Did you know...?

1 The Great Movie Ride essentially birthed the entire Disney's Hollywood Studios (then called Disney-MGM Studios) theme park. Originally conceived as a pavilion at EPCOT Center's Future World, the ride concept appealed to Disney CEO Michael Eisner so much that he and WDI president Marty Sklar developed an entire movie-themed park in which the ride became the centerpiece.

2 On the Walk of Fame in front of the attraction building, Charlton Heston spelled his name without the "L." Supposedly, a photographer called out his name and distracted him from his task.

3 The trams are referred to in official documentation as "stages." Each stage can transport approximately 70 passengers.

4 The John Wayne animatronic wears a belt buckle that was actually worn by John Wayne.

5 There was originally supposed to be a Lee Marvin animatronic in the Western scene. The late actor's children refused to allow Disney to install the Kid Shelleen (from "Cat Ballou)" figure, as they didn't want a drunken gunslinger to represent their father in perpetuity.

7 In the "Alien" scene, one computer screen has a read out of Imagineers that worked on the ride, along with inside jokes written by some of them.

8 The rights to "Alien" were purchased earlier than the other films showcased in the attraction. The intent was to build an attraction at the Magic Kingdom (perhaps what later became "The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter"), but the alien was deemed too scary for the park.

9 In the "Raider of the Lost Ark" Well of the Souls scene, Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck and Star Wars characters R2-D2 and C-3PO appear in the left side hieroglyphics.

10 The Fantasia scene is suspiciously underdeveloped. This is because that area was originally going to be a third scene for the Wizard of Oz sequence -- the tornado. Rights issues reportedly scuttled the inclusion of the additional scene. The fans originally intended for the tornado remain a part of the scene.

11 In 2003, show writer and producer for Walt Disney Imagineering Jason Surrell rewrote the tour guide character to be a big film fan who knows everything there is to know about movies.