I see nothing wrong with that. The ride is about running away from home and the panic that sets in when the world is scary, not about his desire to be a real boy. A Lion King ride that a was a rafting adventure through the Elephant Graveyard chase or a Just Can't Wait to be King themed darkride would be a blast, I don't need King Simba to show up if the ride isn't about that.
Alice never shows Alice waking up. Snow White didn't show Snow passing out or waking up for decades because the ride was about escaping the Witch. Now, its a messy attraction that lost its identity. Recreating movie moments is generally not a great way to go for darkrides. Its a different medium. Pinocchio becoming a real boys has nothing to do with the story they chose to tell in the medium of a theme park attraction.
We’re all overthinking this as all theme park fans do. Tony Baxter created a fine ride. But there are reasons it doesn’t stick in guest’s memories as a must-do repeat experience.
And I think there are two main reasons for this:
1) There’s a bit too much emphasis on atmosphere and build-up; just enough to make it feel slow, repetitive and (ironically) lifeless.
2) It tries to have its cake and eat it too. If it’s a book report, include the ending. Don’t make it so literal right up to the finale and then change gears. If it’s—as you say—a ride meant to concentrate on theme, then run with it and don’t be constrained by the film plot.
This is why the original dark rides were so effective and why Pan and Toad are so still much fun. Toad is about chaos. Pan is about flying away from the ordinary.
Snow White *used* to be about fear. Now it’s about reading a film synopsis to a toddler.
And Alice…
I really like the newer Alice ride. It was overall a great upgrade, but it came at a cost. The original Alice ride was about feeling lost and disoriented, and boy, did it deliver on that level by throwing the film script away and exaggerating specific imagery from the movie that created the desired nightmarish effect. The new ride faithfully (almost) follows the film, and the escape from the Queen back into daylight is supposed to represent waking up. Everything that follows is whimsical bonus material dictated by the ride’s weird layout. Any complaints I have about loss of weirdness and fear pale in light of the fact that the current ride is very popular, really fun, and does succeed by switching its theme to focus on the film’s humor.
In its current form, Pinocchio doesn’t quite work and is generally regarded as the weakest FL dark ride; the one to skip if you’re pressed for time. It needs to lean more toward either being a straight retelling or really running with your interpretation and replace the dull moments with more exciting events that aren’t restricted to the movie’s version of events.
But in the meantime, yes, I’m grateful that it exists and has not yet been turned into “Elsa’s Magical Dream Enchantment.”
