Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid closing for month long refurbishment Feb 2-Mar 6

[Matt_Black]

The queue isn't the problem. Heck the queue is pretty fantastic honestly, and everyone has brought up the little statement that it's actually far better than the ride itself.

Yes, but few mention "Whale of a Tale" which, to reiterate, is the only Disney song sung by Kirk Douglas. He even does a modest 1950s booty shake while singing it.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I'm a fan of the song (and love the movie) as well. I did hear tell that it was being used in the queue but didn't hear it when I rode it.

 

[WondersOfLife]

For those confused about this refurb this is what happened at the disneyland version.

new version^

Old one^
See the difference in lighting and extra figures? It's a minorish detail, but it does help the ride experience.

I didn't really see much of any change... at all.. It was just a tad bit darker in the "under the sea" song scene..

 

[erasure fan1]

I would consider it a stretch to call it "good", although the black lighting would bump it up a notch. But there's still a laundry list of issues even disregarding the lighting.

I agree. Even if they fix the lighting, although it is an improvement, it won't all of a sudden make it a good ride. Only when the ending is fixed can I consider that. When the best part of your ride is the queue (and holy cow what an awesome queue it is), you know you have some work to do. I believe the public feels the same way based on the lines I saw this summer.

 

[dreynolds1982]

IMO the ending fix is needed far more than some additional black lights. I just rode it last weekend and don't think I once noticed any distracting supports, rods, wires, etc. in the under the sea sequence. I wasn't looking for them, sure, but then again, 99% of the people who ride aren't looking for stuff like that. Fact is, if you're looking for things like that, you can find those types of things in most attractions.

The bigger distraction is the ending. Jumping straight from kiss the girls to Happy Ending with a tiny reference to Ursula's demise in the background? I've had an issue with that from the start. Why gloss over the climax of the movie? Maybe they were trying to not be too scary, or budget cuts, or whatever, but feels abrupt, awkward and strange to just end it like that.

 

[Tom Morrow]

This seems pretty low on the list of attractions that need attention. I'm always in favor of a refurb, but there are so many attractions that have needed it for years.

 

[GhostHost1000]

This seems pretty low on the list of attractions that need attention. I'm always in favor of a refurb, but there are so many attractions that have needed it for years.

you knocked it right out of the park on that statement...

 

[ToTBellHop]

This seems pretty low on the list of attractions that need attention. I'm always in favor of a refurb, but there are so many attractions that have needed it for years.

But this one already has a refurbishment package ready to be dropped on it. I actually think the Magic Kingdom has received rather an impressive set of refurbishments in recent years. Some have been better quality updates than others, but most of the rides are hardly crumbling like you would find at Epcot. The only standout (to me) that continues to seriously need (and deserve) an update is Jungle Cruise. But, that will happen. One day. When they stop pushing it back.

 

[Kitty17794]

I enjoy the ride as it is, but I would be all for a new ending. The one featured on the DVD was so awesome, with the car going by a giant Ursula. That just seems so perfect, such a GREAT scene for a ride... Stick that in the room where the current 'demise' is, and the ride would be far better! (They could do some fun lighting and projection stuff with showing the 'electrocution' aspect of her death as you go by!)

 

[Jose]

FINALLY

 

[Figaro928]

How concrete is TDO with their time closures? Our last day in the park is March 5th. On our last trip, my family must have ridden this ride 25 times. I have a four year old daught who still talks about the "scary Ursula" Just wondering if we should count our loses or keep hope alive.

And to add to the conversation, never saw DL's version, but maybe on our 15th or so time on WDW's version i did become a little critical of WDW's newest attraction. Yes, its an average ride at best. However, my kids were completely emmersed and LOVE it, so do I personally care if its not the best executed ride ever? No not really.

 

[Fox&Hound]

IMO the ending fix is needed far more than some additional black lights. I just rode it last weekend and don't think I once noticed any distracting supports, rods, wires, etc. in the under the sea sequence. I wasn't looking for them, sure, but then again, 99% of the people who ride aren't looking for stuff like that. Fact is, if you're looking for things like that, you can find those types of things in most attractions.

The bigger distraction is the ending. Jumping straight from kiss the girls to Happy Ending with a tiny reference to Ursula's demise in the background? I've had an issue with that from the start. Why gloss over the climax of the movie? Maybe they were trying to not be too scary, or budget cuts, or whatever, but feels abrupt, awkward and strange to just end it like that.

A lot of people seem to cite the ending as rushed and awkward. But does Pooh or Peter Pan really tell a more cohesive story? I agree that the cardboard cut out of Ursula (my favorite character) could have been executed better, but, I think it tells the main parts of the story while focusing on the classic songs. Maybe if you saw Eric's ship heading towards Ursula? I can't see them adding in the back story with Ursula, the wedding, or the oh-so-excited Priest (it was his knee, sure...). =) With the little space they have, I'm not sure how you change the ending now.

But, the lighting fix will be awesome if they execute it like at DL. You will really feel like you are under the sea and that's a huge draw of this ride. I just don't get the hate. I think people's expectations for this ride were way too much. Hate to see what they say about Frozen when it gets built.

 

[Mike S]

We wouldn't have these problems if Disney just built Tony Baxter's version of the ride in the first place.

It really sucks that he left Imagineering.

 

[ToTBellHop]

How concrete is TDO with their time closures? Our last day in the park is March 5th. On our last trip, my family must have ridden this ride 25 times. I have a four year old daught who still talks about the "scary Ursula" Just wondering if we should count our loses or keep hope alive.

And to add to the conversation, never saw DL's version, but maybe on our 15th or so time on WDW's version i did become a little critical of WDW's newest attraction. Yes, its an average ride at best. However, my kids were completely emmersed and LOVE it, so do I personally care if its not the best executed ride ever? No not really.

Dates for shorter refurbs like this are usually quite accurate.

 

[flynnibus]

Not at all, just suprised its being done already (2 yrs old in Dec). I would think a brand new attraction could go 3 or 4 years before being referb'd

If it's getting the upgrades... it's going down to be improved, not just for repair. But the show has had show effect problems (scuttle and in the queue) from early on

 

[Macca250]

I wasn't blown away by this ride BECAUSE of the blatant disregard for theming and half-a***d Under the Sea scene. If its anything like the DCA 'enhancements' then I shall reconsider!

 

[Nubs70]

WDW1974 mentioned a few months ago that WDW would eventually get California's upgrades sometime fairly soon. I don't know if this is the one that will do it but California's apparently closed from March 20th to May 10th I believe when it got its upgrades, somewhat more than a month's worth. Though some of that time may have been to construct new scenery and figure props as well as tweaking paint and lighting, things that may not require as much time the second time doing it (they may have already duplicated the extra props during DCA's enhancements in preparation for MK's enhancements). So MK's may not require as much time.

There were rumors that DCA's would be getting even further enhancements in another refurb down the line to fix the ending scenes. I don't know if this is true, but i'm guessing they're not going to address this in MK's refurb. This isn't much time at all. We're lucky if month long refurbs even address simple maintenance issues in this day and age.

Though at least as of early October MK's version looked like it was still in good condition maintenance wise, didn't really notice anything broken. Besides the air conditioning sucking badly, though that's just TDO trying to save money on the energy bill as has been discussed. So I guess these enhancements are plausible given that I didn't actually see anything really needing to be fixed by a month long rehab (unless it's something mechanical we can't see with the naked eye).

Air conditioning reduction is all about the triple mandate of sustainability, People, Planet, Profit.

People suffer to make the Planet greener which increases WDW Profit.

 

[flynnibus]

I didn't really see much of any change... at all.. It was just a tad bit darker in the "under the sea" song scene..

Then look harder...

They've added filler elements in the scenes leading up to the under the sea scene.. mostly additional fish, etc.
They've gone to a reactive paint on most of the figures to glow/pop like you normally see in a dark ride
They've redone all the lighting in under the sea which significantly reduces how much the overhead is distracting.

The ride is 'fuller' and the dark ride lighting takes away the distracting ceiling elements in the main under the sea sequence.

 

[Magenta Panther]

We wouldn't have these problems if Disney just built Tony Baxter's version of the ride in the first place.

It really sucks that he left Imagineering.

Wonder if all of the scary stuff was left out because TDO was afraid Mommies would complain.

Thank god it had nothing to do with the design of the Haunted Mansion...

 

[JediMasterMatt]

Then look harder...

They've added filler elements in the scenes leading up to the under the sea scene.. mostly additional fish, etc.
They've gone to a reactive paint on most of the figures to glow/pop like you normally see in a dark ride
They've redone all the lighting in under the sea which significantly reduces how much the overhead is distracting.

The ride is 'fuller' and the dark ride lighting takes away the distracting ceiling elements in the main under the sea sequence.

Agreed. The DCA version works much better now. The ride used to be the equivalent of a trip through a Sam's Club/Costco warehouse with some plastic props. Now that the lighting has been subdued, it hides one of the biggest flaws in the attraction - the horrible environment, especially in the Under the Sea sequence.

With the finale rumored to be getting plussed in the next refurb, the attraction round into shape.

I think a month should be enough to at least do the current DCA makeover in Orlando. Here's hoping it is. Of course, with TDO's current haste they are applying to the rest of the projects around the resort - maybe we will be lucky if they clean it and replace a few lightbulbs in one months time.