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While Walt Disney World visitors were whisked through an epic dark ride of silver screen classics, envy inevitably grew amongst Disney Parks fans across the world. Such an epic, detailed, and thoughtful dark ride was destined to become a fan favorite, and plans to replicate the ride across the world were long-rumored!

1. Disney-MGM Studios Europe

Image: Disney

Would’ve opened: 1996

Well before Disneyland Paris had even seen its 1992 opening, Disney had already announced the second gate coming to the ambitious French resort: The Disney-MGM Studios Europe would bring the glamour of Hollywood moviemaking to the City of Lights when it officially opened in 1996! Just as Disneyland Paris had done, the French studio park would realign the concept (and the films highlighted) to the tastes of European guests. Like Florida’s, this iconic headlining dark ride would take up residence in a recreation of the Chinese Theater standing as the icon of the new Parisian park.

There’s just one problem… Disneyland Paris crashed and burned, financially devastating the company for decades and turning Eisner off of any large scale investment ever again. The Disney-MGM Studios Europe was just one of the massive Cancellations, Closures, and Cop-Outs Caused by Disneyland Paris

Still, contractual obligation meant that the European resort would get a second park… But the resulting “studio” was so underbuilt, underfunded, and creatively starved, it earned its own in-depth walkthrough in our unfortunate series, Disaster Files: Walt Disney Studios Paris. The still-sad Parisian park has no icon at the end of its entry boulevard, and opened with literally three rides. Suffice it to say, there were no dark rides to be found, and certainly not the Great Movie Ride.

2. Disney California Adventure

Would’ve opened: 2001

A proposed “Hollywoodland” including The Great Movie Ride was originally intended to join Disneyland’s Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, et al, but was cancelled. Instead, focus turned to the resort’s second theme park.

With Paris’ disastrous opening dragging the company and Eisner’s ambitions, plans for a second park at the original Disneyland in California began to change, too. The ambitious Westcot was axed, and penny-pinching executives schemed on a way to keep Disneyland’s tourists on property and away from all the other sights worth seeing in the state. The result was the subject of another of our full-blown Disaster Files: Disney’s California Adventure.

Equally underbuilt and underfunded, California Adventure did at least have a single dark ride planned! Designers had developed a sort of Californian equivalent to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, with guests darting through Hollywood aboard limousines, dodging the paparazzi at every turn.

However, the death of Princess Diana (in just such circumstances) changed everything. Forced to completely reimagine their high-speed Hollywood chase, Imagineers decided to cancel the ride altogether and instead bring in a duplicate of The Great Movie Ride to act as the anchor to the park’s Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

Image: Disney

Eisner balked at the budget, and insisted that Imagineers forget any chance of a Californian Great Movie Ride and instead refocus that limousine chase… just without the paparazzi and without the speed. The result was Disney’s worst dark ride ever, and abysmal subject of its own Disaster File: Superstar Limo. So, no Great Movie Ride for California Adventure, either.

3. Muppet Studios at Disney-MGM Studios

Image: Disney / Muppet Studios

Would’ve opened: 1989

Among the most fun cancelled concepts ever to make its way through Imagineering, one of Disney-MGM Studios themed “lots” was originally going to be Muppet Studios – an entire backlot owned, operated, and obliterated by Jim Henson’s lovable Muppets.

Alongside Muppet*Vision 3D, the land’s signature attraction would’ve been The Great Muppet Movie Ride… a purposeful parody of the E-Ticket just steps away. But don’t worry… in this ride through Hollywood classics, most every moment would’ve been disrupted by Piggy, Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, and the rest of the Muppets gang.

Image: Disney / Muppet Studios

From the stage of Peter Pan to the hot set of Frankenstein, the Muppets would’ve been the cast and crew, leading to hilarious vignettes, laugh-out-loud mistakes, and explosions aplenty.

Unfortunately, the death of Jim Henson sidelined any hopes of a Great Muppet Movie Ride, as his family pulled away from the agreement with Disney. They almost cancelled the completed Muppet*Vision, too! We recorded the would-be history of the almost-built land in its own feature, Possibilityland: Muppet Studios that’s a must-read for Disney Parks fans.

Changing minds, changing times

Image: Disney

Maybe it’s for the best that the Great Movie Ride was never duplicated. After all, it was as custom-built for Disney-MGM Studios as Spaceship Earth was for Epcot… it simply couldn’t be copied-and-pasted. Standing at the literal and proverbial center of the park, it was a perfect fusion of the glitz and glitter of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a “behind-the-scenes” look into the making of movies, and an emotional journey through time.

And yet, this ride that served as a “thesis” for a movie park is now closed forever… On the last page, we’ll dissect the reasons why The Great Movie Ride was closed forever… and discover what’s meant to come next. Read on…

 
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