Snow White's Scary Adventures

Snow White's Scary Adventures is a dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park (Paris) theme parks. Located in Fantasyland, it is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on Disneyland's opening day in 1955. The ride's story is based on Disney's 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, their first animated feature film.

History

Snow White's Scary Adventures opened on Disneyland's opening day as Snow White and her Adventures. Imagineers had designed the ride so that guests felt like they were the main character of the story; in this case, guests were Snow White. Few people understood this concept, and some wondered why Snow White was not featured in the ride. During 1983, all of the Fantasyland dark rides were slightly redesigned as part of a large overhaul of Fantasyland. This attraction and the other dark rides were modified to include the main characters of the films they represented. Today, Snow White appears once in the attraction. The present outdoor facade was made to resemble the Evil Queen's castle from the movie.

When the Witch offered guests the poisoned apple in one scene, guests frequently tried (and sometimes managed) to steal the apple and bring it home as a souvenir. When Fantasyland was reopened in 1983, they solved the problem of the ever-missing poisoned apple by replacing it with an image of an apple projected by means of a parabolic mirror. Guests who reach out to steal the apple now find their hands passing through it.^[1]

Walt Disney World's original version of this ride, like their early version of Peter Pan's Flight, also put the guests in the role of the story's main character (Snow White). Around Christmas of 1994, a less frightening version of the ride took its place; an appearance by Snow White was also added. The redesigned ride took some cues from the version at Disneyland Paris, including increasing the ride capacity of each ride vehicle from four to six passengers.

Attraction summary

Disneyland

Guests enter the ride building through the Evil Queen's castle. Overlooking the entrance is a high window whose curtains are parted every few minutes by the Evil Queen. A metal, gold-colored apple is within reach of guests standing in the queue. Touching the apple causes the disembodied voice of the Queen to cackle menacingly. Guests wind their way through a dungeon inside the castle, passing by a book of poisons. The book reads, "One taste of the poisoned apple and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping Death..." Like most of the dark rides, the boarding area is dominated by a large mural depicting characters from the movie.

The ride vehicles resemble the beds of the Seven Dwarfs and feature the names of each dwarf, much like their beds in the film. When guests board the ride vehicles, they enter the Dwarfs' cottage. Here, the music and yodeling from "The Silly Song" can be heard. Guests pass Snow White followed by some of her animal friends climbing the stairs to the second floor of the cottage. The guests then move past the Dwarfs, who are performing "The Silly Song". Happy is on bass, Grumpy is on organ, Bashful is on accordion, Doc is on mandolin, and Sleepy is on fiddle. Dopey is on Sneezy's shoulders.

When guests leave the cottage, they pass by the Queen who says "Soon I'll be fairest in the land." They then enter the Dwarfs' diamond mine, which is full of jewels of many colors. Guests pass under a branch with two vultures perched on it and enter the Queen's castle. There, they see the Queen as she stands before her Magic Mirror with her beautiful reflection saying, "Magic Mirror on the wall..." She then turns and faces the guests. They see that she has become an ugly, green-eyed, toothless hag with a wart on her nose. "With this disguise, I'll fool them all!" she adds. This effect is achieved by two models—one queen and one hag—rotating on different sides of the 'mirror', which is actually a sheet of transparent glass. Projections and LED lights create the effect of cobwebs and electricity running through the walls. Guests continue to pass through the castle laden with skeletons. Nearby, the Hag is accompanied by a raven in a dungeon where she is creating a poisoned apple for Snow White. She heads for the Dwarfs' cottage in a small boat.

Guests wind their way through a menacing forest. Here, trees have ugly faces and branches like talons or grasping hands. Bats fly everywhere and logs resemble snapping crocodiles. The guests then turn toward the Seven Dwarfs' cottage. The door opens to reveal the Hag, who offers the guests the apple. Guests turn towards a mountainside where the Dwarfs pursue the Queen. Nearby, the Queen tries to roll a boulder down the mountain to crush the Dwarfs below. However, a strike of lightning causes her to tumble to her death; her scream is heard as guests exit the area.

Returning to the boarding and debarkation area, guests pass a giant book featuring a silhouette of Snow White and her Prince with his horse as they wander away towards a castle. The words at the bottom of this picture read, "And they lived happily ever after." The guests then disembark from the ride vehicles and return to Fantasyland.

Magic Kingdom

The original Walt Disney World version of the ride in 1971 was very different, and arguably scarier. Snow White did not appear, and the Dwarfs showed up briefly in one scene. There were also seven witch figures in this version, while there are only six in the current version. The queue was similar to Tokyo's current queue. It featured the Dwarfs' mine and their house was visible in the distance. Guests began by entering the castle in a scene very much like the current ride; however, there was no Snow White cleaning. Upon entering, the guests saw a mirror, but not the magic one. The Queen still transformed into the Witch and was still seen at the cauldron. The riders "crashed" through the dungeon walls and escaped through the forest (still bumping into the Witch). Soon, the guests arrived at the Dwarfs' cottage to see the animals peering in at them. They passed the Dwarfs (in their only appearance) walking up the stairs to their room to investigate a scary shadow, which was presumably Snow White. The Witch was waiting in the doorway with an apple. The final scene was the diamond mines, where the Witch appeared several more times. Her final appearance was on top of a doorway, pushing an enormous jewel onto the riders. Riders would then enter a room full of flashing lights.

In 1994, the Disney World attraction was redesigned to be similar to the Disneyland version, but in a different order with a few new scenes. Guests board by a mural depicting the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and begin their ride in the Queen's courtyard where Snow White is seen working outside. The Queen is watching her (and the guests) from her window. Inside the castle, the scene is similar to the Disneyland version (with the Queen turning into the Witch and working at her cauldron), although the Magic Mirror has been added. The ride continues into the forest, and then into the Dwarfs' Cottage, where Snow White stands on the stairs. In a new scene, the riders pass the Witch giving Snow White the apple, then emerge from the cottage to see her gloating that she is fairest in the land. From there, guests ride through the mines where the two of the Dwarfs (Bashful and Sneezey) call to them to stop the Witch. After the scene where the Witch tries to drop a rock on the guests, there is a new ending with the Prince waking Snow White amidst the cheering Dwarfs. Dopey is seen above the bridge, on leaving, waving to all the passengers. Guests then travel through the open doors under the bridge and disembark. in early 2010, an episode of YouTube's famous Mario, Sonic, the Eds, and Friends web-series based on the ride was released, but was scrapped after the uploader closed his account.

Fantasyland is currently undergoing a large expansion and renovation. "The New Fantasyland will be constructed in phases with most new experiences open by 2013."^[2] Snow White's Scary Adventures will be removed and an area themed to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be built. It will feature the Dwarfs' cottage and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Princess Fairytale Hall, a new Disney Princess meet and greet will be established where Snow White's Scary Adventures currently exists.^[3]

Disneyland Park, Paris

Disneyland Paris' ride is basically the same as the current Disneyland version. The only real difference is a happy ending similar to Disney World's. However, in this variation, instead of passing the Prince waking up Snow White and then Dopey on an arch, all the Dwarfs, the Prince and Snow White are on an arch, with Snow White sitting on the Prince's horse and waving the guests goodbye. On the left side of the guests, the Prince's castle is seen above the clouds. The ride is also called Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains, which is French for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland represents a mix of all the other versions. It begins in the castle where the Queen transforms into the Witch, moving on to the dungeon and passing her on boat. After going through the forest, guests enter the cottage and see the Dwarfs singing, with Snow White watching from the stairs. Exiting the cottage, guests find the Witch outside waiting for them, then enter the mines. They approach the cottage again to find the Witch is once again waiting. The ride ends like Disneyland's version, with the Dwarfs and Witch on the cliff.

See also

• List of current Disneyland attractions
• Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment history
• Tokyo Disneyland attraction and entertainment history

References