Little mermaid ride video!!

[Demeter Tess]

PROS: The ride looks beautiful! The opening sequence and the descent into the sea were very atmospheric and well done. The AAs -- particularly the smaller characters like Skuttle, Flounder, Sebastian, Flotsam/Jetsam -- look excellent. Strong focus on the music = major "YAY!" from this music teacher. "Kiss the Girl," in particular, was absolutely adorable, and I love the facial expressions on Ariel and Eric.

CONS: The story bumbles about and the ride's pacing seems sluggish in places. It definitely could have used further set-up for the Ariel/Eric romance. (I do so love the scene aboard the ship where Ariel first falls in love with Eric, as well as the storm at sea and Eric's rescue. Not to mention the memorable image of Ariel on the rock as she reprises "Part of Your World.") The destruction of Ariel's grotto or at least some hint of Triton's resistance would have been nice leading into the Ursula AA scene. "Under the Sea" was super adorable, and I really admire Disney's desire to thoroughly recreate such a memorable musical moment, but I felt it could have been half its size - which would have opened up more time/space in the attraction for missing story elements. Also, the audio of "Under the Sea" sounded a bit off to me at first (I think someone mentioned this earlier in the thread), but after thinking about it for a bit, I think it's because the backing vocals have been removed -- seeing as Sebastian is the only AA in the scene who is "singing." I kept expecting more movement from the base of the Ursula AA. A little bit of a bounce or something, seeing as the character is so fluid and always swaying to the music. As others have said, the climax is practically non-existant and I was quite let-down to go from "Kiss the Girl" straight to the wedding scene with only minimal story-telling between the two.

Overall, I think it's just adorable and I'm so happy to see my childhood brought to life in such a colorful, fun, fabulous way! ("TLM" was the first movie I ever asked to see in the theatres - I was 5 at the time, and was absolutely smitten with Ariel for years afterward.) Yes, there are many things I would change, but I'm just thankful that this project came to fruition. I will happily ride it when it comes to WDW! (And keep my fingers crossed that Disney is open to tweaking the attraction in the future.)

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

is it me, or did sebastian sound a little... off? like something wasnt clicking in the guys accent.

anywho, it still looks fantastic!

Sebastion is now voice by Kevin Michael Richardson..Some may know him as Captain Gantu of Lilo & Stitch..For the Grown ups Cleveland Jr from the Cleveland Show.

He has taken the helm of the little crab since Samuel Wright retired from voice acting. So anything you have heard from Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it, The Kingdom hearts Games, & World of Color is Kevin Michael Richardson.

 

[BrerFrog]

I don't have a big problem with Ariel's hair, but her first two animatronics have a very creepy face! And if imagineering starts with storytelling, that ride starts the wrong way, because the ending is too abrupt!

But once it opens over in MK it will probably be my favorite ride in FL.

 

[David S.]

Thanks to the OP for finding and sharing the video.

I give the ride TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!!

This is the EXACT kind of Disney park attraction I love best. It is based on one of the Disney Animated Classics; has likeable characters (including plenty of cute animal critters); has VERY catchy and addictive sing-along songs (especially "Under the Sea"!); it has a high "cuteness quotient"; and it has a great story with the emotional payoff of a "Happily Ever After" Happy Ending. I LOVE the HAPPY attractions!

I loved how long the Under the Sea scene/song lasts, and how many critters they got in there. It really does a great job of capturing this moment in the film.

It doesn't bother me that Ursula has such a small role - I'm not a "villain" fan and prefer the good characters. Still, I can understand those who feel that maybe her part of the story could have been played up more for for story purposes, but it doesn't bother me.

This will appeal to both the young and the young at heart! Without having ridden it, I can tell it will EASILY be MK Top 10 material for my taste, and a contender for my Top 5. Even though I'm still bitter about losing Toontown and the plans to close Snow White (ironically none of which this fantastic new ride will be directly replacing), I HAVE to give MAJOR credit where credit is due!

Great job, Imagineers!

 

[lazyboy97o]

So your saying they should have created new scenes for the Little Mermaid strictly for the ride??

The percentage of people who ride Ariels Undersea attraction who truly have never seen the film is probably so extremely low I don't see a reason for Disney to feel obligated to show every detail concerning the story.

I never suggested anything about new scenes. Yes, the number of people who know the story may be small, but why should that screw with the attraction having a complete arc? We know Peter Pan defeats Captain Hook, but would it really be as effective to just have the attraction end? Is not one of the long standing criticisms of Snow White's Scary Adventures its disjointed story?

i think it is totally possible that they could use the originally planned big Ursula scene that I mentioned above in WDW

Highly doubtful.

 

[Disney's Mom]

First thing I noticed was all the flash photography as the ride started!

I notice that through the entire thing. I wish people would not use flash on these dark rides.

 

[jmick71]

Highly doubtful.

why do you think it is doubtful, i mean it was planned for the attraction, plus WDW prob has bigger budget(look at the facade) it would make the attraction that much better.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

I rode it on Sunday. All the criticisms are pretty much spot on (lighting, story pacing). However, the Ariel AA was much better in person than in the video.

It's a solid D. Not going to be the first ride you rush to when you get to the park, but it will still be the to-do list. A solid addition.

 

[David S.]

For my taste, it could EASILY be a "rope drop" attraction!

 

[muse1983]

I agree with the earlier post about the Under the Sea section. It seems like they could have cut out 30-40% of it to make room for a Ursula battle scene near the end.

 

[MotherOfBirds]

What do y'all think the chance are that WDI will go back and make changes in the areas of concern for our copy at WDW?

 

[muse1983]

why do you think it is doubtful, i mean it was planned for the attraction, plus WDW prob has bigger budget(look at the facade) it would make the attraction that much better.

I could see it happening. Tower of Terror is Disneyland has different elements than ToT does in WDW. So whos to say that WDW won't have a slightly altered version of the Little Mermaid?

 

[MAF]

There's absolutely no excuse why they should have nixed the Ursula scene. You either do the attraction right or just don't do it at all. I'm so sick of Disney cutting every corner these days to save a few bucks. :fork:

 

[muse1983]

If by the "Ursula scene" we are all referring to the original conceptual ride through that we saw, I'm still not entirely convinced that we didnt get exactly what we had seen in the first place. It looks like the only difference was that the actual section in which you see her being defeated was scaled down a little but the same effect was used as what it appeared to be in the concept stages.

 

[MAF]

There was a scene with an oversized Ursula that was cut. Supposedly it was shown in the blue sky cellar at DL. It was nixed due to "budget cuts" aka pinching every penny because they want to take the cheap way out.

 

[muse1983]

There was a scene with an oversized Ursula that was cut. Supposedly it was shown in the blue sky cellar at DL. It was nixed due to "budget cuts" aka pinching every penny because they want to take the cheap way out.

The blue sky cellar is the video I'm referring to. We see the camera pass by a dedicated section (which im thinking is really the only thing that was cut) and see see what appears to be Ursula in a cut out form with a backdrop behind her. It seems to be the same thing that we see in the ride but just not quite as large. Was there an article etc that clearly stated that there was indeed suppose to be a second huge animatronic Ursula? The only thing I have ever seen where a second Ursula animatronic was shown was in the original concept ride through of the attraction on the Little Mermaid 2006 dvd release. While the ride looked AMAZING, I always felt it was a little far fetched and looked as if it would require at least double the budget of the current version that we have now (which I still think looks fantastic).

 

[Neverland]

The blue sky cellar is the video I'm referring to. We see the camera pass by a dedicated section (which im thinking is really the only thing that was cut) and see see what appears to be Ursula in a cut out form with a backdrop behind her. It seems to be the same thing that we see in the ride but just not quite as large.

Animatronic or no, there still should have been an Ursula defeat scene. With a cutout would have been fine. Just something other than a five inch Ursula with no explanation would have been nice, and would have made the story less muddled.

 

[jmick71]

The blue sky cellar is the video I'm referring to. We see the camera pass by a dedicated section (which im thinking is really the only thing that was cut) and see see what appears to be Ursula in a cut out form with a backdrop behind her. It seems to be the same thing that we see in the ride but just not quite as large. Was there an article etc that clearly stated that there was indeed suppose to be a second huge animatronic Ursula? The only thing I have ever seen where a second Ursula animatronic was shown was in the original concept ride through of the attraction on the Little Mermaid 2006 dvd release. While the ride looked AMAZING, I always felt it was a little far fetched and looked as if it would require at least double the budget of the current version that we have now (which I still think looks fantastic).

there was never a plan to put a Huge Ursula, but the original planned scene which is shown in the picture would be perfect. It is almost like the monstro scene in pinocchio's daring journey.(look in this video 1:30-1:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnXKpH9JGn4&feature=related )

this is the originally planned Ursula scene... http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidethemagic/4694482399/
Remember just because she is a cut out in the model does not mean she would have been a cut out in the ride. in this model most if not all the characters were cutouts

 

[wserratore1963]

WE HAVE A FULL VIDEO OF THE RIDE!!!!! ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aIarm5FEQXI

This looks like a fantastic return to "Disney Tradition"; im sure this will be HUGE hit on both coats!

 

[wayneway]

Although I highly doubt it, perhaps the show building is bigger at WDW and they will add a little more to the ride....Yeah I know...dream on...It's still a nice dark ride as is..