Goodbye, The Great Movie Ride

Today is a very sad day for me and many other The Great Movie Ride Cast Members, current and past. Today is the last day for The Ride. Disney will be closing its doors. The Magic of The Ride will be silenced. Am I being too dramatic? Maybe. But unless you have worked there and know what it was like to experience the friendships and memories of having worked at The Ride it will be difficult for you to truly understand the emotions we are going through. Sure, you may be a fan of The Ride and are saddened that it is closing. I was a fan too before I worked there and am still a fan. I love that ride. Of all the rides at Walt Disney World, it is my all-time favorite. Always has been my favorite. It probably comes from my love for movies. Disney created something that enhanced that movie magic I love to experience. Of the entire ride, the Finale was my favorite. Sitting there watching all those films clips always put a smile on my face even though I had viewed it, literally, hundreds of times while working there. And viewed it so many times before and after working there. It has never gotten old.
Below is a video of one of my Gangster days at The Great Movie Ride in 1999 when the park was called Disney’s MGM Studios. It was a good time. It was a fun time. It was a time in my life that holds a lot of wonderful memories. Those memories include not just of The Ride but memories of times outside The Ride spent with my fellow Cast Members. Times hanging out at The Atlantic Dance for some swing dancing, the Ale House, the ESPN Club, and at Super Bowl Parties to watch football. Thank you, The Great Movie Ride, and all of you that were there for those beautiful memories. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.