Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
| Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid | |
|---|---|
| Park | Magic Kingdom |
| Land / area | Fantasyland |
| Type | Dark ride |
| Opened | December 6, 2012 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Height req. | None |
| Status | Operating |
Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid is a dark ride in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. Based on the 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, it opened on December 6, 2012, as part of the New Fantasyland expansion. Riders travel in clamshell vehicles on an Omnimover system through scenes retelling Ariel's story, accompanied by the film's songs. A closely related version, titled The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure, had opened at Disney California Adventure on June 3, 2011.
History
A Little Mermaid dark ride was first designed in the early 1990s, when Imagineer Tony Baxter worked on a version planned for Disneyland Paris and the Magic Kingdom that would have used a suspended system similar to Peter Pan's Flight, allowing guests to feel as though they were descending under water. The project was shelved, although a computer-generated simulation of the concept was later included on a DVD release of the film.
The idea returned as part of two separate expansions. California's version was built during the reworking of Disney California Adventure, and Florida's was announced with the Fantasyland expansion of 2009–2012, the largest in the Magic Kingdom's history. In Florida the ride was placed in the Enchanted Forest section of the expanded land, on and around the site formerly occupied by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which had closed in 1994.
The Florida exterior differs substantially from California's. Riders approach beneath the towers of Prince Eric's castle, modelled on the castle shown in the film, and pass through rockwork and a beach scene at low tide before reaching the loading area. A carved Nautilus submarine in the queue rockwork recalls the earlier attraction on the site. Soft openings began on October 12, 2012, ahead of the official opening alongside the rest of New Fantasyland.
In early 2015 the Magic Kingdom version closed for about a month of refurbishment, during which additional figures and black-light paint effects were added to the largest scene, following similar changes made in California the previous year.
Experience
The crab Sebastian acts as narrator, and the ride is structured around the film's musical numbers rather than a complete retelling of its plot. After boarding a clamshell, riders pass a broken shipwreck scene in which Scuttle, the seagull, attempts to set the story in order.
The clamshell then tilts backwards and descends, with bubble effects and changing light intended to suggest sinking beneath the surface. In Ariel's grotto, Ariel sings "Part of Your World" surrounded by the human objects she has collected, while Flounder and Sebastian look on.
The largest room presents "Under the Sea": dozens of brightly lit sea creatures, fish, turtles and crustaceans perform around Ariel as Sebastian conducts. The tone shifts in the following scene, where the sea witch Ursula — a figure about 7.5 feet (2.3 metres) tall — sings "Poor Unfortunate Souls" as Ariel gives up her voice. A brief silhouette sequence suggests the bargain's consequences, before the ride moves above the surface for "Kiss the Girl", in which Eric and Ariel sit in a rowing boat while animals around the lagoon provide the music.
A finale shows Ariel and Eric married, waving from a balcony as the other characters celebrate below, with King Triton watching from the water. The ride lasts about six minutes and has no height restriction; the continuously moving Omnimover system gives it a high hourly capacity.