Tour guide Jennifer and gangster at The Great Movie Ride, Sunday Evening 10/23/2005

[MainStreet, USA]

Last Sunday I spent a fantastic pre-Wilma day at EPCOT, followed by a short evening over at MGM. I really only went because I wanted to see Fantasmic, but rain bands preceeding the hurricane kind of prevented that from happening. So instead of leaving early to go home (waste time I could be spending at Disney?... Never!), I turned to other park favorites, the last of which on that soggy evening was The Great Movie Ride.

My tour guide for TGMR on this evening was a peppy, energetic young lady named Jennifer. Now for the most part, I don't do these CM appreciation things for CMs who do their job properly. I do this only when they do something special, or when they do their regular job exceedingly well. This is exactly what Jennifer did. Actually, our "gangster" also did an excellent job, but I don't know his name unfortunately. They don't introduce themselves by their real name in that role.

I have ridden TGMR countless times. I've been riding it so long that I can remember when the scene from Alien really did scare the daylights out of me and I would cling to my closest parent in a matter of life and death. But in all the times I've ridden that attraction, I don't think I've ever had a tour guide/gangster team who performed the tour so perfectly before.

I was originally going to use the word flawless to describe their performances, but that wouldn't be giving them enough credit. I've had other tour guides who performed the script flawlessly, but never before one who performed so perfectly as Jennifer did. Right from the start she was loud enough, clear, and easy to understand (which is sometimes 3/4 of the problem with some CMs). She was extremely enthusiastic during all parts of the tour. (Doesn't it kill you when you get a guide who murmers partly under his breath in a low, monotone voice, "Now we see one of my all-time favorites of the Silver Screen..." . It just seems to translate into "I never actually watched Singing in the Rain, I just memorized the GMR script." Jennifer not only convinced me that she had actually seen the film, but that it was in fact a favorite of hers.

She spoke well, animated well, and just did everything right. It didn't seem like she was reciting a script as much as it seemed she was talking casually with us. Her public speaking and acting skills were top notch. Her timing was impecable too, and all of her conversations and interactions with the animatronic characters was right on, giving them an even greater semblence of realism despite their limited range of motion.

Our gangster for that evening was also very cool. He too was great at interacting with the animatronics and pulling the guests into his act. As he left the vehicle to go get a closer look at the "ice" (the jewel protected by a curse), he slammed his palms violently against the side of the car one seat ahead of me shouting at us not to try any funny business while he stepped out. It scared the **** out of everyone in the car, myself included. I had a good laugh once my heart rate returned to normal. It was great!

Jennifer proceeded to conclude a perfect performance by the duo during the remaining scenes. And when it came time for the exit, and Jennifer asked for the "thunderous applause for yours truly", for the first time in as far back as I can remember... I really honestly meant it!

Awesome performances Jennifer and accompanying gangster character! The best I've ever seen at TGMR! I can only hope I run into you two as a pair on my next trip to the Studios!

[disneydreamer98]

The CM's playing these roles sure can make or break your experience! Sounds like you had some great ones!

[JEDIPRINCESS]

Yeah these guys sounded like they did an awesome job. I 've always seem to get the duds.