Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewell
Introduction and Contents
This rather lengthy essay, broken into 3 parts, is written blog-style and is intended to allow me to express my personal thoughts and experiences regarding the tragic closure of the WDW Magic Kingdom ride, in hopes that it will help me, too, to get some sense of closure. Hopefully like-minded readers will find it interesting. As for those who disagree and dislike the ride, and/or support the ride's closure, please respect that this is not intended to be a debate thread, although comments are certainly welcome.
Chapter 1 - "The Fairest One Of All", is a thorough scene by scene breakdown of the ride, pointing out various elements and details in each scene, my personal interpretation and reaction to them, what I like about them, etc. Also discusses why the totality of the now-closed WDW-MK version of the ride that is composed of these scenes, was, in my opinion, the best and most satisfying of all the Snow White darkrides, past and present.
Chapter 2 - "There's enough land here to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine", goes into the sad and sordid history of the WDW management team's cost-saving strategy of "addition through subtraction", despite having more than enough land to add new attractions without murdering beloved classics. Discusses how Snow White is the latest victim of this strategy, and how this has turned "the happiest place on earth" where "dreams come true" into a sad place where dreams are crushed for me.
Chapter 3 - "The Last Ride", is a detailed review of my experiences on the Last Day of the ride, both externally and internally. Includes the camaraderie I felt with other Snow White's Adventures fans I met that day at the ride, my emotional final ride, and the feeling of complete emptiness I felt while leaving the park that night (A feeling I won't be forgetting when those Annual Pass renewal offers inevitably arrive in the mail)
A note on nomenclature - The attraction has gone by 2 names in it's history - Snow White's Adventures and Snow White's Scary Adventures. I refer to it here by the former because that was the original name (even initially after the 1994 refurb that turned it into the attraction I loved). "Scary" was merely put into the title to warn parents of the potential scare factor, even though most of that was removed in 1994 when it actually became less about spookhouse scares and more about telling the COMPLETE story of Snow White - not just the dark and scary parts, but the lighter and happy ones, as well.
Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewell
Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewell
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
Chapter 1 - "The Fairest One of All"
"All art is at once surface and symbol", wrote Oscar Wilde, and the Magic Kingdom version of Snow White's Adventures, (which sadly closed forever on May 31, 2012) excelled brilliantly at both.
On the surface it was a brilliant retelling of the Snow White story as told by Walt Disney in his landmark animated classic film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and condensed into the three minute runtime of the classic darkride format.
It told the story so well that, on my most intensely focused of rides, I felt the same wide range of emotions I feel while watching the 83 minute film, in a very emotionally potent 3 minute ride - the goosebumps, the laughter, the concern for Snow White's well being, the sad and happy tears - all there!
And it told the story so well that it captures, on that deeper level, the same themes and symbolism found in the film. Not an insignificant achievement for a three minute theme park ride!
Our experiences with Snow White's Adventures begin with the beautiful and detailed mural found on the outside of the ride building. This perfectly introduces the characters and general plot points of the story, setting the tone for the adventures that await. Here we see Snow White enjoying a moment of joy with the seven dwarfs and her cute and charming animal forest friends, able to take her mind off her troubles. Meanwhile, the wicked queen (as the old hag) approaches from the right, eager to kill Snow White, while the Prince approaches on his white horse from the left.
While I loved to ride Snow White early in the morning and late at night to beat the crowds (and get a quick reride!), on the times when I did encounter a longer wait, I enjoyed the chance to spend more time admiring this mural from the queue.
Before describing the individual ride scenes, I must state that the artwork found throughout the ride's scenes is incredibly beautiful. Done in the same style of classic hand-drawn Disney animation as the film itself, in the ride it takes on a very tangible three dimensional effect. It's as if one is transported directly into one of the film's lavish multiplane camera shots, and able to remain in this world for the remainder of the ride.
Once seated in our mine car (which are appropriately individually named for all seven dwarfs), the very first scene of the ride itself is one of my favorites. Here we see Snow White near her Wishing Well, beutifully singing "I'm Wishing" to her bird friends in her lovely operatic voice, her hand extended with one of the birds resting on it.
Like every scene in the ride, this scene instantly "reads" well on first glance. Within seconds, Snow White's innocence and kindness is unquestionably established and understood by showing her kindness to animals. Like the Cinderella Fountain in back of the Castle showing Cindy in a similar pose with her bird and mice friends, this scene resonates very deeply with me. One reason is because I'm an animal lover myself, and also, this scene - like the Cinderella Fountain - subtly but clearly suggests that the true "regal" nature of the princess has it's true roots in a pure INNER beauty.
But alas, the queen looks on in jealousy, and riders will have to wait for another moment this sublime. For in the next scene, the mad psychopathic Queen begins plotting the murder of this innocent soul, and transforms herself into the witch/hag, her outer countenance now reflecting the twisted soul within. (This is done via a simple effect that is so convincing that I would have never figured it out, had I not accidentally read how it was achieved elsewhere).
Next, we enter one of the darkest scenes in the ride, both visually and aurally - The Queen's Dungeon, where she concocts the poison apple that she will entice Snow White with, in hopes of sending her to a state of "sleeping death", which can be awakened only by "True Love's First Kiss".
The skeleton in this scene serves an important storytelling function - he is seen grasping thorough the prison bars at a glass of water, just out of reach - which illustrates both the depth and deep-seeded longevity of the queen's wicked cruelty.
Although in the film the queen does not turn into the hag and conjure the apple until Snow White escapes into the forest and finds the dwarfs, it makes sense to include that scene here since the story is being condensed into three minutes, and it works better here given the pacing and scene selection of the rest of the ride.
Besides, it is the only scene out of order in the Magic Kingdom version of the ride, which is fewer than the other versions of the ride can say! (and really, the scene is in the correct order in the queen's character development, as the next time we see her, she would be the hag anyway).
One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Snow White is taken into the forest by the huntsman, and shows tremendous love and kindness for a lost baby bluebird, making sure it finds the way home - again, the kindness to animals theme. It is this kindness to the bluebird that touches the huntsman's heart and causes him to disobey the queen's order to kill Snow White, setting her free instead. In the film, this scene also serves to again establish and reinforce Snow White's character as gentle, kind, and innocent.
In the ride, this touching prelude to the huntsman's change of heart is not present due to the condensed nature of the story, as the kind, gentle, loving, and innocent nature of Snow White has already once been established in the very first scene.
But still, the huntsman's decision to let Snow White go free makes for one of the most dramatic moments of the ride.
"Quick princess, run away, and never come back! Go, GO!"
Taken out of context, one might think someone is being advised to give up, or run away from their problems, and all the negative connotations this may suggest.
But here, these are the first kind words spoken to Snow White, and they actually save her life. Only far away from the queen will she be safe.
It is here that the realization of what is happening to her sets in for Snow White. She is a kind and innocent soul, who never did anything to harm anyone... and yet through no fault of her own, a psychotic madwomen is trying to kill her. The brilliant effect of Snow White suddenly being illuminated in the forest perfectly captures this chilling realization.
What follows is perhaps the most terrifying section of the ride, when riding it empathetically attuned to Snow White's point of view. Logs take the form of alligators that chase Snow White and trees become sinister, menacing figures that tower over Snow White and have an equally menacing, cackling laugh. Meanwhile, the queen is still after Snow White as the hag, pursuing in a boat.
Those who don't find the logs as alligators and menacing trees "scary" are completely missing the point. They aren't literally scary, but psychologically scary. Here this poor girl just finds out that a psycho nutcase is trying to kill her, and suddenly the world is not such a happy and innocent place. Logs can become alligators, and trees can become towering, menacing figures out to get us - in our imaginations.
Most, if not all people, have been in situations where our imaginations get the best of us, and things seem worse than they appear - and in this sequence, Snow White is especially vulnerable to this.
So this scene can have a very powerful effect on me, emotionally, when I am most attuned to the ride and Snow White's state of mind - conjuring goosebumps or even at times, tears - feeling a tremendous empathy with Snow White. It's as if the whole world has turned against this innocent being for no reason, ready to stamp out her innocence, and even her very life. Like every scene in the ride, this works brilliantly aurally as well as visually, as the cackling laughter of the trees as heard in Snow White's imagination is quite chilling.
Thankfully, Snow White seems to have a guardian angel watching over her (and in this case, some lovable forest friends). Before she can succumb to the darkness and despair, the music transitions FLAWLESSLY to the gentle "Animal Friends" score motif heard in the film, and the eyes that look menacing and threatening in her imagination are revealed to be those of the kind and gentle animal forest friends.
The flawless dissolve of the ominous forest chase scene into the friendly, welcoming animal forest friends scene is one of my favorite moments in the ride - and the MK version of the ride is the only one that featured this transition.
Here we see birdies, squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, and deer, who all intuitively sense that Snow White is a kind and gentle soul who treats animals with kindness and love as well. As a result, they lead Snow White to the dwarfs' cottage, where she will be safe. Being Disney forest animals, these animals are of course cute, and in each appearance in the ride, they also express external emotion. Here, they have a welcoming expression, making Snow White (and riders by extension) feel comfortable in this little corner of the forest.
And no matter how often or how much I rode the ride, it seems I was always finding new critters I hadn't spotted before in this scene - mostly on the right side. I also enjoyed how squirrels could be spotted on the tree branch that stretched above and across the ride path.
The animals lead all the way up to the warm exterior of the dwarf's cottage, which opens to reveal all 7 dwarfs happily singing, dancing and playing "The Silly Song". This truly happy scene, (which condenses all of the happy and humorous film scenes of Snow White and the dwarfs at their cottage into one) occurs roughly midway through the ride, and makes for a nice little island of pure joy after all of the relatively darker scenes that preceded (and will follow) it.
For before we even leave the cottage, we see the hag tempting Snow White with the apple, and Snow White accepting it. Some of the animal friends are present, cute as always, but this time, their facial expressions display a deep concern for Snow White.
It is interesting that while Snow White attracts empathetic animal companions, the animals seen with the hag in her first appearance after poisoning Snow White are the vultures - who in the film, will of course quickly turn on the hag after she meets her demise.
The next sequence of scenes showcases the bravery and heroism of the dwarfs, as they chase the queen/hag all the way from their mine to the top of a cliff, risking their very lives in the process.
This can again be attributed to Snow White - they only know her for a day, but are taken by her beauty, innocence, and kindness. Also, the eagerness of the hag to kill the dwarfs again shows her wicked cruelty.
Luckily, the boulder the hag tries to kill the dwarfs with falls backwards and crushes her instead. This leads to a "blackout" - a completely dark scene that in this case, sets the stage perfectly for the ride's sublime and majestic finale.
Before we see anything, we hear it. The sublime, lovely choral version of "Some Day My Prince Will Come", which will beautifully score the remainder of the ride. Then as the darkness gradually lightens, we see Snow White, lying motionless in a coffin, being awakened by "True Love's First Kiss" by the Prince.
The backgrounds in this scene, of the forest gradually getting lighter and lighter, are stunning and breathtaking in their beauty. Next we turn a corner and the light is brighter, even heavenly, and the backgrounds even more breathtaking.
The Prince and his horse lead the Princess who transcended death itself over a bridge and to his Castle, while Snow White waves and says "goodbye" to the dwarfs. The dwarfs wave and say "goodbye" back, while meanwhile, mute Dopey sits atop a bridge that our mine car passes under, waving bye not just to Snow White, but to riders as well. He is surrounded by a final 3 forest friends - two bluebirds and a chipmunk - who are cute as ever, and this time displaying a look of PURE HAPPINESS, making a perfect ending to a perfect ride.
This "Happily Ever After" scene, which is consistently capable of moving me to goosebumps and/or joyous tears, is quite a payoff after all that Snow White has had to endure. I love how the lighting gradually goes from total darkness to pure light. For me, this scene represents nothing less than the triumph of light, love, gentleness, kindness, and innocence over darkness, evil, and death.
There is a nice symmetry to the sequence of the ride scenes. We begin with the happy scene of Snow White and the birds near the well, before dark elements are introduced via the queen/hag trying to kill Snow White. Then, the rest of the first half depicts Snow White fleeing from the queen, before the happy scene showing her safe refuge with the dwarfs and forest animals comes in at the midpoint.
Darkness returns in the second half when Snow White eats the apple, but instead of her fleeing from the Queen as in the first half of the ride, now it is the Queen fleeing from the dwarfs. And of course the Happily Ever After finale scene is the perfect finale which makes everything right.
The finale and the introductory scene make nice bookends, with the dwarf cottage at the midpoint also providing nice relief from the gloom that surrounds it. In all three of the happy scenes, Snow White is happy, but has gained a wider support system in each successive one. In the opening scene, her only companions are the birds at the well. By the midpoint she has the dwarfs and the forest animal friends, and in the finale, she has the Prince, the Dwarfs, and the Forest Friends. And now the queen can now longer harm her.
At first glance it may appear that external forces are looking out for her, since good things may seem to just happen for her that save her life on more than one occasion. Or, some may attribute this to pure chance.
However, I feel that ultimately, these things are no accident. As the Beatles sang, "the love you take is equal to the love you make", and in Snow White's case, it is the positive energy she puts out into the universe that ultimately comes back around to save her. Through her kindness to animals, the huntsman is moved and sets her free, rather than killing her. And due to this same kindness to animals, she receives the trust and love of the forest animals, who in turn lead her to safety and the dwarfs, who also look after and help Snow White. The dwarfs bravely chase the queen to her death, making Snow White forever safe from her wrath, and setting the stage for the Prince to awaken Snow White.
There is quite a powerful and positive message lurking about here. Sometimes, through no fault of their own, unspeakably horrific things happen to really good people. Yet, it is possible to overcome these things without succumbing to them and their darkness, and to even stay completely true to oneself, one's spirit, and one's essence in the process.
Another thing about the final two happy scenes (the dwarf cottage and the Finale) is that they come after longer periods of darker scenes featuring struggle, and thus feel earned - like a reward for the obstacles that have been overcome.
This is quite a contrast to a ride like It's A Small World, which is more an atmosphere ride than a story ride - and in that case, the atmosphere of the ride is a nonstop, wall-to-wall celebration of happiness, harmony, and cuteness. (I'm a HUGE fan of It's A Small World and in my opinion there is room for both types of rides in the Disney park experience).
Getting back to the story rides like Snow White, it is precisely the payoff of these happy scenes - especially the finale - that make the ride so satisfying for me and make its themes resonate so deeply.
And yet, only the recent Orlando version of the ride had a Happy Ending payoff so satisfying. Paris comes closest, but the Happy Ending is shorter and lacks the "Love's First Kiss" scene. Anaheim's Happy Ending takes the form of an afterthought mural on the OUTSIDE of the ride building. And Tokyo, like the first version of the Orlando and Anaheim rides, doesn't have a Happy Ending scene at all.
It is for this reason, along with it's tone and scene order being most faithful to that of the film and story - that I consider the Orlando WDW MK version of the ride, that is now sadly closed, "the fairest one of all" - and likely the fairest Snow White darkride that ever will be.
"All art is at once surface and symbol", wrote Oscar Wilde, and the Magic Kingdom version of Snow White's Adventures, (which sadly closed forever on May 31, 2012) excelled brilliantly at both.
On the surface it was a brilliant retelling of the Snow White story as told by Walt Disney in his landmark animated classic film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and condensed into the three minute runtime of the classic darkride format.
It told the story so well that, on my most intensely focused of rides, I felt the same wide range of emotions I feel while watching the 83 minute film, in a very emotionally potent 3 minute ride - the goosebumps, the laughter, the concern for Snow White's well being, the sad and happy tears - all there!
And it told the story so well that it captures, on that deeper level, the same themes and symbolism found in the film. Not an insignificant achievement for a three minute theme park ride!
Our experiences with Snow White's Adventures begin with the beautiful and detailed mural found on the outside of the ride building. This perfectly introduces the characters and general plot points of the story, setting the tone for the adventures that await. Here we see Snow White enjoying a moment of joy with the seven dwarfs and her cute and charming animal forest friends, able to take her mind off her troubles. Meanwhile, the wicked queen (as the old hag) approaches from the right, eager to kill Snow White, while the Prince approaches on his white horse from the left.
While I loved to ride Snow White early in the morning and late at night to beat the crowds (and get a quick reride!), on the times when I did encounter a longer wait, I enjoyed the chance to spend more time admiring this mural from the queue.
Before describing the individual ride scenes, I must state that the artwork found throughout the ride's scenes is incredibly beautiful. Done in the same style of classic hand-drawn Disney animation as the film itself, in the ride it takes on a very tangible three dimensional effect. It's as if one is transported directly into one of the film's lavish multiplane camera shots, and able to remain in this world for the remainder of the ride.
Once seated in our mine car (which are appropriately individually named for all seven dwarfs), the very first scene of the ride itself is one of my favorites. Here we see Snow White near her Wishing Well, beutifully singing "I'm Wishing" to her bird friends in her lovely operatic voice, her hand extended with one of the birds resting on it.
Like every scene in the ride, this scene instantly "reads" well on first glance. Within seconds, Snow White's innocence and kindness is unquestionably established and understood by showing her kindness to animals. Like the Cinderella Fountain in back of the Castle showing Cindy in a similar pose with her bird and mice friends, this scene resonates very deeply with me. One reason is because I'm an animal lover myself, and also, this scene - like the Cinderella Fountain - subtly but clearly suggests that the true "regal" nature of the princess has it's true roots in a pure INNER beauty.
But alas, the queen looks on in jealousy, and riders will have to wait for another moment this sublime. For in the next scene, the mad psychopathic Queen begins plotting the murder of this innocent soul, and transforms herself into the witch/hag, her outer countenance now reflecting the twisted soul within. (This is done via a simple effect that is so convincing that I would have never figured it out, had I not accidentally read how it was achieved elsewhere).
Next, we enter one of the darkest scenes in the ride, both visually and aurally - The Queen's Dungeon, where she concocts the poison apple that she will entice Snow White with, in hopes of sending her to a state of "sleeping death", which can be awakened only by "True Love's First Kiss".
The skeleton in this scene serves an important storytelling function - he is seen grasping thorough the prison bars at a glass of water, just out of reach - which illustrates both the depth and deep-seeded longevity of the queen's wicked cruelty.
Although in the film the queen does not turn into the hag and conjure the apple until Snow White escapes into the forest and finds the dwarfs, it makes sense to include that scene here since the story is being condensed into three minutes, and it works better here given the pacing and scene selection of the rest of the ride.
Besides, it is the only scene out of order in the Magic Kingdom version of the ride, which is fewer than the other versions of the ride can say! (and really, the scene is in the correct order in the queen's character development, as the next time we see her, she would be the hag anyway).
One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Snow White is taken into the forest by the huntsman, and shows tremendous love and kindness for a lost baby bluebird, making sure it finds the way home - again, the kindness to animals theme. It is this kindness to the bluebird that touches the huntsman's heart and causes him to disobey the queen's order to kill Snow White, setting her free instead. In the film, this scene also serves to again establish and reinforce Snow White's character as gentle, kind, and innocent.
In the ride, this touching prelude to the huntsman's change of heart is not present due to the condensed nature of the story, as the kind, gentle, loving, and innocent nature of Snow White has already once been established in the very first scene.
But still, the huntsman's decision to let Snow White go free makes for one of the most dramatic moments of the ride.
"Quick princess, run away, and never come back! Go, GO!"
Taken out of context, one might think someone is being advised to give up, or run away from their problems, and all the negative connotations this may suggest.
But here, these are the first kind words spoken to Snow White, and they actually save her life. Only far away from the queen will she be safe.
It is here that the realization of what is happening to her sets in for Snow White. She is a kind and innocent soul, who never did anything to harm anyone... and yet through no fault of her own, a psychotic madwomen is trying to kill her. The brilliant effect of Snow White suddenly being illuminated in the forest perfectly captures this chilling realization.
What follows is perhaps the most terrifying section of the ride, when riding it empathetically attuned to Snow White's point of view. Logs take the form of alligators that chase Snow White and trees become sinister, menacing figures that tower over Snow White and have an equally menacing, cackling laugh. Meanwhile, the queen is still after Snow White as the hag, pursuing in a boat.
Those who don't find the logs as alligators and menacing trees "scary" are completely missing the point. They aren't literally scary, but psychologically scary. Here this poor girl just finds out that a psycho nutcase is trying to kill her, and suddenly the world is not such a happy and innocent place. Logs can become alligators, and trees can become towering, menacing figures out to get us - in our imaginations.
Most, if not all people, have been in situations where our imaginations get the best of us, and things seem worse than they appear - and in this sequence, Snow White is especially vulnerable to this.
So this scene can have a very powerful effect on me, emotionally, when I am most attuned to the ride and Snow White's state of mind - conjuring goosebumps or even at times, tears - feeling a tremendous empathy with Snow White. It's as if the whole world has turned against this innocent being for no reason, ready to stamp out her innocence, and even her very life. Like every scene in the ride, this works brilliantly aurally as well as visually, as the cackling laughter of the trees as heard in Snow White's imagination is quite chilling.
Thankfully, Snow White seems to have a guardian angel watching over her (and in this case, some lovable forest friends). Before she can succumb to the darkness and despair, the music transitions FLAWLESSLY to the gentle "Animal Friends" score motif heard in the film, and the eyes that look menacing and threatening in her imagination are revealed to be those of the kind and gentle animal forest friends.
The flawless dissolve of the ominous forest chase scene into the friendly, welcoming animal forest friends scene is one of my favorite moments in the ride - and the MK version of the ride is the only one that featured this transition.
Here we see birdies, squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, and deer, who all intuitively sense that Snow White is a kind and gentle soul who treats animals with kindness and love as well. As a result, they lead Snow White to the dwarfs' cottage, where she will be safe. Being Disney forest animals, these animals are of course cute, and in each appearance in the ride, they also express external emotion. Here, they have a welcoming expression, making Snow White (and riders by extension) feel comfortable in this little corner of the forest.
And no matter how often or how much I rode the ride, it seems I was always finding new critters I hadn't spotted before in this scene - mostly on the right side. I also enjoyed how squirrels could be spotted on the tree branch that stretched above and across the ride path.
The animals lead all the way up to the warm exterior of the dwarf's cottage, which opens to reveal all 7 dwarfs happily singing, dancing and playing "The Silly Song". This truly happy scene, (which condenses all of the happy and humorous film scenes of Snow White and the dwarfs at their cottage into one) occurs roughly midway through the ride, and makes for a nice little island of pure joy after all of the relatively darker scenes that preceded (and will follow) it.
For before we even leave the cottage, we see the hag tempting Snow White with the apple, and Snow White accepting it. Some of the animal friends are present, cute as always, but this time, their facial expressions display a deep concern for Snow White.
It is interesting that while Snow White attracts empathetic animal companions, the animals seen with the hag in her first appearance after poisoning Snow White are the vultures - who in the film, will of course quickly turn on the hag after she meets her demise.
The next sequence of scenes showcases the bravery and heroism of the dwarfs, as they chase the queen/hag all the way from their mine to the top of a cliff, risking their very lives in the process.
This can again be attributed to Snow White - they only know her for a day, but are taken by her beauty, innocence, and kindness. Also, the eagerness of the hag to kill the dwarfs again shows her wicked cruelty.
Luckily, the boulder the hag tries to kill the dwarfs with falls backwards and crushes her instead. This leads to a "blackout" - a completely dark scene that in this case, sets the stage perfectly for the ride's sublime and majestic finale.
Before we see anything, we hear it. The sublime, lovely choral version of "Some Day My Prince Will Come", which will beautifully score the remainder of the ride. Then as the darkness gradually lightens, we see Snow White, lying motionless in a coffin, being awakened by "True Love's First Kiss" by the Prince.
The backgrounds in this scene, of the forest gradually getting lighter and lighter, are stunning and breathtaking in their beauty. Next we turn a corner and the light is brighter, even heavenly, and the backgrounds even more breathtaking.
The Prince and his horse lead the Princess who transcended death itself over a bridge and to his Castle, while Snow White waves and says "goodbye" to the dwarfs. The dwarfs wave and say "goodbye" back, while meanwhile, mute Dopey sits atop a bridge that our mine car passes under, waving bye not just to Snow White, but to riders as well. He is surrounded by a final 3 forest friends - two bluebirds and a chipmunk - who are cute as ever, and this time displaying a look of PURE HAPPINESS, making a perfect ending to a perfect ride.
This "Happily Ever After" scene, which is consistently capable of moving me to goosebumps and/or joyous tears, is quite a payoff after all that Snow White has had to endure. I love how the lighting gradually goes from total darkness to pure light. For me, this scene represents nothing less than the triumph of light, love, gentleness, kindness, and innocence over darkness, evil, and death.
There is a nice symmetry to the sequence of the ride scenes. We begin with the happy scene of Snow White and the birds near the well, before dark elements are introduced via the queen/hag trying to kill Snow White. Then, the rest of the first half depicts Snow White fleeing from the queen, before the happy scene showing her safe refuge with the dwarfs and forest animals comes in at the midpoint.
Darkness returns in the second half when Snow White eats the apple, but instead of her fleeing from the Queen as in the first half of the ride, now it is the Queen fleeing from the dwarfs. And of course the Happily Ever After finale scene is the perfect finale which makes everything right.
The finale and the introductory scene make nice bookends, with the dwarf cottage at the midpoint also providing nice relief from the gloom that surrounds it. In all three of the happy scenes, Snow White is happy, but has gained a wider support system in each successive one. In the opening scene, her only companions are the birds at the well. By the midpoint she has the dwarfs and the forest animal friends, and in the finale, she has the Prince, the Dwarfs, and the Forest Friends. And now the queen can now longer harm her.
At first glance it may appear that external forces are looking out for her, since good things may seem to just happen for her that save her life on more than one occasion. Or, some may attribute this to pure chance.
However, I feel that ultimately, these things are no accident. As the Beatles sang, "the love you take is equal to the love you make", and in Snow White's case, it is the positive energy she puts out into the universe that ultimately comes back around to save her. Through her kindness to animals, the huntsman is moved and sets her free, rather than killing her. And due to this same kindness to animals, she receives the trust and love of the forest animals, who in turn lead her to safety and the dwarfs, who also look after and help Snow White. The dwarfs bravely chase the queen to her death, making Snow White forever safe from her wrath, and setting the stage for the Prince to awaken Snow White.
There is quite a powerful and positive message lurking about here. Sometimes, through no fault of their own, unspeakably horrific things happen to really good people. Yet, it is possible to overcome these things without succumbing to them and their darkness, and to even stay completely true to oneself, one's spirit, and one's essence in the process.
Another thing about the final two happy scenes (the dwarf cottage and the Finale) is that they come after longer periods of darker scenes featuring struggle, and thus feel earned - like a reward for the obstacles that have been overcome.
This is quite a contrast to a ride like It's A Small World, which is more an atmosphere ride than a story ride - and in that case, the atmosphere of the ride is a nonstop, wall-to-wall celebration of happiness, harmony, and cuteness. (I'm a HUGE fan of It's A Small World and in my opinion there is room for both types of rides in the Disney park experience).
Getting back to the story rides like Snow White, it is precisely the payoff of these happy scenes - especially the finale - that make the ride so satisfying for me and make its themes resonate so deeply.
And yet, only the recent Orlando version of the ride had a Happy Ending payoff so satisfying. Paris comes closest, but the Happy Ending is shorter and lacks the "Love's First Kiss" scene. Anaheim's Happy Ending takes the form of an afterthought mural on the OUTSIDE of the ride building. And Tokyo, like the first version of the Orlando and Anaheim rides, doesn't have a Happy Ending scene at all.
It is for this reason, along with it's tone and scene order being most faithful to that of the film and story - that I consider the Orlando WDW MK version of the ride, that is now sadly closed, "the fairest one of all" - and likely the fairest Snow White darkride that ever will be.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
Chapter 2 - "There's enough land here to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"
DISCLAIMER - Chapters 2 and 3 contain some material which could be considered critical of Walt Disney World management (known as "Team Disney Orlando", or "TDO"), and by extension, WDW itself. It is not my intention to sway anyone to my point of view or to "ruin the magic" for anyone for whom reading such viewpoints could have that effect. Rather, I strive for complete honesty and truthfulness in my writing, especially regarding my own thoughts and feelings, and it is necessary for me to express these opinions in order to tell my own very personal story of my experience of the closure of Snow White's Adventures. For those who are easily offended by reading such viewpoints, and for whom doing so would risk "ruining the magic" for them, it is recommended that they consider not reading further. Also, please remember and respect that this thread is intended to be a long-form, blog-style essay, and not intended to be a debate thread. Comments are welcome, but for those who disagree, please do not start arguments or debates.
Chapter 2 - "There's enough land here to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"
By now, most serious or even casual WDW fans are familiar with Walt's famous quote and it's origin. As awesome as his original Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, was (and still is), it was landlocked and had limited room with which to grow.
To stop this from happening again, Walt purchased 27,400 acres when planning Walt Disney World. Now, space concerns would never be an issue again.
Or so he thought....
After Walt's passing, Walt Disney World opened in 1971 with its first theme park, the Magic Kingdom. Comparisons to Disneyland were inevitable as the park was CLEARLY an East Coast interpretation of Disneyland, though not an exact copy. But it generally had the same "lands" and attractions.
Certain things in the Magic Kingdom were an improvement over the original - namely, the architectural transitions between each land. But in other ways, the park seemed more "boxy" and "workmanlike" - larger, "grander", and more "spectacular" in scale and scope, but certainly less CHARMING. And curiously missing many of the essential classics one would expect in a "Magic Kingdom"-style park.
Nowhere was this more evident than in "the happiest kingdom of them all", Fantasyland, which had significantly fewer attractions than Disneyland's Fantasyland. No less than FOUR of the Disneyland classics were inexplicably nowhere to be found. (that number would eventually grow to FIVE with the 1983 Disneyland addition of Pinocchio's Daring Journey, SIX with the 1998 MK removal of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and now it's at SEVEN with the recent loss of Snow White's Adventures).
And the fact that Fantasyland was the Orlando Magic Kingdom section most deficient and missing the most key attractions found at Disneyland was something I've always been highly attuned to, since Fantasyland has always been my favorite section at a Disneyland/Magic Kingdom-style park.
But still, for those of us on the East Coast or Southeastern United States, having a smaller (in attractions) Disneyland much closer to home within relatively short, convenient driving distance, was better than no Disneyland at all. There was always hope that those missing attractions would one day materialize, and in the meantime, one enjoyed what one had.
But, other than the early addition of Pirates to Adventureland; an early Tomorrowland expansion that brought Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, and the Peoplemover/Astro Orbiter complex; the eventual additions of Thunder and Splash Mountains to Frontierland; and finally, the addition of the sadly now-closed Mickey's Toontown Fair land to the outskirts of Fantsyland, the park never really grew by expanding it's footprint or TOTAL number of attractions.
Indeed, even AFTER all of the additions described above, the park had at least a dozen FEWER attractions to offer it's guests in its 108 acres than Disneyland had in its 80 acres.
And yet, the preferred "expansion" mode of choice for Magic Kingdom managers has traditionally been "addition through subtraction" - that is, acting as if the park is already completely built out, ignoring all of its numerous expansion pads (clearly visible in satellite photos), and choosing instead to build "new" attractions on space already occupied by "old" ones, causing the unnecessary removal of these existing attractions. Sometimes, attractions would even disappear without even being replaced by a new one.
So much for Walt's ideals of a Florida utopia with "the blessing of size" and "enough land to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"! Instead, the Magic Kingdom (and later Epcot) were being run like landlocked shopping malls that had no room to expand and a limited amount of store plots - meaning the only way they could ever add a "new" one was to close an existing one.
To those of us who KNEW of all the available space, KNEW of Walt's quote, and KNEW what Walt Disney World was TRULY capable of becoming, this strategy of addition through subtraction was such a complete insult to one's intelligence...
Fortunately, it took awhile for things to get completely out of hand. Although my favorite attraction, The Mickey Mouse Revue, was tragically shipped to Tokyo Disneyland in 1980 rather than the company spending the money to build Tokyo a new one from scratch like all the other Opening Day Tokyo attractions, in hindsight this seemed to be an anomaly, and WDW entered the 90's with all of its other classic attractions intact, both in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
And then, in the second half of the nineties, came The Great Purge...
One by one, beloved classic attractions were aggressively closed, and sometimes not even replaced, instead of new things being built from scratch.
In just a few short years:
* Epcot lost the original Journey Into Imagination ride, which was replaced by a Figment-free version of the ride that was so universally hated, the company had to build a third version, featuring Figment again, that was much better than the second, but not as good as the first.
* The charming Kitchen Kabaret became the "hipper", pop-culture referencing Food Rocks, which too eventually disappeared leaving NO musical animatronic food revue in The Land pavilion.
* The warm and humorous classic animatronic extravaganza World of Motion darkride closed to make way for Test Track, a thrill attraction lacking the charm found in it's predecessor
* Horizons, another animatronic classic dark ride that arguably expressed the theme of Epcot's Future World better than any other attraction, was replaced with Mission Space, instead of building a new building for the Space pavilion on one of Future World's expansion pads.
Meanwhile, things were just as bad at the Magic Kingdom. All within a few short years of each other:
* The beloved, charming Enchanted Tiki Room show was replaced with an obnoxious, abrasive sequel that actually made fun of the classic original show (and by extension, those who loved it).
* WDW management never bothered to reopen the beloved classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine attraction after what was thought to be a routine rehab, leaving it shuttered for years. Even fans who were regulars at the park in this era never even had the chance to say goodbye to it and get whatever "closure" they could have gotten if WDW had been upfront in advance about a permanent closing of the ride.
* Even Walt Disney himself was not exempt from being totally and completely disrespected by WDW and MK management. The attraction that featured his name and paid tribute to his life's work, the Walt Disney Story, was removed from Town Square, although this wrong was somewhat righted some years later when a similar attraction opened at the Hollywood Studios park.
But the closure that caused the most controversy among the fan community, and was the straw that broke the camel's back for me personally, leading to an eight year personal "boycott" of Walt Disney World (although all the other closures above played a big role as well), was the 1998 closure of the Fantasyland classic darkride, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
And the reason given for the closure simply defied logic and was an insult to everyone's intelligence - they needed the space for a Winnie-the-Pooh ride.
Now, I personally love Winnie-the-Pooh and ended up enjoying the ride, in fact, it's become a favorite. But at the time the enthusiasm I would have felt for it's upcoming debut was completely crushed, knowing it was coming at the expense of one of my favorite attractions in the park.
As stated above, the MK Fantasyland attraction roster has ALWAYS been woefully deficient when compared to Disneyland's. Here was a chance to begin to make up for it by building a brand new Pooh ride from scratch, without touching any of the classics already in the park. Satellite photos clearly showed a TON of land between Fantasyland and the railroad tracks completely unused. Land that WDW management would pretend didn't exist... until now, since they are using it for the woefully underwhelming current Fantasyland expansion.
Remember Walt's quote above as one can almost hear him whispering from beyond...
"JT Toad", a regular poster in the online fan community, had enough of WDW management's nonsense, and just one day after the announcement of Toad's impending demise, launched SaveToad.com, making the eloquent case as to why it was such a huge mistake to close Toad.
He soon had thousands of supporters and even regular "Save Toad" rallies took place in the park by green-shirted protesters, but it didn't matter to WDW management. They murdered Toad anyway, proving in the process that they didn't care how much heartbreak the murder of beloved, still-popular classics like Toad would leave in their wake.
Meanwhile, just as The Great Purge had gotten underway, having just finished college, I had begun to do what many a hardcore Disney parkfan considers - look into the feasibility of moving to Orlando to make the parks a regular part of my life - not just something to daydream about most of the year/s until I could visit them on "vacation".
I was unaware of all the sickening closures that were going on in the parks, having not been in a few years, but I realized I could use a new tool I had just learned about in the campus library - the Internet - to catch up on and read about the parks from a variety of sources - including the thoughts and experiences of other fans themselves.
What I saw shocked me. So many beloved classics had closed or were about to close, and Mr. Toad's impending doom had just been announced. People like JT Toad of savetoad.com, Al Lutz (playing a similar role as Disneyland watchdog), and Merlin Jones (who would later write great things for SaveDisney) cared more about the parks and the classic attractions than the people in charge of running them!
So when WDW management stomped on the hearts of all who cared about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, I decided to follow JT Toad's lead and stop visiting WDW for the foreseeable future, at least until things improved. Not only were my tentative relocation plans off the table, but any future trips were, as well. Why give money to people who callously DESTROY things you love?
Now some would say I "was only hurting myself", but I disagree, and still do.
For one thing, to give them my business so soon after such crushing closures would have in effect been saying I was okay with their decisions, which I wasn't. By withholding my business, I was "putting my money where my mouth was", and being true to my beliefs - the customer speaking with his wallet.
More importantly, the classics that were removed were all personal favorites and therefore a big reason why I fell in love with Magic Kingdom and Epcot in the first place. Not having them in the parks made the parks feel like fraudulent, incomplete, imposter, alternate-universe versions of themselves, and certainly not the parks I fell in love with. The idea of visiting the parks without these attractions was extremely unappealing, like the idea of buying a copy of your favorite film with several scenes missing, or a copy of your favorite album with several tracks chopped off by the record company.
It was as if The Beatles had carried on as a band in the 70's - but without John, Paul, George, and Ringo; George Washington had been dynamited off of Mount Rushmore; or a mustache had been painted on the Mona Lisa.
Still, there were favorite attractions that survived intact in these hacked, butchered, versions of parks I once considered masterpieces, so I hesitated to say I'd NEVER be back. But time would have to pass, things would have to improve, and leadership would have to change...
For the next few years, I was able to take my mind off of Walt Disney World, and didn't miss it.
I kept in touch with my theme park passion by visiting other parks closer to home, including a new one that opened in New Orleans in 2000 (Jazzland, later known as Six Flags New Orleans). For the first time since childhood, I had a theme park in my own city to play in (sadly, this park would only last 6 seasons due to a certain hurricane).
Meanwhile, I kept in touch with "Disney Magic" mainly via the classic film library, especially the Disney Animated Classics, which always seemed more "Disney" to me than the parks, anyway. Vault Disney was going strong on the Disney Channel, so I was also getting heavily into the classic live action films, the anthology series, and Zorro during this era. I became obsessed with collecting Disney films on the newly surging DVD format. I was especially excited by the Platinum Series and the idea of collecting 2-disc sets for all of the animated classics.
One great thing about the films is that, after I bond with them and own my copy, Disney can't "close" them, make them disappear forever, and pretend they don't exist and never existed, like they do with their park attractions.
My collection of Disney soundtrack CDs was also growing and were constant companions during this era.
On November 30, 2003, Roy Disney resigned from the Walt Disney Company and launched SaveDisney.com. The site's brilliant editor, Merlin Jones, wrote a series of excellent articles highlighting what was wrong with the company. One of the areas addressed was the theme parks, and he addressed the same types of concerns that myself and many other fans had regarding the direction of the parks. This was the first ray of hope that things could improve.
When SaveDisney succeeded and Michael Eisner eventually resigned in 2005, and I realized that WDW hadn't made any significant missteps since the late 90's closures listed above, I began to consider the possibility of another trip. Though the aesthetic perfection of the totality of the MK and Epcot as complete parks had been marred by the closures of beloved favorite attractions, there were other beloved favorites still intact, and I didn't want to go the rest of my life never experiencing those favorite attractions again. So perhaps it was time to give WDW another chance.
And then Hurricane Katrina happened. New Orleans was like a third world country in the immediate aftermath (no electricity, martial law, etc), so my initial "weekend evacuation" before the storm hit turned into months on the road traveling and exploring to escape the unpleasantness - with an eye for ending my "tour" in central Florida not as a vacationer, but as a RESIDENT.
So in early 2006, I found myself doing something that seemed highly improbable a few short years earlier - living in Florida, buying a WDW Annual Pass, and visiting the parks.
While it was nice being there after so long, the changes and missing beloved favorites took some getting used to. I tried to work around this by telling myself that, yes, the "true" Orlando Magic Kingdom and Epcot I was used to were dead, and that I was in an alternate version of the MK like Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, or Hong Kong Disneyland. Those parks (especially Hong Kong and to a lesser extent, Paris) are missing many of the essential classics found (or that were once found) in the US parks, but they are nice for what they are, with Tokyo coming closest to having all of the essential classics.
This helped some, but there was another obstacle. Hurricane Katrina had made me more cynical and bitter than I had ever been in my life.
So much so that after my first day in the Magic Kingdom, seeing my surviving favorite attractions but not FEELING them, I began to wonder if the "magic" of the parks could ever reach my Inner Child again...
More than any other parks, Disney parks aren't about physical thrills as much as they are about "Magic" and "Wonder" and about making/feeling an emotional connection with the place.
But on that first day back at WDW after the storm, in 2006 after more than an 8 year absence, I wasn't completely "feeling" it.
It was nice seeing my old favorite surviving attractions again, but there was still a large degree of emotional "disconnect" - I wasn't seeing things through the eyes of my inner 8-year old like I normally would. Nothing really gave me goosebumps or made me cry (tears of happiness) like it normally would, especially after not being there for awhile.
My last ride of that first night was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. After that, since Wishes (the firework show) would be starting at park closing, I was trying to make it to Fantasyland or in front of the Castle for my first-ever viewing of Wishes. But I mistimed things and the fanfare started playing while I was walking along the riverfront.
So I stopped and watched along the river, near the Frontierland/Liberty Square border, and I could see some of the shells beautifully reflecting in the water.
I felt the first tinge of goosebumps when Peter Pan says "I wish we'd never have to grow up - off to Neverland!", followed by Pinocchio's "Jiminy, someday I wish I could be a real boy", and Aladdin's "Genie, I wish for your freedom".
But what really got me was the finale. What makes this show isn't just the visuals of the fireworks, but the combination of the fireworks WITH the soundtrack - both music and dialogue.
When good overcomes the forces of evil, and Jiminy says "It's the Blue Fairy!" and then the Blue Fairy is represented by the rapid-fire big blue bursts scored to the Wishes fanfare and then says "Remember, we must always believe in our Wishes, for they are the Magic in the world. Now, let's all put our hearts together, and make a wish come true", I just completely and totally lost it. It was the first real cry I had since the storm, and the first time that day (or since the storm) that I saw anything in life again through the eyes of my inner little boy.
That finale was really a transcendental spiritual experience for me. I remember feeling such a sense of relief that I hadn't lost my inner child and childlike sense of wonder. This was also the first moment where I felt the internalized angst of the storm begin to wash away. Since then, I am happy to say that the jaded cynicism and bitterness I felt in the aftermath of the storm has completely faded away, and I have seen all 4 WDW parks through the eyes of my inner child, getting the goosebumps and tears of joy in many places where they didn't come that first day.
Since that first viewing, I have seen Wishes many, many times, and during nearly each one of them I've been moved by it. Maybe not to tears every single time, but usually at least goosebumps.
These were halcyon days for me, those first years as a Florida resident with a WDW AP, seeing the parks through the eyes of my inner child, and being moved by them.
But this, sadly, eventually began to fade, and not due to me relapsing into any post-Katrina state of bitterness, but due to developments in the parks themselves.
The first sign of cracks starting to appear in what I had begun to accept as the new, alternate-universe Walt Disney World was the closure of the Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends attraction at Animal Kingdom in 2008. This wonderful show featured the beautiful song "Colors of the Wind" and some intricate, charming, behaviours by live animals. It was both entertaining and poignant, and like the best WDW attractions, worked on a deeper level, expressing Animal Kingdom's underlying messages of conservation, showing respect and love for ALL living things, and living in harmony with Nature. And yet it closed, and the theatre sat vacant for the remaining 4 years of my WDW AP membership, with no replacement.
For the first time in nearly 10 years, WDW had made a horrible, aesthetically illogical, move which hinted back to the heyday of The Great Purge in the late 90's - especially since it was closed without a replacement.
At the time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, rationalizing that live theatre shows like this in theme parks tend to have a much shorter life span than rides and continuously loading, non-live shows (like 3-D films and animatronic shows). And yet, closed live theatre shows are almost always replaced by something (usually a new show) and this one wasn't.
There were a few other smaller signs as well. Entertainment cuts at Epcot saw the removal of some of my favorite live musical groups, such as Spellman's Gledje in Norway and Si Xian in China - both removed without being replaced by anything. Perhaps even more shocking was the removal of Lights of Winter, Epcot's signature Christmas light display, in 2009. Despite vocal protests from many in the online WDW fan community, it has never returned since or been replaced by anything, leaving Epcot without a signature light display during the holidays.
But my "honeymoon" with the new WDW really began to unravel with the closure of the MK's Mickey's Toontown Fair in 2011 - the first time in Disney Theme Park history than an ENTIRE LAND in one of the parks was destroyed.
I was a big fan of this section, especially the charming Mickey's House and Minnie's House attractions. They were absolutely PACKED with charming details both inside and out that provided fun references to the classic cartoon shorts featuring these beloved characters, while also creating rich "backstory" that made them believable as Mickey and Minnie's Houses. But perhaps most importantly, these charming design details also gave the Houses a very warm and happy feeling, and truly make them feel like "Homes".
Being from New Orleans and dealing with the aftermath of Katrina, the concept of what makes a house a "Home" is something that was fresh on my mind when first arriving in Orlando in 2006. Almost everyone I know lost everything they owned (I was one of the luckier ones as I had a second-story apartment higher than the water line), and I've seen the sad devastation of Homes flooded above the roof having to be torn down and turned to rubble.
I've often read of the architecture of the Disney parks being referred to as the "architecture of reassurance" and I certainly feel Mickey and Minnie's Houses fit this description with their colorful palettes and whimsical "squash and stretch" curved architecture; and the aforementioned warm and inviting interiors. I remember even thinking during those days, that it was nice that a hurricane had never destroyed Mickey and Minnie's Homes like it destroyed so many others back home that I was familiar with. These were wonderful refuges that would hopefully always be safe from that sad fate...
I never thought in 2006 after moving to Florida (at first year-round, then seasonally), that just a few years later, I would be mourning the loss of those very Mouse Homes that were so warm, welcoming, and felt like "home" to me when I first arrived in Florida and had a place to live, but didn't have a "home" in the emotional sense. And this loss was not due to any storm destroying them either, but the company itself tearing down Mickey and Minnie Mouse's Homes. Perhaps my feelings on this matter are enhanced partly because of Katrina, but in any case the idea of this happening just seems so cold and incongruous with what the "Disney Magic" is supposed to be all about, at least for me.
And something sad and significant began to happen to me during the last week of Toontown and Mickey and Minnie's Homes. I first noticed it during the "Dream Along With Mickey" Castle show, and later during Wishes. These shows are about the power of believing in your dreams, and wishes coming true. Some would say Disney overuses words like "Wishes", "Dreams", and "Believe" in their in-park entertainment productions, almost in a quasi-religious sort of way, but nonetheless I can't help feeling touched by them.
But on my visit that last week of Toontown, these shows just felt so HOLLOW and EMPTY to me. Hearing the talk of "Wishes" and "Dreams" just made me think of the Wishes and Dreams of the real little kids (and kids at heart) who love Mickey and Minnie's Homes and won't be able to visit them anymore. (Indeed, I saw several children, and even a few parents, CRYING with sadness during their last visit in Toontown. WDW is NOT supposed to be like this!)
And the great irony of seeing Mickey smiling away on stage at the Castle show talking about "Dreams Coming True If You Just Believe" just seemed so incongruous with the idea that his Home would soon have a date with the wrecking ball! This killed the illusion that it really is his house, because in "real life", Mickey and the gang would be protesting in the street with signs to save their Homes!
(And yes, I know on one level it's a "business" and an "illusion", but my point is the parks are more fun, and you can FEEL them more, when you let yourself go with, and COMPLETELY buy into, the Fantasy of the stories being told in the parks.)
So, what I'm getting at is, on my visits to the Magic Kingdom during the Toontown closure, I felt a level of cynicism and jadedness that even Katrina couldn't sustain. The "Magic" of the parks was able to defeat the cynicism I initially felt on my first visit after Katrina, but on my final visit during the Toontown closure, when the source of the cynicism was THE PARKS THEMSELVES (ie, the decision to tear down Toontown and the Mouse Homes) I didn't fare as well. On that day, I got a hollow and cynical glimpse of it being "just a business", of the MK being "just a theme park", and the talk of "Wishes and Dreams will come true if you just Believe" just seemed like a Big Lie and a shallow, empty, hypocritical facade in the context of Toontown closing.
And, for the first time ever, I felt NOTHING while viewing Wishes.
And that, more than anything, spoke volumes to me that it was a good time for a break.
A self-imposed break that would eventually last even longer than initially expected, thanks to the next earth-shattering announcement - that one of my all-time favorite Walt Disney World attractions, Snow White's Adventures, would meet the same egregious fate as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. In this case, not even for a new dark ride, but for a character "meet and greet" they could have put anywhere else. Or maybe not, as apparently having 28,000 acres to work with just isn't enough.
Needless to say, by this point, I was devastated, and all the good will WDW had partially won back from me (after I already walked away from them once after the late 90's Great Purge) was as gone as the numerous classic attractions they murdered and like to pretend didn't exist....
So now, my long-term exit strategy was beginning to form. My Annual Pass expired shortly after the bulldozers ravaged Toontown, and I was bombarded with multiple desperate letters from WDW reminding me of this, which I gladly threw in the rubbish. "You should have thought of that before you bulldozed Toontown and decided to kill Snow White's Adventures", I thought.
It's a LOT harder to win back a customer's loyalty and trust after you shatter it, and INFINITELY harder to do so after you shatter it a second time. And this was exactly what TDO ("Team Disney Orlando", the formal name of WDW management) would now have to do to get me back.
Yet, I knew I wanted to be there for the final day of Snow White's Adventures, and my AP had expired shortly after the closure of Toontown.
I knew I'd have to hold my nose and renew if I wanted the desired sense of closure with Snow White, but if I did so in early 2011, right after Toontown closed, I ran the risk of the pass expiring AGAIN before the Snow White closure (its date had not yet been announced), which would mean renewing TWICE.
There was NO WAY they were getting that much money off of me, so I waited until the Snow White closure date was announced and then renewed for the final time (at least for a LONG, LONG time - possibly longer than the time I stayed away for eight years after the Great Purge).
I was really proud of the fact that I strategically avoided having to renew twice to be there for Snow White's last day!
That last year as an AP holder, I knew would be my last for awhile, so I not only said a long, gradual goodbye to Snow White's Adventures, but to everything else in all 4 WDW parks as well. Just in case this goodbye really was forever, and also to get closure with anything else that I loved that would inevitably close during my upcoming years of planned WDW exile.
So, 2012 at WDW was, for me, my last lap, a "lame duck" year of goodbyes, not just to the attractions, but also to many of the Cast Members with whom I had developed a friendly rapport with as a long-time patron of the parks. Of those whom I had revealed my plans to end my patronage of the WDW parks for the foreseeable future, most were supportive and understanding, and some even agreed (off the record) that the closures were wrong. But a few got defensive and recited the tired, stale, company lines wherein any change, even the murder of someone's beloved, favorite attractions, is for the best, representing so-called "progress".
And that's something I noticed about the fickle nature of life inside Pixiedustland. As long as these attractions existed, Disney themselves, who make billions of dollars off of creating parks and attractions that people nurture an EMOTIONAL connection with, would label them "Magical", but as soon as the decision from "on high" comes to kill them off, there seems to be an unwritten rule that we are supposed to be good little sheep and accept this without question. Pretend that these attractions, and the aesthetic love we have for them, never existed; sever the bond; forget all about them; even lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that they weren't that great, because, it is in TDO's best interest that guests and CM's feel this way, and we should be good little unquestioning Disney citizens.
RUBBISH!
When I bond with something, that bond is FOR LIFE, and if someone says something bad about it, or tries to destroy it, I dig my heels in and defend it.
As Travis says in Old Yeller, "We can't just shoot him like he's nothing".
Or, a more modern quote from Lilo and Stitch:
"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten."
For me, Snow White's Adventures, Toontown, Toad, and all the other beloved murdered favorite attractions at WDW were like FAMILY, and part of the FAMILY of the parks, and I can't and won't forget them, leave them behind, or throw them away like they are nothing. Just as I would never get rid of a favorite DVD, CD, or book.
It is precisely due to this emotional connection that people feel with the Disney attractions (encouraged by Disney), that the Disney parks are held to a higher standard than most other parks - and that emotional connection is also at least partially why Disney theme parks charge the highest prices in the industry.
Another reaction I got from a few people was how could I leave the WDW parks (a collective) due to the loss of a few attractions, beloved as they may be (an individual).
I can see why this may be hard to understand, but I tend in general to value individuals more than collectives. More specifically, there are some individual elements of each collective that, were they to be lost, the whole would collapse - if not literally/materially, at least on an aesthetic, spiritual, or other intangible level. Due to the nature of intangibles, this can't be proven scientifically; it is subjective and something you have to FEEL to understand.
For example, the absence of certain scenes from a film could change, even destroy, the entire dynamic of a film. I gave other hypothetical examples at the beginning of this piece, of works of Art being radically altered for the worse due to the loss or alteration of individual components, such as George Washington being dynamited off Mount Rushmore, or a mustache painted on the Mona Lisa.
And that's how I feel about the Disney Parks.
I find it interesting that if someone, even the rights holder, of a work of Art such as the Mona Lisa, destroyed this Art, they would be universally criticized and vilified, and rightly so. If a media company that was the legal rights holder of a classic film that had not yet been released to home video destroyed every copy and ensured that no human being ever got to see it again, they too would be justly, universally criticized. Yet, Disney is doing the exact same thing every time they close one of their classic theme park attractions - stopping the entire human race from ever again experiencing the work of Art that is that attraction. Many even defend these vile acts of destruction, including the "Pixieduster" school of Disney fandom for whom corporate Disney can do no wrong.
And yet, I think most fans would agree that some of the parks' individual components are so essential that the idea of the parks existing without these components would destroy them (or at least severely damage them) aesthetically. Most would probably agree on the Castle being one of these elements.
Other elements would vary from person to person, such is the subjective nature of taste. Many fans would probably list perennial fan favorites like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean as two such examples.
For me personally, Snow White's Adventures is at that level - attractions that I value so much, that the park existing without them seems unthinkable and empty to me.
I would even go as far as to say that I value my favorite attractions at any park MORE than I value the collective totality of the park itself. The individual favorite attractions are what I feel the strongest bonds with, more than any overall park. And I am willing to take a stand for these attractions, even at the expense of the larger collective of the overall parks they are/were a part of.
When you love a favorite entity (in this case, park attraction) at the highest level, and value everything about it, in your eyes it outshines the larger collective it is part of the set of. In the sense that there are some things in the larger collective you won't care for or value, so the collective can't possibly have the same level of aesthetic perfection that, in your eyes, the individual component, that you love fully and completely, does.
My favorite quote from the entire Star Trek series of films is when Kirk tells Spock "Sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many", which is a wonderful endorsement of individualism over collectivism, and sums up why I am willing to take such a strong stand in support of individual favorite attractions.
To put it simply, I love and value my favorite attractions more than I love and value the parks they stand/stood in, and those parks feel like empty shells without them.
Ohana means family.
Family means NOBODY gets left behind.
Or forgotten.
DISCLAIMER - Chapters 2 and 3 contain some material which could be considered critical of Walt Disney World management (known as "Team Disney Orlando", or "TDO"), and by extension, WDW itself. It is not my intention to sway anyone to my point of view or to "ruin the magic" for anyone for whom reading such viewpoints could have that effect. Rather, I strive for complete honesty and truthfulness in my writing, especially regarding my own thoughts and feelings, and it is necessary for me to express these opinions in order to tell my own very personal story of my experience of the closure of Snow White's Adventures. For those who are easily offended by reading such viewpoints, and for whom doing so would risk "ruining the magic" for them, it is recommended that they consider not reading further. Also, please remember and respect that this thread is intended to be a long-form, blog-style essay, and not intended to be a debate thread. Comments are welcome, but for those who disagree, please do not start arguments or debates.
Chapter 2 - "There's enough land here to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"
- "Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at
Disneyland - the blessing of size. There's enough land here
to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"
- Walt Disney
By now, most serious or even casual WDW fans are familiar with Walt's famous quote and it's origin. As awesome as his original Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, was (and still is), it was landlocked and had limited room with which to grow.
To stop this from happening again, Walt purchased 27,400 acres when planning Walt Disney World. Now, space concerns would never be an issue again.
Or so he thought....
After Walt's passing, Walt Disney World opened in 1971 with its first theme park, the Magic Kingdom. Comparisons to Disneyland were inevitable as the park was CLEARLY an East Coast interpretation of Disneyland, though not an exact copy. But it generally had the same "lands" and attractions.
Certain things in the Magic Kingdom were an improvement over the original - namely, the architectural transitions between each land. But in other ways, the park seemed more "boxy" and "workmanlike" - larger, "grander", and more "spectacular" in scale and scope, but certainly less CHARMING. And curiously missing many of the essential classics one would expect in a "Magic Kingdom"-style park.
Nowhere was this more evident than in "the happiest kingdom of them all", Fantasyland, which had significantly fewer attractions than Disneyland's Fantasyland. No less than FOUR of the Disneyland classics were inexplicably nowhere to be found. (that number would eventually grow to FIVE with the 1983 Disneyland addition of Pinocchio's Daring Journey, SIX with the 1998 MK removal of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and now it's at SEVEN with the recent loss of Snow White's Adventures).
And the fact that Fantasyland was the Orlando Magic Kingdom section most deficient and missing the most key attractions found at Disneyland was something I've always been highly attuned to, since Fantasyland has always been my favorite section at a Disneyland/Magic Kingdom-style park.
But still, for those of us on the East Coast or Southeastern United States, having a smaller (in attractions) Disneyland much closer to home within relatively short, convenient driving distance, was better than no Disneyland at all. There was always hope that those missing attractions would one day materialize, and in the meantime, one enjoyed what one had.
But, other than the early addition of Pirates to Adventureland; an early Tomorrowland expansion that brought Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, and the Peoplemover/Astro Orbiter complex; the eventual additions of Thunder and Splash Mountains to Frontierland; and finally, the addition of the sadly now-closed Mickey's Toontown Fair land to the outskirts of Fantsyland, the park never really grew by expanding it's footprint or TOTAL number of attractions.
Indeed, even AFTER all of the additions described above, the park had at least a dozen FEWER attractions to offer it's guests in its 108 acres than Disneyland had in its 80 acres.
And yet, the preferred "expansion" mode of choice for Magic Kingdom managers has traditionally been "addition through subtraction" - that is, acting as if the park is already completely built out, ignoring all of its numerous expansion pads (clearly visible in satellite photos), and choosing instead to build "new" attractions on space already occupied by "old" ones, causing the unnecessary removal of these existing attractions. Sometimes, attractions would even disappear without even being replaced by a new one.
So much for Walt's ideals of a Florida utopia with "the blessing of size" and "enough land to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"! Instead, the Magic Kingdom (and later Epcot) were being run like landlocked shopping malls that had no room to expand and a limited amount of store plots - meaning the only way they could ever add a "new" one was to close an existing one.
To those of us who KNEW of all the available space, KNEW of Walt's quote, and KNEW what Walt Disney World was TRULY capable of becoming, this strategy of addition through subtraction was such a complete insult to one's intelligence...
Fortunately, it took awhile for things to get completely out of hand. Although my favorite attraction, The Mickey Mouse Revue, was tragically shipped to Tokyo Disneyland in 1980 rather than the company spending the money to build Tokyo a new one from scratch like all the other Opening Day Tokyo attractions, in hindsight this seemed to be an anomaly, and WDW entered the 90's with all of its other classic attractions intact, both in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
And then, in the second half of the nineties, came The Great Purge...
One by one, beloved classic attractions were aggressively closed, and sometimes not even replaced, instead of new things being built from scratch.
In just a few short years:
* Epcot lost the original Journey Into Imagination ride, which was replaced by a Figment-free version of the ride that was so universally hated, the company had to build a third version, featuring Figment again, that was much better than the second, but not as good as the first.
* The charming Kitchen Kabaret became the "hipper", pop-culture referencing Food Rocks, which too eventually disappeared leaving NO musical animatronic food revue in The Land pavilion.
* The warm and humorous classic animatronic extravaganza World of Motion darkride closed to make way for Test Track, a thrill attraction lacking the charm found in it's predecessor
* Horizons, another animatronic classic dark ride that arguably expressed the theme of Epcot's Future World better than any other attraction, was replaced with Mission Space, instead of building a new building for the Space pavilion on one of Future World's expansion pads.
Meanwhile, things were just as bad at the Magic Kingdom. All within a few short years of each other:
* The beloved, charming Enchanted Tiki Room show was replaced with an obnoxious, abrasive sequel that actually made fun of the classic original show (and by extension, those who loved it).
* WDW management never bothered to reopen the beloved classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine attraction after what was thought to be a routine rehab, leaving it shuttered for years. Even fans who were regulars at the park in this era never even had the chance to say goodbye to it and get whatever "closure" they could have gotten if WDW had been upfront in advance about a permanent closing of the ride.
* Even Walt Disney himself was not exempt from being totally and completely disrespected by WDW and MK management. The attraction that featured his name and paid tribute to his life's work, the Walt Disney Story, was removed from Town Square, although this wrong was somewhat righted some years later when a similar attraction opened at the Hollywood Studios park.
But the closure that caused the most controversy among the fan community, and was the straw that broke the camel's back for me personally, leading to an eight year personal "boycott" of Walt Disney World (although all the other closures above played a big role as well), was the 1998 closure of the Fantasyland classic darkride, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
And the reason given for the closure simply defied logic and was an insult to everyone's intelligence - they needed the space for a Winnie-the-Pooh ride.
Now, I personally love Winnie-the-Pooh and ended up enjoying the ride, in fact, it's become a favorite. But at the time the enthusiasm I would have felt for it's upcoming debut was completely crushed, knowing it was coming at the expense of one of my favorite attractions in the park.
As stated above, the MK Fantasyland attraction roster has ALWAYS been woefully deficient when compared to Disneyland's. Here was a chance to begin to make up for it by building a brand new Pooh ride from scratch, without touching any of the classics already in the park. Satellite photos clearly showed a TON of land between Fantasyland and the railroad tracks completely unused. Land that WDW management would pretend didn't exist... until now, since they are using it for the woefully underwhelming current Fantasyland expansion.
Remember Walt's quote above as one can almost hear him whispering from beyond...
- ..."enough land here to hold ALL the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"...
"JT Toad", a regular poster in the online fan community, had enough of WDW management's nonsense, and just one day after the announcement of Toad's impending demise, launched SaveToad.com, making the eloquent case as to why it was such a huge mistake to close Toad.
He soon had thousands of supporters and even regular "Save Toad" rallies took place in the park by green-shirted protesters, but it didn't matter to WDW management. They murdered Toad anyway, proving in the process that they didn't care how much heartbreak the murder of beloved, still-popular classics like Toad would leave in their wake.
Meanwhile, just as The Great Purge had gotten underway, having just finished college, I had begun to do what many a hardcore Disney parkfan considers - look into the feasibility of moving to Orlando to make the parks a regular part of my life - not just something to daydream about most of the year/s until I could visit them on "vacation".
I was unaware of all the sickening closures that were going on in the parks, having not been in a few years, but I realized I could use a new tool I had just learned about in the campus library - the Internet - to catch up on and read about the parks from a variety of sources - including the thoughts and experiences of other fans themselves.
What I saw shocked me. So many beloved classics had closed or were about to close, and Mr. Toad's impending doom had just been announced. People like JT Toad of savetoad.com, Al Lutz (playing a similar role as Disneyland watchdog), and Merlin Jones (who would later write great things for SaveDisney) cared more about the parks and the classic attractions than the people in charge of running them!
So when WDW management stomped on the hearts of all who cared about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, I decided to follow JT Toad's lead and stop visiting WDW for the foreseeable future, at least until things improved. Not only were my tentative relocation plans off the table, but any future trips were, as well. Why give money to people who callously DESTROY things you love?
Now some would say I "was only hurting myself", but I disagree, and still do.
For one thing, to give them my business so soon after such crushing closures would have in effect been saying I was okay with their decisions, which I wasn't. By withholding my business, I was "putting my money where my mouth was", and being true to my beliefs - the customer speaking with his wallet.
More importantly, the classics that were removed were all personal favorites and therefore a big reason why I fell in love with Magic Kingdom and Epcot in the first place. Not having them in the parks made the parks feel like fraudulent, incomplete, imposter, alternate-universe versions of themselves, and certainly not the parks I fell in love with. The idea of visiting the parks without these attractions was extremely unappealing, like the idea of buying a copy of your favorite film with several scenes missing, or a copy of your favorite album with several tracks chopped off by the record company.
It was as if The Beatles had carried on as a band in the 70's - but without John, Paul, George, and Ringo; George Washington had been dynamited off of Mount Rushmore; or a mustache had been painted on the Mona Lisa.
Still, there were favorite attractions that survived intact in these hacked, butchered, versions of parks I once considered masterpieces, so I hesitated to say I'd NEVER be back. But time would have to pass, things would have to improve, and leadership would have to change...
For the next few years, I was able to take my mind off of Walt Disney World, and didn't miss it.
I kept in touch with my theme park passion by visiting other parks closer to home, including a new one that opened in New Orleans in 2000 (Jazzland, later known as Six Flags New Orleans). For the first time since childhood, I had a theme park in my own city to play in (sadly, this park would only last 6 seasons due to a certain hurricane).
Meanwhile, I kept in touch with "Disney Magic" mainly via the classic film library, especially the Disney Animated Classics, which always seemed more "Disney" to me than the parks, anyway. Vault Disney was going strong on the Disney Channel, so I was also getting heavily into the classic live action films, the anthology series, and Zorro during this era. I became obsessed with collecting Disney films on the newly surging DVD format. I was especially excited by the Platinum Series and the idea of collecting 2-disc sets for all of the animated classics.
One great thing about the films is that, after I bond with them and own my copy, Disney can't "close" them, make them disappear forever, and pretend they don't exist and never existed, like they do with their park attractions.
My collection of Disney soundtrack CDs was also growing and were constant companions during this era.
On November 30, 2003, Roy Disney resigned from the Walt Disney Company and launched SaveDisney.com. The site's brilliant editor, Merlin Jones, wrote a series of excellent articles highlighting what was wrong with the company. One of the areas addressed was the theme parks, and he addressed the same types of concerns that myself and many other fans had regarding the direction of the parks. This was the first ray of hope that things could improve.
When SaveDisney succeeded and Michael Eisner eventually resigned in 2005, and I realized that WDW hadn't made any significant missteps since the late 90's closures listed above, I began to consider the possibility of another trip. Though the aesthetic perfection of the totality of the MK and Epcot as complete parks had been marred by the closures of beloved favorite attractions, there were other beloved favorites still intact, and I didn't want to go the rest of my life never experiencing those favorite attractions again. So perhaps it was time to give WDW another chance.
And then Hurricane Katrina happened. New Orleans was like a third world country in the immediate aftermath (no electricity, martial law, etc), so my initial "weekend evacuation" before the storm hit turned into months on the road traveling and exploring to escape the unpleasantness - with an eye for ending my "tour" in central Florida not as a vacationer, but as a RESIDENT.
So in early 2006, I found myself doing something that seemed highly improbable a few short years earlier - living in Florida, buying a WDW Annual Pass, and visiting the parks.
While it was nice being there after so long, the changes and missing beloved favorites took some getting used to. I tried to work around this by telling myself that, yes, the "true" Orlando Magic Kingdom and Epcot I was used to were dead, and that I was in an alternate version of the MK like Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, or Hong Kong Disneyland. Those parks (especially Hong Kong and to a lesser extent, Paris) are missing many of the essential classics found (or that were once found) in the US parks, but they are nice for what they are, with Tokyo coming closest to having all of the essential classics.
This helped some, but there was another obstacle. Hurricane Katrina had made me more cynical and bitter than I had ever been in my life.
So much so that after my first day in the Magic Kingdom, seeing my surviving favorite attractions but not FEELING them, I began to wonder if the "magic" of the parks could ever reach my Inner Child again...
More than any other parks, Disney parks aren't about physical thrills as much as they are about "Magic" and "Wonder" and about making/feeling an emotional connection with the place.
But on that first day back at WDW after the storm, in 2006 after more than an 8 year absence, I wasn't completely "feeling" it.
It was nice seeing my old favorite surviving attractions again, but there was still a large degree of emotional "disconnect" - I wasn't seeing things through the eyes of my inner 8-year old like I normally would. Nothing really gave me goosebumps or made me cry (tears of happiness) like it normally would, especially after not being there for awhile.
My last ride of that first night was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. After that, since Wishes (the firework show) would be starting at park closing, I was trying to make it to Fantasyland or in front of the Castle for my first-ever viewing of Wishes. But I mistimed things and the fanfare started playing while I was walking along the riverfront.
So I stopped and watched along the river, near the Frontierland/Liberty Square border, and I could see some of the shells beautifully reflecting in the water.
I felt the first tinge of goosebumps when Peter Pan says "I wish we'd never have to grow up - off to Neverland!", followed by Pinocchio's "Jiminy, someday I wish I could be a real boy", and Aladdin's "Genie, I wish for your freedom".
But what really got me was the finale. What makes this show isn't just the visuals of the fireworks, but the combination of the fireworks WITH the soundtrack - both music and dialogue.
When good overcomes the forces of evil, and Jiminy says "It's the Blue Fairy!" and then the Blue Fairy is represented by the rapid-fire big blue bursts scored to the Wishes fanfare and then says "Remember, we must always believe in our Wishes, for they are the Magic in the world. Now, let's all put our hearts together, and make a wish come true", I just completely and totally lost it. It was the first real cry I had since the storm, and the first time that day (or since the storm) that I saw anything in life again through the eyes of my inner little boy.
That finale was really a transcendental spiritual experience for me. I remember feeling such a sense of relief that I hadn't lost my inner child and childlike sense of wonder. This was also the first moment where I felt the internalized angst of the storm begin to wash away. Since then, I am happy to say that the jaded cynicism and bitterness I felt in the aftermath of the storm has completely faded away, and I have seen all 4 WDW parks through the eyes of my inner child, getting the goosebumps and tears of joy in many places where they didn't come that first day.
Since that first viewing, I have seen Wishes many, many times, and during nearly each one of them I've been moved by it. Maybe not to tears every single time, but usually at least goosebumps.
These were halcyon days for me, those first years as a Florida resident with a WDW AP, seeing the parks through the eyes of my inner child, and being moved by them.
But this, sadly, eventually began to fade, and not due to me relapsing into any post-Katrina state of bitterness, but due to developments in the parks themselves.
The first sign of cracks starting to appear in what I had begun to accept as the new, alternate-universe Walt Disney World was the closure of the Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends attraction at Animal Kingdom in 2008. This wonderful show featured the beautiful song "Colors of the Wind" and some intricate, charming, behaviours by live animals. It was both entertaining and poignant, and like the best WDW attractions, worked on a deeper level, expressing Animal Kingdom's underlying messages of conservation, showing respect and love for ALL living things, and living in harmony with Nature. And yet it closed, and the theatre sat vacant for the remaining 4 years of my WDW AP membership, with no replacement.
For the first time in nearly 10 years, WDW had made a horrible, aesthetically illogical, move which hinted back to the heyday of The Great Purge in the late 90's - especially since it was closed without a replacement.
At the time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, rationalizing that live theatre shows like this in theme parks tend to have a much shorter life span than rides and continuously loading, non-live shows (like 3-D films and animatronic shows). And yet, closed live theatre shows are almost always replaced by something (usually a new show) and this one wasn't.
There were a few other smaller signs as well. Entertainment cuts at Epcot saw the removal of some of my favorite live musical groups, such as Spellman's Gledje in Norway and Si Xian in China - both removed without being replaced by anything. Perhaps even more shocking was the removal of Lights of Winter, Epcot's signature Christmas light display, in 2009. Despite vocal protests from many in the online WDW fan community, it has never returned since or been replaced by anything, leaving Epcot without a signature light display during the holidays.
But my "honeymoon" with the new WDW really began to unravel with the closure of the MK's Mickey's Toontown Fair in 2011 - the first time in Disney Theme Park history than an ENTIRE LAND in one of the parks was destroyed.
I was a big fan of this section, especially the charming Mickey's House and Minnie's House attractions. They were absolutely PACKED with charming details both inside and out that provided fun references to the classic cartoon shorts featuring these beloved characters, while also creating rich "backstory" that made them believable as Mickey and Minnie's Houses. But perhaps most importantly, these charming design details also gave the Houses a very warm and happy feeling, and truly make them feel like "Homes".
Being from New Orleans and dealing with the aftermath of Katrina, the concept of what makes a house a "Home" is something that was fresh on my mind when first arriving in Orlando in 2006. Almost everyone I know lost everything they owned (I was one of the luckier ones as I had a second-story apartment higher than the water line), and I've seen the sad devastation of Homes flooded above the roof having to be torn down and turned to rubble.
I've often read of the architecture of the Disney parks being referred to as the "architecture of reassurance" and I certainly feel Mickey and Minnie's Houses fit this description with their colorful palettes and whimsical "squash and stretch" curved architecture; and the aforementioned warm and inviting interiors. I remember even thinking during those days, that it was nice that a hurricane had never destroyed Mickey and Minnie's Homes like it destroyed so many others back home that I was familiar with. These were wonderful refuges that would hopefully always be safe from that sad fate...
I never thought in 2006 after moving to Florida (at first year-round, then seasonally), that just a few years later, I would be mourning the loss of those very Mouse Homes that were so warm, welcoming, and felt like "home" to me when I first arrived in Florida and had a place to live, but didn't have a "home" in the emotional sense. And this loss was not due to any storm destroying them either, but the company itself tearing down Mickey and Minnie Mouse's Homes. Perhaps my feelings on this matter are enhanced partly because of Katrina, but in any case the idea of this happening just seems so cold and incongruous with what the "Disney Magic" is supposed to be all about, at least for me.
And something sad and significant began to happen to me during the last week of Toontown and Mickey and Minnie's Homes. I first noticed it during the "Dream Along With Mickey" Castle show, and later during Wishes. These shows are about the power of believing in your dreams, and wishes coming true. Some would say Disney overuses words like "Wishes", "Dreams", and "Believe" in their in-park entertainment productions, almost in a quasi-religious sort of way, but nonetheless I can't help feeling touched by them.
But on my visit that last week of Toontown, these shows just felt so HOLLOW and EMPTY to me. Hearing the talk of "Wishes" and "Dreams" just made me think of the Wishes and Dreams of the real little kids (and kids at heart) who love Mickey and Minnie's Homes and won't be able to visit them anymore. (Indeed, I saw several children, and even a few parents, CRYING with sadness during their last visit in Toontown. WDW is NOT supposed to be like this!)
And the great irony of seeing Mickey smiling away on stage at the Castle show talking about "Dreams Coming True If You Just Believe" just seemed so incongruous with the idea that his Home would soon have a date with the wrecking ball! This killed the illusion that it really is his house, because in "real life", Mickey and the gang would be protesting in the street with signs to save their Homes!
(And yes, I know on one level it's a "business" and an "illusion", but my point is the parks are more fun, and you can FEEL them more, when you let yourself go with, and COMPLETELY buy into, the Fantasy of the stories being told in the parks.)
So, what I'm getting at is, on my visits to the Magic Kingdom during the Toontown closure, I felt a level of cynicism and jadedness that even Katrina couldn't sustain. The "Magic" of the parks was able to defeat the cynicism I initially felt on my first visit after Katrina, but on my final visit during the Toontown closure, when the source of the cynicism was THE PARKS THEMSELVES (ie, the decision to tear down Toontown and the Mouse Homes) I didn't fare as well. On that day, I got a hollow and cynical glimpse of it being "just a business", of the MK being "just a theme park", and the talk of "Wishes and Dreams will come true if you just Believe" just seemed like a Big Lie and a shallow, empty, hypocritical facade in the context of Toontown closing.
And, for the first time ever, I felt NOTHING while viewing Wishes.
And that, more than anything, spoke volumes to me that it was a good time for a break.
A self-imposed break that would eventually last even longer than initially expected, thanks to the next earth-shattering announcement - that one of my all-time favorite Walt Disney World attractions, Snow White's Adventures, would meet the same egregious fate as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. In this case, not even for a new dark ride, but for a character "meet and greet" they could have put anywhere else. Or maybe not, as apparently having 28,000 acres to work with just isn't enough.
Needless to say, by this point, I was devastated, and all the good will WDW had partially won back from me (after I already walked away from them once after the late 90's Great Purge) was as gone as the numerous classic attractions they murdered and like to pretend didn't exist....
So now, my long-term exit strategy was beginning to form. My Annual Pass expired shortly after the bulldozers ravaged Toontown, and I was bombarded with multiple desperate letters from WDW reminding me of this, which I gladly threw in the rubbish. "You should have thought of that before you bulldozed Toontown and decided to kill Snow White's Adventures", I thought.
It's a LOT harder to win back a customer's loyalty and trust after you shatter it, and INFINITELY harder to do so after you shatter it a second time. And this was exactly what TDO ("Team Disney Orlando", the formal name of WDW management) would now have to do to get me back.
Yet, I knew I wanted to be there for the final day of Snow White's Adventures, and my AP had expired shortly after the closure of Toontown.
I knew I'd have to hold my nose and renew if I wanted the desired sense of closure with Snow White, but if I did so in early 2011, right after Toontown closed, I ran the risk of the pass expiring AGAIN before the Snow White closure (its date had not yet been announced), which would mean renewing TWICE.
There was NO WAY they were getting that much money off of me, so I waited until the Snow White closure date was announced and then renewed for the final time (at least for a LONG, LONG time - possibly longer than the time I stayed away for eight years after the Great Purge).
I was really proud of the fact that I strategically avoided having to renew twice to be there for Snow White's last day!
That last year as an AP holder, I knew would be my last for awhile, so I not only said a long, gradual goodbye to Snow White's Adventures, but to everything else in all 4 WDW parks as well. Just in case this goodbye really was forever, and also to get closure with anything else that I loved that would inevitably close during my upcoming years of planned WDW exile.
So, 2012 at WDW was, for me, my last lap, a "lame duck" year of goodbyes, not just to the attractions, but also to many of the Cast Members with whom I had developed a friendly rapport with as a long-time patron of the parks. Of those whom I had revealed my plans to end my patronage of the WDW parks for the foreseeable future, most were supportive and understanding, and some even agreed (off the record) that the closures were wrong. But a few got defensive and recited the tired, stale, company lines wherein any change, even the murder of someone's beloved, favorite attractions, is for the best, representing so-called "progress".
And that's something I noticed about the fickle nature of life inside Pixiedustland. As long as these attractions existed, Disney themselves, who make billions of dollars off of creating parks and attractions that people nurture an EMOTIONAL connection with, would label them "Magical", but as soon as the decision from "on high" comes to kill them off, there seems to be an unwritten rule that we are supposed to be good little sheep and accept this without question. Pretend that these attractions, and the aesthetic love we have for them, never existed; sever the bond; forget all about them; even lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that they weren't that great, because, it is in TDO's best interest that guests and CM's feel this way, and we should be good little unquestioning Disney citizens.
RUBBISH!
When I bond with something, that bond is FOR LIFE, and if someone says something bad about it, or tries to destroy it, I dig my heels in and defend it.
As Travis says in Old Yeller, "We can't just shoot him like he's nothing".
Or, a more modern quote from Lilo and Stitch:
"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten."
For me, Snow White's Adventures, Toontown, Toad, and all the other beloved murdered favorite attractions at WDW were like FAMILY, and part of the FAMILY of the parks, and I can't and won't forget them, leave them behind, or throw them away like they are nothing. Just as I would never get rid of a favorite DVD, CD, or book.
It is precisely due to this emotional connection that people feel with the Disney attractions (encouraged by Disney), that the Disney parks are held to a higher standard than most other parks - and that emotional connection is also at least partially why Disney theme parks charge the highest prices in the industry.
Another reaction I got from a few people was how could I leave the WDW parks (a collective) due to the loss of a few attractions, beloved as they may be (an individual).
I can see why this may be hard to understand, but I tend in general to value individuals more than collectives. More specifically, there are some individual elements of each collective that, were they to be lost, the whole would collapse - if not literally/materially, at least on an aesthetic, spiritual, or other intangible level. Due to the nature of intangibles, this can't be proven scientifically; it is subjective and something you have to FEEL to understand.
For example, the absence of certain scenes from a film could change, even destroy, the entire dynamic of a film. I gave other hypothetical examples at the beginning of this piece, of works of Art being radically altered for the worse due to the loss or alteration of individual components, such as George Washington being dynamited off Mount Rushmore, or a mustache painted on the Mona Lisa.
And that's how I feel about the Disney Parks.
I find it interesting that if someone, even the rights holder, of a work of Art such as the Mona Lisa, destroyed this Art, they would be universally criticized and vilified, and rightly so. If a media company that was the legal rights holder of a classic film that had not yet been released to home video destroyed every copy and ensured that no human being ever got to see it again, they too would be justly, universally criticized. Yet, Disney is doing the exact same thing every time they close one of their classic theme park attractions - stopping the entire human race from ever again experiencing the work of Art that is that attraction. Many even defend these vile acts of destruction, including the "Pixieduster" school of Disney fandom for whom corporate Disney can do no wrong.
And yet, I think most fans would agree that some of the parks' individual components are so essential that the idea of the parks existing without these components would destroy them (or at least severely damage them) aesthetically. Most would probably agree on the Castle being one of these elements.
Other elements would vary from person to person, such is the subjective nature of taste. Many fans would probably list perennial fan favorites like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean as two such examples.
For me personally, Snow White's Adventures is at that level - attractions that I value so much, that the park existing without them seems unthinkable and empty to me.
I would even go as far as to say that I value my favorite attractions at any park MORE than I value the collective totality of the park itself. The individual favorite attractions are what I feel the strongest bonds with, more than any overall park. And I am willing to take a stand for these attractions, even at the expense of the larger collective of the overall parks they are/were a part of.
When you love a favorite entity (in this case, park attraction) at the highest level, and value everything about it, in your eyes it outshines the larger collective it is part of the set of. In the sense that there are some things in the larger collective you won't care for or value, so the collective can't possibly have the same level of aesthetic perfection that, in your eyes, the individual component, that you love fully and completely, does.
My favorite quote from the entire Star Trek series of films is when Kirk tells Spock "Sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many", which is a wonderful endorsement of individualism over collectivism, and sums up why I am willing to take such a strong stand in support of individual favorite attractions.
To put it simply, I love and value my favorite attractions more than I love and value the parks they stand/stood in, and those parks feel like empty shells without them.
Ohana means family.
Family means NOBODY gets left behind.
Or forgotten.
Last edited by David S. on Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:36 am, edited 17 times in total.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
Chapter 3 - "The Last Ride"
It began like any other day, that is, any other day in which I got up extremely early to make the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show and "rope drop". I like doing full days in theme parks, and there was no way I was going to miss doing one at the Magic Kingdom on May 31, 2012, to pay my final respects to one of my favorite attractions, Snow White's Adventures, which would be operating for the last time that day.
During what I call "The Great Purge" in the late 90's, tons of my favorite WDW attractions were closed (as detailed thoroughly in Chapter 2), and due to a combination of factors ranging from limited funds to living over 600 miles away with an old, unreliable car, I was unable to say goodbye to, and get "closure" with, any of them.
Things had since greatly improved for me in all of those areas. Taking road trips to parks all around the country in more recent, well-running cars had became an annual norm, and in any case, I was now living "seasonally" in central Florida, so the distance required to travel to get to the Magic Kingdom parking lot was only about 10 miles!
So I was up at the crack of dawn to make sure I was there on time. At the Magic Kingdom, "on time" means you should ideally be parking your car at least 75 minutes prior to the posted opening time, just to make sure everything goes smoothly with the monorail.
At the other 3 WDW parks, you can park about a 5 minute (or less) walk from the front gate and therefore arrive closer to the posted opening time to make rope drop. But things are more complicated at the Magic Kingdom, with the parking lot being built on the other side of a large man-made lagoon which is in front of the park (where the parking lot would be at most parks). This makes guests dependent on using Disney's transportation, rather than their own footpower, to get to the park on time. And in my experience, although the monorail went smoothly the majority of the time, it seems that inevitably, on the few days I was cutting it close on timing, the monorails would be down with technical difficulties, the ferry boats as a result would have a multi-boat wait backed up, and my only option to make it to the park on time would be to take things into my own hands and take a 2 mile, 15 minute jog around the lagoon via the roadway that leads to the
Contemporary hotel, then using the footpath that runs from the Contemporary to the MK front gate. I've actually done this on multiple occasions (both in the morning, and also when in a hurry to leave at closing when the monorail and ferry both had hour-plus waits to get back to my car.)
Not wanting to risk being put into this position on a day as important as the final day of Snow White's Adventures, I parked well over an hour before the park opening, and everything went smoothly with the monorail. (My first choice aesthetically would actually be the ferry, which I enjoy a bit more, but in my experience the ferry usually opened only about 30 minutes before park opening unless the monorail was down - this may have changed since then).
Anyway, I was at the Magic Kingdom in ample time for the "Welcome Show" a sort of opening ceremony for the park involving the train and several characters, that usually begins about 10-15 minutes before the top of the hour on which the park opens, and takes place in the holding area between the turnstiles and the train station before the "rope drop" to let guests venture deeper into the park.
By all appearances, it was still just like any other day. If the characters felt any melancholia over the last day of Snow White's Adventures, none of it showed during the Welcome Show!
I initially had the poetic idea that the last day of Snow White's Adventures would also be my last day at the Magic Kingdom, even though there were a few months left on my Annual Pass, to spare me the indignity of having to set foot in a Magic Kingdom devoid of both Snow White's Adventures and Toontown. This meant this could have been my final day in the Magic Kingdom for the foreseeable future, since, as detailed in Chapter 2, I won't be renewing my pass for a LONG time (if ever!). Of course, I would still have the option to visit the MK again before my pass would expire, for more "goodbye closure" with the remaining attractions.
At any rate, a choice would soon have to be made for my plan for this day. Do I focus mainly on Snow White, but also visit some of my other favorite attractions, just in case this was my last day in the MK? Or, since I had basically spent the last few months saying my goodbyes to the rest of the park (while also, of course, focusing on Snow White), and could still choose to do so again, do I focus EXCLUSIVELY on Snow White, since never again in the rest of my entire life would I have the chance to ride it?
The latter was the option I was leaning towards. After all, I had seen every showing of Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends at Animal Kingdom on the last day of its existence, seen every showing of Katonga (at Busch Gardens) on the last day of it its existence, spent the entire last day Toontown was open inside Toontown, spent the entire last day of the original version of Star Tours riding Star Tours, spent the entire last day of the first version of Epcot's Mexico boat ride riding it, and spent the entire last day of several coasters in various parks around the country riding those coasters. And Snow White 's Adventures was at least as important to me as all of these things, and more important to me than most of them.
Plus, Snow White's Adventures was a classic FANTASYLAND DARK RIDE, for heaven's sake, my favorite type of Disney attraction. So it was decided. I would focus exclusively on Snow White's Adventures this day, as it deserved at least the same amount of respect I had given other attractions at other parks on their last day. If I later wanted more closure with other MK attractions, I'd just have to suck it up and set forth onto the MK's flawed soil before my pass expired.
In any case, it was certainly clear in either option what my destination after the ropes dropped would be. I normally like to take my time when entering a park without running to my first attraction, savoring the walk deeper into the park. And while I still didn't run on this day, I certainly walked at a brisker pace than normal. What was at stake was the ability to get as many rides as possible on Snow White's Adventures while the conditions were still "walk-on", before the line got long and stayed that way for the rest of the day - for the rest of the attraction's life
.
In short, I expected my morning rides to be my last rides on Snow White's Adventures with little to no wait, the ability to easily get the front seat without having to ask for it, and, if I was lucky, to get my completely own car at least a few times if there was a gap with no riders in the line directly in back of me. This would insure maximum ability to concentrate without the chance of flash pictures or loud talking distracting me throughout the ride, as some rude people are unfortunately prone to do.
My plan paid off. I indeed got 3 or 4 quick "walk-ons" before much of a line formed. These were the front-seat, solo rides I was used to, since I usually hit the Fantasyland dark rides first thing in the morning and late at night right before closing, when they were usually no-wait walk ons. So these early morning solo rides on this, the last day of the ride, were very enjoyable rides. I was very focused and undistracted, both from my mind being sharp and fresh as the day had just started, and also because there was no aforementioned flash pictures or loud talking to distract me.
After about a half-hour, I noticed the first sign that this was far from a normal day in the Magic Kingdom. The line was starting to back up more quickly than usual.
I was really glad I had made it on time for those early rides, as the ratio of waiting to riding was about to tilt heavily in favor of waiting taking up most of the day. Still, it wasn't so bad. Since Snow White's Adventures wasn't part of the "Fastpass" system, the "standby" line got 100 percent of the attraction's capacity, and kept moving at a steady pace.
During the early to late morning and even early afternoon, I would estimate that the majority of people waiting in line were just "regular" WDW guests on vacation. Some may have been aware that the ride was closing, but most seemed content to take one or two rides and move on.
I did, however, begin to spot some "hardcore" Snow White's Adventures fans like me, who were doing the same thing I was doing - riding over and over again. And with good reason - everything else in the Magic Kingdom would be open for business tomorrow, but there would be no saying goodbye to Snow White's Adventures beyond the park closing later tonight.
Sometime around noonish, I spotted Phil Holmes, head-honcho of the Magic Kingdom (I believe his official title is "WDW Vice President/Magic Kingdom", meaning of all the TDO Vice Presidents, he was the one in charge of the day-to-day upper-managerial operations of the Magic Kingdom), enter the ride via the exit path, and hop right on to one of the mine cars.
I recognised several off-duty WDW Cast Members on hand, as well, some riding over and over again (although they were using the regular line).
As the day wore on, the ratio of "regular" guests just riding the ride as part of their day at the park, to hardcore fans there to celebrate their love of the ride and mourn the loss of it, began to take a noticeable shift towards the hardcore fans making up the majority of the people riding, and congregating around, the attraction. One park guest even came dressed as the Evil Queen!
Many noteworthy and well-known personalities from the "Disney theme park blogosphere" were on hand, many of whom I had already been acquainted with. These included Disney columnist/author Kevin Yee (of MiceChat, UltimateOrlando, and elsewhere), Jeff from JeffLangeDVD, Denise from MouseSteps, and Brent from FromScreenToTheme. It was really nice seeing them again and discussing the ride with them.
A major highlight of the day for me was meeting 3 other major internet contributors with a specific interest in Snow White's Adventures itself, who I was aware of from the internet, but had never met before.
First, I met Robert from Filmic Light: A Snow White Archive, an excellent site about all things Snow White - including Walt Disney's animated masterpiece film and the darkrides it inspired. Soon after, I met Kenneth from the excellent site, Snow White's Scary Adventures: The Tribute, which includes a thorough and definitive guide to every Disney Snow White dark ride on the planet, past and present. Both were extremely nice, and I enjoyed discussing the ride with others who appreciated it as much as I did.
Last, but certainly not least, I met Ben and his family, including his father, Ron. Ben is a young man who holds the world record for the most rides ever ridden on Snow White's Adventures - 3500! I was familiar with his story from his father's posts on the WDWMagic forum. It was truly an honor meeting them, and sharing one of my rides with them.
(For a full account of Ben's story, check out both of these excellent multi-part series, which begin here, and here).
As angry as I am with TDO's upper management for tearing down the ride, I have to at least give credit to the in-park managers (who had no say in the ride's closure), for doing right by Ben and his family. They arranged a special meeting with Snow White herself, and made sure Ben got to ride the ride as much as possible on the last day - even making sure he was able to hit his goal of 3,500 rides.
Indeed, I feel that the vast majority of people who actually work IN the parks are good people with good hearts. It is truly a pity that they are not the ones with the power to decide to save beloved favorite attractions and halt massive heartbreak.
With such a large number of people on hand to celebrate their love for, and mourn the loss of, the ride, there was a very noticeable and intense funereal feel in the air. Except in this case, the corpse was not yet dead... in fact, it was in perfectly good health. But it had been unjustly sentenced to death, and there was nothing any of us could do to save it
Even though I had decided to focus exclusively on Snow White's Adventures on this day, I did take one short food break, just before my final stretch of rides. This was at Pinocchio Village Haus, which was conveniently located just across the pathway from Snow White's Adventures.
Pinocchio Village Haus was my favorite restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, if not all of Walt Disney World, and not just because they served my favorite food, cheese pizza (after all, the Disney pizzas are a bit bland by pizza standards). My biggest reason for loving Pinocchio Village Haus had to do with the atmosphere. It was chock-full of the storybook charm of the Italian Alps (in which Pinocchio is set) both inside as well as its external architecture. A wonderful, Alpine-flavored music loop enchanted the area with its sounds. Windows inside of the restaurant next to its most coveted tables looked into the adjacent masterpiece, It's A Small World, for an excellent view. And lastly, the story of Pinocchio was wonderfully, faithfully told by a series of wall paintings scattered throughout the restaurant. (Being the obsessive fan of the Disney Animated Classic films that I am, I knew the precise pattern to walk through the restaurant to look at these paintings, so that the Pinocchio story was told in the correct order!)
Of course, it must be noted here that Disneyland's Pinocchio Village Haus is adjacent to Pinocchio's Daring Journey, an absolutely sublime classic Fantasyland darkride that faithfully tells the story of Walt Disney's animated masterpiece, Pinocchio. Even though it is found at the Magic Kingdoms in Anaheim, Tokyo, and Paris, WDW never bothered to add this attraction to the Magic Kingdom or anywhere else on WDW property, what with all those pesky space limitations of 28,000 acres. So if you wanted a dose of Pinocchio at the MK, walking around this restaurant looking at the paintings would have to suffice.
But for all of its charms, I had an ulterior motive for visiting this restaurant on this, the final day of Snow White's Adventures. One of the "hidden secrets" of the Magic Kingdom is a book, in one of the rooms of Pinocchio Village Haus, entitled "Book of Wishes", (or something to that nature). In this book are blank pages in which park guests can write their Wishes.
Again, just as in shows like "Dream Along With Mickey" and, of course, "Wishes" itself, Disney is selling the idea here that "Wishes and dreams can come true if you just believe", etc. And while I would have once been completely into this, my mood had been changed regarding Disney's in-park promotion of "Wishes" and "Dreams" ever since the final days of Toontown, as discussed in Chapter 2.
So I wrote in the book something along the lines of "I wish the Snow White's Adventures ride that is closing today would stay open instead. And that WDW would build a new Toontown, with new homes for Mickey and Minnie Mouse".
Of course, my Wish as written in the book, would never come true. TDO, playing the role of villainous Wish-killers, would make sure of that. And again, the hypocrisy of this quasi-religious in-park promotion of "Wishes", "Dreams", and Believe" once again stood out as a BIG LIE, as clear as day.
What about all the people whose wishes and dreams were for the Snow White ride to stay open, and those who had felt the same way about Toontown? Does WDW actually expect people to "believe that their wishes and dreams will come true" when WDW THEMSELVES are the ones CRUSHING those wishes and dreams into a million tiny particles that could never be made whole again?
The hypocrisy, phoniness, and outright Big Lie of all of this was staggering, and I felt that my completely sincere entry into this "Book of Wishes" would certainly show WDW for the hypocritical, empty, charlatans and phonies they were, through the lies they were promoting.
Of course, I highly doubt that my entry into the "Book of Wishes" is still there. If anyone from WDW upper management ever bothered to read what was in the book, I wouldn't be surprised at all if my comments were whited out, so no one visiting the parks would ever see any evidence that WDW themselves were crushing someone's wishes and dreams. And even if my comments survived that possibility, the book was nearly full of Wishes when I entered my comments. Assuming someone keeps up with these things, it was probably swapped out for a new one once it filled up, so more people could write their wishes.
Anyway, it was time to get back to riding. I had at best 2, maybe 3 Snow White's Adventures rides left before the park would close at 10 PM, at which time the line to enter the attraction would also be closed forever. I got one ride in, and then had to decide whether to enter the line again now or later.
The line was now the longest I had ever seen it, stretching all the way back to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride.
If I entered now, I would PROBABLY get off at about 10 minutes to 10, in time to get in line for one more. On the other hand, that was cutting it VERY close, and if I underestimated the line, I would get off too late for another ride, and I'd be done riding long before the attraction was done giving rides.
I ultimately decided to quickly get in line for what I hoped would be my second to last ride of the night (and forever), realizing that was my only chance for two more rides. That gamble paid off, as I got off of that ride at about quarter to close. I now had only one ride left, of that there was certainty.
I actually did not want to be the last rider or any of the attention that would come with that. I thought that honour should go to Ben and his family anyway, if they wanted it. I certainly wasn't going to jockey for position in an attempt to be the last rider. I just wanted to quietly slip on and off of the ride one more time, and get whatever sense of "closure" I could possibly get.
I waited until there were a few minutes left before the line would be closed, and entered the line.
While waiting in line for my Last Ride on Snow White's Adventures, Wishes, the firework show, had begun at 10 PM, the park's closing hour. I was too distracted by the magnitude of what was about to happen to focus on it, and even if I could have, I would not have FELT it. As discussed in the previous chapter, and earlier in this one, I had not been able to truly FEEL Wishes since before the last nights of Toontown over one year earlier. And with the funereal mood of one of my beloved favorite WDW attractions about to be destroyed by WDW's own hand, had I been paying attention to Wishes, I would have only felt anger over the hypocrisy of Disney promoting wishes and dreams while they themselves were destroying wishes and dreams with their actions.
The only song about "wishes" that I could have FELT at that moment was one which had played in my head a few times throughout the day - the very un-Disney "To Wish Impossible Things" by the Cure, from their masterwork album from 1992 ironically entitled, Wish. The forlornly sad yet majestically beautiful musical arrangement, and its lyrics expressing a deep sense of loss and disillusionment, fit my mood perfectly, especially the haunting last line which is repeated a few times:
One thing I was a little nervous about when waiting in line for my Last Ride was whether or not I'd be able to focus properly enough to make my Last Ride truly magical enough so I could FEEL it, or would the overwhelming emotions of the funereal yet almost circus-like atmosphere surrounding the ride's closure distract me. It's easy to say "Just enjoy it like all your other rides" but harder to do, since it wouldn't be just any other ride - it would be my Last Ride. Would the intense realization that I was on my Last Ride echo so loudly in my head that I would be unable to focus on enjoying the scenes themselves?
Complicating the situation was that I really wanted the front seat and was prepared to ask the "grouper" for it, but I also didn't want to feel guilty if my frontseat request for my Last Ride took away from the experience of whoever would be seated in back of me for their Last Ride, with me obstructing their view.
What I REALLY wanted was my own car, but asking for that would have felt like asking for special treatment. But this would have insured that no one could have distracted me with flash photography and/or loud chatter. Admittedly, of the numerous rides I took on the last day, this type of distraction had only happened on about 20 percent of them. But this would be my LAST one, and I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. Having my own car would also take away the sense of guilt that I was blocking anyone's view.
So I started to think about how I would phrase my request. I thought I'd say something like "I would really like the front seat for my Last Ride, but I don't want to stop anyone else who really wants the front seat for their Last Ride from getting it. Please ask whoever you load in back of me if they are OK with sitting there".
But miraculously, I didn't have to utter a single word. Like I've said, I truly believe the majority of people who work IN the parks are good people with big hearts, eager to make people's day "magical".
I think the girl doing the grouping at that moment may have recognized me as a "regular" from the ride who usually rode front seat in the mornings and late at night in my own car, due to short walk-on lines at those times of day. And I think she must have sensed that for my ideal "closure" for my Last Ride, that this would be my ideal, preferred conditions.
Before I could request anything, she gave me an understanding, knowing look, and, as if reading my mind, said something like "I know you want the front seat for your Last Ride. How would you like your own car?!"
And with that "magical moment", at least some of the anxiety I felt had evaporated. I wouldn't feel guilty about blocking anyone's view, and no external forces could distract me or break my concentration.
It was now up to me to make the most of my Last Ride. To channel all of my inner energy towards getting myself into the proper state of mind to enjoy the attraction, its scenes, and the intense emotional journey they were capable of taking me on, at the highest level possible.
As stated before, my main goal was to not be overcome with the intense hyper-awareness that I was indeed experiencing such a beloved attraction for the Last Time. This is easier said than done, but for the most part, I am happy to say that I succeeded.
I was able to banish those thoughts from the forefront of my mind, but the intensity of the day could not keep them completely from my subconscious. So while I was able to give sharp mental and emotional focus to the individual scenes, from time to time, I felt a tinge of loss and sense of finality start to creep in.
Thankfully, the sense of finality was not strong enough that it affected my ability to concentrate on the individual scenes and have an emotional reaction to them. But as I passed through some of the scenes, there WAS a sense that this would be the Last Time I would ever see them. It was as if as I left each scene, a black, velvet curtain was closing over them, concealing them forever.
And thankfully, the tinge of loss did not actually ruin the ride. If anything, it gave some of the scenes an even more powerful edge, especially the darker scenes where evil forces are out to hurt the gentle innocence of Snow White. Subconsciously, these evil forces in the ride out to get Snow White (the person) became linked in my mind with the real-life evil forces out to get Snow White (the ride). Which made the emotions I felt during the ride, in some ways, even stronger than normal. My hatred of the Evil Queen, my empathy with Snow White, my relief when she finds the dwarfs' cottage halfway through the ride, and my joy when her life is saved at the end, ALL STILL THERE.
Which is what I wanted. I wanted to FEEL the ride one last time, and I am happy to say I did.
But after a final, heartfelt wave goodbye to a smiling, waving, Dopey, it was sadly over all too soon. The doors opened, and it was back to a reality which, unlike the sublime and perfect ride I had just experienced, would NOT have a Happy Ending.
No one would drop a metaphorical boulder on the forces gunning to destroy to ride, and there would be no prince to wake up the now-sleeping darkride from its eternal slumber. The wicked witch, in the guise of TDO, would make sure of that. There would be no prince to rescue the ride from being trampled by the relentless THUD, THUD, THUD of the martial march of so-called "progress". Or from the clueless, cheap, and cold squadron of Disney Bean Counters too shortsighted, miserly, and heartless to build new attractions from scratch, rather than destroying Classics they already had.
Well, my Last Ride on Snow White's Adventures was now over, but I was not going to leave its side as it lay so close to death. I watched the remaining riders, all people who truly CARED about the ride, exiting their Last Rides, and was happy to see that Ben and his family were indeed the Very Last Riders.
Then I stalled for as long as possible. The ride may have already begun its eternal slumber, but the beautiful mural in front of it was still visible. So I stood as close to it as I could get, since the area directly in front of the ride was still roped off and unaccessible due to being a potential firework fall-out area.
There would be no point in coming back to look at the mural the next day, as I knew WDW would already have installed construction walls in front of the ride - the same type of ugly construction walls that had already encroached upon the charm of much of the rest of Fantasyland.
So I stood there, stunned that it was now all over, simply gazing at the mural for the final time, and milking that moment for all it was worth, until MK workers "swept" that area and I was inevitably asked to start heading towards the front of the park.
As nice as the camaraderie with other fans had felt throughout the day, it had, by now, evaporated. One thing that helped take my mind off of the pain of losing Toontown on its last night was being able to walk out of the park with, and talk with, like-minded fans who were also there for the closing.
But in this case, I spent so long lingering in the Snow White area staring at, and saying goodbye to the mural, that by the time it was time for me to leave, everyone had already scattered. I didn't see anyone I had met, or anyone I knew that were fans of the ride, during my walk out of the park down Main Street and towards the exit.
After finally leaving the Snow White ride area, I went through the motions of stopping at my usual landmarks that I often liked to visit on my way out of the park, especially since it might be my last visit before my AP expired, and therefore for many, many years, if not forever. These park landmarks included the Cinderella Wishing Well, Cinderella Fountain, and Cinderella Castle tile mural; the statues of classic Disney characters located in the Hub; the "Partners" statue of Walt and Mickey at the centre of the Hub; the statue of Roy and Minnie in Town Square; the Emporium windows; and the Lady and the Tramp pawprints in the cement in front of Tony's Town Square Restaurant. But it was to no avail. After attending such an emotional funeral for a beloved attraction, friend, and MK family member that TDO was just throwing away LIKE IT WAS NOTHING, I could not FEEL anything but sadness, numbness, and emptiness inside.
So there was nothing left to do now but leave the park. At the Magic Kingdom, this means there is no quick getaway, no short walk to your car, like in every other theme park I've ever visited. You have to wait in yet another line to get to the parking lot, for either the monorail or ferry.
Luckily, on this night, I had lingered in the park so long that the lines weren't so bad - or I should say line, as the monorail was already closed. There was once a time when the ferry was the first to close, and those who were late leaving the park were funneled towards the monorail, but this had thankfully been reversed. I would much prefer a ride on the upper deck of the ferry under the stars in the cool breeze with plenty of personal space, then being packed like sardines into a small, cramped, standing-room-only monorail car packed with people.
The upper deck of the ferry is one of its best kept secrets. Most people, presumably too tired at the end of the day to climb the stairs, just stay on the crowded bottom deck. On the top, you have plenty of room, can stand right by the rail at the edge of the boat overlooking the water, and get a fantastic view.
On every ride I ride, I prefer going forward than backward, for several reasons. I like the sensation of the breeze in my face; I like watching my vehicle passing over track, land, or in this case, water; and I prefer to see where I'm going rather than where I've been.
One notable exception to this for me has always been on the ferry, when leaving the Magic Kingdom at night. I always found it poetic to stand on the upper deck, next to the rail facing toward the MK, riding backward while watching the Main Street lights and Castle get smaller and smaller in the distance as the boat gradually moved away.
This was especially the case on my "last nights" at the MK over the years. And yet on this, what could be my last night at the MK for a long time, if not FOREVER, I decided not to do this. Consciously, I was aware of the mood I was in while leaving the park, unable to feel that experience; so I could also sense that whatever magical spell that would have once made such a backward ferry ride spellbinding, would have no such power over me tonight.
Subconsciously, I could also sense that there was no point in looking back. The Tragic Kingdom was behind me now. It was over.
And yet, there was plenty to look ahead to. While my relationship with WDW would be in a long term, if not permanent, hiatus, I had no intention of ending my seasonal residency in Orlando. I looked forward to continuing my longtime excellent relationship with Busch Gardens and Sea World, as a longtime holder of a Platinum Annual Pass that was good at both parks.
There was my first ever Universal Orlando Premier Annual Pass to look forward to, which was good at both Islands Of Adventure and Universal Studios - two parks which I had neglected for far too long, on a subconscious level at least partially due to a misguided sense of loyalty to Disney.
And lastly, there was a long-awaited, 1,800 mile drive to Disneyland to look forward to, for my first trip there since childhood. This was the original "Magic Kingdom" that outshone its watered-down Florida clone on nearly every level. Not only were there over a dozen more classic attractions at Disneyland that were never built in Florida (what with all those horrendous space limitations that come with 28,000 acres of property), but Disneyland also has a much greater sense of its own history, heritage, and legacy. Although they made one or two missteps during the Eisner era, they generally treat their classic attractions with the love and respect they deserve. Indeed, Snow White's Adventures, Toontown, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the Submarines (all callously thrown away like they were nothing at the WDW MK), are all still going strong at Disneyland, delighting millions of guests.
So, without hesitation, for the first time in memory, after climbing the stairs to the upper deck of the ferry, I did not turn around to get a spot by the rail facing backward toward the Magic Kingdom. I kept walking forward, all the way toward the front end of the boat, and got a nice spot along the rail facing forward, looking toward the parking lot.
All that stood between me and my escape was the gigantic man-made lagoon that had been built between the Magic Kingdom and its parking lot.
I did not look back, not then, and not once after the voyage got started. I just stood there gazing forward - at the trees in the distance on the lagoon's edge, and the moonlight reflecting in the dark, murky water. Feeling nothing but a nice, cool, breeze blowing in my face, I sailed away from Walt Disney World, under a starry, moonlit sky.
- "Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light"
- Dylan Thomas
It began like any other day, that is, any other day in which I got up extremely early to make the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show and "rope drop". I like doing full days in theme parks, and there was no way I was going to miss doing one at the Magic Kingdom on May 31, 2012, to pay my final respects to one of my favorite attractions, Snow White's Adventures, which would be operating for the last time that day.
During what I call "The Great Purge" in the late 90's, tons of my favorite WDW attractions were closed (as detailed thoroughly in Chapter 2), and due to a combination of factors ranging from limited funds to living over 600 miles away with an old, unreliable car, I was unable to say goodbye to, and get "closure" with, any of them.
Things had since greatly improved for me in all of those areas. Taking road trips to parks all around the country in more recent, well-running cars had became an annual norm, and in any case, I was now living "seasonally" in central Florida, so the distance required to travel to get to the Magic Kingdom parking lot was only about 10 miles!
So I was up at the crack of dawn to make sure I was there on time. At the Magic Kingdom, "on time" means you should ideally be parking your car at least 75 minutes prior to the posted opening time, just to make sure everything goes smoothly with the monorail.
At the other 3 WDW parks, you can park about a 5 minute (or less) walk from the front gate and therefore arrive closer to the posted opening time to make rope drop. But things are more complicated at the Magic Kingdom, with the parking lot being built on the other side of a large man-made lagoon which is in front of the park (where the parking lot would be at most parks). This makes guests dependent on using Disney's transportation, rather than their own footpower, to get to the park on time. And in my experience, although the monorail went smoothly the majority of the time, it seems that inevitably, on the few days I was cutting it close on timing, the monorails would be down with technical difficulties, the ferry boats as a result would have a multi-boat wait backed up, and my only option to make it to the park on time would be to take things into my own hands and take a 2 mile, 15 minute jog around the lagoon via the roadway that leads to the
Contemporary hotel, then using the footpath that runs from the Contemporary to the MK front gate. I've actually done this on multiple occasions (both in the morning, and also when in a hurry to leave at closing when the monorail and ferry both had hour-plus waits to get back to my car.)
Not wanting to risk being put into this position on a day as important as the final day of Snow White's Adventures, I parked well over an hour before the park opening, and everything went smoothly with the monorail. (My first choice aesthetically would actually be the ferry, which I enjoy a bit more, but in my experience the ferry usually opened only about 30 minutes before park opening unless the monorail was down - this may have changed since then).
Anyway, I was at the Magic Kingdom in ample time for the "Welcome Show" a sort of opening ceremony for the park involving the train and several characters, that usually begins about 10-15 minutes before the top of the hour on which the park opens, and takes place in the holding area between the turnstiles and the train station before the "rope drop" to let guests venture deeper into the park.
By all appearances, it was still just like any other day. If the characters felt any melancholia over the last day of Snow White's Adventures, none of it showed during the Welcome Show!
I initially had the poetic idea that the last day of Snow White's Adventures would also be my last day at the Magic Kingdom, even though there were a few months left on my Annual Pass, to spare me the indignity of having to set foot in a Magic Kingdom devoid of both Snow White's Adventures and Toontown. This meant this could have been my final day in the Magic Kingdom for the foreseeable future, since, as detailed in Chapter 2, I won't be renewing my pass for a LONG time (if ever!). Of course, I would still have the option to visit the MK again before my pass would expire, for more "goodbye closure" with the remaining attractions.
At any rate, a choice would soon have to be made for my plan for this day. Do I focus mainly on Snow White, but also visit some of my other favorite attractions, just in case this was my last day in the MK? Or, since I had basically spent the last few months saying my goodbyes to the rest of the park (while also, of course, focusing on Snow White), and could still choose to do so again, do I focus EXCLUSIVELY on Snow White, since never again in the rest of my entire life would I have the chance to ride it?
The latter was the option I was leaning towards. After all, I had seen every showing of Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends at Animal Kingdom on the last day of its existence, seen every showing of Katonga (at Busch Gardens) on the last day of it its existence, spent the entire last day Toontown was open inside Toontown, spent the entire last day of the original version of Star Tours riding Star Tours, spent the entire last day of the first version of Epcot's Mexico boat ride riding it, and spent the entire last day of several coasters in various parks around the country riding those coasters. And Snow White 's Adventures was at least as important to me as all of these things, and more important to me than most of them.
Plus, Snow White's Adventures was a classic FANTASYLAND DARK RIDE, for heaven's sake, my favorite type of Disney attraction. So it was decided. I would focus exclusively on Snow White's Adventures this day, as it deserved at least the same amount of respect I had given other attractions at other parks on their last day. If I later wanted more closure with other MK attractions, I'd just have to suck it up and set forth onto the MK's flawed soil before my pass expired.
In any case, it was certainly clear in either option what my destination after the ropes dropped would be. I normally like to take my time when entering a park without running to my first attraction, savoring the walk deeper into the park. And while I still didn't run on this day, I certainly walked at a brisker pace than normal. What was at stake was the ability to get as many rides as possible on Snow White's Adventures while the conditions were still "walk-on", before the line got long and stayed that way for the rest of the day - for the rest of the attraction's life
.In short, I expected my morning rides to be my last rides on Snow White's Adventures with little to no wait, the ability to easily get the front seat without having to ask for it, and, if I was lucky, to get my completely own car at least a few times if there was a gap with no riders in the line directly in back of me. This would insure maximum ability to concentrate without the chance of flash pictures or loud talking distracting me throughout the ride, as some rude people are unfortunately prone to do.
My plan paid off. I indeed got 3 or 4 quick "walk-ons" before much of a line formed. These were the front-seat, solo rides I was used to, since I usually hit the Fantasyland dark rides first thing in the morning and late at night right before closing, when they were usually no-wait walk ons. So these early morning solo rides on this, the last day of the ride, were very enjoyable rides. I was very focused and undistracted, both from my mind being sharp and fresh as the day had just started, and also because there was no aforementioned flash pictures or loud talking to distract me.
After about a half-hour, I noticed the first sign that this was far from a normal day in the Magic Kingdom. The line was starting to back up more quickly than usual.
I was really glad I had made it on time for those early rides, as the ratio of waiting to riding was about to tilt heavily in favor of waiting taking up most of the day. Still, it wasn't so bad. Since Snow White's Adventures wasn't part of the "Fastpass" system, the "standby" line got 100 percent of the attraction's capacity, and kept moving at a steady pace.
During the early to late morning and even early afternoon, I would estimate that the majority of people waiting in line were just "regular" WDW guests on vacation. Some may have been aware that the ride was closing, but most seemed content to take one or two rides and move on.
I did, however, begin to spot some "hardcore" Snow White's Adventures fans like me, who were doing the same thing I was doing - riding over and over again. And with good reason - everything else in the Magic Kingdom would be open for business tomorrow, but there would be no saying goodbye to Snow White's Adventures beyond the park closing later tonight.
Sometime around noonish, I spotted Phil Holmes, head-honcho of the Magic Kingdom (I believe his official title is "WDW Vice President/Magic Kingdom", meaning of all the TDO Vice Presidents, he was the one in charge of the day-to-day upper-managerial operations of the Magic Kingdom), enter the ride via the exit path, and hop right on to one of the mine cars.
I recognised several off-duty WDW Cast Members on hand, as well, some riding over and over again (although they were using the regular line).
As the day wore on, the ratio of "regular" guests just riding the ride as part of their day at the park, to hardcore fans there to celebrate their love of the ride and mourn the loss of it, began to take a noticeable shift towards the hardcore fans making up the majority of the people riding, and congregating around, the attraction. One park guest even came dressed as the Evil Queen!
Many noteworthy and well-known personalities from the "Disney theme park blogosphere" were on hand, many of whom I had already been acquainted with. These included Disney columnist/author Kevin Yee (of MiceChat, UltimateOrlando, and elsewhere), Jeff from JeffLangeDVD, Denise from MouseSteps, and Brent from FromScreenToTheme. It was really nice seeing them again and discussing the ride with them.
A major highlight of the day for me was meeting 3 other major internet contributors with a specific interest in Snow White's Adventures itself, who I was aware of from the internet, but had never met before.
First, I met Robert from Filmic Light: A Snow White Archive, an excellent site about all things Snow White - including Walt Disney's animated masterpiece film and the darkrides it inspired. Soon after, I met Kenneth from the excellent site, Snow White's Scary Adventures: The Tribute, which includes a thorough and definitive guide to every Disney Snow White dark ride on the planet, past and present. Both were extremely nice, and I enjoyed discussing the ride with others who appreciated it as much as I did.
Last, but certainly not least, I met Ben and his family, including his father, Ron. Ben is a young man who holds the world record for the most rides ever ridden on Snow White's Adventures - 3500! I was familiar with his story from his father's posts on the WDWMagic forum. It was truly an honor meeting them, and sharing one of my rides with them.
(For a full account of Ben's story, check out both of these excellent multi-part series, which begin here, and here).
As angry as I am with TDO's upper management for tearing down the ride, I have to at least give credit to the in-park managers (who had no say in the ride's closure), for doing right by Ben and his family. They arranged a special meeting with Snow White herself, and made sure Ben got to ride the ride as much as possible on the last day - even making sure he was able to hit his goal of 3,500 rides.
Indeed, I feel that the vast majority of people who actually work IN the parks are good people with good hearts. It is truly a pity that they are not the ones with the power to decide to save beloved favorite attractions and halt massive heartbreak.
With such a large number of people on hand to celebrate their love for, and mourn the loss of, the ride, there was a very noticeable and intense funereal feel in the air. Except in this case, the corpse was not yet dead... in fact, it was in perfectly good health. But it had been unjustly sentenced to death, and there was nothing any of us could do to save it
Even though I had decided to focus exclusively on Snow White's Adventures on this day, I did take one short food break, just before my final stretch of rides. This was at Pinocchio Village Haus, which was conveniently located just across the pathway from Snow White's Adventures.
Pinocchio Village Haus was my favorite restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, if not all of Walt Disney World, and not just because they served my favorite food, cheese pizza (after all, the Disney pizzas are a bit bland by pizza standards). My biggest reason for loving Pinocchio Village Haus had to do with the atmosphere. It was chock-full of the storybook charm of the Italian Alps (in which Pinocchio is set) both inside as well as its external architecture. A wonderful, Alpine-flavored music loop enchanted the area with its sounds. Windows inside of the restaurant next to its most coveted tables looked into the adjacent masterpiece, It's A Small World, for an excellent view. And lastly, the story of Pinocchio was wonderfully, faithfully told by a series of wall paintings scattered throughout the restaurant. (Being the obsessive fan of the Disney Animated Classic films that I am, I knew the precise pattern to walk through the restaurant to look at these paintings, so that the Pinocchio story was told in the correct order!)
Of course, it must be noted here that Disneyland's Pinocchio Village Haus is adjacent to Pinocchio's Daring Journey, an absolutely sublime classic Fantasyland darkride that faithfully tells the story of Walt Disney's animated masterpiece, Pinocchio. Even though it is found at the Magic Kingdoms in Anaheim, Tokyo, and Paris, WDW never bothered to add this attraction to the Magic Kingdom or anywhere else on WDW property, what with all those pesky space limitations of 28,000 acres. So if you wanted a dose of Pinocchio at the MK, walking around this restaurant looking at the paintings would have to suffice.
But for all of its charms, I had an ulterior motive for visiting this restaurant on this, the final day of Snow White's Adventures. One of the "hidden secrets" of the Magic Kingdom is a book, in one of the rooms of Pinocchio Village Haus, entitled "Book of Wishes", (or something to that nature). In this book are blank pages in which park guests can write their Wishes.
Again, just as in shows like "Dream Along With Mickey" and, of course, "Wishes" itself, Disney is selling the idea here that "Wishes and dreams can come true if you just believe", etc. And while I would have once been completely into this, my mood had been changed regarding Disney's in-park promotion of "Wishes" and "Dreams" ever since the final days of Toontown, as discussed in Chapter 2.
So I wrote in the book something along the lines of "I wish the Snow White's Adventures ride that is closing today would stay open instead. And that WDW would build a new Toontown, with new homes for Mickey and Minnie Mouse".
Of course, my Wish as written in the book, would never come true. TDO, playing the role of villainous Wish-killers, would make sure of that. And again, the hypocrisy of this quasi-religious in-park promotion of "Wishes", "Dreams", and Believe" once again stood out as a BIG LIE, as clear as day.
What about all the people whose wishes and dreams were for the Snow White ride to stay open, and those who had felt the same way about Toontown? Does WDW actually expect people to "believe that their wishes and dreams will come true" when WDW THEMSELVES are the ones CRUSHING those wishes and dreams into a million tiny particles that could never be made whole again?
The hypocrisy, phoniness, and outright Big Lie of all of this was staggering, and I felt that my completely sincere entry into this "Book of Wishes" would certainly show WDW for the hypocritical, empty, charlatans and phonies they were, through the lies they were promoting.
Of course, I highly doubt that my entry into the "Book of Wishes" is still there. If anyone from WDW upper management ever bothered to read what was in the book, I wouldn't be surprised at all if my comments were whited out, so no one visiting the parks would ever see any evidence that WDW themselves were crushing someone's wishes and dreams. And even if my comments survived that possibility, the book was nearly full of Wishes when I entered my comments. Assuming someone keeps up with these things, it was probably swapped out for a new one once it filled up, so more people could write their wishes.
Anyway, it was time to get back to riding. I had at best 2, maybe 3 Snow White's Adventures rides left before the park would close at 10 PM, at which time the line to enter the attraction would also be closed forever. I got one ride in, and then had to decide whether to enter the line again now or later.
The line was now the longest I had ever seen it, stretching all the way back to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride.
If I entered now, I would PROBABLY get off at about 10 minutes to 10, in time to get in line for one more. On the other hand, that was cutting it VERY close, and if I underestimated the line, I would get off too late for another ride, and I'd be done riding long before the attraction was done giving rides.
I ultimately decided to quickly get in line for what I hoped would be my second to last ride of the night (and forever), realizing that was my only chance for two more rides. That gamble paid off, as I got off of that ride at about quarter to close. I now had only one ride left, of that there was certainty.
I actually did not want to be the last rider or any of the attention that would come with that. I thought that honour should go to Ben and his family anyway, if they wanted it. I certainly wasn't going to jockey for position in an attempt to be the last rider. I just wanted to quietly slip on and off of the ride one more time, and get whatever sense of "closure" I could possibly get.
I waited until there were a few minutes left before the line would be closed, and entered the line.
While waiting in line for my Last Ride on Snow White's Adventures, Wishes, the firework show, had begun at 10 PM, the park's closing hour. I was too distracted by the magnitude of what was about to happen to focus on it, and even if I could have, I would not have FELT it. As discussed in the previous chapter, and earlier in this one, I had not been able to truly FEEL Wishes since before the last nights of Toontown over one year earlier. And with the funereal mood of one of my beloved favorite WDW attractions about to be destroyed by WDW's own hand, had I been paying attention to Wishes, I would have only felt anger over the hypocrisy of Disney promoting wishes and dreams while they themselves were destroying wishes and dreams with their actions.
The only song about "wishes" that I could have FELT at that moment was one which had played in my head a few times throughout the day - the very un-Disney "To Wish Impossible Things" by the Cure, from their masterwork album from 1992 ironically entitled, Wish. The forlornly sad yet majestically beautiful musical arrangement, and its lyrics expressing a deep sense of loss and disillusionment, fit my mood perfectly, especially the haunting last line which is repeated a few times:
- "...all I wish is gone away..."
One thing I was a little nervous about when waiting in line for my Last Ride was whether or not I'd be able to focus properly enough to make my Last Ride truly magical enough so I could FEEL it, or would the overwhelming emotions of the funereal yet almost circus-like atmosphere surrounding the ride's closure distract me. It's easy to say "Just enjoy it like all your other rides" but harder to do, since it wouldn't be just any other ride - it would be my Last Ride. Would the intense realization that I was on my Last Ride echo so loudly in my head that I would be unable to focus on enjoying the scenes themselves?
Complicating the situation was that I really wanted the front seat and was prepared to ask the "grouper" for it, but I also didn't want to feel guilty if my frontseat request for my Last Ride took away from the experience of whoever would be seated in back of me for their Last Ride, with me obstructing their view.
What I REALLY wanted was my own car, but asking for that would have felt like asking for special treatment. But this would have insured that no one could have distracted me with flash photography and/or loud chatter. Admittedly, of the numerous rides I took on the last day, this type of distraction had only happened on about 20 percent of them. But this would be my LAST one, and I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. Having my own car would also take away the sense of guilt that I was blocking anyone's view.
So I started to think about how I would phrase my request. I thought I'd say something like "I would really like the front seat for my Last Ride, but I don't want to stop anyone else who really wants the front seat for their Last Ride from getting it. Please ask whoever you load in back of me if they are OK with sitting there".
But miraculously, I didn't have to utter a single word. Like I've said, I truly believe the majority of people who work IN the parks are good people with big hearts, eager to make people's day "magical".
I think the girl doing the grouping at that moment may have recognized me as a "regular" from the ride who usually rode front seat in the mornings and late at night in my own car, due to short walk-on lines at those times of day. And I think she must have sensed that for my ideal "closure" for my Last Ride, that this would be my ideal, preferred conditions.
Before I could request anything, she gave me an understanding, knowing look, and, as if reading my mind, said something like "I know you want the front seat for your Last Ride. How would you like your own car?!"
And with that "magical moment", at least some of the anxiety I felt had evaporated. I wouldn't feel guilty about blocking anyone's view, and no external forces could distract me or break my concentration.
It was now up to me to make the most of my Last Ride. To channel all of my inner energy towards getting myself into the proper state of mind to enjoy the attraction, its scenes, and the intense emotional journey they were capable of taking me on, at the highest level possible.
As stated before, my main goal was to not be overcome with the intense hyper-awareness that I was indeed experiencing such a beloved attraction for the Last Time. This is easier said than done, but for the most part, I am happy to say that I succeeded.
I was able to banish those thoughts from the forefront of my mind, but the intensity of the day could not keep them completely from my subconscious. So while I was able to give sharp mental and emotional focus to the individual scenes, from time to time, I felt a tinge of loss and sense of finality start to creep in.
Thankfully, the sense of finality was not strong enough that it affected my ability to concentrate on the individual scenes and have an emotional reaction to them. But as I passed through some of the scenes, there WAS a sense that this would be the Last Time I would ever see them. It was as if as I left each scene, a black, velvet curtain was closing over them, concealing them forever.
And thankfully, the tinge of loss did not actually ruin the ride. If anything, it gave some of the scenes an even more powerful edge, especially the darker scenes where evil forces are out to hurt the gentle innocence of Snow White. Subconsciously, these evil forces in the ride out to get Snow White (the person) became linked in my mind with the real-life evil forces out to get Snow White (the ride). Which made the emotions I felt during the ride, in some ways, even stronger than normal. My hatred of the Evil Queen, my empathy with Snow White, my relief when she finds the dwarfs' cottage halfway through the ride, and my joy when her life is saved at the end, ALL STILL THERE.
Which is what I wanted. I wanted to FEEL the ride one last time, and I am happy to say I did.
But after a final, heartfelt wave goodbye to a smiling, waving, Dopey, it was sadly over all too soon. The doors opened, and it was back to a reality which, unlike the sublime and perfect ride I had just experienced, would NOT have a Happy Ending.
No one would drop a metaphorical boulder on the forces gunning to destroy to ride, and there would be no prince to wake up the now-sleeping darkride from its eternal slumber. The wicked witch, in the guise of TDO, would make sure of that. There would be no prince to rescue the ride from being trampled by the relentless THUD, THUD, THUD of the martial march of so-called "progress". Or from the clueless, cheap, and cold squadron of Disney Bean Counters too shortsighted, miserly, and heartless to build new attractions from scratch, rather than destroying Classics they already had.
Well, my Last Ride on Snow White's Adventures was now over, but I was not going to leave its side as it lay so close to death. I watched the remaining riders, all people who truly CARED about the ride, exiting their Last Rides, and was happy to see that Ben and his family were indeed the Very Last Riders.
Then I stalled for as long as possible. The ride may have already begun its eternal slumber, but the beautiful mural in front of it was still visible. So I stood as close to it as I could get, since the area directly in front of the ride was still roped off and unaccessible due to being a potential firework fall-out area.
There would be no point in coming back to look at the mural the next day, as I knew WDW would already have installed construction walls in front of the ride - the same type of ugly construction walls that had already encroached upon the charm of much of the rest of Fantasyland.
So I stood there, stunned that it was now all over, simply gazing at the mural for the final time, and milking that moment for all it was worth, until MK workers "swept" that area and I was inevitably asked to start heading towards the front of the park.
As nice as the camaraderie with other fans had felt throughout the day, it had, by now, evaporated. One thing that helped take my mind off of the pain of losing Toontown on its last night was being able to walk out of the park with, and talk with, like-minded fans who were also there for the closing.
But in this case, I spent so long lingering in the Snow White area staring at, and saying goodbye to the mural, that by the time it was time for me to leave, everyone had already scattered. I didn't see anyone I had met, or anyone I knew that were fans of the ride, during my walk out of the park down Main Street and towards the exit.
After finally leaving the Snow White ride area, I went through the motions of stopping at my usual landmarks that I often liked to visit on my way out of the park, especially since it might be my last visit before my AP expired, and therefore for many, many years, if not forever. These park landmarks included the Cinderella Wishing Well, Cinderella Fountain, and Cinderella Castle tile mural; the statues of classic Disney characters located in the Hub; the "Partners" statue of Walt and Mickey at the centre of the Hub; the statue of Roy and Minnie in Town Square; the Emporium windows; and the Lady and the Tramp pawprints in the cement in front of Tony's Town Square Restaurant. But it was to no avail. After attending such an emotional funeral for a beloved attraction, friend, and MK family member that TDO was just throwing away LIKE IT WAS NOTHING, I could not FEEL anything but sadness, numbness, and emptiness inside.
- "...all I wish is gone away..."
So there was nothing left to do now but leave the park. At the Magic Kingdom, this means there is no quick getaway, no short walk to your car, like in every other theme park I've ever visited. You have to wait in yet another line to get to the parking lot, for either the monorail or ferry.
Luckily, on this night, I had lingered in the park so long that the lines weren't so bad - or I should say line, as the monorail was already closed. There was once a time when the ferry was the first to close, and those who were late leaving the park were funneled towards the monorail, but this had thankfully been reversed. I would much prefer a ride on the upper deck of the ferry under the stars in the cool breeze with plenty of personal space, then being packed like sardines into a small, cramped, standing-room-only monorail car packed with people.
The upper deck of the ferry is one of its best kept secrets. Most people, presumably too tired at the end of the day to climb the stairs, just stay on the crowded bottom deck. On the top, you have plenty of room, can stand right by the rail at the edge of the boat overlooking the water, and get a fantastic view.
On every ride I ride, I prefer going forward than backward, for several reasons. I like the sensation of the breeze in my face; I like watching my vehicle passing over track, land, or in this case, water; and I prefer to see where I'm going rather than where I've been.
One notable exception to this for me has always been on the ferry, when leaving the Magic Kingdom at night. I always found it poetic to stand on the upper deck, next to the rail facing toward the MK, riding backward while watching the Main Street lights and Castle get smaller and smaller in the distance as the boat gradually moved away.
This was especially the case on my "last nights" at the MK over the years. And yet on this, what could be my last night at the MK for a long time, if not FOREVER, I decided not to do this. Consciously, I was aware of the mood I was in while leaving the park, unable to feel that experience; so I could also sense that whatever magical spell that would have once made such a backward ferry ride spellbinding, would have no such power over me tonight.
Subconsciously, I could also sense that there was no point in looking back. The Tragic Kingdom was behind me now. It was over.
And yet, there was plenty to look ahead to. While my relationship with WDW would be in a long term, if not permanent, hiatus, I had no intention of ending my seasonal residency in Orlando. I looked forward to continuing my longtime excellent relationship with Busch Gardens and Sea World, as a longtime holder of a Platinum Annual Pass that was good at both parks.
There was my first ever Universal Orlando Premier Annual Pass to look forward to, which was good at both Islands Of Adventure and Universal Studios - two parks which I had neglected for far too long, on a subconscious level at least partially due to a misguided sense of loyalty to Disney.
And lastly, there was a long-awaited, 1,800 mile drive to Disneyland to look forward to, for my first trip there since childhood. This was the original "Magic Kingdom" that outshone its watered-down Florida clone on nearly every level. Not only were there over a dozen more classic attractions at Disneyland that were never built in Florida (what with all those horrendous space limitations that come with 28,000 acres of property), but Disneyland also has a much greater sense of its own history, heritage, and legacy. Although they made one or two missteps during the Eisner era, they generally treat their classic attractions with the love and respect they deserve. Indeed, Snow White's Adventures, Toontown, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the Submarines (all callously thrown away like they were nothing at the WDW MK), are all still going strong at Disneyland, delighting millions of guests.
So, without hesitation, for the first time in memory, after climbing the stairs to the upper deck of the ferry, I did not turn around to get a spot by the rail facing backward toward the Magic Kingdom. I kept walking forward, all the way toward the front end of the boat, and got a nice spot along the rail facing forward, looking toward the parking lot.
All that stood between me and my escape was the gigantic man-made lagoon that had been built between the Magic Kingdom and its parking lot.
I did not look back, not then, and not once after the voyage got started. I just stood there gazing forward - at the trees in the distance on the lagoon's edge, and the moonlight reflecting in the dark, murky water. Feeling nothing but a nice, cool, breeze blowing in my face, I sailed away from Walt Disney World, under a starry, moonlit sky.
Last edited by David S. on Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:40 am, edited 17 times in total.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
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Dr Frankenollie
- In The Vaults
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You've written a brilliant and fascinating analysis; I've never thought about how well-structured the ride is before and the parallels between certain sequences. Sadly, I'm only familiar with the Paris version and now can never experience the WDW one. Even without other versions to compare to, I still think the Paris Snow White is a marvellous attraction and enjoy going on it.
Even without other versions to compare to, I still think the Paris Snow White is a marvellous attraction and enjoy going on it.-
carolinakid
- Anniversary Edition
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kbehm29
- Anniversary Edition
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That is a wonderful tribute to the attraction. I get very upset when they remove attractions from the park - some things just shouldn't change just for the sake of change.
Unfortunately, I live 20 hours away from Disney World and 36 hours away from Disneyland. I don't get to experience closure at all by riding "one last time" because I don't get to visit the parks as often as I want. I envy that you have the closure that you do.
I was lucky enough to ride this attraction (apparantly for the last time) when I last visited in April of 2011.
Unfortunately, I live 20 hours away from Disney World and 36 hours away from Disneyland. I don't get to experience closure at all by riding "one last time" because I don't get to visit the parks as often as I want. I envy that you have the closure that you do.
I was lucky enough to ride this attraction (apparantly for the last time) when I last visited in April of 2011.
Disneyland Trips: 1983, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, Aug 2018
Walt Disney World Trips: 1999, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, ~Dec 2018~, ~Apr 2019~
Favorite Disney Movies: Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, FROZEN
Walt Disney World Trips: 1999, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, ~Dec 2018~, ~Apr 2019~
Favorite Disney Movies: Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, FROZEN
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Kraken Guard
- Special Edition
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- Location: The Flying Dutchman
I just wanted to belatedly say thank you to everyone who read and/or commented on Part 1 of my Snow White tribute.
I was set to work on the rest during the August/September 2012 week after posting the first part, but then a tropical storm came through and I was without power for several days. I did manage to get some thoughts down the old-fashioned way - pen and paper - but then shortly after the power came back, went out of town for a while and was very busy with other things upon returning. And then Christmas. So I never really did get my thoughts for the rest typed up/edited on a computer.
In any case, I consider the part already written as the most important, since it serves as a tribute to to the ride itself. When/if I have more typed I will add it, but in the meantime, thanks again for reading and for the kind words
I was set to work on the rest during the August/September 2012 week after posting the first part, but then a tropical storm came through and I was without power for several days. I did manage to get some thoughts down the old-fashioned way - pen and paper - but then shortly after the power came back, went out of town for a while and was very busy with other things upon returning. And then Christmas. So I never really did get my thoughts for the rest typed up/edited on a computer.
In any case, I consider the part already written as the most important, since it serves as a tribute to to the ride itself. When/if I have more typed I will add it, but in the meantime, thanks again for reading and for the kind words
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
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disneyphilip
- Special Edition
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- Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:24 pm
Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
Sorry, David, but I think you're being awfully negative and way too bitter, overdramatic, crybaby-ish and accusatory over the loss of SWSA.
I think, instead, you should look to the future and look forward to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which is the REAL (and to be superior) replacement of SWSA.
And just because they "have enough land" does not mean that they have to keep EVERYTHING--to me, that's just another case of blowing a Walt quote way out of proportion and falling back on something that may be convenient, but rarely has merit.
I think, instead, you should look to the future and look forward to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which is the REAL (and to be superior) replacement of SWSA.
And just because they "have enough land" does not mean that they have to keep EVERYTHING--to me, that's just another case of blowing a Walt quote way out of proportion and falling back on something that may be convenient, but rarely has merit.
Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
I disagree with your assessment. I didn't even get around to posting my "Part 2" with it's critique of TDO and their history of removing classic attractions from the parks. All I posted so far was Part 1, which is a tribute to the late attraction itself.
Disney parks are held to a higher standard than other parks largely because of the emotional connection fans make with the attractions. Decisions like this removal are not like your local mom and pop park getting rid of a Tilt A Whirl for a Scrambler (common carnival spinners found nearly everywhere). So having an emotional connection with a beloved, favorite attraction in the Disney parks, and being sad if they are permanently closed is common and expected; the parks even market themselves referencing this emotional bond (ie, "memories", "dreams", "magic", etc).
As for whether or not the Dwarf coaster will be a "superior" attraction, that is pure opinion. Sure, it will be more thrilling, but if I want big thrills, there are numerous parks all over the country that I can (and do) visit that are filled with coasters FAR more thrilling than anything at Disney.
My interest in the Disney parks lies primarily in the classic storytelling dark rides and musical animatronic shows which are unique in the industry and usually superior to any similar offerings anywhere else, and on this level I am highly skeptical that the new coaster can top the late dark ride in both the storytelling and emotional resonance described above, in Part 1.
As for the Walt quote, I think it fits here. Disneyland has 40ish fewer acres than MK, and yet their Fantasyland manages to fit 5 classic dark rides into it's much smaller footprint. (compared with 3 in the MK FL). And Disneyland's much smaller (in acres) Fantasyland will STILL have more total attractions than the MK's watered-down, Cliff Notes Fantasyland AFTER the MK Fantasyland expansion is complete!
TDO had room to add Pooh without killing Toad in 1998 and their el cheapo bean-counter attitude didn't have the foresight to make that happen. And now the same thing is happening with Snow White, losing another classic darkride.
If you had to limit your DVD/BD collection to say, 50, and had to needlessly get rid of a beloved favorite disc everytime you added a new one, that's kind of where I'm coming from with the Walt quote. I'm into TRUE growth and expansion, not addition through subtraction.
If you think anything I posted in this reply and before this reply was too harsh towards TDO, I strongly suggest you skip Part 2 if I ever post it - which, now, I suddenly feel more motivated to do so!
Disney parks are held to a higher standard than other parks largely because of the emotional connection fans make with the attractions. Decisions like this removal are not like your local mom and pop park getting rid of a Tilt A Whirl for a Scrambler (common carnival spinners found nearly everywhere). So having an emotional connection with a beloved, favorite attraction in the Disney parks, and being sad if they are permanently closed is common and expected; the parks even market themselves referencing this emotional bond (ie, "memories", "dreams", "magic", etc).
As for whether or not the Dwarf coaster will be a "superior" attraction, that is pure opinion. Sure, it will be more thrilling, but if I want big thrills, there are numerous parks all over the country that I can (and do) visit that are filled with coasters FAR more thrilling than anything at Disney.
My interest in the Disney parks lies primarily in the classic storytelling dark rides and musical animatronic shows which are unique in the industry and usually superior to any similar offerings anywhere else, and on this level I am highly skeptical that the new coaster can top the late dark ride in both the storytelling and emotional resonance described above, in Part 1.
As for the Walt quote, I think it fits here. Disneyland has 40ish fewer acres than MK, and yet their Fantasyland manages to fit 5 classic dark rides into it's much smaller footprint. (compared with 3 in the MK FL). And Disneyland's much smaller (in acres) Fantasyland will STILL have more total attractions than the MK's watered-down, Cliff Notes Fantasyland AFTER the MK Fantasyland expansion is complete!
TDO had room to add Pooh without killing Toad in 1998 and their el cheapo bean-counter attitude didn't have the foresight to make that happen. And now the same thing is happening with Snow White, losing another classic darkride.
If you had to limit your DVD/BD collection to say, 50, and had to needlessly get rid of a beloved favorite disc everytime you added a new one, that's kind of where I'm coming from with the Walt quote. I'm into TRUE growth and expansion, not addition through subtraction.
If you think anything I posted in this reply and before this reply was too harsh towards TDO, I strongly suggest you skip Part 2 if I ever post it - which, now, I suddenly feel more motivated to do so!
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
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kbehm29
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Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
I agree with David. If they ever removed Peter Pan's Flight from Fantasyland I would freak out! Same goes with Splash Mountain. And Pirates. And Haunted Mansion, etc.
There is a very strong degree of emotional attachment to rides in Disney parks (I feel even more so when you live far away and can't visit more than once a year).
I am all for refurbishment of rides. I LOVE the new Space Mountain at Disneyland. The ride is smoother and more comfortable. I also don't mind the new additions to Pirates and It's a Small World.
Speaking of which, could you imagine if they ever remove IASW from Disney parks? Heads would roll. I am all for adding new ideas, but you don't have to kill the old classics in the process.
David - I am taking an unexpected trip to Disneyland on Monday, May 13th - after being away for almost 2 years. I will take a special ride on Snow White's Scary Adventures just for you. Disneyland is my preference over Magic Kingdom and I am on pins and needles waiting these last three weeks to go! I'm also going in February for President's Day weekend.
There is a very strong degree of emotional attachment to rides in Disney parks (I feel even more so when you live far away and can't visit more than once a year).
I am all for refurbishment of rides. I LOVE the new Space Mountain at Disneyland. The ride is smoother and more comfortable. I also don't mind the new additions to Pirates and It's a Small World.
Speaking of which, could you imagine if they ever remove IASW from Disney parks? Heads would roll. I am all for adding new ideas, but you don't have to kill the old classics in the process.
David - I am taking an unexpected trip to Disneyland on Monday, May 13th - after being away for almost 2 years. I will take a special ride on Snow White's Scary Adventures just for you. Disneyland is my preference over Magic Kingdom and I am on pins and needles waiting these last three weeks to go! I'm also going in February for President's Day weekend.
Disneyland Trips: 1983, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, Aug 2018
Walt Disney World Trips: 1999, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, ~Dec 2018~, ~Apr 2019~
Favorite Disney Movies: Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, FROZEN
Walt Disney World Trips: 1999, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, ~Dec 2018~, ~Apr 2019~
Favorite Disney Movies: Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, FROZEN
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disneyphilip
- Special Edition
- Posts: 549
- Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:24 pm
Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
David S. wrote:I disagree with your assessment. I didn't even get around to posting my "Part 2" with it's critique of TDO and their history of removing classic attractions from the parks. All I posted so far was Part 1, which is a tribute to the late attraction itself.
Disney parks are held to a higher standard than other parks largely because of the emotional connection fans make with the attractions. Decisions like this removal are not like your local mom and pop park getting rid of a Tilt A Whirl for a Scrambler (common carnival spinners found nearly everywhere). So having an emotional connection with a beloved, favorite attraction in the Disney parks, and being sad if they are permanently closed is common and expected; the parks even market themselves referencing this emotional bond (ie, "memories", "dreams", "magic", etc).
As for whether or not the Dwarf coaster will be a "superior" attraction, that is pure opinion. Sure, it will be more thrilling, but if I want big thrills, there are numerous parks all over the country that I can (and do) visit that are filled with coasters FAR more thrilling than anything at Disney.
My interest in the Disney parks lies primarily in the classic storytelling dark rides and musical animatronic shows which are unique in the industry and usually superior to any similar offerings anywhere else, and on this level I am highly skeptical that the new coaster can top the late dark ride in both the storytelling and emotional resonance described above, in Part 1.
As for the Walt quote, I think it fits here. Disneyland has 40ish fewer acres than MK, and yet their Fantasyland manages to fit 5 classic dark rides into it's much smaller footprint. (compared with 3 in the MK FL). And Disneyland's much smaller (in acres) Fantasyland will STILL have more total attractions than the MK's watered-down, Cliff Notes Fantasyland AFTER the MK Fantasyland expansion is complete!
TDO had room to add Pooh without killing Toad in 1998 and their el cheapo bean-counter attitude didn't have the foresight to make that happen. And now the same thing is happening with Snow White, losing another classic darkride.
If you had to limit your DVD/BD collection to say, 50, and had to needlessly get rid of a beloved favorite disc everytime you added a new one, that's kind of where I'm coming from with the Walt quote. I'm into TRUE growth and expansion, not addition through subtraction.
If you think anything I posted in this reply and before this reply was too harsh towards TDO, I strongly suggest you skip Part 2 if I ever post it - which, now, I suddenly feel more motivated to do so!
FYI, TDO DOES NOT make those kinds of decisions, contrary to popular belief! All of this also does not give you an excuse to point fingers and say scathing things.
As for your anti-coaster stance, that is completely moot, since Disney parks have had their share of coasters for YEARS. Just because they have coasters and thrill rides does not alienate the intent of being a place where kids and families can have fun together--which remains one of many Walt quotes that has been getting taken out of context by the know-nothing know-it-alls on forums for years now.
Also, regardless of the number of attractions, WDW's New Fantasyland IS awesome and will look even more so when all is said and done. And sometimes, they DO have to subtract to make way for new things, so please, David, stop being a crybaby, drop your motivation to wrote your stupid, unnecessary false-accusation-laden essay, go get a life and learn to embrace change and enjoy things for what they are and not for what you want them to be.
And just because you have a personal sentimental attachment to a particular attraction does not give the parks the right to remain frozen in time--it's not realistic!
Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
First of all, thanks to kbehm for your support and I hope you have a GREAT trip to Disneyland!
Disneyphillip, firstly, you may note that in my very first post in this thread, I requested that this not be turned into a thread debating my opinions about the closure.
As for your comments, you obviously are not reading my posts carefully and just see what you want to see, portraying them in black and white brushstrokes. I never said I want the parks "frozen in time" nor am I being a "crybaby". I am bringing up legitimate concerns that are shared by a large percentage of the park fans.
This forum is filled with lots of instances where I have openly stated I have PREFERRED the changed version of an attraction over an original (Ellen's Energy Adventure, Grand Fiesta Tour, Seas With Nemo and Friends, Stitch's Great Escape, Star Tours 2, current Carousel of Progress, etc). If I was automatically against change and wanted the parks frozen in time, this would not be the case.
Second, I am NOT "anti-coaster" as you say. On the contrary, I am a coaster enthusiast with a "track record" of 307 coasters ridden in 59 different parks. (my favorite overall is the wooden coaster Voyage at Holiday World; my favorite steel is Nitro at Great Adventure (or any other B&M hypercoaster).
I enjoy the Disney coasters as well and am NOT against the Seven Dwarfs coaster. After all, it is NOT replacing the Snow White darkride, a princess meet and greet that they could have put anywhere else is. And if it is considered the SWSA replacement as you suggest, I just don't see it as a comparable or "superior" replacement for a classic storytelling darkride, as it will offer a completely different type of experience.
If there are ever instances where they HAVE to subtract to make way for new things as you suggest, this is NOT one of those times. The land is there to put the Princess Fairytale Hall somewhere else in FL, and keep Snow White as a darkride (if they don't want 2 Snow White rides, they could convert the space to Pinocchio's Daring Journey, a triumphant return of Mr. Toad, or even a new dark ride never before attempted, such as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.)
They have the space and certainly the funds to avoid "repurposing" this building away from being a classic Fantasyland darkride, but instead they elected to close a classic darkride show building, making it certainly seem logical that the primary reason they are sacrificing the Snow White darkride for the M&G is because it is cheaper to put the meet and greet where they are putting it rather than to build a new building from scratch.
Lastly, I didn't say anything "scathing" or harsh against TDO. But whatever I say, you are going to try to insult it and spin it how you want, because it is obviously your intent to try to discredit me or anyone else who dares offer legitimate criticism of the corporate Mouse.
I've seen the waves you have already made in the thread about the Disney animation layoffs, insulting other posters who dare say anything negative about the Dis co.
Which begs the question: If customers who raise legitimate concerns about a company are "childish crybabies", what does that make a person who spends their time complaining about their complaints?
Based on what I've seen so far I get the sense that at best you are the type of Disney fan who can't bear to see anything bad written about Disney.
At worst, given your short posting history and the tone and content of many of your posts, you could possibly be trolling or even a "plant" trying to derail any criticism of the company. Note that I am NOT definitively saying I believe this is true, but the thought crossed my mind that it could be plausible.
Disneyphillip, firstly, you may note that in my very first post in this thread, I requested that this not be turned into a thread debating my opinions about the closure.
As for your comments, you obviously are not reading my posts carefully and just see what you want to see, portraying them in black and white brushstrokes. I never said I want the parks "frozen in time" nor am I being a "crybaby". I am bringing up legitimate concerns that are shared by a large percentage of the park fans.
This forum is filled with lots of instances where I have openly stated I have PREFERRED the changed version of an attraction over an original (Ellen's Energy Adventure, Grand Fiesta Tour, Seas With Nemo and Friends, Stitch's Great Escape, Star Tours 2, current Carousel of Progress, etc). If I was automatically against change and wanted the parks frozen in time, this would not be the case.
Second, I am NOT "anti-coaster" as you say. On the contrary, I am a coaster enthusiast with a "track record" of 307 coasters ridden in 59 different parks. (my favorite overall is the wooden coaster Voyage at Holiday World; my favorite steel is Nitro at Great Adventure (or any other B&M hypercoaster).
I enjoy the Disney coasters as well and am NOT against the Seven Dwarfs coaster. After all, it is NOT replacing the Snow White darkride, a princess meet and greet that they could have put anywhere else is. And if it is considered the SWSA replacement as you suggest, I just don't see it as a comparable or "superior" replacement for a classic storytelling darkride, as it will offer a completely different type of experience.
If there are ever instances where they HAVE to subtract to make way for new things as you suggest, this is NOT one of those times. The land is there to put the Princess Fairytale Hall somewhere else in FL, and keep Snow White as a darkride (if they don't want 2 Snow White rides, they could convert the space to Pinocchio's Daring Journey, a triumphant return of Mr. Toad, or even a new dark ride never before attempted, such as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.)
They have the space and certainly the funds to avoid "repurposing" this building away from being a classic Fantasyland darkride, but instead they elected to close a classic darkride show building, making it certainly seem logical that the primary reason they are sacrificing the Snow White darkride for the M&G is because it is cheaper to put the meet and greet where they are putting it rather than to build a new building from scratch.
Lastly, I didn't say anything "scathing" or harsh against TDO. But whatever I say, you are going to try to insult it and spin it how you want, because it is obviously your intent to try to discredit me or anyone else who dares offer legitimate criticism of the corporate Mouse.
I've seen the waves you have already made in the thread about the Disney animation layoffs, insulting other posters who dare say anything negative about the Dis co.
Which begs the question: If customers who raise legitimate concerns about a company are "childish crybabies", what does that make a person who spends their time complaining about their complaints?
Based on what I've seen so far I get the sense that at best you are the type of Disney fan who can't bear to see anything bad written about Disney.
At worst, given your short posting history and the tone and content of many of your posts, you could possibly be trolling or even a "plant" trying to derail any criticism of the company. Note that I am NOT definitively saying I believe this is true, but the thought crossed my mind that it could be plausible.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag"- Mary Poppins
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
"How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know"- Pocahontas
"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence." - Walt Disney
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Walter
- Gold Classic Collection
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Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
I enjoyed reading your tribute, and look forward to reading more. But it's also sad to read, because the ride is no more.
Just very fortunate that I got to ride it a few more times in March 2012, and then had to look back at the attraction, feeling very sad as I had to leave the park for the last time. I remember when I first rode it in 1984, it scared the living daylights out of me, especially the one where the Queen is looking at the mirror, then suddenly turns around, and it was the old hag that nearly had me jump out of my seat. That, along with the train scene in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, really scared me big-time.
Just very fortunate that I got to ride it a few more times in March 2012, and then had to look back at the attraction, feeling very sad as I had to leave the park for the last time. I remember when I first rode it in 1984, it scared the living daylights out of me, especially the one where the Queen is looking at the mirror, then suddenly turns around, and it was the old hag that nearly had me jump out of my seat. That, along with the train scene in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, really scared me big-time.
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Big Disney Fan
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Re: Snow White's Adventures - A Personal Tribute and Farewel
Sorry for bumping up this thread from so long ago, but I'm curious: you said you were prepared to do some more on August/September 2012, but a tropical storm knocked out the power and then you were otherwise preoccupied. You did, however, mention that you write your thoughts down on pen and paper, so do you think you can put those up?