We have been previewing Fantasyland’s next “dark ride” an awful lot for it still being over a year away from opening, but that’s because Disney California Adventure has been nearing the opening of their version of “Under the Sea”, titled “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure”. Now, don’t let the name confuse you, this is the same attraction in a different location and with a different facade. Otherwise, the on-ride portion is identical to what is being constructed right now at the Magic Kingdom, scheduled to open in late 2012. The first soft openings for the California attraction were held yesterday and Disneyland News Today‘s Conner Purzycki was on the scene and has a video of the entire ride to share with us. If you don’t want this attraction spoiled for you, I wouldn’t watch. However, if you want a look at what the fine people at Walt Disney Imagineering are capable of these days, this video is certainly worth a view. Enjoy:
With the level of detail, the amount of high-tech audio-animatronics figures, and the classic story of The Little Mermaid, we fully expect this to become one of the most classic Disney attractions ever built. Even though we have now seen the ride in action, stay tuned to WDW News Today as we continue to cover the Fantasyland Expansion and our version of this ride (which I’m sure we all just can’t wait for after seeing that) coming next year!
WOW!! That looks so awesome, its a shame us WDW fans have to wait till the end of 2012, But it will be worth the wait!. Im going in Feb 2012, so I wont be able to catch it then but Feb 2013 I will and my daughter will love it !
Well, if you are a fan of the film, you already had to wait over 20 years, so what's a few more months :)
An end battle scene would have been nice to see, but I'm really impressed with the whole package. That's crazy attention to detail they showed there.
Looks great. A little disturbed my the beehive-hair Ariel figure (j/k… somewhat). I agree with Zach that a battle scene would have been great, but they didn't have room for everything. Can't wait to ride it in person…
I can't wait!!!
Wow….. I'm speechless…
Happy to note that creepy Ariel is less creepy. Now that I know she was dancing, and not simply thrashing around, she looks a lot better. The ending was a bit too abrupt, it would have been nice to see Ursula in battle, not just miffed in a corner and accepting defeat. That being said, this is a PHENOMINAL attraction. Seeing that The Little Mermaid is one of my favourite movies, they have made me extremely happy with this ride. I`ll be starting a count down to when this opens in Florida :)
Awesome. Definitely worth the wait for the WDW verision. I agree the end is kinda off, but this is looks like it could be the greatest dark ride ever created.
I see where you're coming from, but that award still goes to Haunted Mansion in my book.
When we say dark ride, I think we typically mean the Fantasyland style, not necessarily rides like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. Rides like Test Track, Mansion, and Pirates have interior show scenes and are in the dark, but dark rides in theme park terms are usually short rides that aren't considered "E-Tickets" or thrill rides.
When we say dark ride, I think we typically mean the Fantasyland style, not necessarily rides like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. Rides like Test Track, Mansion, and Pirates have interior show scenes and are in the dark, but dark rides in theme park terms are usually short rides that aren’t considered “E-Tickets” or thrill rides.