I have had two sources strongly hint, and one say straight out, that SW is going to close.
The two that hinted, also hinted that the princesses would be taking up residence in that space. Whether or not it is their permanent home, I don't know.
(I know you have heard an alternate rumor. When I passed that rumor along to sources is when I got the SW info.)
(This post is not directed specifically at Lee, and I thank him for his info.)
As far as my thoughts on the possibility of losing Snow White - in the immortal words of Darth Vader....
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I, for one, will be
DEVASTATED if we lose our Snow White's Adventures dark ride! It's in my MK Top 10, and it's a classic found in EVERY MK-style "Castle Park" in the world (except, of course, Hong Kong, which is missing more classics than they have!) If we lose this ride, we become less like Disneyland and more like Hong Kong, which is not a good thing, in my book!
IMO, the current WDW version of Snow White BLOWS AWAY the first WDW version from 1971! The original focused on the witch too much for my taste and ONLY focused on the dark elements of the story.
The current version strikes a faithful balance between the light and dark elements of the film, and is not only more faithful to the film than the first WDW version, it is more faithful to the film than ANY version of the ride that has ever existed!
Compared to the DL version, WDW has the much better happy ending scene, which is my favorite scene in the entire ride! DL's is somewhat awkwardly tacked on at the end, whereas WDW's has the nice buildup where you see Snow White about to be awakened by the Prince, with the lovely choral version of "Some Day My Prince Will Come" playing. And then you see Snow White and the Prince waving goodbye to the dwarfs, and Dopey waving goodbye to guests from a bridge up above you, next to some cute birdies and a squirrel! (or is it a chipmunk)
I always enjoy waving bye to Dopey on the way out!
I do realize that WDW has the better, longer, beautiful ending scene simply because there was more room for it based on the order and placement of the earlier scenes, and because WDW had a lot of space left over at the end since the original finale was cut - but still, it's there, and this ending allows the ride to emotionally resonate with me better than the DL version.
I also love how the fun cottage scene with the dwarfs provides a nice break from the early dark scenes, just as the film had these charming, fun, lighter moments as well.
Also, the scenes in the WDW version stick closer to the order they occur in the original film, which is also a strength of the WDW version.
Lastly, I LIKE the fact that the witch appears less in the WDW version, as I prefer spending time with the dwarfs, the animals, and Snow White rather than the old hag! These are the characters I actually LIKE in the movie
If anyone is interested, here is an AMAZING page that gives a complete breakdown and thorough review of all 4 classic Snow White dark rides worldwide, as well as every past iteration of these rides (including the original WDW version)
MAIN PAGE:
http://www.kennetti.fi/snowwhitescaryadventures.html
PAGE FOR WDW's CURRENT VERSION:
http://www.kennetti.fi/swscary_10.html
As a fan of the Fab 5, I'm already (in the online minority) disapointed that we are losing Toontown. People always talk about the "cheap tents" but for me, I hardly ever go in the tents. For me, the gems of Toontown that will be heartbraking to lose will be Mickey's House and Minnie's House, with their whimsical, colorful, "squash and stretch" architecture; and charming interiors with layers and layers of details, funny gags, charming propping and placemaking, unique audio (WACKY Radio, Minnie's answering machine, etc.)
Lastly, I LOVE the music loop in Toontown, with all those wonderful arrangements of those fun and whimsical classic scores and songs from the Silly Symphonies and Fab 5 character shorts (such as "Funny Little Bunnies", "The Country Cousin", "Who's Afraid Of the Big Bad Wolf", "Steamboat Willie/Turkey In The Straw", etc)
Toontown is yet another thing that has become part of the design of a "Castle park" (missing only in Paris and again, Hong Kong) that is
STAYING in DL, and in a nicer version than WDWs, as well (with the Roger Rabbit dark ride, downtown section, and Chip and Dale's Treehouse in the suburban section - although I do think Goofy's Barnstormer is better than Gadget's Go-Coaster because it can run two trains and is themed to a more "classic" and better-known character).
For years I've wanted the rumored Little Mermaid ride to finally give us another Fantasyland dark ride, and also give us a long-awaited replacement for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But for me, getting this at the expense of Toontown and possibly Snow White would mix sadness with the joy. WHY must they ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS INSIST on taking something away everytime we get something new?
There is nearly 30,000 acres to work with here, "TDO". The legendary man you are named after, Walt Disney, said "Here in Florida, we have something we've never had at Disneyland - the blessing of size. There's enough land here to hold
ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"!
We should have NEVER even lost our Toad ride. TDO pretended the ONLY way they could find room for Pooh was to tear down Toad. I clearly remember online fans on Usenet newsgroups were posting satellite photos of all the extra land that they are NOW expanding on, while "experts" were posting that this land couldn't be used because it was too close to the fireworks! But we could have clearly kept our Toad and STILL gotten Pooh!
TDO Commandment - "Thou shalt not ever, ever, ever, ever, under any circumstances, have more than three dark rides based on a Disney Animated Classic film in your Fantasyland! Pay no attention to that park across the country that has
FIVE in their Fantasyland, plus Roger in Toontown and their Pooh is in Critter Country for a total of
SEVEN!
Current Animated Classic Darkride Score - DL 7, MK 3. THIS IS PATHETIC, TDO!
I don't want to get too upset about this possible Snow White removal until we know for sure, but if it happens, combined with losing Toontown, taking a year off from WDW for a LONG AWAITED return to Disneyland is looking more and more appealing, especially after the DCA makeover is complete in around 2012/2013.
They are only missing a few iconic "Castle park" classics that can be found in MK - Country Bear Jamboree, Mickey's Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress, and Peoplemover (although I have a hunch the Peoplemover will return soon in some capacity)
By contrast, the following classic attractions found in Disneyland are MISSING from the MK, or could be/will be soon:
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Alice In Wonderland
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Casey Junior Circus Train
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Enchanted Tiki Room (Walt's original show)
Indiana Jones Adventure
Sailing Ship Columbia
Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes
Original Main Street Attractions (Cinema and Arcade)
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Chip and Dale's Tree House
Mickey's House (closing soon in MK)
Minnie's House (closing soon in MK)
Donald's Boat (closing soon in MK)
Gadget/Barnstormer (re-themed soon in MK)
Snow White's Adventures (could be closing soon in MK)
This to me, is a HUGE difference in favor of DL. Too bad I'm a 3 days drive away and HATE flying!
SAVE SNOW WHITE'S ADVENTURES!
