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98-557: The Great Movie Ride was a dark ride located at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida , United States. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering , the attraction employed the use of Audio-Animatronic figures, practical sets, live actors, special effects, and projections to recreate iconic scenes from twelve classic films throughout motion picture history. The attraction—which debuted with

196-485: A buried wire for navigation. Others, such as Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park , Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland or Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy at Disneyland Paris and Epcot , use Wi-Fi and RFID -based local positioning systems . The system provides more versatility for the vehicles to move in randomized patterns. The magnets in

294-460: A 1930s era Hollywood soundstage where guests were loaded onto waiting ride vehicles. As the guests reach the end of the queue, they entered a 1930s-era Hollywood sound stage where they become loaded by cast members into one of two pairs of open, theatre-style seating ride vehicles. The ride vehicles utilize a "traveling theatre"-style automated guided vehicle ride system similar to the former Universe of Energy attraction at Epcot . However, here

392-433: A 40-acre (160,000 m) film studio themed retail and entertainment district that was planned (but ultimately never built) for downtown Burbank, California during the late 1980s. Several years later, plans called for the ride to serve as the centerpiece of the proposed Hollywoodland at Disneyland , which would have been added to the park during the planned Disney Decade in the 1990s. Due to budget cuts, however, Hollywoodland

490-628: A Hollywood-themed land in the original Disneyland park with a scheduled opening date in 1999, as part of a series of planned changes dubbed the "Disney decade" by Michael Eisner . The proposal called for the addition to be adjacent to Tomorrowland and included a replica of the Hollywood Sign , a duplicate of The Great Movie Ride from Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, and two new rides based on Baby Herman from Who Framed Roger Rabbit and comic book character Dick Tracy . However, Disney shelved

588-490: A cake of starlets from By a Waterfall from Busby Berkeley 's Footlight Parade . The next musical scenes include audio-animatronic figures of Don Lockwood ( Gene Kelly ) swinging from a lamp post from Singin' in the Rain , followed by Mary Poppins ( Julie Andrews ) and Bert ( Dick Van Dyke ) singing on the rooftops of London from Mary Poppins . The next scene is a tribute to gangster films. The ride vehicle passes through

686-497: A certain number of arms and legs. Ride requirements are created to ensure all guests’ safety throughout the ride and are posted throughout the attractions’ queue to prevent the companies’ liability if a rider is physically harmed. However, according to Title III of the Americans Disability Act it is illegal for amusement parks to discriminate against any persons with disabilities from equal enjoyment of goods of services in

784-508: A creature lurking within the ship. Guests could also hear Jones, Ripley's pet cat, meowing in the darkness, as well as the Nostromo' s "Mother" computer warning of an imminent ship self-destruction countdown. Hearing this, the gangster or the bandit becomes nervous and speeds the ride vehicle through the ship, but not before the Alien appears and attacks the guests, popping out from both the ceiling and

882-462: A dance element (tapping buttons on the restraints) later. The Walt Disney Company is the first to develop a trackless ride system for its dark ride attractions. Trackless dark rides utilize automated guided vehicles that do not require guide rails , and thus are able to cross existing paths, reverse, and rotate. Some trackless dark rides, such as the Big Red Car Ride at Dreamworld , relied on

980-432: A functional backlot, only a mock one. Instead, it primarily hosts a set of theaters and stages presenting varying formats, such as traditional theatre , 4D film , and live music. Hollywood Land is located in the northeast corner of California Adventure. It is connected to Buena Vista Street , the park entrance themed to 1920s Los Angeles, giving the two lands a close relation in geography and era. The main thoroughfare in

1078-429: A great deal more movement possibilities than the original "limited animation" figure designs and can move much more quickly. As a result, they were made much more lifelike. The Great Movie Ride was located inside a recreation of the famous Hollywood landmark, Grauman's Chinese Theatre . The park's Chinese Theatre is a full-scale replica of the original building; Imagineers used the original building's 1927 blueprints in

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1176-562: A mailbox with the iconic No Place Like Home quote. Prior to the factory scene, an alley cat sound effect can be heard in the back alley which was also used in The Great Movie Ride. The first sequence of the ride, Footlight Parade, was plagued with engineering and technical problems from the beginning. When the ride was newly opened, the Footlight Parade segment was different from what it later became. The entire portion following

1274-629: A means of previewing complex new ride vehicles such as the free-ranging vehicles used in "Pooh's Hunny Hunt". Moreover, this computer visualization is a powerful tool for transcending language barriers. Showing a virtual prototype of "Pooh's Hunny Hunt" to Japan was a cause of the implementation of the ride at Tokyo Disneyland due to its use of imaging over speech. Some dark rides are intense for riders, as they contain vigorous themed elements such as flashing lights, black light effects, sudden drops, stoppages, or other turbulent movements that may be harmful to impaired riders. As more thrill rides are created,

1372-576: A new pre-show and post-show hosted by Robert Osborne , who also provided onboard narration to the ride. The changes were unveiled on May 29, 2015. On July 15, 2017, it was announced that The Great Movie Ride would be permanently closed in order to make room for its replacement, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway . The attraction had become outdated over the years as the animatronics were starting to age, in addition to Disney's Hollywood Studios changing its theme from show business to popular Hollywood movies. Last rides were given at 9:30 PM on August 13. By

1470-624: A parody of The Great Movie Ride featuring Muppet characters such as Kermit the Frog , Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear , and Gonzo re-enacting scenes from famous films such as Frankenstein and Peter Pan . However, after Henson died, the deal fell apart and Disney cut back on the Muppet-themed area to just Muppet*Vision 3D. On the park's opening day, Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Minnie Mouse , Goofy , Roger Rabbit and other Disney characters placed their signatures, footprints, and handprints in front of

1568-623: A public place of accommodation. Therefore, companies such as The Walt Disney Company are required by law to accommodate any person with a physical disability who still meets the ride requirements. This often includes guests who use wheelchairs or crutches. Services such as the Disability Access Service (DAS) at Disney theme parks instates equality between disabled and non-disabled riders in its theme parks and resorts, making these attractions largely accessible for its guests. Companies such as Universal Studios offer similar services such as

1666-503: A roller coaster does not make it a dark ride. Dark coasters are roller coasters that feature heavily themed layouts, special effects (such as animated characters, fire, smoke, and sound/lighting effects), and a dark ride portion that abruptly transitions into a roller coaster-style layout with heavily banked turns, sharp turns, steep drops, and helices. Some of them include backward motion, and many have launch mechanisms rather than lifts. Examples include: Test Track at Epcot , Journey to

1764-407: A saloon and Ethan Edwards ( John Wayne ) sitting atop his horse. A sign on one building facade reads “Ransom Stoddard Attorney-at-Law” ( James Stewart ). The #2B ride vehicle (which is already being driven by the gangster) continues past a shootout between the town sheriff and an audio-animatronic bank robber named Snake. The gangster ignores the shootout and continues on to the next scene. However,

1862-509: A shoot-out with rival mobsters (Brains, Legs, and Weasel) in a car on the opposite side of the street where the ride vehicle is stopped. During the shootout, the live gangster then chases the tour guide and hijacks the ride vehicle. Next, the ride vehicle enters into a tribute to the Western genre. Here, the guests encounter audio-animatronics of the Man with No Name ( Clint Eastwood ) standing outside of

1960-581: A similarly-named ride was destroyed by fire in 1979 at Luna Park Sydney . The concept is also popular in the United States . One notable ghost train from the country is The Haunted Mansion , first opened in Disneyland in Anaheim, California , on August 9, 1969. Interactive dark rides feature a component that allows riders to be involved in the attraction's story. The first interactive dark ride ever built

2058-402: A small pre-show theatre where Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne provided insight and commentary about various motion pictures and film genres—such as musicals , adventure , science-fiction , westerns , romance , and gangster films— including those films that were featured within the ride. The queue line ended at a pair of automatic doors at the front of the theatre that lead into

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2156-851: A stationary core with show scenes. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Railroad both include brief dark-ride scenes, but for the most part transport guests outdoors. Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom , Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain at several Disney parks, and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars at Hong Kong Disneyland likewise include some dark-ride elements, but function primarily as indoor/outdoor roller coasters. Hollywood Land Hollywood Land

2254-405: A store selling merchandise associated with the attraction. The Great Movie Ride, however, did not exit directly into a store and instead allowed guests to directly exit back outside into the park. In 2014, as part of an exclusive programming deal with Disney, Turner Classic Movies agreed to become the sponsor of the attraction. The attraction underwent a refurbishment in 2015, with the addition of

2352-554: A team of researchers from the University of Liechtenstein developed a model that illustrates the underlying effect mechanism that attendees of Dark Rides experience. The model suggests that "Storytelling" in Dark Rides influences an attendee's "emotional attachment" to the ride through the mediator of "Immersion". It is assumed that a person's prior knowledge about the ride's story and a person's cultural background have moderating effects on

2450-463: Is El Paso at the Belgium theme park Bobbejaanland . The vast majority of interactive dark rides are shooting dark rides, which require riders to aim and shoot at targets throughout the ride using handheld or vehicle-mounted light guns . Successfully shooting a target usually triggers special animation, such as flashing lights or moving the target. The more targets riders hit, the higher their scores at

2548-541: Is a themed land at Disney California Adventure park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim , California . The area is inspired by the 1930s Golden Age period of Hollywood and hosts attractions themed to this concept, including a backlot of a typical Hollywood studio . The land opened as Hollywood Pictures Backlot with the park in 2001. The land's entrance once had towering studio gates that featured intricately carved elephants atop massive columns. The gateway

2646-504: Is applauded by the guests, declares the tour a success, and both ride vehicles exit the theater in single file to return to the 1930s soundstage, where the ride concludes. Disney arranged separate licensing deals with various studios to represent the different characters and settings featured in the attraction. Most of the non-Disney films represented in The Great Movie Ride were produced by and/or owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when

2744-507: Is described by Park World magazine as "one of the most idiosyncratic dark rides". It is themed to a school exam, with riders individually answering multiple-choice questions throughout it. Riders are graded on their responses, and each receives a school report at the end of the ride. While technically a coaster, the Gekion Live coaster at Joypolis had elements of a dark ride. It used to have a shooting element, only for it to be refurbished with

2842-467: Is known today, debuted in 2000 at Tokyo Disneyland's “ Pooh's Hunny Hunt ” attraction– a dark ride based on Disney's 1977 hit animated feature film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh . However, while Pooh's Hunny Hunt pioneered the trackless ride system, it was Hollywood Studio's Tower of Terror and Epcot's Universe of Energy attractions that first utilized the technology. The use of virtual reality in

2940-864: Is often claimed to be the actual plane used during the filming of Casablanca , but no full-size plane was actually used during the filming of Casablanca. The back half of this plane was cut off and can be found resting along the shoreline of the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom . Much like the real one in Hollywood, the Chinese Theatre located inside Disney's Hollywood Studios features handprints, shoe prints and signatures of actors, musicians and film characters that still remain today, after Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway replaced The Great Movie Ride. Dark ride In its most traditional form,

3038-495: The 1939 New York World's Fair , and Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland . Modern attractions in this genre vary widely in technical sophistication. Smaller-scale rides often feature the same sorts of simple animation and sounds used since the genre's early days, while more ambitious projects feature complex animatronics , special effects and ride vehicles utilizing cutting-edge technology. To improve

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3136-464: The Emerald City , and onto the ride's grand finale. For the grand finale, when both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles are in use, they both enter a dark theatre where they line up side by side and come to a stop in front of a large movie screen. There, Osborne or the tour guide concludes the tour with a three-minute film montage of classic film moments . At the conclusion of the film, the tour guide, who

3234-571: The Mad T Party in 2012, a similar attraction based on Tim Burton 's 2010 remake film Alice in Wonderland . The Mad T Party's first stint ended in 2014 but received a second run from 2015 to 2016. In 2012, Hollywood Pictures Backlot was reopened as Hollywood Land as part of a parkwide renovation. The sign and elephant statues were removed from the land entrance and the Red Car Trolley , a trolley part of

3332-602: The Munchkinland scene from The Wizard of Oz , where Dorothy's house has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East . When both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles are in use, they meet up here and come to a stop in the middle of the scene. Audio-Animatronic Munchkins begin to appear from various places and sing as they welcome guests to their home. However, a plume of smoke suddenly rises from the ground as an audio-animatronic Wicked Witch of

3430-497: The chimpanzee can be seen. The ride vehicle then moves past the final scene from Casablanca , featuring audio-animatronics of Rick Blaine ( Humphrey Bogart ) and Ilsa Lund ( Ingrid Bergman ) as they stand in front of a waiting airplane. Next, the ride vehicle passes a film projection of Mickey Mouse in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice from the 1940 Walt Disney's animated film, Fantasia . The ride vehicle then enters into

3528-448: The major film studios were presented in the film montage with one notable exception; there was no reference to any motion picture released by Universal Pictures , whose parent company operates the rival Universal Orlando Resort, although Shakespeare In Love , which was produced by Miramax and distributed by Universal internationally, was featured in the montage. In alphabetical order: The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior plane,

3626-463: The "opening act" of The Great Movie Ride, but significantly toned down. The guests entered a segment with its lighting significantly diminished. The outer walls were dark with practically no art deco recreations from the film set. The "diving boards" had been replaced with art deco style wall sconces. Instead, guests passed through a deco inspired archway to find themselves facing a large scrim-lined proscenium decorated with gray/blue clouds and remnants of

3724-400: The #1A ride vehicle (which is still being driven by the tour guide) stops in front of the town bank while a bank robbery is in progress. Suddenly, a live bank robber named Kate Durango (Girl) or Kid Carson (Boy) appears from inside the bank. After getting into a shoot-out with the town sheriff and chasing the tour guide into the bank, the bandit sets the town bank ablaze with dynamite and hijacks

3822-577: The ABC Soap Opera Bistro, themed to the sets of four different ABC daytime soap operas ; the Award Wieners hot dog stand; and Hollywood & Dine, a food court based on four famous restaurants from Hollywood. Upon its opening in 2001, the initial reception of California Adventure, including Hollywood Pictures Backlot and some of its attractions, was poor. The backlot, like the rest of the park, drew criticism for alleged cost-cutting. Before

3920-630: The Attractions Assistance Pass (AAS). The DAS pass allows guests to reserve a spot in an attraction's line, select a time to board the attraction, and return at their scheduled time. This allows guests who cannot physically wait in a trackless dark ride queue to still ride without being present at the queue, but still wait the same amount of time as other abled guests. Many trackless dark ride queues are tight, enclosed spaces for guests to wind through, which are often difficult for people with wheelchairs or other amenities to navigate. Moreover, as

4018-515: The Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea , and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure each use a slot car track rather than that of a roller coaster, but they provide a similar pairing of dark ride scenes with a high-speed thrill ride. Saw – The Ride at Thorpe Park features an enclosed dark section with strobe lighting and special effects, before the car enters the outdoor section of

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4116-547: The Disneyland Resort Paris, although minus The Great Movie Ride. A show called CinéMagique was built in lieu of the ride due to claims by Disney management that the French preferred shows to ride-through attractions. Three separate attempts were made by Walt Disney Imagineering to bring The Great Movie Ride to California. First were plans to incorporate the attraction into the proposed “Disney-MGM Studio Backlot” project,

4214-538: The Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! (which is now part of Avengers Campus ). Hollywood Land is a portion of the Disney California Adventure park meant to emulate a backlot set in the 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood , similar to the larger Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida that opened in 1989. Unlike Hollywood Studios and Universal Studios Hollywood , Hollywood Land was never intended to serve as

4312-502: The Movies , presented by Sears Roebuck & Co. The Walt Disney Company and the retailer (then the largest in the world) announced a 10-year joint marketing and licensing agreement on November 19, 1987. Sears would sponsor the park's signature attraction and a Hollywood Showcase Store. However, these plans were scrapped before the park's opening. Coca-Cola stepped in as the attraction's sponsor, and it became The Great Movie Ride to reflect it

4410-778: The Rescue! , based on the Disney · Pixar film Monsters, Inc. , which opened in 2006 as part of the resort's Happiest Homecoming on Earth , the Animation Academy . The Red Car Trolley attraction, based on the Pacific Electric Railway , which runs through the streets of Hollywood Land but is part of Buena Vista Street officially. Former attractions include Muppet*Vision 3D , Disney Junior – Live on Stage! (formerly known as Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!) and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror , Superstar Limo , and Guardians of

4508-767: The West ( Margaret Hamilton ) appears and asks who is responsible for killing the Wicked Witch of the East. The tour guide aboard the #1A ride vehicle briefly interacts with her before she disappears in another puff of smoke. The Munchkins reappear from their hiding places and begin to sing again as both ride vehicles follow the Yellow Brick Road out of Munchkinland past audio-animatronic figures of Dorothy ( Judy Garland ), Scarecrow ( Ray Bolger ), Tin Man ( Jack Haley ), Cowardly Lion ( Bert Lahr ) and Toto ( Terry ) standing in front of

4606-500: The aforementioned films continued with Turner Entertainment until the attraction's closure. The Great Movie Ride also included Alien , owned by 20th Century Fox , as Disney originally acquired the licensing rights to the film for a different ride, which was ultimately cancelled. Disney, however, retained the rights to use Alien and decided to incorporate it into the Great Movie Ride. In addition to Fox, scenes from almost all of

4704-401: The ancient Egyptian god Anubis . Near the top of the altar, a large priceless jewel is being watched over by a cloaked temple guard. The gangster or the bandit sees the jewel, stops the ride vehicle, and disembarkes to take it. Before touching the jewel, the temple guard gives a warning that those who disturb the treasure of the gods must pay with their life. Ignoring the warning, the gangster or

4802-415: The art deco set designs. Throughout the segment, three large rotating projections of Busby Berkeley-style kaleidoscope dance sequences appeared on the scrim (from By A Waterfall, Dames, and Shadow Waltz ). These disappeared to expose the "cake," which was behind the scrim and was simultaneously illuminated with washes of light and reflective water effects. The caped dancers on diving boards were located to

4900-403: The attraction's host during that time. The Great Movie Ride closed on August 13, 2017, becoming the park's last opening-day attraction to permanently close. The attraction was replaced by Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway , which still uses the Chinese Theatre replica. The Great Movie Ride directly inspired the creation of Disney's Hollywood Studios. In a Walt Disney Imagineering book, it

4998-419: The attraction. The Chinese Theatre facade and courtyard remained after the attraction's closure and was retained for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway . The line wound through a recreation of the Chinese Theatre lobby past glass display cases containing actual costumes, props, and set pieces from various films. The lobby also featured digital posters of various motion pictures. The line then took guests into

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5096-437: The attractions’ floor keep the vehicles “on track” with a guiding master computer system telling the vehicles where to go. The earliest form of this technology existed in warehouses, where electric box lifts robotically moved across the floor to transport boxes. In addition, the technology has been used in autonomous vacuum robots that rely on motion sensors to freely roam the floor since 1996. The trackless dark ride system as it

5194-475: The bandit reaches to grab the jewel. Suddenly, a plume of fiery smoke shoots from the ground engulfing the temple altar (as the temple guard leaves, undressing to reveal that the temple guard is the original tour guide while doing so before reappearing from the shadows). When the smoke clears out, the skeletal corpse of the Gangster or Bandit is revealed and the tour guide reboards the ride vehicle and continues on with

5292-478: The construction of the park's theatre. At the time the attraction opened, the actual theater's name was "Grauman's Chinese Theatre" and later "Mann's Chinese Theatre", however, the park's proper name for this version of the building is simply "The Chinese Theater". From 2001 to 2015, the theatre façade was obscured from view (when looking from the park's entrance), when the Sorcerer's Hat was situated directly in front of

5390-540: The curving shape of its track layout); but as pretzels were little-known in Britain, it was soon renamed after The Ghost Train , a play which ran for a year in London, a film adaptation of which was showing in 1931. It was rebuilt in 1936 and has remained unchanged since. Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also home to Valhalla , a large indoor dark ride. In Australia, a dark ride is named The Ghost Train at Luna Park, Melbourne , and

5488-525: The dark and seedy backstreets of a 1930s Chicago and past an audio-animatronic Tom Powers ( James Cagney ) in a scene from The Public Enemy . When both pairs of ride vehicles are in use, the #1A ride vehicle continues on to the next show scene past a green traffic light above a tunnel entrance while the #2B ride vehicle is stopped when the traffic light changes to red. While stopped, a live gangster named Mugsy (Boy) or Mugsi (Girl) and their audio-animatronic companions Squid and Beans show up and get involved in

5586-404: The dark ride as its centerpiece. To accurately represent a broad spectrum of American film, Disney also incorporated films from outside of its own library, mainly through its licensing agreement with MGM and later Turner Entertainment . Turner subsidiary, Turner Classic Movies sponsored the attraction for the final two years of its operation, with TCM film historian Robert Osborne serving as

5684-530: The development of trackless technology is often overlooked. The Disney VR Studio, founded in 1992, allowed the exploration of virtual reality technology for theme park rides. Before its role in the development of the trackless system, the VR Studio used virtual prototypes to model attractions such as California Screamin’ at Disney's California Adventure Park. Disney has used virtual simulations to allow designers to experience roller coasters before they are built and as

5782-419: The effect and give a sense of journey, passages in dark rides frequently change direction. Sudden curves give a sense of disorientation and allow new scenes to surprise the rider. The rides may also feature sudden ascents or descents to further the excitement. Although ever increasing investments are made in dark rides, empirical research in this area is relatively scarce. Based on a systematic literature review,

5880-516: The elephant statues from the 1916 D. W. Griffith film Intolerance that were incorporated into the Hollywood and Highland center. The land had four inaugural attractions: The Disney Animation complex , a musical called Steps in Time at the 1,984-seat Hyperion Theater , the 3D film Muppet*Vision 3D , and a Hollywood-themed dark ride called Superstar Limo . The backlot opened with three restaurants:

5978-475: The end of the park's first year in existence, Steps in Time was scrapped due to poor ratings and Hollywood & Dine was closed due to a lack of customers. In September 2001, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It! was introduced as a game show attraction. In 2002, Superstar Limo became the first California Adventure attraction to permanently close due to its poor reception and the Soap Opera Bistro

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6076-488: The end of the ride. The use of light guns varies between rides, from killing aliens on Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida to calling turkeys on Gobbler Getaway at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari . The ride systems of conventional dark rides can be easily converted into shooting dark rides. Such conversions include Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back! at Alton Towers (until 2023 when

6174-433: The far left of the "cake" behind the scrim. The art deco style wall panels still resided behind the "cake". The looping song segment and bubbles remained. The Wizard of Oz scene did not have major structural changes, but Walt Disney Imagineering replaced the original A-100 Wicked Witch audio-animatronic character with a newer-design figure utilizing Sarcos technology. The Sarcos-equipped audio-animatronics are capable of

6272-448: The façade of the Great Movie Ride. Unlike many Disney dark rides that feature separate embarkation and debarkation areas, the Great Movie Ride had only a single combined unloading and loading area. The last people to exit the vehicles often passed the next group of guests waiting to board the vehicles. At the time the ride was designed (the mid to late 1980s), it was common throughout the theme park industry to have all major rides exit into

6370-404: The idea in 1991 because the company believed that its construction at the same time as the proposed WestCOT theme park would hamper the park experience for visitors; plans for WestCOT were ultimately canceled in 1995. In 1995, Disney executives devised an idea for a California-themed park as a replacement for WestCOT, believing that it would deter tourists from going to see other attractions in

6468-449: The illusion of distance. Typically, these experiences also use a series of opaque doors between scenes to further control riders' views within a space-constrained building. Prominent examples include Disneyland's Snow White's Scary Adventures , Pinocchio's Daring Journey , Peter Pan's Flight , Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland , which all rely on the use of blacklights in almost every scene. The first dark rides appeared in

6566-640: The land is Hollywood Boulevard, an avenue loosely modeled after the real street but also incorporating architectural elements from elsewhere in Los Angeles. The street leads up to the Hyperion Theater , a 1,984-seat venue that presents Broadway -style musicals. Several faux sound stages , including one housing a Monsters, Inc. dark ride and another housing the Mickey's PhilharMagic show, are adjacent to Hollywood Boulevard. In 1990, Disney announced plans for

6664-659: The late 19th century and were called "scenic railways" and "pleasure railways". A popular type of dark ride commonly referred to as an old mill or tunnel of love used small boats to carry riders through water-filled canals. A Trip to the Moon began operation at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition . Marvin Rempfer and Leon Cassidy of the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company patented the first single-rail electric dark ride in 1928. Historically notable dark rides include Futurama at

6762-460: The likenesses of numerous living and deceased actors to be recreated as audio-animatronics . Chad Everett provided the voice for John Wayne 's figure at the behest of Wayne's family. Lee Marvin 's inebriated character of Kid Shelleen from Cat Ballou was planned to be included in the Western segment but was replaced with one of Clint Eastwood , as Marvin's family believed that particular portrayal

6860-627: The most popular, yet break down the most often. Trackless dark rides often have some of the longest wait times at theme parks. Wait time data from Walt Disney World in 2022 shows that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has an average wait time of 127 minutes at Disney's Hollywood Studios park, whereas the average wait time for other Disney World, non-trackless attractions is just 36 minutes. Long wait times coupled with frequent ride stoppages can be vexing for guests, but may be well worth it to those who prefer trackless dark rides to other experiences. While some roller coasters may be indoors, simply enclosing

6958-403: The neon lighted entrance was fleshed out. All the walls leading up to, around, and beyond the "cake" were painted in art deco style patterns as seen in "By A Waterfall". Approximately three "diving boards" with three mannequin "dancers" wearing capes were perched on the right-hand side of the wall as you enter the ride segment. The five-tiered "cake" was prominently displayed at a left-hand turn. It

7056-574: The new Buena Vista Street , was introduced. In 2014, Muppet*Vision 3D was closed and its theater was subsequently used for movie previews and other temporary showings. In 2016, the final showing of Aladdin took place at the Hyperion Theater after featuring for over a decade. The show was replaced by Frozen – Live at the Hyperion , a musical based on the 2013 feature film . In 2017, the Tower of Terror

7154-464: The next morning, the signs were taken down and a photo opportunity of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was installed near the former exit. There are three references in Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway that pay tribute to The Great Movie Ride. A poster that says The Great Moving Ride can be found in the carnival scene between the popcorn stand and Donald's hot dog stand. The tornado scene contains

7252-421: The number of attractions that limit riders with disabilities increases. Most commonly, guests who are prohibited from riding are those who are too overweight for the ride vehicle to safely hold the guest's weight or prevent the safety harness from locking in place. Other ride restrictions include those who do not meet a certain height requirement or are too tall to clear the attractions’ set pieces, or those who lack

7350-472: The park on May 1, 1989—was located inside the park's replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre , one of Hollywood 's most famous movie palaces . The Great Movie Ride was originally developed by Disney as a cinema-themed pavilion for the Future World section of Epcot . Under the direction of Michael Eisner and Marty Sklar , the concept was expanded into a new theme park devoted to motion pictures that included

7448-565: The relationship between "storytelling" and "immersion". Dark rides have a number of variations that are not necessarily mutually exclusive . In the United Kingdom , the Republic of Ireland , New Zealand , China and Australia , dark rides with a scary theme are called ghost trains . The first ride to use the name "Ghost Train" was that of Blackpool Pleasure Beach . The ride was imported in 1930 and originally called The Pretzel (due to

7546-426: The ride vehicle. Following this scene, the remainder of the attraction is the same for both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles. Next, the ride vehicle continues into a darkened corridor of a seemingly abandoned spaceship, revealing itself to be the Nostromo, the doomed vessel from Alien . The ride vehicle passes an audio-animatronic Ellen Ripley ( Sigourney Weaver ) holding a flamethrower as she prepares to confront

7644-416: The ride vehicles are much smaller in size, are grouped together in pairs of two, and feature an open cab in the first row of the front vehicle for a live tour guide to stand, provide narration, and operate the ride vehicle. Earlier and later in the day, only the second pair of ride vehicles (#2B) are used as the first pair of ride vehicles (#1A) are only used during the busier times of day. The film set within

7742-435: The ride was altered) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Disney's Magic Kingdom . The latter uses facilities that previously housed If You Had Wings , Delta Dreamflight , and Take Flight. A recent dark ride, Wonder Mountain's Guardian at Canada's Wonderland , has the world's longest interactive screen at over 500 feet (150 m). Among non-shooting interactive dark rides, Etnaland's award-winning Haunted School

7840-647: The ride's operation began. In 1985, Disney and MGM entered into a licensing contract that gave Disney worldwide rights to use the MGM name and logo for what would become Disney-MGM Studios (now known as Disney's Hollywood Studios), while separate contracts were used for The Wizard of Oz , Casablanca , Singin' in the Rain , The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , The Public Enemy , Tarzan and His Mate and Footlight Parade to give these films representation in The Great Movie Ride. Disney's license for

7938-743: The ride. Particularly in Disney-built or -influenced parks, a number of attractions use traditional dark-ride features, such as animatronics and theatrical lighting, but are not "dark rides" in that patrons do not board vehicles. Examples include the walk-through dioramas in Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle , and theater-based Disney attractions like Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln , The Hall of Presidents , The American Adventure and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room . Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (and its now-closed Disneyland replacement America Sings ) had four auditoriums that rotated audiences around

8036-399: The rotating "cake" mechanism was constantly breaking down, causing frequent repairs and downtime. In addition, the water pumps would constantly fail, flooding the ride path. Park operations believed it was much cheaper and less problematic to leave the "cake" in place with lighting effects used to provide what Imagineers term as "kinetics" to the segment. When it closed, this segment was still

8134-398: The show. The next film genre introduced are horror films as the ride vehicle goes through an ancient burial chamber full of mummies, some of which have come to life. The ride vehicle soon departs the tomb and enters a dense jungle. Here, audio-animatronic figures of Tarzan ( Johnny Weissmuller ) swinging on a vine, Jane ( Maureen O'Sullivan ) sitting atop Timba the elephant, and Cheeta

8232-492: The soundstage features a large neon theatre marquee and a cyclorama of the 1930s-era Hollywood Hills complete with the original Hollywoodland Sign . As the ride begins, the song " Hooray for Hollywood " plays overhead as the vehicles' tour guide welcomes the guests and introduces Osborne, who informs them (via onboard narration) that they will be taken through scenes from different classic films throughout history. The first genre of films introduced are musicals, which begins with

8330-460: The state and thus spending more time on the property. As such, the shelved Hollywood land concept was revisited as a facet of the new proposal. In June 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported details of the planned park, mentioning the inclusion of a Golden Age Hollywood backlot-themed section. The construction of California Adventure began on January 22, 1998. Information about Hollywood Land

8428-417: The term dark ride refers to ride-through attractions with scenes that use black lights, whereby visible light is prevented from entering the space, and only show elements that fluoresce under ultraviolet radiation are seen by the riders. The size of each room containing a scene or scenes is thus concealed, and the set designer can use forced perspective , Pepper's ghost and other visual tricks to create

8526-469: The trackless ride systems are complex and the vehicles run constantly, more ride breakdowns and stoppages occur. Due to the many elements of these attractions, breakdowns occur more frequently and take more time to address. Hollywood Studio's Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance had more than 540 unplanned stoppages in 2022, breaking down more than any other attraction at Walt Disney World that year. This can be frustrating for guests as trackless rides are some of

8624-546: The wall. The ride vehicle next enters a scene set in an ancient Egyptian tomb filled with snakes. Osborne informs the guests that they are in a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark as audio-animatronic figures of Indiana Jones ( Harrison Ford ) and Sallah ( John Rhys-Davies ) struggle to lift the Ark of the Covenant . A second room within the temple features a large altar in the form of

8722-408: Was a ride, not a movie, despite being housed in a replica of a famous movie theater. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Disney was interested in purchasing Jim Henson 's Muppets . Walt Disney Imagineering developed a Muppet-themed land for Disney-MGM Studios called Muppet Studios . The land was to feature two main attractions; one was Muppet*Vision 3D and the other was The Great Muppet Movie Ride ,

8820-469: Was a tribute to the spectacular epics made throughout Hollywood history, especially pioneering director D. W. Griffith 's 1916 silent film Intolerance . After the park's re-design, the archway sign, elephants and columns were removed, whereas the repainted pedestals remained. Attractions include the Hyperion Theater , which opened with the park in 2001 and has hosted five productions, the 3D film Mickey's PhilharMagic , Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to

8918-472: Was canceled. Later, plans called for the ride to be built as part of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area of the Disney California Adventure theme park at the Disneyland Resort . But budget cuts in the park's original development planning forced the ride's projected cost to be spent on smaller, original and less expensive attractions. An early concept was supposed to be called Great Moments at

9016-613: Was closed as well. The Hyperion Theater was furnished with a version of the Broadway musical Blast! in November 2001 and was replaced with an Aladdin show in January 2003 as a long-term feature. In 2004, the E ticket attraction The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror , an altered version of the Walt Disney World attraction, was opened as a new anchor for the backlot. In 2005, the area

9114-633: Was closed to be rethemed as Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! , the first Disney attraction in the United States based on the Marvel Universe . In March 2020, the Hyperion hosted its last showing of Frozen before the Disneyland Resort was abruptly shuttered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – the musical did not return when the park reopened in 2021. That same year, Mission: Breakout!

9212-460: Was in the open air illuminated with an array of animated lights. During this pass through the Footlight Parade segment, riders would hear a "loop" of "By A Waterfall" (a song featured in Footlight Parade ) lasting approximately 40 seconds as bubbles fall from the ceiling. For approximately the first year, the "cake" actually rotated and was adorned with water jets as seen in the film. Allegedly,

9310-599: Was inappropriate to showcase. Plans called for The Great Movie Ride to be the main attraction for the Disney-MGM Studios Europe theme park, which was scrapped due to the early financial difficulties of the Euro Disneyland Resort . Years later when the resort began turning profits, a show business themed theme park went into development again, and the Walt Disney Studios Park opened in 2002 at

9408-420: Was included in four different park preview centers and online Disney promotions promised "glitzy cafés and shops, famous theaters and a real studio backlot." The original name for the land, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, was revealed in 2000. The backlot, along with all of California Adventure, opened on February 8, 2001. The original rendition of Hollywood Pictures Backlot featured an entrance gate with replicas of

9506-458: Was renovated to remove some of the movie set props while introducing a new paint color scheme for the soundstages and new planter boxes. In 2006, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! was opened in the former Superstar Limo building. In 2010, Disney introduced ElecTRONica , a nighttime concert event situated in the backlot that was based on the Tron franchise . The event was replaced by

9604-520: Was revealed that The Great Movie Ride was originally planned as the main attraction in a show business themed pavilion at Epcot , which was to be called "Great Moments at the Movies". However, the newly assigned Disney CEO Michael Eisner and WDI president Marty Sklar decided the idea was strong enough to lead an entire new theme park. The idea for the ride was expanded, and the Disney-MGM Studios went into official development. The attraction used

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