Continuing our coverage of the Fantasy Springs media preview at Tokyo DisneySea, let's check out Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure.
Full disclosure up front: If you've followed Theme Park Insider for a while, you might be aware of my disdain for the Peter Pan ride. There's a lot that's potentially troublesome in this IP, and Disney's depiction of indigenous people in its animated movies and theme park rides is simply inexcusable. (Disney even disclaims it on Disney+.) How Disney has left this ride alone while revamping Splash Mountain confounds me.
So I was surprised to see Disney choose Peter Pan as one of the three franchises in Tokyo's new Fantasy Springs land. Perhaps Disney's Imagineers saw something redeemable in this IP and could find a way to produce it in a way that would not embarrass the company.
Not having seen the ride in person, I cannot attest to Disney's success in that task. But the images and video that Disney released today suggest that Imagineers did deliver an attraction that communicates what so many fans have loved about Pan - a whimsical, escapist fantasy about innocence versus malice.
And there's a lot of simulated flying, too.
Like all of Fantasy Springs, the exterior of Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure sells that we have entered a real-life fantasy land.
The queue brings us onto the island home of the Lost Boys, where we can walk among the detritus that the Boys have reclaimed to build their home.
Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure features a preshow, on screens embedded within the practical scenery, that sets up our tale, which will draw Peter Pan away from the Lost Boys to help rescue John Darling from the clutches of Captain Hook.
The ride vehicles for this 3D dark ride are motion-base vehicles, made to look like they've been built of scrap wood.
And here are POV highlights of Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure. Though the ride's screens are projected in 3D, this POV shows them in 2D for clarity.
The highlights provide little evidence of the ride's depiction of the "Indians" whose caricatures mars the U.S. dark rides. There's just one relevant publicity photo from Disney.
But what I have seen of the attraction depicts a fun time, with Tinker Bell sprinkling just enough pixie dust to ensure that we, too, can fly. The animation here emphasizes that sensation in a way that the suspended track rides in America cannot, though this ride's 40-inch height restriction here does prevent this from being the all-ages experience that Pan provides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
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It's difficult to tell from the POV how much the vehicle feels like it's floating. Aside from the 2-3 full-screen scenes, this attraction doesn't appear to really capture the feel of flying like the originals that utilize suspended ride vehicles. Would it have been too difficult for Imagineers to elevate some sections the track and provide themed elements and screens on a lower level to create that illusion?
Also, while the scenes appear crisp and dynamic without being too jarring/jerky (an oft-seen problem when projected in 3D), there's something not quite right with the CGI animation style here. To me it's all a bit un-Disney looking, which is problematic when you consider the original IP is in the public domain. The iconic characters are there, but just don't have the look that links them to a Disney production. If you didn't tell me that this was in a Disney park, I would have just as easily have thought it was at some independent European/Asian theme park. Maybe this more generic approach will work to keep the IP fresh in the eyes of guests, but I think the Disney depictions of these characters are far too iconic to mess with, particularly inside of a Disney-licensed park.
How sorry. Epic Universe is building actual rides as fast as they can dream them up, and here's another DOA screen-based loser from Disney. If I want to watch screens, I'll stare at my phone, or my TV. I'm paying out the nose to be at Disneyland, purportedly the premier theme parks in the world, and they're driving me around to look at more screens? Pathetic.
These new additions appear to be every bit as lackluster as the entirely lame Frozen stuff in Hong Kong, or the recent Zootopia. If this is what they're bringing to Disney Forward in Anaheim, hard pass. It's insulting.
Jury's still out on if this surpasses Shanghai's Peter Pan attraction. I vote to absolute gut, demolish, and condemn to the dustbin of history both domestic Peter Pan attractions and replace them with the superior Shanghai version. It's still fundamentally a Peter Pan flying ride, but extremely plussed up. I think Disney occasionally allows history and nostalgia to interfere with providing good attractions. Peter Pan's Flight is one of those instances.
I welcome all disagreements, flames, and death threats.
@ thecolonel
So let me get this straight. You're calling Disney 'pathetic' for building and launching 3 major new rides simultaneously, one of which we've seen is mostly based on impressive animatronics, one of which we have yet to see but looks similar, whilst the one you reserve most ire for is literally the same ride system as Spiderman and Transformers at Universal Studios. Screens combined with motion bases and physical environments can work brilliantly. I see nothing 'lame' or 'lacklustre' here.
Yeah, I don't get the constant whining either, because thecoloniel sounds like a Goldilocks that is just going to complain for the sake of complaining - yet they talk about their frequent visits to Disneyland (including staying at the overpriced Disneyland resort hotels).
As a Native American myself, I'm finding the moral superiority regarding the "offensiveness" of the ride to be actually MORE offensive. Separate the ride from the movie. If you look objectively at the ride itself, without any context to the movie, there's nothing inherently racist in the ride itself. Is the movie dated? Yes, it was made in the 1950s. Is it racist? Almost laughably so. But it's not like the ride itself is a reenactment of that very unfortunate song.
I can only speak of the Disneyland version, but there are three moments that feature the "racist" characters: the teepees as you fly over Never Land, Tiger Lily at Skull Rock, and the quick fly-by of the Chief. What is racist about those moments? If your argument is that they're caricatures of an oppressed people, then where do we draw the line? Do you have a problem with the Hook's pirate that's an obvious Middle Eastern stereotype? No one talks about him. What about literally ALL the stereotypes featured on Pirates of the Caribbean? Because guess what? They're not all white people on that ride. And even the ones that are white are pretty exaggerated in their looks. Almost like they're... cartoons. Interesting, especially coming from a cartoon factory.
I believe we need to look at things as they actually are, without baggage loosely related to the experience itself. If one has never seen the original Peter Pan, how would they know about the movie's racist elements? That's actually YOU adding that to the equation. It's the same thing that happened to Splash Mountain. On one hand I think retheming it to Princess and the Frog makes perfect sense, but to say it's because the ride is racist is a logical fallacy. There was absolutely nothing inherently racist in the ride itself. People started saying it was because of a movie that most people have never seen and probably will never see. The ride itself was harmless. In fact, as a kid it actually sparked an interest in the original stories (not the movie). I think it's a shame that misplaced emotions, white guilt, and media ignorance were what ultimately killed Splash Mountain.
Just because you think something is offensive, doesn't mean it is. That's your opinion -- and that's great! But I believe that it's a very slippery slope when you talk about "demolishing" something just because it features something you disagree with. Where is the line? Where does it stop?
If you take the ride out, you'll upset a lot of people that love the ride for what it is: a classic Disney attraction where you get to fly over London, visit Neverland and fight a bunch of pirates. Sure, you can take out the "offensive" material but, movie aside, I enjoy being included. Because if you take them out, I look at that as a form of erasure. Or is that something you condone? Because if you take them out, that ride will sure look awfully white. Is that a problem? What do you do then? Seems to me, if you don't like the ride, don't go on it. If the ride ever loses popularity and no one wants to go on it (for whatever reason) then replace it.
We obviously have different opinions, but I've been wanting to call this out for a while ever since the "trigger warning" popped up on the visitors guide for the attraction on this website. YOU say the ride is racist, but your reasoning is fallible. It's your opinion, but that doesn't mean it's true.
Hey David, if you want to pay top bucks to ride around and look at video screens, have at it, my man. Pro tip: you can go to Best Buy and they'll loan you one of those adult scooters and you can putz around the TV department for free. Wheeee, screens!
Goldilocks complained for the sake of complaining? Touch grass gramps, your disses are seriously lacking.
As for the whole "as long as you ignore the historical background of a ride it's not racist" argument, haha, okay sure. If you didn't know the Klan existed this pillow case on my head wouldn't be offensive! You're putting that on me!
Haha, riiiiight, good luck with that one.
Wow, comparing a ride that people love to a Klan hood. What a false equivalency. But of course, that's what modern discourse is today.
Go ahead, without bringing up the movie, explain to me how the ride itself is racist. I bet you can't. Because ultimately the ride is not. We can literally dig up ugly history on everything and everyone. Peter Pan is a lot more than the racist elements from the 1950s movie. It's a story that is loved by many and has endured for over a century. It's spawned multiple movies, stage shows, television series, etc. because there's a lot more to it than racism.
As for the pillowcase on your head? I pictured one that was bright green with purple flowers. You jumped to the Klan, not me. That should tell you where your head's at.
Can't tell enough about the ride from the video to judge it, but given what's there I think it depends a lot on the motion aspect. If this is more like Beauty and the Beast, which has some gentle rocking but nothing too dynamic, it's probably pretty dull. If it's more like Spider-Man or Transformers, it's probably pretty good, but even in that case it doesn't look like a best in class or anything like that.
I agree with Russell, the animation in is very off-putting. This would be a great attraction if it used a more modern IP that was made with CGI animation but sadly with Peter Pan it comes across as a knock off.
The film portion is cute. I think little kids will enjoy it.
Looks good too would for sure try it!
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The animation is crisp, fluid and dynamic while never being too busy to lose what’s happening in the story. So much detail as well. It’s a shame we most likely won’t get this stateside, unless DL were to build a new Peter Pan attraction for the expansion and gut the old version. You could scrub through a video of this and literally take any 30-second snippet out of it and it usurps the original attraction’s quality and charm full stop. I know, I know, Peter Pan has long been a rite of passage for littles and first-time visitors but if Disney truly wants that IP to remain evergreen then this is the route they should be taking.