News Disneyland to give Snow White’s Scary Adventures dark ride a major facelift in 2020

[Brer Oswald]

What scenes from Peter Pan AREN'T from the movie?

I guess you COULD choose to say that it's not a book report if we're involved in some way, but I think the line of "we are participating" and "we are passively observing" is thinner than some here are speculating unless we really are being chased by some antagonist for the length of the ride (ex. Alice, are we participants or observers? To what degree/for how long? At what point does it shift from a book report to whatever else people want to call it so that they don't have to call it a book report?)

I agree there's some nuance there, but it still seems to me that the main difference for most people in determining whether or not something is a book report ride is whether or not the poster likes the ride in question.

I don’t recall the “Flying over and through Neverland” section in the film. The ride is “fly with Peter Pan over London. Go to Neverland and watch him fight Pirates.”

It shares a lot with the film, but the morales of the story aren’t present in the ride. The characters don’t grow and change like they do in the film. The characters don’t have motivation for their actions. The ride doesn’t even cover the “never growing up” aspect of the plot.

I don’t think it’s fair to say that “book report” rides are only rides that I dislike. I consider Splash and Pooh well done book reports.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I don’t recall the “Flying over and through Neverland” section in the film. The ride is “fly with Peter Pan over London. Go to Neverland and watch him fight Pirates.”

It shares a lot with the film, but the morales of the story aren’t present in the ride. The characters don’t grow and change like they do in the film. The characters don’t have motivation for their actions. The ride doesn’t even cover the “never growing up” aspect of the plot.

I don’t think it’s fair to say that “book report” rides are only rides that I dislike. I consider Splash and Pooh well done book reports.

I'm not super familiar with the Peter Pan film (NOT one of my favorites), but there is a shot, right when we arrive, when we see Neverland with the rainbow in an image that bares a passing resemblance to what we pass on the ride.

Additionally, we may not see the figures/scenes in that exact context, but we do see the mermaids, the indians, etc. in a way that is very similar to their depiction on the ride. And it does make sense, in a way; just as in the film Peter Pan moves through different vignettes (the Indians, the mermaids, etc.) before eventually cohering into a plot, so does Peter Pan's Flight. Arguably like a book report.

The morals of the dark rides and the films aren't necessarily consistent. We don't see Pinocchio in the ride do anything other than react to his obstacles, or prove that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. We don't see Alice learn that perhaps reality and growing up is better than a violent fantasy world. Snow White the film spends very little time concerning itself with the Queen/the witch, and I don't know that there's much there that connects to the morals or lessons of the film. Themes, sure, but not morals.

It may or may not be fair to say that book reports only describe rides people don't like, and I know that that belief doesn't describe you personally. However, I haven't seen anything thusfar to sufficiently convince me otherwise for most people.

 

[Professortango1]

I don’t recall the “Flying over and through Neverland” section in the film. The ride is “fly with Peter Pan over London. Go to Neverland and watch him fight Pirates.”

It shares a lot with the film, but the morales of the story aren’t present in the ride. The characters don’t grow and change like they do in the film. The characters don’t have motivation for their actions. The ride doesn’t even cover the “never growing up” aspect of the plot.

I don’t think it’s fair to say that “book report” rides are only rides that I dislike. I consider Splash and Pooh well done book reports.

But then why is Tiger Lilly tied up in the waters around Skull Rock, like she was in the movie? Why are the Darling children held captive on the boat, like in the movie? Why does it end with the flying ship and Peter at the helm, like the movie? Its certainly rushed, but it is a book report ride.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I'm not super familiar with the Peter Pan film (NOT one of my favorites), but there is a shot, right when we arrive, when we see Neverland with the rainbow in an image that bares a passing resemblance to what we pass on the ride.
View attachment 524037Additionally, we may not see the figures/scenes in that exact context, but we do see the mermaids, the indians, etc. in a way that is very similar to their depiction on the ride. And it does make sense, in a way; just as in the film Peter Pan moves through different vignettes (the Indians, the mermaids, etc.) before eventually cohering into a plot, so does Peter Pan's Flight. Arguably like a book report.

The morals of the dark rides and the films aren't necessarily consistent. We don't see Pinocchio in the ride do anything other than react to his obstacles, or prove that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. We don't see Alice learn that perhaps reality and growing up is better than a violent fantasy world. Snow White the film spends very little time concerning itself with the Queen/the witch, and I don't know that there's much there that connects to the morals or lessons of the film. Themes, sure, but not morals.

It may or may not be fair to say that book reports only describe rides people don't like, and I know that that belief doesn't describe you personally. However, I haven't seen anything thusfar to sufficiently convince me otherwise for most people.

The tour through Neverland isn’t in the film. When you pass the Natives, you don’t go through that side story like you do in the film. Same with the mermaids and Lost Boys.

I consider a “book report” ride any ride that attempts to summarize the plot of a film in a few minutes. Peter Pan doesn’t do this. It shares the premise of the film, flying over London to Neverland. But the detailed plot isn’t a focus. The ride instead focuses on the flight aspect, which is why it makes such a strong impact, and provides a cohesive experience. We aren’t following Wendy’s Story. Nor Michael’s and John’s. All that is expected of the audience is that they know of Peter Pan. You know that he lives in Neverland, he flies, and he takes people there. That’s it. And even if you don’t know that, they introduce the concept quickly and effectively.

I didn’t consider Snow White a book report either. It has scenes from the film, but rather than trying to retell the entire story, focuses on one element. The Evil Queen.

 

[Brer Oswald]

But then why is Tiger Lilly tied up in the waters around Skull Rock, like she was in the movie? Why are the Darling children held captive on the boat, like in the movie? Why does it end with the flying ship and Peter at the helm, like the movie? Its certainly rushed, but it is a book report ride.

Ok. Here’s how I look at it. None of these elements were there opening day. It was designed as a flight over London to Neverland, which it still is to this day. I don’t consider the added movie characters enough to transition the ride into a book report of the film. Captain Hook is a bad guy, so naturally, he kidnaps children and Peter would fight him. I don’t have to see nor care about the movie to understand this.

 

[PiratesMansion]

The tour through Neverland isn’t in the film. When you pass the Natives, you don’t go through that side story like you do in the film. Same with the mermaids and Lost Boys.

I consider a “book report” ride any ride that attempts to summarize the plot of a film in a few minutes. Peter Pan doesn’t do this. It shares the premise of the film, flying over London to Neverland. But the detailed plot isn’t a focus. The ride instead focuses on the flight aspect, which is why it makes such a strong impact, and provides a cohesive experience. We aren’t following Wendy’s Story. Nor Michael’s and John’s. All that is expected of the audience is that they know of Peter Pan. You know that he lives in Neverland, he flies, and he takes people there. That’s it. And even if you don’t know that, they introduce the concept quickly and effectively.

I didn’t consider Snow White a book report either. It has scenes from the film, but rather than trying to retell the entire story, focuses on one element. The Evil Queen.

But it is. The film goes to all of those locations exactly as the ride does. That they don't do it from a flying pirate ship in the film doesn't mean it's a moot point.

What's the plot of the film? Fly over London, episodic adventures in Neverland, pirates/Captain Hook. Just like the ride.

Snow White may change the perspective but doesn't change the events.

All of those opening day choices that made the rides more independent from the source material, in my view, are irrelevant. Maybe you could argue the original versions weren't book reports, but that doesn't mean it isn't true now.

 

[Brer Oswald]

But it is. The film goes to all of those locations exactly as the ride does. That they don't do it from a flying pirate ship in the film doesn't mean it's a moot point.

What's the plot of the film? Fly over London, episodic adventures in Neverland, pirates/Captain Hook. Just like the ride.

Snow White may change the perspective but doesn't change the events.

All of those opening day choices that were more independent, in my view, are irrelevant. Maybe you could argue the original versions, which didn't feel as beholden to the films themselves, weren't book reports, but that doesn't mean it isn't true now.

Agree to disagree.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

They're bloody spookhouse rides. No need to give them that much analyses.

 

[180º]

Are people really trying to narrowly define "book report ride" to keep their favorite rides from getting that label?

First of all, being 'a book report' doesn't necessarily mean the ride is bad. The phrase has negative connotations because some (or many?) book report rides are lazy and not that good.

Secondly, if a ride has scenes from the movie in roughly the order they happened in the movie, then that's a book report ride.

"X happened. Then Y happened. Then Z happened. Just like from the movie. The end." - Book report

Doesn't matter whether the scenes are static or dynamic or whether you've been put into the story or just watching. You're just rehashing the movie.

Which can be a great ride if the story is told well, has great SFX, and an innovative ride mechanic.

Or it can be horribly boring with slow moving vehicles passing static tableaus.

Right! As with anything, ask, “Might this ride suffer from adhering to the sequence of events as depicted in the film?” For Mermaid, the answer is easily yes. For Pan it’s no. If you can make the book report exciting, great! If you can’t, find another way.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Who coined "Book Report Ride"? Like "Disneyland is not a museum", "Plussing" and various other sayings, one Disney dork says it and a bunch of others repeat it nonstop.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The 1971 WDW Snow White was the reverse of Peter Pan. Started out book report, than became a 4th wall breaking fever dream.

It also took visual references from the movie and distorted them to be even more frightening. The spider in the dungeon is now giant, the "monster" that Dopey mistook Snow White for is now a real ghost etc.

The original WDW Fantasyland versions were the best translation of movie to dark ride. WED finally had the space and budget to make these rides longer and more visually interesting, but was still focused on making these things first and foremost exciting. The 1983 Fantasyland redo is when they started getting to be more literal translations of the movies in three dimensions and its only gotten worse from there.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Good points. My only real issue with Pan at Disneyland is the length of the ride. 2 minutes is entirely too short for the typical wait times and for the overall ride experience. For those reasons I didn't bother with it on my last few visits. In comparison Little Mermaid rarely has long waits and the ride is 6+ minutes.

For some reason I thought the newer Shanghai Peter Pan ride was significantly longer than the others, but it's only 3 minutes. Same as Florida and Tokyo. It just crams more scenes into the same run time.

I think WED/WDI realized they made Peter Pan too short at Disneyland, which is why all subsequent versions were made longer. Except DLP. Despite being a much larger park, the three Fantasyland dark rides are only slightly different from their 1983 California counterparts in terms of length. May have been a budget thing, or just a preference on the part of WDI to do those versions.

 

[lazyboy97o]

For some reason I thought the newer Shanghai Peter Pan ride was significantly longer than the others, but it's only 3 minutes. Same as Florida and Tokyo. It just crams more scenes into the same run time.

I think WED/WDI realized they made Peter Pan too short at Disneyland, which is why all subsequent versions were made longer. Except DLP. Despite being a much larger park, the three Fantasyland dark rides are only slightly different from their 1983 California counterparts in terms of length. May have been a budget thing, or just a preference on the part of WDI to do those versions.

Clearly Tom was just sucking up to Tony.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

The soundtrack for Peter Pan's Flight at Shanghai really tries too hard to be epic. This ain't an Avengers movie, you're riding over a tiny model of London!

 

[BrianLo]

Good points. My only real issue with Pan at Disneyland is the length of the ride. 2 minutes is entirely too short for the typical wait times and for the overall ride experience. For those reasons I didn't bother with it on my last few visits. In comparison Little Mermaid rarely has long waits and the ride is 6+ minutes.

I very much agree. There is something to be said for an air conditioned distraction that you can merely waltz onto whenever you happen to walk by.

I actually don't dislike Pooh as much as everyone else for this reason. Some rides are worth effort and some are not. Pan is nice - but not really if it carries any wait times.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Even if it's air-conditioned, Poo is such a short ride, you might as well just go in a gift shop instead. More AC and no waiting for those.

 

[Professortango1]

Ok. Here’s how I look at it. None of these elements were there opening day. It was designed as a flight over London to Neverland, which it still is to this day. I don’t consider the added movie characters enough to transition the ride into a book report of the film. Captain Hook is a bad guy, so naturally, he kidnaps children and Peter would fight him. I don’t have to see nor care about the movie to understand this.

You don't, but I do. Its why I love the first half of the ride and the 2nd half ruins the ride for me. Just a jumbled mess. I wish they would tear out the 2nd half and keep the theme of wonder and adventure rather than showing us scenes. Show me Neverland, not just Hook's boat.

 

[Brer Oswald]

You don't, but I do. Its why I love the first half of the ride and the 2nd half ruins the ride for me. Just a jumbled mess. I wish they would tear out the 2nd half and keep the theme of wonder and adventure rather than showing us scenes. Show me Neverland, not just Hook's boat.

I think Florida gets it better, and when I’m describing it, that’s the one I think of. I forgot how quickly Disneyland’s passed by Neverland.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

You don't, but I do. Its why I love the first half of the ride and the 2nd half ruins the ride for me. Just a jumbled mess. I wish they would tear out the 2nd half and keep the theme of wonder and adventure rather than showing us scenes. Show me Neverland, not just Hook's boat.

I think Florida gets it better, and when I’m describing it, that’s the one I think of. I forgot how quickly Disneyland’s passed by Neverland.

Disneyland's just passes over Neverland due to the overall lack of space. In WDW, they had the room to build a larger set you fly through with figures of the Indians, Mermaids and Lost Boys. Plus they found a way to recycle Hook firing at you from the 1955 original.

Then in 1983 for Disneyland they tried to cram as many of the WDW figures into the existing ride space as possible and that's why it doesn't work as well from a staging standpoint. Plus you go by so fast you don't get as good a chance to see them.

When Tokyo's version was updated, they tried to have it both ways by splitting the original Neverland scene and building a Neverland model in one room and then having the figures in their own scene before the Pirate ship. Plus they also changed the layout of London to match the California ride too. The end result has better surface detail and lighting, but doesn't work as well.

It's for these reasons that WDW's Peter Pan is both the best and worst version of the ride. Best for staging and set design (thanks to being done by Gen 1 WED), worst for show quality and effects because it hasn't really been touched in 50 years and still has things like Hook sounding nothing like Hook and the tin foil volcano.

 

[Professortango1]

Disneyland's just passes over Neverland due to the overall lack of space. In WDW, they had the room to build a larger set you fly through with figures of the Indians, Mermaids and Lost Boys. Plus they found a way to recycle Hook firing at you from the 1955 original.

Then in 1983 for Disneyland they tried to cram as many of the WDW figures into the existing ride space as possible and that's why it doesn't work as well from a staging standpoint. Plus you go by so fast you don't get as good a chance to see them.

When Tokyo's version was updated, they tried to have it both ways by splitting the original Neverland scene and building a Neverland model in one room and then having the figures in their own scene before the Pirate ship. Plus they also changed the layout of London to match the California ride too. The end result has better surface detail and lighting, but doesn't work as well.

It's for these reasons that WDW's Peter Pan is both the best and worst version of the ride. Best for staging and set design (thanks to being done by Gen 1 WED), worst for show quality and effects because it hasn't really been touched in 50 years and still has things like Hook sounding nothing like Hook and the tin foil volcano.

Yeah, the WDW version is a better ride layout, but the voice acting always killed it for me. It felt like some random Imagineer did one take and they said "great, that's fine."