The Little Mermaid Only Makes A Tiny Splash
Disneyland: I'm going to WDW again next summer and I probably will ride it, but the ride is not the best.
From Joey I
Posted May 2, 2013 at 10:17 PM
So just about a year ago I went to Disneyland for the first time. I have ben to WDW four times ('01,'05,'08,'10) and with the little mermaid ride opening in new fantasyland, and the DCA version being open for about two years, I was so excited to go on this while planning my trip. I was in DL for around five days and most days I'd do DLP for half a day and DCA for the other half. Little mermaid was closed for about four of the days during the refurb of the ice cream cone hair. So I finally got to go on it and I was a little disappointed. While the animatronics were fabulous, everything else was kind of depressing. In the areas between scenes, all that was there were cardboard cutout seaweed. Also, the biggest complaint I have with this ride is the "under the sea" SEAquence (SEA what I did there. Oh God) Not the scene itself but the top of it. I don't know if you have ever looked at the top but all there is are cutouts of wave-looking things. Yes I know it probably has something to do with not blocking the lighting but it would be really cool if they did a CGI ocean top. I'm going to WDW again next summer and I probably will ride it, but the ride is not the best.
ATTRACTION GRADE: B-
IMO this is the worst of Fantasyland dark rides. Sure, the queue and Ursala AA are great, but the ride leaves something to be desired. If they went with the original ride Tony Baxter created it would have been ALOT better.
Oh my sister is NOT going to be happy about this!
As much as I'm not a fan of princesses, this was
a very good dark ride with colors and music
telling one of the best Disney stories ever!
(in my opipion, Mr.Toads is the best dark ride ever.)I totally dissagree with you!
Any ride that features a half naked redhead is OK with me...
...or is that a naked half-redhead?
Yes, the disco ball and visible colored lights on the ceiling really ruins this ride for me. Sad. There has to have been a better way to do it. Pirates has that cool sky you can't tell you're inside a building.
Joey I writes: "I'm going to WDW again next summer and I probably will ride it, but the ride is not the best."
I Respond: I am going to go ahead and assume that you are not a six-year old girl -- the demographic the ride is targeting.
I gotta agree with TH. I have been on it too and it is really a ride made for little kids. I will ride it, but its not something I must go on. I miss the old Fantasyland though, with the scary Snow White ride at Mr. Toad sending you to hell!
I have never liked the “ride made for little kids” rationalization. If that’s what Disney is doing it’s against everything Walt wanted. He wanted a place where adults could enjoy their day along with their children.
Is “Peter Pan” targeted at a six-year-old-boy demographic? Is the Alice ride targeted at a six-year-old-girl demographic? What is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride target demographic? Is Little Mermaid really targeted at six-year-old-girls?
The ride is not supposed to be an E Ticket (probably more like a C or D ticket). In New Fantasyland, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is the designated E Ticket, and the Little Mermaid is merely a lesser attraction. The fact that it is an omni-mover means that it is a great crowd eater, and the air conditioned queue and ride offer a nice break for overheated summer guests. The animatronics on the attraction (at least the DCA version, since I missed the MK version by a week last fall) are some of the best I've seen recently from Disney, particularly Ursula.
Again, this is not meant to be an E-Ticket attraction. If you're going to compain about carboard cutouts and fake looking waves, then I guess you should probably avoid just about every Disney omnimover attraction, especially the overly tacky and cardboard-y Small World.
I am a 40 years old male, and I like this ride. Maybe there is a 6 year old girl inside me ;^)
I like the ride too, but I think I would be more excited for the Dwarf Mine Train.
When I say its a ride for little kids, I mean that its a ride which even infants can ride (lap seating). Same would go for the Haunted Mansion.
Take it with a grain of (sea)salt. The Animatronics are nice, it tells the Story of the Little Mermaid, and is a slow moving dark ride. Disney didn't exactly create the wheel here.
I enjoy Enchanted Stories with Belle. Weird I know..........
From Phil B.
Posted June 18, 2013 at 9:49 PM
I get what Joey's saying as far as the underwater ceiling effect is concerned. It gets the point across, but in this day and age of technological wizardry and theming, you expect the company that has set the bar for all others to follow to maybe come up with a more subtle but mind blowing immersive effect. Perhaps one day in the future when the ride goes down for an extended rehab and show upgrades they'll rework the underwater ceiling effects.
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