Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland Reboots

Image: Disney

Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, the same year that the original Disneyland park got a major Fantasyland refresh. At both parks, new versions of the Snow White attraction attempted to balance the more subdued 1955 ride against the much edgier 1971 version. Yet Disneyland arguably did the better job. Tokyo fused the best of both incarnations, but ended up with an attraction that seemed to jump around quite a bit in tone and style.

As for Disneyland, the 1983 refresh was overseen by Tony Baxter, perhaps best known for the original version of Journey Into Imagination. Now called Snow White’s Scary Adventures, the new ride brought in some of the menacing elements of the 1971 ride, but smoothed out their intensity. Significantly, the reboot placed the dwarfs underneath the rock at the end, putting them rather than the rider in peril. In addition, the ride ending became nebulous, featuring only a clap of thunder and a final shriek before dumping the rider back into the sunshine. This was a highly effective technique, forcing the rider to write his or her own ending to the attraction’s story.

Disneyland Paris and Magic Kingdom Reboot

As time passes, public sensibilities change. By the 1990s, a decided focus on “keeping the children safe and innocent” had begun to permeate American culture. Scaring the pants off little kids was no longer socially acceptable. Fantasyland’s scary rides, Mr. Toad and Snow White, had always had an uneasy alliance with parents, and the parents of the 1990s were largely ready to call off the truce.

When Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, its Snow White ride was modeled on the 1983 Disneyland version with one highly significant change: It featured a genuinely happy ending. The softened attraction proved popular with parents and kids alike.

Walt Disney World went through a period of rapid flux during the 1990s, as part of then-CEO Michael Eisner’s Disney Decade. Fantasyland was the first to fall. Citing maintenance difficulties and lack of disability access, the venerable 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea closed “for rehab” in September 1994, never to reopen. Mr. Toad took his last Wild Ride in September 1998, a month before Epcot’s Journey Into Imagination inexplicably closed for a much-hated reimagining.

As for Snow White’s Adventures, the ride survived, but it was radically overhauled in 1994. In 1998, just like the 1983 version of the Disneyland ride, the Magic Kingdom attraction was renamed Snow White’s Scary Adventures to better reflect its frightening content. Yet by that point, Disney needn’t have bothered. The 1994 version was but a shadow of its former terrifying self.

Gone were the stunning Gothic Claude Coats color schemes, the ghostly figure at the top of the stairs in the dwarfs’ cottage, and perhaps worst of all, most of the movement within the ride. Rather than suddenly appearing in the window, the Witch was now frozen there. Instead of zipping by you in a boat, she approached so very slowly. Where the ride vehicles themselves had once seemed to jump in terror at each new threat, they now rolled sedately through each scene as though the entire ride was nothing more than an amusing set of vignettes. The feeling of pursuit was lost for good. Static figures of Snow White were dropped into multiple scenes, adding to the sense that you were just watching events play out rather than being an active participant.

Another huge change was to the ending. Rather than a “death” or “unconsciousness” field of stars and strobe lights, riders now entered a final tableau room where the Prince awakened Snow White with a kiss, followed by the pair riding off into the sunset. Dopey appeared above the final door, waving goodbye to riders. The story was cleanly wrapped up and everyone left with a smile and a warm feeling.

It wasn’t a bad ride by any means. It did a good job of compressing the essence of the story into two and a half minutes, and was certainly much more kid-friendly. But for those who experienced both Magic Kingdom versions, it was easy to pick out the oddities. It was almost as if an overlay had been placed on the existing attraction, and everything from the staging to the ride vehicle movement felt slightly “off.”

Beyond that, many fans were sad to see the old Fantasyland go. As Walt knew, a child’s imagination is sometimes a scary place. The original Fantasyland honored and respected that, and gave kids a safe space to battle their fears. When coupled with the fact that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’s giant squid attack was replaced by a playground, and the sanitized and relentlessly happy Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh took over Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the changes to Snow White felt like a downgrade. Rather than trusting kids to persevere, they were suddenly being spoon fed the idea that eternal safety and happiness is all we should expect from life.

Regardless, the 1994 version of Snow White’s Scary Adventures at least retained much of the spirit of the original 1955 Disneyland attraction. It was also one of the few remaining attractions of a dying classic breed: the dark ride. Which is why many long-time fans recoiled when the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was announced. 

New Fantasyland

In 1988, Mickey Mouse turned 60, and Disney decided to celebrate the event in style. At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Birthdayland was added behind Fantasyland. It was a very simple area, designed to be a temporary land only for the birthday celebration. Yet its popularity with the preschool set convinced Disney to keep it. In 1990, Mickey’s Birthdayland added some then-popular Disney cartoon characters and transformed into Mickey’s Starland. After a brief incarnation as Mickey’s Toyland in 1995, the land closed for major rehab. It reopened as an expanded permanent land known as Mickey’s Toontown Fair in 1996. 

At the D23 Expo in 2009, Disney announced plans for a radical expansion to Fantasyland. Mickey’s Toontown Fair would be replaced by the Storybook Circus section of New Fantasyland, retaining and enhancing its most popular rides while adding a great deal of new activities for small children.

Meanwhile, the expansion also added such crowd pleasers as the Beast’s castle complete with the stunning Be Our Guest restaurant, an excellent dark ride based on The Little Mermaid, and the highly interactive Enchanted Tales With Belle show. There was just one major problem: Snow White’s Scary Adventures closed in 2012 to make room for a Disney Princess meet and greet. But not to fear, a brand new roller coaster attraction based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was on its way. Surely this would justify shuttering a classic in favor of yet another character spot, right? 

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Snow White fans had to wait a long time to see what their beloved ride’s replacement would look like, as the Mine Train did not open until 2014. When it finally did, a lot of people were underwhelmed. Like the 1983 Tokyo version of the original ride, it’s not that it’s bad, exactly. It’s just a strange fusion that never hits the right notes.

The 38 inch height requirement means that it fails spectacularly as a kiddie ride. Goofy’s Barnstormer has a height restriction of just 35 inches, opening it up to much younger children. Meanwhile, kids who hit the 38 inch mark are eligible for Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom—a full-scale, genuinely thrilling attraction. Once they hit 40 inches, they will be ready for all but the most extreme rides Disney has to offer.

As a “roller coaster,” the ride also fails. Two short sections of track that mimic Big Thunder Mountain in appearance, if not thrills, do not a roller coaster make. Interspersed with a slow roll through or past two scenes, the coaster portions seem more superfluous than exciting.

Yet the dark ride elements are also underwhelming. It is true that the mine has a trippy psychedelic quality, and the much-hyped next generation audio animatronics are cool to see, but the scene lacks any sort of storytelling or plot, which the old ride presented masterfully. It comes across as more jarring than cohesive.

Then, after the next mini-coaster track, you roll slowly past a set of windows where you can sort of see some of the original figures, the Wicked Witch is hanging out outside…and then it’s over. If you didn’t know the story, the ride would just leave you confused. Even when you are a fan of the movie, it’s kind of weird. Why is she just standing there in the middle of the afternoon sun? She’s not exactly setting up much of an ambush. All sense of story is gone for good, and in those last few seconds, the ride does an admirable job of looking like it was ripped from a 1950s roadside attraction rather than built by the legendary Disney Imagineers.

So there you have it. A classic with a rich history replaced by…a carnival ride with a moment of good audio animatronics? Again, it’s not a bad ride. It’s just an incredibly confused one. But it doesn’t scare the kiddies, which seems to be rule #1 in today’s society.

So what do you think? Which version of the Snow White attraction was your favorite? Does the Mine Train have a high repeatability factor for your family? Share your thoughts in the comments!