you, but I don't typically enjoy much sarcasm from a ride that's meant to be about classic movie magic. I think the topic alone deserves more respect than that.

Bottom line, give it a fair chance and you may find it charming. But don't go in with high expectations. Go in to get out of the heat and to enjoy a nice long dark ride that plays out like an automated museum for classic movies. Think of it like this, with all the thrill rides now occupying Disney's Hollywood Studios (i.e. The Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller Coaster) the ride is free to be what it's best at being, a trip down a cinematic memory lane.