What It Really Took to Run The Great Movie Ride (Ep.575)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Leisure, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week’s Disney Dish mixes a packed Walt Disney World news round-up with a deeply nostalgic trip through one of Disney-MGM Studios’ most beloved lost attractions. Jim and Len break down a wave of reopening dates, new discount strategy, annual passholder survey oddities, and a fresh round of listener questions before returning to Jim’s ongoing history of The Great Movie Ride. The main story this time shifts backstage, focusing on the cast members, timing, choreography, and split-second performance work that made the attraction feel so alive. It is part park operations deep dive, part oral history, and pure Disney nerd catnip. NEWS • Walt Disney World rolls out a cluster of reopening dates, including Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin on April 8, Soarin’ Around America and Bluey at Animal Kingdom on May 26, plus more returning offerings later this summer. • Disney also unveils new summer and fall offers, including free dining and a 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket, signaling a coordinated push to fill rooms after the spring reopening window. • Universal Studios Hollywood begins ride cycling Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, offering a first look at the drifting ride vehicle tech expected to influence the Orlando version. • Disney names Thomas Mazloum chairman of Disney Experiences, setting off a broader leadership reshuffle across Disneyland, Parks International, and Consumer Products. • A new annual passholder survey raises eyebrows by spotlighting Zootopia-themed offerings at Animal Kingdom, fueling more speculation about where Disney may lean with that IP in the future. FEATURE • Jim continues the history of The Great Movie Ride by focusing on the cast members who brought the attraction to life, from auditioning tour guides to the performers who earned the right to play the gangster and bank robber. • The episode explores the ride’s hidden operational complexity, including synchronized tram timing, live performance beats, emergency exits, and the backstage choreography required to make two different versions of the attraction work at once. • Jim also shares stories about effects changes, guest complaints, on-the-job mishaps, and the strong sense of community that kept former cast members emotionally attached to the attraction long after its 2017 closure. • The result is a vivid look at why The Great Movie Ride was not just a ride system and a script, but a live performance machine that depended on timing, talent, and nerves. For this episode’s full show notes, click here. View transcript here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Len Testa - Website: TouringPlans.com FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Our friends at Unlocked Magic have discounted theme park tickets starting at just one day of admission, with prices better than Disney’s. Get your Walt Disney World tickets now and see all the new and returning offerings opening soon. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill. It's me, Len Testa, and this is our show for the week of Schmer's Day, March 16th, 2026. On the show today, news, including reopening dates, a new survey on annual passholders in Zootopia and listener questions. Then in our main segment, Jim continues the history of the great movie ride. Let's get started by bringing in the man who points
0:21.6	out that the word hyphenated doesn't have a hyphen, but the word non-hyphenated does.
0:26.2	It's Mr. Jim Hill. Jim has it going. It's going well, Len. I just, I genuinely feel bad for
0:31.6	anybody who's learning English as a second language, because there is no rhyme or reason to English.
0:39.0	I mean, think about it.
0:40.2	There's the classics.
0:41.5	You know, you drive on a parkway, but you park in your driveway.
0:44.6	You know, when you send a package, you know, by car, it's a shipment.
0:49.3	But when you put that very same package in a ship, it's now cargo.
0:53.8	And don't even get me started about, you know,
0:56.9	where's the egg and eggplant or where's the apple and pineapple? You know, just, it, it's, uh, it, it,
1:03.4	one of the joys of studying English is that you also get to study at least three other languages
1:07.4	for their idiomatic consistency as well. Yeah, that's always good.
1:11.2	All true.
1:11.8	All true.
1:12.3	All true.
1:14.2	All right, Jim, let's do a quick shout out to our subscribers.
1:18.0	Including Chris Wilkins, Don Sullivan, Greg Dikes, N.J. Family Dad, Carolyn Hughes, and Cheryl Figlin-Brenner.
1:24.8	Jim, this is the team about to do annual maintenance on Nuteskamander's suitcase for Epic Universe's Circus Arcanus show.
1:32.1	The project has been delayed for months while legal determined if inside the suitcase is a job site or a work trip that requires a per diem allowance.
1:40.4	Once the HR complaint about a really judgmental demigise commenting on craftsmanship is resolved, the actual repairs should go quickly.
1:48.5	True story.
	...

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