Finally made it onto Under the Sea...not impressed

[Gabe1]

It is a shame that an attraction that was designed for all guests was dumb'd down to a preschool primary age attraction. While Crush is cute, if you don't have a child participating you really need to enjoy watching children have a good time much like Belle's Tales in FLE.

Last week I had my 22 year old DD in Under the Seas with Nemo, she hadn't been on it since it was Nemo-ized, not sure why but we just never wandered down there her last few trips, guess I didn't want to torture her until now.
She was floored that she was stuffed into a clam and forced to watch projections of Nemo and friends instead of the aquarium of yesteryear. She ranked the attraction redo right up there with Stitch's Supersonic Celebration that she also never quite recovered from enduring.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I know it's been around for some time now, but I only just recently made it onto the Under the Sea-Journey of The Little Mermaid ride. Waits were often long and the one time we had a FP the ride itself broke down, so it took a while to finally make it on. Being part of the whole, big "new" Fantasyland, I expected it to be a pretty cool and sophisticated attraction with it being a newer ride and all.

Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed.

The clam-shell omnimover car idea is cute, but the cars themselves are WAY too close together. This makes it even worse when a lot of the ride has the cars and a slant angle where you view the insides of other cars and see so many other people. The large room filled with the characters is awful because for a time the cars face each other from opposite sides of the room, so your attention is drawn toward seeing the people (as well as being self-conscious about others seeing you). This design MASSIVELY takes away from the idea of being immersed into a ride and the fantasy world it presents.

With it being a newer ride I expected a little more in terms of advancement of the animatronics, but there were so many basic-looking things here with most things/animals just spinning or making the most simple of movements.

The actual concept of the visuals of the ride was good, and I liked going down (and below) at the beginning. I also thought a lot of the individual scenes had great potential, but they were not nearly as visually impressive as they could be (and again, the closeness of the cars and seeing so many riders in them distracted from this).

Overall, it was a good concept with the potential for great visuals and with so many characters it could have really pushed the envelope with animatronics.

But the cons far outweight the pros as it felt like it was all put together in a very rushed way, attention to details were almost non-existent, I saw animatronics that should have been moving that were not, and the animatronics that were there were very basic (except for perhaps Ursula, who was OK). Certain visuals COULD have been so much better, but looked like they were finished half-heartedly.

In should have been a fun ride and could have been a visual treat for the eyes and senses, but in my opinion it ended up feeling kind of cheap and dated-looking for such a newer attraction. And dated-looking isn't a bad thing when you have the charm and joy that comes with older Disney attractions, but this one seemed to miss the mark on so many levels.

All IMHO of course.

Other thoughts or opinions?

I wrote a review of LM a few months ago. My basic assessment was that the ride is "crap". Like you, I like the ride's beginning, when you appear to go underwater, and the Ursula AA is terrific. But everything else looks like major budget cuts took place. Cheap, tacky, cynical, heedless, plastic fish glued on walls, very obvious black pole coming out of Ariel's back during the "Under the Sea" scene, girders and poles very visible...just pathetically awful. TDO should be ashamed. I don't buy the the ride is "just for kids". Walt always made it plain what he thought of that excuse for shoddy workmanship. I have ridden LM twice and that's it for me. What Iger doesn't get, and what TDO doesn't get, is that park visitors are very aware, thanks to the internet, and KNOW when something's below par. Plus Disney has serious competition now from Universal - park guests can compare and adjust expectations. Shame on TDO for that LM ride. It doesn't even live up to its queue! Pathetic.

 

[DW1]

It just seems to me like the same idea done over and over again. Clamshell ride through different scenes. I would love to see an original idea somewhere.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I seem to be one of the few that actually enjoyed it, and my DD's loved it so that is really all that matters.

The sad thing about the above type of comment is that it enables TDO to get away with creating crappy attractions.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Interesting comparison to PP. A beloved attraction with consistently long waits. TDO removes Snow White and long ago Toad and people complain. They put in a dark ride which is actually a step above standard dark rides and people complain.

Peter Pan's Flight tells a good story and tells it well. The way it was designed holds up astonishingly well, and it has real charm, despite its age. LM doesn't have any charm, and tells a story very badly. That's the difference between the two, and why one is much more popular than the other.

 

[kelknight84]

The sad thing about the above type of comment is that it enables TDO to get away with creating crappy attractions.

I didn't think it was crap, but you also have to take it for what it is. A family ride designed for kids. As fun as the "groundbreaking" attractions are at Universal most use a ton of screens and projectors and are not for everyone in the family to enjoy.

 

[Magenta Panther]

And in twenty years when they update or remove LM people will be clamoring about losing such a classic.

Perhaps, but Peter Pan's Flight will STILL be more popular than Little Mermaid. Bet on it.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I didn't think it was crap, but you also have to take it for what it is. A family ride designed for kids. As fun as the "groundbreaking" attractions are at Universal most use a ton of screens and projectors and are not for everyone in the family to enjoy.

IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DESIGNED 'FOR KIDS'. That's the point.

 

[kelknight84]

Peter Pan's Flight tells a good story and tells it well. The way it was designed holds up astonishingly well, and it has real charm, despite its age. LM doesn't have any charm, and tells a story very badly. That's the difference between the two, and why one is much more popular than the other.

You can barely compare LM to Peter Pan. PPF has had years and years to become what it is plus has much less capacity than LM resulting in longer waits.

 

[kelknight84]

IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DESIGNED 'FOR KIDS'. That's the point.

It's a family park, it's designed for kids to enjoy with their family.

 

[Mr. Peabody]

I wrote a review of LM a few months ago. My basic assessment was that the ride is "crap". Like you, I like the ride's beginning, when you appear to go underwater, and the Ursula AA is terrific. But everything else looks like major budget cuts took place. Cheap, tacky, cynical, heedless, plastic fish glued on walls, very obvious black pole coming out of Ariel's back during the "Under the Sea" scene, girders and poles very visible...just pathetically awful. TDO should be ashamed. I don't buy the the ride is "just for kids". Walt always made it plain what he thought of that excuse for shoddy workmanship. I have ridden LM twice and that's it for me. What Iger doesn't get, and what TDO doesn't get, is that park visitors are very aware, thanks to the internet, and KNOW when something's below par. Plus Disney has serious competition now from Universal - park guests can compare and adjust expectations. Shame on TDO for that LM ride. It doesn't even live up to its queue! Pathetic.

The ride portion of the Little Mermaid at MK is identical to its counterpart in DCA. Can't blame TDO for the ride's creative failures.

 

[Mr. Peabody]

I didn't think it was crap, but you also have to take it for what it is. A family ride designed for kids. As fun as the "groundbreaking" attractions are at Universal most use a ton of screens and projectors and are not for everyone in the family to enjoy.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is a kiddie attraction. Ariel's Undersea Adventure is intended to be a ride for the whole family, like the Haunted Mansion or IASW.

 

[marni1971]

Also, I have never been able to figure out how a ride like this one or PP that has a continuous moving belt always has such long lines. Get on, and get off not that hard people.

Simple answer?

Fastpass. That's the reason.

 

[Ginzuishou]

“You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway”
― Walt Disney Company

I get confused when I read this quote. Kids are Kids and Adults are (grown up) kids, so, according to this quote, why can't you just aim for kids?

oh well.

 

[Crystal J]

I was really excited to ride it - I was born in 81 making me 8 when TLM came out - right in Disney's target demographic so I grew up watching the movie. I remember going to see it in the theater after church with our pastors son - that is how much this movie has stuck with me (I am not sure how enthused he was about a mermaid movie, but went with us anyway).

The biggiest issue I had was the lack of story telling - we have Kiss the Girl - Bam - they are Married - uh - forget something??? I left disturbed and my poor mom had to listen to me whine for at least an hour or so. I read somewhere they the version in DCA is closed for a lenghty refurbishment and they are reworking some of the scenes. It re-opens in May so I am curious to see what they do with it.

Give then choice of PP (Not that into that movie) or TLM (Love the movie) I would choose PP because of the details and story telling (like the kids flying past the moon in the london scene).

The ride that was an even bigger let down - Nemo at Epcot, I just didn't get it.

 

[Communicore]

The ride portion of the Little Mermaid at MK is identical to its counterpart in DCA. Can't blame TDO for the ride's creative failures.

I didn't get a cheap vibe when I went on the DCA one. Well, the building it is in is kind of cheap, but the ride did not seem cheap.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I've seen Little Mermaid parade floats that are better then whole ride put together

 

[Brer Josh]

My gripe has nothing to do with the ride and everything to do with the morons that take photos the whole time.

 

[danlb_2000]

It's a family park, it's designed for kids to enjoy with their family.

When you design a park for kids, this is what you get:

https://storybookland.com/

This is a cute park, and a great place to take your kids, but the attractions are mainly for kids, adults won't be to excited about most of them and I doubt you would ever see adults here without children. Disney has always tried to have attractions that can be enjoyed equally by all members of the family. Now, not all attractions at Disney appeal equally to all ages, but the number that appeal to only a very narrow demographic is pretty small. This is the difference between a true family park, and a park where the whole family goes just for the enjoyment of the kids.

 

[ChrisFL]

so question, which clam ride is better? Nemo or TLM?