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When I went to Walt Disney World, I remember being pretty surprised/scared when the evil queen turned around as the witch on Snow White's Scary Adventures. I absoluteley loved it! But even though that scared me, I'm curious to know how much scarier it used to be. I read that the Disney World ride opened in 1971, and was originally just Snow White's Adventures. They added the "Scary" part as a warning, but still got enough complaints to tone down the scariness in 1994. So I have a few questions:

Since there are two rides, one in Disneyland and one in Walt Disney World, what were the differences between the old versions?

What are the differences between Disneyland's current version and Disney World's current version?

Does anyone know exactly what changes were made to tone down the scariness? I know that originally Snow White wasn't seen at all because the rider was supposed to feel like they were Snow White herself, living out the adventures, but were there any scenes taken out, any scenes added, or any scenes changed, such as making the witch move less fast? Or maybe in the old version, you faced the witch directly, since you were supposed to be Snow White facing her?

Finally, what are the differences between Tokyo Disneyland's version and Disneyland Paris' version?

If anyone can help at all, even if you feel it's not much, please post.

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From my memories of the Paris version and the Orlando version (I actually saw an online video of this recently), the latter seems to follow the plot of the film more. Some notable differences:

*The ride in Orlando starts in the castle courtyard where Snow White is washing the steps. The Parisian version starts in the Dwarfs' Cottage where we see them performing the Silly Songs, with Snow White and the animals scurrying up the stairs.

*Next, we find the Queen outside the cottage in the Paris version saying that she'll make a poisoned apple to kill Snow White. In WDW's version, we go into the chambers of the Queen straight away, which is yet to come in the Pasis version.

*In the Orlando version, the Witch actually appears at the window of the Seven Dwarf's cottage (the whole setting comes far later on in the ride) like in the film.

*The happy ending is a bit more animate in Paris than in Florida.

As far as I'm aware, the Snow White ride at Disneyland in California is exactly the same as in Paris, except that the Californian version is in English as opposed to French and the happy ending is presented on a page in a storybook seen as you leave the ride. I used this site as a reference for the rides: http://www.vids.disneyfans.com/video/160x120/

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-Joe

Blog | Deviantart

I've ridden the original version once during my first trip to WDW at the age of six. Because of that, I can't really give you a detailed scene-by-scene analysis, but I can tell of some of the differences I can remember off the top of my head:

* No Snow White, as been stated several times

* The scene with Snow White in the courtyard was originally part of the queue area rather than part of the actual ride-through. Also, the Queen was animated to open and close the window's curtain like she does in the film. Since, again, there was no Snow White at this point, the courtyard was empty meaning the Queen was leering down at you rather than Snow White.

* The first scene in the attraction was the Queen turning into the old peddlar woman. I'm almost positive they've slowed the animatronic down for the current ride. She used to spin around A LOT more suddenly and waited till your car was at the closest point to do so.

* After this scene, the majority of the ride dealt with your running through the woods. I distinctly remember bats swooping down on you, and the old peddlar woman randomly popping out from behind trees on several occasions.

* I don't remember ever entering the Dwarfs' diamond mine. What I do remember, though, is before they added the Snow White figure going up the stairs, you saw the seven dwarfs with candles creaking up those same stairs like in the film. I believe that was the only scene that actually took place inside the cottage.

* There was no happy ending. The ride ended with the death of the Queen, and suddenly you were back in the queue area. This is probably why DLP's ending is more intricate than WDW's since they probably planned theirs from the get-go whereas ours was a late addition. At least ours is better than DL's. We got to see the scene where the prince kisses Snow White as well as a nicely detailed final mural of the couple (and an animatronic Dopey) waving at us. DL just got a simple storybook page with silhouettes like Joe said.

So, yeah, in the end, the renovated WDW version is a better representation of the whole story than the original WDW one was. Personally, I'd like to see the renovation taken a step further and replace all of the so-called animatronics with REAL ones. The majority of the figures on the ride are actually statues, not animatronic. They don't move. I'd like to see fully realized ones with joint movement that can blink and move their mouths to the audio track. I'd also like to see the same thing happen to Peter Pan. Sure, it'd be expensive, but the results could be fabulous and immersive.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

I remember getting freaked out on WDW's Snow White around age 9 or 10, which surprised me all the more because I'd been on it as a 5 year old and apparently escaped unscarred.

When I started reading this thread I wasn't sure I'd be able to remember any differences, but pretty much everything Disneykid has said resonates true with me. I'm not sure if the Queen's turning around as the hag was the first scene in the attraction, but my memory tells me it was certainly a more sudden, dramatic moment than it is now. I feel like I do recall some portion of the dwarfs' mine---or at least I feel like I remember they've always mined that Dopey-diamonds-for-eyes gag, which may not mean the same thing.

What I remember most distinctly about riding it at 9 or ten: the trip through the forest was <i>heavy</i>. I was telling myself I was much too old to get this worked up about Snow White...didn't help much. I don't know what they've done to that section apart from making it shorter, but it was far scarier than anything at the Haunted Mansion.

Thank you very much, Wonderlicious! You told me almost all the differences between the rides in other location! Only Tokyo's remains a mystery now. And an extra double thank you for that link! Now I can see what some rides are like without selling the deed to my house.

Thank you very much, Disneykid! You told me everything I wanted to know about the old ride! I agree that they should re-do the rides to make the figures move. Peter Pan's would be even more popular, and maybe Snow White's would gain some more popularity.

Thank you veyr much, Fflewduur, for revealing even more, confirming things already said, and giving me a better impression of the scariness!

So now, I gather that the old ride was more immersive, and interactive. Sure, the interactions were scary, but it still got you involved. I really think that they should have kept the queen's transformation at its old speed. That was a part that scared me when I was eleven, but that's what made the ride so memorable! Also, it sounds like the forest was more interactive, too, especially with bats swooping over you!

Does anyone here think they should have kept it the way it was, and made some kind of age or height limit(from what I understand, Disney uses height limits as a replacement for age limits, but I don't know if that's true). I think that's what they should have done, because it would make the ride more memorable and maybe more popular, just not for the kids. Anything that pulls emotion from you is a better experience.

And can anyone help me with one other question? I went to Walt Disney World in 1999. The upgrade to the ride happened in 1995, and it should have been called "Snow White's Scary Adventures" when I went. However, I had two guide books to Walt Disney World, and they both called it "Snow White's Adventures". I also remember the queen turning around really fast when I went on the ride. So, did the guides just get the name incorrect, or did Disney not finish re-doing the whole ride, or did they decide to slow down the queen after 1995, or what? I'm really confused. I think the ride had the "Scary" adjective in the name when I went, but the guide books say nay.

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I went to Disney World in 1997 (and sadly, it's been my only time) and remember that the sign outside the ride read "Snow White's Adventures" yet on a small panel just by the side of the ride read "Snow White's Scary Adventures" warning people that it may be too intense for kids.

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-Joe

Blog | Deviantart

My thoughts exactly! This ride was really really scary. It may not seem so much now, but through the eyes of the child, this is a very horrifying experience. I don't remember the dwarfs mine, but I do remember it at Disneyland. That was the only part I remembered at Disneyland. Also, one time when we went, the Snow Queen/Witch figure was broken and she was already half turned when we got to her so the effect was pretty much ruined for first timers.

I'll post again with more details because my sister worked at that attraction for 8 months and knows it by heart, but what's been said pretty much covers the attraction.

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<a href=http://kramnebuer.dvdaf.com/>My ºoº DVDs </a>

I never saw the ride. When I went to WDW last May, the lines for that, Peter Pan & Winnie the Pooh were super long. Even the Fastpass times were far off (about 3-4 hours). After hearing about how scary it is, I'm dying to see it.

Actually, "scary" was in the original name of the ride. Here is the story from the Imagineering Field Guide.

"The attraction originally focused on the darker elements of the story. Snow White herself did no appear in any of the show scenes, so Guests were placed into her role, to experience her adventures the way she had. For a 1994 makeover, Snow White was added and the attention was drawn away from the Guest, so the word "Scary" was dropped from the title. Soon after the reopening, however, it was returned in order to avoid confusing parents, as the reworking of the show hadn't quite dulled the frightening edge for our littlest Guests."

I love this ride, I don't understand why the line is so much shorter for this ride than it is for some of the other dark rides. I don't mind though, it makes it so I can go through a couple times.

Yea, but the scariness was toned down. It's more scary for children than adults. So you may be expecting something that isn't there anymore. As we mentioned, the surprise of the witch and the creepiness in the forest has been lightened up.



Yea, I don't understand either. I'd rather have a ride that scares me a little rather than just some small-scale replicas of a Disney film landscape. And thanks for the info. I never knew "Scary" had been there before! But it makes more sense, the title was kind of bland without it.

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The E Ticket had a huge description fo the original 1955 ride before it's 1983 remake there.

The original WDW version was more faithful to the 1955 original while the 90s WDW is more faithful to the modern DL versin but Disneyland's current/modern take is still significantly more scary and a "faster" more immersive ride IMHO than WDW's.

I like the concept of you literally being Snow White and not just seeing her in in scenes from the movie--it adds an element missing in the new version although I admit to being abig fan of the ride in no matter what version

E

Unfortunately, the public in general didn't get the idea of being the heroine and instead wondered where she was. This was one of the reasons why Snow White was added to her namesake's attraction at Disneyland as part of the major Fantasyland overhaul of '83. WDW would receive Snow White last, as the versions in Japan and then France both opened with their respective Snow White rides having the heroine already there right from the start.

Thank you, EricMontreal22 for finding my old topic and helping me out even after it was tucked away for a while! I never knew that had detailed descriptions on E-tickets. So, I guess they were too lazy to describe the new version of the ride, and kind of copied and pasted the old description? Or they gave a little history lesson?

I too prefer the idea of being Snow White experiencing the adventures in her place. The queen would be after you, and make you feel far more in danger, making for a more memorable and emotionally engaging ride.

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Big Disney Fan--I know the official Disney rhetoric was that audiences all asked where Snow White was (And I'm sure some did) but I still refuse to buy that explanation *grin* I guess it is more clear that you8're toad in Toad's Wild Ride--and I suppose the DL version of SNow WHite anyway does sorta have the best of both worlds--more like you're along side or right behind (always too late) Snow White--much as you are with Pinoccchio in his ride. The WDW version goes further and is more just like reliving scenes from the movie IMHO

Disney Duster--no problem, these Fantasyland Dark Rides are my all time faves to discuss and I remember some 15 years ago as a 12 year old just back from Disneyland (and pre Internet for me sadly) desperately trying to find info on them--but the rides are largely left out of guide books etc the way Pirates and bigger rides are--I knew that the DL ones had all been changed in 1983 but that was it.

*haha* I have to laugh though for the confusion--I meant the E Ticket Magazine which is a wonderful fan magazine that's gone on for nearly 20 years now where they describe in words and pictures now gone DL rides, and the behind the scenes info. I actually discovered their great mag when I was looking for dark ride info and found the Snow White Issue completely by chance in a comic book store locally where the owner said he got a copy by accident....

http://www.the-e-ticket.com/

EricMontreal22, it makes much more sense being found in a magazine than the ticket itself! Thanks for the link, that site looks fantastic, as does the magazine! I've always wanted to rdie the Pinocchio dark ride, but I think I'd be scared of Monstro. By any chance, do you go through Monstro's mouth? I know you do in Storybook Land Canal Boats, but, it would be cool if you went through this big dark tunnel...maybe some illumination coming from Gepetto's boat house thing. But Monstro seriously scares me, just the mere thought. I used to be afraid of this blow-up toy of him in my room, and it was really small... You know, no one ever includes him in a list of Disney Villains, but he's the scariest in my opinion!

And I just went waaaay of topic...in my own topic. Well, since you want to talk about dark rides that are scary, why not let it be talked of here? So do you go through Monstro? I heard there are holograms fro the boys turning into donkeys. Do you seem them transforming? And do all versions of the ride have the Blue Fairy hologram that disappears?

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I just have to say (and this is going to inspire laughter, so laugh away) that if I ever go to Disneyland, I'll desperately need someone to go with me on the Pinocchio ride. Even though it's one of my favorite Disney films, it also scares the crap out of me. I think it's the eeriest and most perilous movie Disney's ever done. Oh, and the fact that Pinocchio himself is very high up on the list of Disney characters that creep me out when fully sculpted also makes me apprehensive of the ride.

I saw a video online of the ride, but much of it was so dark that I could barely make anything out. Only the beginning and ending were truly visible. I do think I remember going through Monstro's mouth in the video, but I'm not positive.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Peter Pan's Flight suffer the same way as Snow White did? I mean to say, wasn't Peter Pan not in the ride at all, and you were him? But the public didn't get it, so he had to be added?

I can see why they added Snow White though; I thoughoughly enjoyed seeing her in the ride, but now that I know she was added later, it makes sense that she is hardly in any scenes. The last time I went to Disneyland Paris was Christmas 2004, and I think she was only in 2 scenes!

I would love to see The Little Mermaid dark ride go ahead though. That would be spectacular! There has been so much intrest from the ride through the DVD that Disney are apparantly going to try and create it. I'l try to find the article on it for everyone.

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Yeah, you're right about Peter Pan. I have an issue about the ride in E-Ticket. It talks all about the ride, both versions at Disneyland and the one in WDW. DL's was the only version not to have Peter Pan in his namesake's attraction right from the start, whereas all the rest of the parks did have him.

As for the Little Mermaid, I wish they did something like that, too. It can even go in all five resorts worldwide. Not necessarily in all MK parks worldwide, but certainly all resorts:

1. Disney's California Adventure (Paradise Pier)
2. WDW's Magic Kingdom (Fantasyland)
3. Tokyo DisneySea (Mermaid Lagoon)
4. Disneyland Paris (Fantasyland)
5. Hong Kong Disneyland (Fantasyland)

Thanks a million.

They really migth build the Mermaid dark ride? YAY I couldn't help but think that they included it on the DVD to try to get interest in it--it looks great.

I have to say the 5 dark rides at Disneyland are classics. Re Alice in Wonderland I thought it *was* popular--big lines, It's one of the best I think though it, like all the Fantasyland rides have been basically ignore d by marketing. Also it was a B ticket ride (I believe) which I never understood.... the others were Cs I believe

However I feel that the newer dark rides don't have the same charm (I mean the dark rides in the same style--Cartoon Spin and especially Winnie the Pooh [US versions] and Monsters Inc) for some reason. One thing is they waren't built in as tight small places which for some reason adds to the effect I think. I hope none of the Disneyland ones are ever replaced


Peter Pan was always in the WDW version from 1971 on accoridng to the great E ticket mag article on the ride--I haven't read it in a while but i think he may have been int he end of the DL original too but not as much as he is now (the nursery was empty originally I do know)

E

You don't actually go through Monstro but there is a point where Monstro is rising up toward you and there are strobe lights going and it looks like he's going to eat you ... until you turn and just miss him in a true dark ride fashion. I can see how it could be frightening, especially for those of you who are particularily afraid of Monstro.

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