If you’re a fan of The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, you better make a FastPass to experience this journey into the movies soon as the attraction’s final curtain call is August 13, 2017.
The Great Movie Ride opened with the park, then known as Disney-MGM Studios, on May 1, 1989 and is housed inside the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The theater is an icon of the park and is one of the first things visitors see upon entering. That is of course when the ugly stage used for the Star Wars show isn’t blocking the view, but that’s another story!
The closure of the ride comes at a time when most of Disney’s Hollywood Studios is under construction. Losing a high-capacity, dark ride that many park visitors flock to during inclement weather, or when a 20-minute break in air conditioned comfort is needed, is certainly going to be as controversial as removing the park’s last remaining original attraction.
Rumors of The Great Movie Ride’s closure started to swirl months ago when it was discovered that Turner Classic Movies sponsorship was not going to be renewed. It was around this same time, that long-time TCM host Robert Osborne, who also acts as the host for the ride, passed away.
So what’s going to replace The Great Movie Ride?
Something that many Disney fans have been waiting for… a Mickey Mouse ride!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be the first Mickey Mouse themed ride in the history of Disney Parks. Can you imagine it took them this long to honor the world’s most famous mouse with a ride of his own?
The ride will start out with guests watching a Mickey Mouse short where Mickey and Minnie are getting ready to head out to have a relaxing picnic. Along the way, they encounter none other than Goofy who is conducting a train. It’s at this point where you can probably guess what happens next!
The official Disney Parks Blog describes this new attraction as a “zany out-of-control adventure featuring surprising twists and turns, dazzling visual effects and mind-boggling transformations that happen before your very eyes.”
I know, that I’m excited to experience this new ride at Hollywood Studios and am thrilled that Disney finally decided it was time to give the head mouse a ride of his own!
No further details on the ride, including an opening date, were announced.