Here's a rough version of the final cut of this new "Pinocchio"-themed water thrill ride. It is based on an abandoned concept for an early Disneyland attraction that never happened, where guests would ride small rafts up through Monstro's stomach and slide out through his mouth (it apparently evolved into Storybook Land):
Anyway, this new ride, "Pinocchio's Whale of a Voyage", is a mild water thrill ride in the space where the Tomorrowland Speedway once stood. The thrill factor for this is below Splash Mountain (or whatever the name of it is when it becomes themed to "The Princess and the Frog"), but above Pirates of the Caribbean. The footprint of the Speedway is actually comparable to that of Splash Mountain, which I found surprising.
The area near the ride is a small lagoon with a certain angry-looking whale rising out of it, looking rather like the one from Disneyland's Storybook Land, except instead of boats going into his mouth, the rafts emerge out of his mouth to a blast of water. The rafts twist around a bend and disappear. As you look down, you can spot Jiminy Cricket peeking out from an empty bottle floating in the water, while Pinocchio and Geppetto can be spotted around the bend. Music from the movie plays here, in a nautical style like the original 20,000 Leagues submarine ride. Here's a sample of that ride's load area music to give you an idea:
Behind the whale is a rocky island, home to Pleasure Island. The position of this space where the Speedway was means that Fantasyland is jutting out into Tomorrowland. The Speedway was always particularly jarring as a transition. However, Pleasure Island, with its garish colors and lights and the spectacle of it all, would serve as a better transition, as its colors may try to compliment/contrast the nearby Space Mountain and Tron coasters. The top of Pleasure Island resembles something like how you approach it in the Disneyland ride, with roller coaster tracks and a Ferris wheel:
The entrance to the ride is over a bridge leading to Pleasure Island, which also resembles Disneyland's entrance. The area loop music continues here, but in a livelier, jazzier style to compliment Pleasure Island. In the queue, you can play some interactive games, based on the 2009 Blu-Ray release of the film (but not DVD release), where you can play several fun little games, which, based on the video below, seem quite challenging:
Finally, you reach the load area, where you board boats that resemble the raft used by Pinocchio and Geppetto to escape Monstro (more on that later). They're actually part of a new design by Mack Rides called the Rocking Boat:
As you climb aboard your boat, you hear the usual bilingual safety spiel (not sure who could do it in this case, though).
Once aboard your boat, it floats forward, and you spot Jiminy Cricket in a great worry about Pinocchio, knowing full well of what Pleasure Island is all about: that those who stay here too long will become donkeys, and that it's Pinocchio's fate as well unless he leaves.
You then mount a lift hill, about thirty feet, or about the same height as that on Frozen Ever After. It takes you past several more of the rides of Pleasure Island. At the top, you spot Honest John and Gideon, who try to predict your future: that Pleasure Island is the perfect cure for what ails you, that, rather ominously, your friends won't recognize you when you return home:
Nearby is a rather menacing-looking jack-in-the-box harlequin clown laughing ominously:
You then spot Pinocchio with Lampwick as they stand outside a crystal palace (resembling the one on Main Street, interestingly) smashing windows with bricks. Nearby is a bonfire of schoolbooks.
(On a side note, I have heard about Disney actively avoiding anything with tobacco in their product nowadays, and that will include in the upcoming remake of "Pinocchio", so I've been trying to come up with ways to do this without any smoking scenes of any kind, which wasn't easy.)
Passing by this, you then go down a small drop (similar to that one drop under the train trestle in Disneyland's Splash Mountain where Brer Rabbit is driving a handcar across). This drop takes you into a darker area where the Coachman smiles menacingly and says, "So, you blokes chose the easy life, did ya?" This takes you past an area where crates full of donkeys (who are actually transformed boys) are being prepped for shipping to salt mines. The boys-turned-donkeys are either braying or crying either "Mama! Mama!" or "Let me go, I don't wanna be a donkey!"
You then go past Pinocchio and Lampwick again, in a deserted area of Pleasure Island. Here, Lampwick is turning into a donkey, trying to cry out for help but having difficulty as he's being cut off by braying. Pinocchio is appropriately horrified:
Then you see Jiminy approach to warn Pinocchio to flee. You then see them fleeing, but find their escape route blocked by the Coachman, who tells everyone with a menacing grin, "You blokes goin' someplace?". But he's standing too close to the edge of the cliff, and the wildly-kicking and braying Lampwick kicks the Coachman in the stomach, knocking him off the cliff and falling into the water below. At the same time, Pinocchio and Jiminy jump off the edge into the water to escape. This is a huge waterfall drop, about twenty feet or so, but it won't be the last big drop. In any case, it would be similar to the "escape Pleasure Island" level from the Pinocchio video game (goes from 23:11 to 23:50):
This lands you in the ocean, but suddenly, you spot a sign on a buoy reading "Beware of Monstro!" Jiminy remembers who that is and warns you: "Look out for Monstro!"
As you proceed forward through darkness, you see a flash of lightning as the huge gaping jaws of Monstro appear to swallow you whole! Pinocchio and Jiminy fall through (in silhouette form). The open mouth of the whale may look familiar to you if you've been to Disneyland, as it clearly resembles Monstro's appearance at the entrance to Storybook Land, as well as the Pinocchio ride, given that it's set in darkness with only flashes of light to illuminate:
Inside the whale's belly, you hear Pinocchio and Jiminy calling out for Geppetto. Meanwhile, you find yourself floating past the wrecked remains of old boats that Monstro had eaten:
You finally see Pinocchio and Geppetto reuniting on a small boat, while Jiminy is standing in the entrance of a bottle. Pinocchio explains the need to escape from Monstro. Geppetto protests that there is no way out. But then Pinocchio gets the bright idea to build a fire inside the whale's mouth so that the smoke will make him sneeze them out. Geppetto is hesitant about the idea.
Pinocchio is running around collecting fire wood as Geppetto watches on in disbelief. Even Figaro and Cleo are confused as to what he is doing. The little wooden boy then sets a large enough fire that will in turn bring smoke (possibly one of those Smellitzers (like the kind that blast the smell of fresh-baked cookies from the Main Street bakery out into the street)). It's enough to fill the belly of the beast and cause him to sneeze. You can smell the smoke from the fire that he has set, and even see it on the screens that surrounds your boat. I'm not sure how the animation here, though. As great as Audio-Animatronics would be, there may need to be a shortcut here, possibly projections or something. The best that can be done with AAs is maybe something like the Olaf figure in Frozen Ever After.
Your boat turns away turns away back toward Monstro's mouth, which is now looking upward. As you turn away, you see a flash of light as a fire is illuminated. As you make your way up the lift toward the whale's mouth, you see Pinocchio, Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo on the raft, ready to leave, Geppetto warning that they won't make it past Monstro's teeth. Jiminy in the bottle is there, too, calling out for them to wait up for him. All the while, the whale is heard ominously sniffing, snorting and gasping as he gears up for a sneeze.
You crest the top of the lift as Pinocchio cries, "Hang on, Father! Here we go!" At that moment, Monstro lets out a sneeze that sends your boat down another huge drop, accompanied by a wave of water behind you. You blast past the whale's gaping mouth and out into daylight! You have escaped, for the whale is now behind you, a sort of reverse Storybook Land! The drop is, again though big, about twenty feet, is far less severe than the big drop on Splash Mountain. The effect of the sneeze is actually based on the down-up drop for the Laughing Place drop in Splash Mountain (at least at Disneyland; I don't know if it's like that at WDW), with water jets simulating the blast of water. This is the basis of that old Monstro water slide concept.
But what of Pinocchio's group? Did they escape? As your boat twists and turns tightly through the lagoon, you go behind some rocks to find that they have indeed escaped, as evidenced by them on a raft. Jiminy Cricket, too, is there, floating in the bottle:
But suddenly, at another bend, you spot Monstro lunging up to attack, outraged at being tricked. The effect of Monstro here is similar to that of the Monstro figure in Disneyland's Pinocchio ride:
You see Monstro figure rise up and knock you and Pinocchio's group backward. A blast of water from the whale's rising knocks you back. You then spot Pinocchio's group, their raft having been smashed to bits, save for a single plank that Geppetto is clinging for dear life to. Pinocchio is seen trying to grab this plank and haul his father to safety.
Suddenly, another Monstro figure rises out of the water and rams everyone: you, Pinocchio and Geppetto, behind another rock. All is quiet, but somehow, everyone has escaped from Monstro! Everyone is happy as you see Geppetto and Pinocchio hugging happily, while Jiminy Cricket jumps for joy and Figaro dives into Cleo's fishbowl to give the goldfish a kiss.
All told, the time from the drop to the reunion on the beach lasts about the same time as from the final drop to the load area of Grizzly River Run (about 45 seconds):
And that's end of the ride. I'm trying to figure out, however, how to have guests disembark, since they get on the boats at Pleasure Island. Any ideas?