>A "Great" Ride through the Movies

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They announced information about the Fantasyland Expansion this past week. The plans they have for these new areas of Fantasyland look pretty neat. Before the Disney Hollywood Studios was built, Epcot was undergoing some expansion and one of the pavilions they were going to add, was a movie pavilion. This of course became so big that it became its own park, Disney MGM Studios. When it first opened, this Park was very different than it is today. For one thing it was a working movie studio. Another thing was that

they didn’t really have any attractions, just shows to go see. The only two attractions they had were the Backlot Tour, and the Great Movie Ride. The Great Movie Ride was found in what would have been considered the Park’s weenie when it first opened, a replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. (Every one of the Disney parks has a weenie, a place that the eye finds and you walk toward when you first enter the park). The Great Movie Ride is still found in the Chinese Theater, although the Park’s weenie is now the Sorcerer’s Hat. If you haven’t been on the Great Movie Ride, it is something that you should ride. Even the queue pays homage to Hollywood’s history.

As you walk through the queue, there are props from different movies such as a carousel horse from Mary Poppins. When you get further into the queue, you actually walk into what looks like an old time movie theater. As you wind your way through the line, they show openings and previews from some of the greatest movies through history, and some that weren’t so great.

Once you get to the front of the line you are ushered into a long movie theater row. When everyone is seated, these rows make up your ride vehicle. Your

Tour Guide, who states they are the biggest movie buff ever is very excited to get you on your way into the “World of the Movies”. You start out going through some of the all time great musicals with a large tip of the hat to Mary

Poppins. You then ride into a dark area in a bad part of town. Here you can hear the soundtracks for some great James Cagney Movies and there are gangsters all around. Your ride vehicle gets high-jacked by one of the mobsters during a shoot out. (For a thug, he’s pretty good at knowing how to drive the row of movie seats.) He takes you into the scene of a Western, where you will see the Duke himself, John Wayne. From the Western, you move into a scene from Alien, which is a little creepy. Your Tour guide joins you again, during the next scene when they “get rid of” the Mobster that had high-jacked you earlier.

Overall there are 59 audio-animatronics figures. With many of them showing up in a tribute to the Wizard of Oz. There are also tributes to horror movies, Tarzan and one of the greatest scenes ever in the movies, the Airport scene from Casablanca. This scene though is home to an urban legend that isn’t true, but does have a neat explanation. The legend says that the plane used in this scene is from the movie, Casablanca. It is not. However, there is some Disney Imagineering Magic that comes into play here. The front of the plane that is used is a full sized Lockheed Martin plane, which Disney bought to use in the attraction. The backend of this plane is over in the Magic Kingdom. It can be found on the Jungle Cruise, near the African elephants. It is actually referenced by the boat captains when they talk about how they got their jobs as boat skippers.

There is some other Imagineering Magic as you go through the attraction, also. In the Indiana Jones room, there are hieroglyphs of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, R2-D2 and C3PO. And when you first stop in the crime neighborhood, during the shoot-out, the license plate on the car that rides past you makes reference to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which happened on

Feb. 14, 1929. The Plate number is 021-429. There are also a few Hidden Mickeys throughout the ride, but my favorite is in the clouds in the one scene.

Some people don’t think much of the Great Movie Ride, and others have never been on it as they think it isn’t anything spectacular, but in the middle of the summer, late in the afternoon, this is a wonderful attraction to visit. Not only is it fun and the ending film montage outstanding, but it is a twenty two minute ride through an air-conditioned building that houses some of the greatest movie scenes of all time. I recommend it, if you haven’t been on it and if you have, go through it again and look for the extra magical details that the Imagineers added for your enjoyment.

>Hollywood Boulevard and a Big Hat…

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Last Monday’s post* about the entrance to the Animal Kingdom mentioned Walt Disney’s idea of the “Weenie” the focal point that catches your eye and helps you move forward into the park. In Disney Hollywood Studios, the “Weenie” wasn’t added to the park until 12 years after the park opened. The first “Weenie” that was used was the recreation of the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which houses The Great Movie Ride. This wasn’t the Icon for the park though, The Earful Tower was. In 2001, The Sorcerer’s Hat from Fantasia was added to the area in front of the Great Movie Ride, and has become both the “Weenie” and the Icon for the Park. The Entrance to Disney Hollywood Studios is very different from the entrance to the Animal Kingdom, and thus is a different kind of Unknown Magic.

The Entrance to the Hollywood studios is not as open as the entrance to the Animal Kingdom. It is more like the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. The buses and trams, drop you off right in front of the main gates and to get in, you walk through the security aisles, then go on to the turnstiles. There is very little room in front of this area from the drop off to the security lines. There are the ticket windows that you pass by, but then you are right into the turnstiles and into the park. The Entrance also reminds me of the Magic Kingdom, because you can get to the Studios by boat. The Boat drop-off is kind of like the Monorail Station at the Magic Kingdom, because you disembark from the launches off to the left of the main gate and must walk to get there.

Once you pass the main gates and have entered the Hollywood studios, you are thrown back in time. Very much like the Magic Kingdom, however here you are thrown into Hollywood of the 1930’s not Walt Disney’s hometown at the turn of the 20th century. If you come into the Hollywood Studios at night, it is alive with colors and sounds and lights. During the day, it isn’t as exciting, but it still has some Magical qualities just the same.

Off to the right as you walk in is Oscar’s Super Service Station. This is where you can rent Strollers and find a locker. On the other side of the entrance is Sid Cahuenga’s One of a Kind, which sells Movie Posters (Disney and Classic movies) and Autographs from famous actors and actresses. Right in the middle of the entrance area is the Crossroads of the World. The Crossroads of the World is a stand that sells small souvenirs and camera equipment. The Crossroads of the World has what looks like a giant Antennae standing on its roof, with a round globe and Mickey Mouse standing on the top.

 The secret to this Mickey Mouse is that his left ear serves as a lightning rod.

As you pass the Crossroads of the World, you are on Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood Boulevard is the Studios’ version of Main Street USA. The Street itself isn’t as wide as Main Street USA and doesn’t seem as long. All along this roadway, there are buildings that look like they came out of Hollywood in the 1940’s. There are clothiers, and a toy shop and many other great places to shop, but it is the architecture that is the Unknown Magic that transports you into the Hollywood of old.

The neat thing about the Entrance to Disney Hollywood Studios and Hollywood Boulevard is that they want you to believe you are actually on a street in 1940, in California. There are cars parked on the side of the road from time to time, there are billboards that are on top of the buildings and there are street signs and all kinds of details that add to this feeling. Sometimes, there are Hollywood starlets and movie producers walking around near the entrance or on Hollywood Boulevard that stop people and ask them to perform or just start talking to them. This total immersion into Hollywood helps you to feel the Magic throughout the rest of the park, the Magic of being in Hollywood and around the excitement of the Movies.

So, now you know, the Entrance to Disney Hollywood Studios creates its Unknown Magic, by putting you in Hollywood. If you’re lucky, you may be chosen to help out with a scene or even a show and then maybe a Star will be Born. And if not, you can still add some Magical Experiences to your trip by checking out the area and enjoying “Hollywood”.

*This is the second installment of the Entrances to the Parks series. The last two will be posted on the coming Mondays.