Snow White to Close Thursday, May 31

[TP2000]

We're getting Mermaid too, so it'll be 9 to 3.

I didn't include it because it's not a traditional Fantasyland-style dark ride.

A traditional dark ride, mostly found in Fantasyland's around the world, is a little car seating 4 to 6 people travelling on a bus bar system. The sets are intimate, the plotline is basic and effects are activated only when a car trips a sensor along the bus bar, and the entire ride is almost always in the "dark" with black lighting effects. Thus the term "dark ride".

Snow White is a dark ride, whereas while Haunted Mansion takes place in the dark, it's not really a traditional dark ride. The Ominmover ride system creates an entirely different class of attraction, with bigger sets and much different types of storytelling; most notably the plotline and animation is cycling constantly on a loop as the vehicles glide by randomly. No specific effect is triggered by any one vehicle passing by, unlike a dark ride. An Omnimover like Mansion, Mermaid or Spaceship Earth is a very different type of attraction than a traditional dark ride.

The point is... with the closing of Snow White, WDW has just two (2) traditional Fantasyland-style dark rides left on the entire property. That's very odd to me. :veryconfu

I hope the family mentioned in this thread is able to visit Disneyland some day, to once again experience Snow White's Scary Adventures. That would be a neat follow-up to the story I think.

 

[wdw71fan]

Just because a ride is an Omni mover or a boat doesn't mean it isn't considered a dark ride by industry definition...

There are several dark rides at Disney.. even GMR is considered a dark ride.

 

[marni1971]

Just because a ride is an Omni mover or a boat doesn't mean it isn't considered a dark ride by industry definition...

There are several dark rides at Disney.. even GMR is considered a dark ride.

Nah. Dark ride by definition is one that uses backlight as its main light source.

 

[Tom]

I didn't include it because it's not a traditional Fantasyland-style dark ride.

A traditional dark ride, mostly found in Fantasyland's around the world, is a little car seating 4 to 6 people travelling on a bus bar system. The sets are intimate, the plotline is basic and effects are activated only when a car trips a sensor along the bus bar, and the entire ride is almost always in the "dark" with black lighting effects. Thus the term "dark ride".

Snow White is a dark ride, whereas while Haunted Mansion takes place in the dark, it's not really a traditional dark ride. The Ominmover ride system creates an entirely different class of attraction, with bigger sets and much different types of storytelling; most notably the plotline and animation is cycling constantly on a loop as the vehicles glide by randomly. No specific effect is triggered by any one vehicle passing by, unlike a dark ride. An Omnimover like Mansion, Mermaid or Spaceship Earth is a very different type of attraction than a traditional dark ride.

The point is... with the closing of Snow White, WDW has just two (2) traditional Fantasyland-style dark rides left on the entire property. That's very odd to me. :veryconfu

I hope the family mentioned in this thread is able to visit Disneyland some day, to once again experience Snow White's Scary Adventures. That would be a neat follow-up to the story I think.

I'll give you this one.

You're right. The last two traditional Dark Rides are quite lonely. I can see them going Pooh 2.0 (ala DL) someday, but I just wish they'd drop a few hundred thousand bucks on Pan when FLE is done.

It's a fun ride system, is fast loading because it's one of those weird hybrids that acts like an Omni at load/unload (continuous movement, no gaps in the vehicles), but provides a pretty novel ride experience. It just needs a make-over on the inside.

But given the line it usually has, no touching of Pan until everything else is 100%.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The traditional "dark rides" in my mind are the ones that are the fun house type rides.

 

[the-reason14]

Disneyland has been lucky to keep most of their original attractions for one thing- lack of prime real estate. The dark rides in Fantasyland take up so much little estate that when a new attraction needs to be built, Fantasyland seems to be the last place they ever look. Especially when they had a Paul Pressler ridden Tomorrowland and sad looking Bear Country or a field behind Fantasyland.

Add that to the fact that DCA has taken the majority of the attention away from DL since its opening in 2001 because it needed whatever rides Imagineering could conjure up to become a worth something. You can knock TDO for making bad decisions and taking out this ride and that, but TDA has done its fair share too. They built a whole park that was a mistake from the beginning.

If WDW had stuck to the original plans of FLE, then they wouldn't need to bulldoze Snow White for a meet-n-greet. But things changed and they still wanted there Princess M&G experience in the appropriate land for it- Fantasyland. I'm not a fan of the exchange. I'm not a fan of them taking out one ride for a meet-n-greet. But I can also see there line of thinking, and I'm looking forward to the charming mine-train ride.

You can say what you want about how MK is SO big, but they still have a footprint and have to abide by the land guidelines.

Unfortunately, SWSA was a victim of circumstance and bad timing. I loved the ride. I loved the old spookhouse atmosphere and the painted flat look of it. I adored the workmanship on the 3D characters that were barely animated. Unfortunately, SWSA was always seen as third banana in terms of popularity to other FL attractions such as Peter Pan's Flight, and TDO treated it as such with the queue line extensions for both Pooh and Peter but no upgrades to Snow. I will give you that.

Mk is SO big, and other then a better castle, space mt., BTM, and splash mt. depending on who you ask, DL is a better park. It utilizes it's space better and even though I've only been there once, I rather be there nowadays then MK.

 

[Tom]

The traditional "dark rides" in my mind are the ones that are the fun house type rides.

Yeah, me too. In Disney speak, Pan, Pooh, Toad, SWSA are dark rides. They MAY consider HM - but it varies depending on which book you read or which Imagineer is speaking.

 

[TP2000]

There are several dark rides at Disney.. even GMR is considered a dark ride.

Re-read the definition here of the traditional "dark ride". They are the old carnival spook house rides that Walt Disney elevated to something better for Disneyland's Fantasyland in 1955 with Peter Pan, Snow White, and Mr. Toad. Walt then added Alice In Wonderland to the Disneyland dark ride roster in 1958; a dark ride that has never been cloned outside of Disneyland, interestingly.

There are plenty of other rides at Disney theme parks that take place in the dark, but there are only two traditional "dark rides" left at Walt Disney World.

For practical purposes, there has to be a term that differentiates a ride like Snow White's Scary Adventures from the Great Movie Ride or Energy or Spaceship Earth or Haunted Mansion. The other big Omnimovers and traveling theater shows often take place in dark rooms, but Snow White is the actual "dark ride" in that list.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Regardless of any official definition or not, to me dark rides are the classic, pre-Mansion/Pirates era type of rides. So no HM / Pirates, no EPCOT omnimovers. Possibly Small World and Mermaid, which are somehwere in between.

Comsidering I don't like Pooh, that leaves me with Peter Pan (SW/TLM) as the sole representatives of what should be the quintessential Disney experiences.

Nostalgia and charm and tradition are indispensable ingredients to the Disney difference. Disney has everybody else beat in that area. Just why they should diminish these then is beyond me. We don't all flock to Potter because we are tired of classic Disney. No, we flocked to Potter because we can't find enough classic Disney anymore.

 

[TP2000]

Regardless of any official definition or not, to me dark rides are the classic, pre-Mansion/Pirates era type of rides. So no HM / Pirates, no EPCOT omnimovers. Possibly Small World and Mermaid, which are somehwere in between.

Comsidering I don't like Pooh, that leaves me with Peter Pan (SW/TLM) as the sole representatives of what should be the quintessential Disney experiences.

Nostalgia and charm and tradition are indispensable ingredients to the Disney difference. Disney has everybody else beat in that area. Just why they should diminish these then is beyond me. We don't all flock to Potter because we are tired of classic Disney. No, we flocked to Potter because we can't find enough classic Disney anymore.

Exactly! Thank you. :wave:

A Disney theme park experience is a tapestry of experiences. All attractions can't be mega-E Ticket blockbusters. A great Disney theme park experience is made up of mega-E Tickets, plus smaller and slower and more intimate experiences like the Riverboat, Dumbo, the Tiki Room and.... traditional dark rides.

With only two (2) traditional dark rides left in all of Walt Disney World, it's a historically important corner of the tapestry that has become very threadbare. :lookaroun

 

[joanna71985]

The story begins with:
SWSA Final Night - Prelude

And I just posted the next entry:
SWSA Final Night, Part 1 - The Beginning of the End

I expect to post the next part sometime tomorrow.

My next blog entry is up:

SWSA Final Night, Part 2 - The Fairest One of All.aspx

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[Clever Name]

Nostalgia and charm and tradition are indispensable ingredients to the Disney difference.

I disagree. Disney to me is out with the old and in with the new. The more of these old attractions that are taken by father time the better. As has been noted, DL is full of this old junk and they are welcome to preserve it for the sake of history. :wave:

 

[Californian Elitist]

I disagree. Disney to me is out with the old and in with the new. The more of these old attractions that are taken by father time the better. As has been noted, DL is full of this old junk and they are welcome to preserve it for the sake of history. :wave:

Old junk? Excuse me? The "old junk" is what's been keeping Disneyland the best park. And it's not being preserved for just the history, people enjoy these attractions. Not to mention it would be a complete insult to get rid of the classics, the ones that were touched by Walt himself. I can't believe people really think the classics are "old junk." Don't come to Disneyland, I'm warning you now.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I disagree. Disney to me is out with the old and in with the new. The more of these old attractions that are taken by father time the better. As has been noted, DL is full of this old junk and they are welcome to preserve it for the sake of history. :wave:

Two things:

1 - Disneyland's 50th resonated with the public for a reason. It was a celebration of Disney parks as an American institution, a tradition, a cultural phenomenon. One man's old junk is another one's cherished cultural heritage.

2 - WDW is an old, traditional park in it's own right. I resent DL being thought of as the sole historical park. That's akin to thinking that Rome is a historial city, but not Florence and Venice.
WDW has a tremendous history, it is barely any younger than DL to begin with. It started out as the superior castle park set in a vastly superior resort. It is a travesty to see its history destroyed to such an extent. In the case of Snow White, the WDW version once upon a time was the fairest of them all, the longest, scariest, prettiest. Now we don't even have one anymore.

 

[Clever Name]

Old junk? Excuse me? The "old junk" is what's been keeping Disneyland the best park. And it's not being preserved for just the history, people enjoy these attractions. Not to mention it would be a complete insult to get rid of the classics, the ones that were touched by Walt himself. I can't believe people really think the classics are "old junk." Don't come to Disneyland, I'm warning you now.

DL certainly served a valuable purpose as a beta test ground for what was to become WDW. DL is now a total anachronism that only survives because it is profitable as it exemplifies all the many mistakes Disney made along the way. I am glad you enjoy it and I encourage other people to see it at least once, if they happen to be in SC for other business.

Unlike WDW, I would never recommend to anyone that they make a special trip to see DL and/or CA. They’re neither worth the time nor the effort and Anaheim is the pits. There is just no comparison between WDW and DL and it is fine with me if you prefer to think of DL as being the superior park. Having visited both, I know the truth of the matter.

Turning Walt into a deity is creepy. "Touched by Walt himself..." are rides that Walt himself would have junked years ago! :wave:

 

[RSoxNo1]

Old junk? Excuse me? The "old junk" is what's been keeping Disneyland the best park. And it's not being preserved for just the history, people enjoy these attractions. Not to mention it would be a complete insult to get rid of the classics, the ones that were touched by Walt himself. I can't believe people really think the classics are "old junk." Don't come to Disneyland, I'm warning you now.

One of the problems surrounding a "glut" of these classic attractions is that while fan boys claim they hate to see them go, more often than not they're only visited by these same fan boys when they've been informed they're on their way out. In some recent cases when things have been brought back from the dead the initial rush would bring in the crowds but that wares thin very quickly.

Having said that, Snow White's Scary Adventures in California was recently updated which helps that particular attraction in California, however many of the dark rides out there show their age to the modern attractions of today. Primitive animatronics and 40+ year old effects simply aren't as compelling to today's audience. While I miss the extinct attractions I see a need for these attractions to either be enhanced or replaced.

The disappointment to me with regards to Snow White's Scary Adventures going away is that a ride is being changed out for a meet and greet. It's entirely conceivable that the meet and greet could be wildly successful, but any drop in ride count is a problem for me. The biggest draw for guests is rides. I can't think of a situation where a ride has been replaced with something other than a ride where it was viewed as a positive.

 

[Californian Elitist]

DL certainly served a valuable purpose as a beta test ground for what was to become WDW. DL is now a total anachronism that only survives because it is profitable as it exemplifies all the many mistakes Disney made along the way. I am glad you enjoy it and I encourage other people to see it at least once, if they happen to be in SC for other business.

Unlike WDW, I would never recommend to anyone that they make a special trip to see DL and/or CA. They’re neither worth the time nor the effort and Anaheim is the pits. There is just no comparison between WDW and DL and it is fine with me if you prefer to think of DL as being the superior park. Having visited both, I know the truth of the matter.

Turning Walt into a deity is creepy. "Touched by Walt himself..." are rides that Walt himself would have junked years ago! :wave:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:You're so wrong, it's funny! Keep telling yourself that, dude. WDW is superior, yet you've got a whole bunch of people on the east complaining and wishing some of the stuff at the Disneyland Resort, including those in management, would make it over to WDW. Anyways, we're each entitled to our own opinions but I don't want to keep talking to you as I can see there will be no agreement. Have a good evening, sir or ma'am.:wave:

 

[Lee]

DL certainly served a valuable purpose as a beta test ground for what was to become WDW. DL is now a total anachronism that only survives because it is profitable as it exemplifies all the many mistakes Disney made along the way. I am glad you enjoy it and I encourage other people to see it at least once, if they happen to be in SC for other business.

Unlike WDW, I would never recommend to anyone that they make a special trip to see DL and/or CA. They’re neither worth the time nor the effort and Anaheim is the pits. There is just no comparison between WDW and DL and it is fine with me if you prefer to think of DL as being the superior park. Having visited both, I know the truth of the matter.

Turning Walt into a deity is creepy. "Touched by Walt himself..." are rides that Walt himself would have junked years ago! :wave:

Quoted for humor.:lol:
Otherwise....that's all just silly.

 

[Brava Centauri]

The disappointment to me with regards to Snow White's Scary Adventures going away is that a ride is being changed out for a meet and greet. It's entirely conceivable that the meet and greet could be wildly successful, but any drop in ride count is a problem for me. The biggest draw for guests is rides. I can't think of a situation where a ride has been replaced with something other than a ride where it was viewed as a positive.

This. This is my only problem with this situation. As much as I cherish "the classics" and hate to see them go, if the replacement is an improvement and a move forward, then it's all for the good. But to rip out a legitimate ride with broad appeal and replace it with yet another meet/greet hall?

The argument is we're technically not losing a ride, because we'll eventually have the Mine Train. I feel I have a bit more faith than others that there will be some decent updated AA scenes and hope that there are less outdoor elements. It's testament to how WDW's attendance has soared in the past 10-15 years that we almost have to have designated meeting halls for characters as crowds deter the good ol' days of just running into characters in random places. Do I agree it makes sense for princesses to be "in the castle"? Yes. Do I feel they should still have incorporated individual meets at the individual princess attractions? Yes.

The princess franchise is one of Disney's current biggest gravy trains, so it's no surprise that they're taking full advantage. I'm resigned to this change. But if only they would take out the needless character spot in Future World!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The disappointment to me with regards to Snow White's Scary Adventures going away is that a ride is being changed out for a meet and greet. It's entirely conceivable that the meet and greet could be wildly successful, but any drop in ride count is a problem for me.

But SW is replaced by the Seven Dwarfs coaster. A ride for a ride.

The choice was SWSA + new M&G in the FLE, or new ride in the FLE + M&G instead of SWSA.
Ironically, it was public outcry over FL being too M&G-centric that was ultimately responsible for the closing of SWSA for a M&G.