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Great Movie Ride Review
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Great Movie Ride
- Category: Amusement Parks
- Location: Disney-MGM Studios
Fodor's Review:
At the end of Hollywood Boulevard, just behind the Sorcerer Mickey Hat, are the fire-engine-red pagodas of a replica of Graumann's Chinese Theater, where you enter this attraction. The line takes you through the lobby past such noteworthy artifacts as Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, a carousel horse from Mary Poppins, and the piano played by Sam in Casablanca. You then shuffle into the preshow area, an enormous screening room with continuously running clips from Mary Poppins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Singin' in the Rain, Fantasia, Footlight Parade, and, of course, Casablanca. Once the great red doors swing open, it's your turn to ride.
Disney cast members dressed in 1920s newsboy costumes usher you onto open trams waiting against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills, and you're off on a tour of cinematic climaxes -- with a little help from audio-animatronics, scrim, smoke, and Disney magic. First comes the world of musical entertainment with, among others, Gene Kelly clutching that immortal lamppost as he begins "Singin' in the Rain" and Mary Poppins with her umbrella and her sooty admirers reprising "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee." Soon the lights dim, and your vehicle travels into a gangland shoot-out with James Cagney snarling in Public Enemy. Gangsters or Western gunslingers (it depends on which tram you board) hijack your tram and whisk you off to a showdown starring John Wayne.
Nothing like a little time warp to bring justice. With pipes streaming fog and alarms whooping, the tram meets some of the slimier characters from Alien -- look up for truly scary stuff -- and then eases into the cobwebby, snake-ridden set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where your hijacker attempts to steal an idol and gets his or her just desserts.
Each time you think you've witnessed the best scene, the tram moves into another set: Tarzan yodels and swings on a vine overhead; then Bogey bids Bergman goodbye with a "Here's looking at you, kid" in front of the plane to Lisbon. The finale has hundreds of robotic Munchkins cheerily enjoining you to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," despite the cackling imprecations by the Wicked Witch of the West. Remember to check out Dorothy's tornado-tossed house -- those on the right side of the tram can just spot the ruby slippers. The tram follows the Yellow Brick Road, and then there it is: a view of the Emerald City before you are brought back to reality.
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