Magic Behind The Little Mermaid Ride

One of the biggest rides to open this year at Disney California Adventure is going to be The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, coming soon in 2011. The ride is also under construction at the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland. The ride is scheduled to open at Disney's California Adventure in 2011, with the Magic Kingdom version of the ride opening two years later. In this video, Imagineer Lisa Girolami takes you behind the curtain (or under the waves) to give you a first look at Ariel’s world. From the drawing board to the incredible scenery, this is an attraction sure to make a splash with guests.

Characters will include Ariel, Prince Eric, King Triton, Sebastian, Flounder, and Ursula. Scuttle will narrate the story of Ariel's Undersea Adventure.

Watch the video after the Jump..



History

A dark ride featuring The Little Mermaid was supposed to open at Disneyland Paris and Magic Kingdom parks in the early to mid 90's. The ride was scrapped, but a visual idea was included on the Platinum Edition DVD of The Little Mermaid in 2006.

A different version is scheduled to open in 2011 at Disney's California Adventure. The ride will take the place in the area of the theater that played host to the Golden Dreams movie hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The theater itself has been torn down.

In September 2009, Disney officials announced that Mickey's Toontown Fair at the Magic Kingdom would be demolished, leaving Goofy's Barnstormer to be rethemed. This will give more room to Fantasyland, which will be filled with this ride and meet-and-greets with the Disney Princesses and a larger Dumbo ride.

The attraction will be set underwater. At Disney's California Adventure, the building is modeled after a 20th-century aquarium. The Palace of Fine Arts replica from Golden Dreams will remain but redecorated with an Ariel statue on top. A garden and water play area is planned to accompany the ride; it will be located next to the show building. In the Magic Kingdom, the building will be featured in a recreation of Prince Eric's castle. Guests will walk across a bridge over a pond that resembles a beach with the castle on it. A statue of Ariel doing the famous pose in Part of Your World (reprise) will be featured on the left of the bridge.
To the left of the attraction is an entrance labeled "Ariel's Grotto", suggesting that the meet-and-greet with Ariel will be moved closer to the attraction.

The attraction will be a dark ride, similar to Peter Pan's Flight and Snow White's Scary Adventures, but it will have an Omnimover ride system like the one currently in use at the Haunted Mansion. The ride will transport guests under the sea and will focus on many of the major scenes and musical numbers from the movie. Guests will ride in cars themed to resemble large seashells.

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Source-DisneyBlog