New Little Mermaid attraction?

[Wells]

Rumor has it that there will be a new “Little Mermaid” E-ticket attraction for DCA and WDW. Very possibly the ride designed a few years ago and featured on the platinum edition DVD……
But not until, oh lets say...2011 (can you say 40th anniversary)

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

It's only for DCA last I heard and open later this year or early next year.

It's supposed to be a slow moving ride similar to Nemo and Friends that takes you through scenes of Little Mermaid.

It actually looks interesting from the concept art I've seen but I don't think WDW was planning to get it.

And I'm assuming by 40th anniversary, you are referring to WDW, and not Little Mermaid?

[JPL]

Alot of source have this ride being cloned for WDW behind Pooh's "Wasteful" I mean Playful spot. In DCA it will takeover the area now occupied by Golden Dreams.

[wdwnomad]

There is a popular Disney "blue sky" blog that is now saying it is coming to WDW as well as DCA. I don't know much about this particular blog and how accurate this person is or who their sources but that is where the rumor is coming from. Of course, it is a blog so you can take it for what you think it is worth.

[Wells]

I'm assuming by 40th anniversary, you are referring to WDW, and not Little Mermaid?

Hmmm...Interesting thought!....Let's see now....According to the original H.C.Anderson story, the little mermaid (Ariel) was 16 when the events shown in the film occured.....The film was released in 1989...so, in the Disneysphere, that would make her......38!

[BluewaterBrad]

Thanks for the info!

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Hmmm...Interesting thought!....Let's see now....According to the original H.C.Anderson story, the little mermaid (Ariel) was 16 when the events shown in the film occured.....The film was released in 1989...so, in the Disneysphere, that would make her......38!

Ariel is also 16 in the movie. She says so herself when she is talking to her father.

"Daddy, I'm 16 years old. I'm not a child anymore!"

"As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rules! And I am never, never to hear of you going to the surface again, is that clear?"

Then she runs off like all emotional teenagers.

Come to think of it...a lot of Disney's princesses were about 16 when they got married. Snow White was 14, Aurora was 16. It's assumed Jasmine was 18 at least.

[pink]

Can't wait! Also, I agree that Poohs playground thing is the biggest waste of valuable space.

[BrerGnat]

Can't wait! Also, I agree that Poohs playground thing is the biggest waste of valuable space.

You obviously are too young to understand how USEFUL that sort of spot is for parents of small kids. There is a spot similar to that at Toontown at Disneyland, and my kids (3 and 2) have spent hours and hours playing there. It's those simple things that the little ones really love, and it gives the parents a much needed break sometime.

As for the Little Mermaid attraction, if it is supposed to occupy the Golden Dreams theater space at DCA, it won't open for a long time yet. They are still using that theater for showings of Golden Dreams...

[JPL]

It maybe perfect for little kids but considering it's taking up prime real estate in the MK it's still a wasteful useful of space.

[lockedoutlogic]

New Development at WDW should be restricted to...in order:

1. DHS
2. DAK
3. Imagination!


there...i've said it....

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

I think all the parks need love, and it's good they are rotating their upgrades and improvements. First it was Mission Space for Epcot, then the small additions to Pirates, then Everest, now Toy Story Mania, and now a large improvement to SM. That way, they can keep bringing people to the parks. If they neglected Epcot and MK to improve DHS and DAK, then we'd start complaining about no love going to them. Cycling is a good thing.

[Ian]

You obviously are too young to understand how USEFUL that sort of spot is for parents of small kids.

I dunno ... I have two small kids and I never spend any time there. If I want playgrounds, I'll let them play on the one at the resort. I could just as easily "kill time" with them by riding a new Little Mermaid attraction that I'm sure both of them would like a whole lot better than a playground.

New Development at WDW should be restricted to...in order:

1. DHS
2. DAK
3. Imagination!


there...i've said it....

Agreed.

[Imagineer1981]

could be cool!

[Jasper]

I too would prefer a new attraction over the existing playground. I understand why they do the playgrounds but at the same time I think that a slow moving attraction like is being described here would appeal to more than a playground to all but the very youngest children. Considering how kids as young as 18 months are enthralled by movies like Little Mermaid I think they would also be enthralled with a slow ride based on the movie. I think a good comparison is the Peter Pan ride which so many VERY young children just love to death!

As for improvements and additions I also agree with the order that lockedoutlogic came up with. However, Captain Jessica Sparrow hit it directly on the head that the public would scream if at least little improvements were not made to all the parks from time to time and that would just plain be a bad business decision. And, considering it is ultimately about the bottom line then Disney HAS to do some work at each park every now and again.

I would also think that if Imagineering is working as it should, which means that the CM there are free to really let their minds run free, then there are bound to be ideas that come up at any time that fit better at MK or Epcot than at the other two parks. And again, if that idea can be done without jeopardizing projects at the other parks then why not strike while the iron is hot?

And finally, I don't think any of us on the outside really have enough knowledge to know if something being done at MK is really negatively impacting things that might be done elsewhere. I make this comment because there is so much information ranging from things like the actual cost of a project to projections of changes in attendance, etc. that only those on the inside see that we on the outside can only guess about.

This is just my humble opinion and is not intended in any way to malign anyone else's opinion.

[Belle619]

I have to say that it will be nice to have an attraction built upon a Disney movie that wasn't just released, but is known to be a newer "classic."

And if it will be a slower or dark ride, then that is even better because it won't have height requirements which make it tough for parents of little ones.

Yes, the MK isn't in desperate need of more rides like other parks - but I'm definitely for it - especially at DCA!!!

[Young@Heart]

It would be nice to see this attraction at WDW. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Vito]

Just a little bump here-

An update at Screamscape (which references a Jim Hill article) suggests that Little Mermaid is likely moving forward for MK.

"Magic Kingdom managers have just been informed that their park will also be receiving a significant new addition. A ride that will send that park's Guests "Under the Sea" to spend a little quality time with a certain Disney Princess. But that's a tail ... er ... tale for another time."

Personally, I'm all for it from what I've heard about the DCA version. Sounds like it will be a winner and probably easily take the crown for best Fantasyland dark ride should WDW go ahead with it.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

It's Jim Hill.

Enough said.

[MegaDisney]

The DCA version of this ride is going to happen, unless they cut it from the DCA re-do.

The MK version is just a rumor at this point.

Given that Disney likes to get a couple of versions of rides for the devlopment costs of one, I can see this happening.