Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

Little Mermaid already appears to be doing much better in Florida than it is in California. I can't remember the last time I saw more than a 10 minute wait for it at DCA. It's a shame the attraction doesn't get more respect as, although not a headliner attraction, Little Mermaid still in the upper half of the dark rides at the Disneyland Resort.

New Fantasyland looks great. Although there are only two new attractions going in (plus one more in a couple years), I'm guessing that the extensive retheming will make it seem like a whole new area. It certainly looks much better than California's Fantasyland, and hopefully I'll get a chance to finally visit WDW (and the other Florida parks) in a few years (I'm waiting until the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train opens before I start considering a trip).

So whats the deal with the crab projections during the queue? Is this interactive?

^My understanding is that they are. I read that they do exactly what Ariel's note said they would: move items that don't belong.

Little Mermaid already appears to be doing much better in Florida than it is in California. I can't remember the last time I saw more than a 10 minute wait for it at DCA. It's a shame the attraction doesn't get more respect as, although not a headliner attraction, Little Mermaid still in the upper half of the dark rides at the Disneyland Resort.

You do realize that the attraction moves a ridiculous amount of people per hour right? It's like Nemo at Epcot. That ride does INSANE numbers, yet it never has a line, because it was designed to eat people for breakfast. In fact, I believe it has the highest capacity for any ride at DCA. Anyone know if that's correct? I thought it was.

Anyway, just because a ride doesn't always have a long line doesn't mean that thousands of people aren't visiting it each day.

--Robb

Do you think it will be open tomorrow too?

I was going to go to the Food & Wine Festival tomorrow, but now I'm thinking about heading to the Magic Kingdom in the morning first if this is open.

I don't have the exact numbers Robb, but along with Bugs/Muppets/Screamin' (running at full capacity) I'd think it's right there as the top 3-4 people-eating attractions at DCA.

So yes, it doesn't get a line, but when it was soft opened and during the AP Previews there was indeed a line.

Gregg "Waited 60 minutes for Mermaid on a preview day and haven't waited more than 15 minutes since" C.

Ugh... Some Disney fans make the rest of us look like total assholes. I think Florida's looks great. The ride is awesome, it's a must ride every time I'm at DCA. I think both parks look great on the outside. Imagineers designed both to fit in with the intended theme of their respective lands. Yes, the Florida version's queue is a bit more fun to look at, but it's not like DCA's destroys the ride. When it comes down to it, it's the ride that makes or breaks the whole thing. Mermaid is a solid ride and I'm glad people in Florida get to experience it now.

To be fair, any queue would destroy the DCA one! It's just a bunch of switch backs under a building!

^ LOL! Agreed!

^^ See, in the case of a ride like this, I disagree. I think the queue has a lot to do with setting up the story, atmosphere, etc. For example, every time I walk into the Nemo queue at Epcot, I can really get into the atmosphere of the attraction even before I step into the ride vehicle.

I felt the same way about Little Mermaid today. The queue really helped set things up, whereas the DCA version, like Elissa said, was just a bunch of switchbacks in a building, no set up, no atmosphere at all.

And sure, a ride doesn't NEED to have an elaborate queue to be good, but it certainly does help. I mean, a nice queue isn't going to help a turd of a ride be any better, but a nice queue can certainly enhance a decent attraction and this is a perfect example.

--Robb

^ You mean the Nemo queue at Disneyland doesn't do anything for you?

^ You mean the Nemo queue at Disneyland doesn't do anything for you?

Other than make me want to go visit a different attraction? No.

--Robb "It took me 4 years before finally going on DL's Nemo and I haven't ridden it since!" Alvey

^ I haven't ridden it since opening year. If I want to see a movie I'll go see Muppets or Bugs.

I think it's funny how everybody bashes the un-themed queue lines at Six Flags/CF when there are a LOT of unthemed queues at Disney (mostly in CA).

Thanks again for all the great pics and video... I really loved following along on Twitter today!

I can't believe how great the new area looks -- the Little Mermaid stuff looks amazing, but Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite movies and I am just in awe at what they've done. It's definitely my equivalent of the WWofHP at Universal!

I'm so excited to see how the Snow White stuff turns out... Disney definitely brought their A-game for this expansion, I'm so happy it's all coming together even better than I thought it would!

This attraction looks amazing. I've watched the video three times now and I especially can't wait to see it in person. As someone who was a 9-year-old girl when the movie came out, I'm totally freaking out. My inner child could not be happier. The Little Mermaid has always remained my favorite Disney movie.

I felt the same way about Little Mermaid today. The queue really helped set things up, whereas the DCA version, like Elissa said, was just a bunch of switchbacks in a building, no set up, no atmosphere at all.

I was floored when I saw those pics of the WDW queue, looks fantastic and probably takes the ride from 3 stars to 4 in my book. I don't recall ever spending much time in line at DCA but apart from the mural that queuing area isn't terribly memorable.

Some of comments on the POV are priceless, but then again Youtube is hardly a bastion of rational debate and conversation to begin with. I'm not sure why people expect these rides to present a full retelling of the story in two minutes, in my mind it's always a "here's some memorable scenes from the film" sort of thing.

And what is there is done exceptionally well - the Under the Sea scene in particular looks great in the video but absolutely has to be seen in person. From memory the WDW and DCA versions look pretty much the same, did you notice anything different during the ride?

Always excited to see TPR be there on the bleeding edge of new ride introductions... A couple questions for those that have visited.. How is the little mermaid different from DCA? What's the interactive queue like?.. I've never ridden either, but I'm interested in hearing everyones' take on it. The Beauty & the beast section looks incredibly themed and a great foodie experience for our family, but does it offer anything for families without young children?

Got to see the dress rehearsal for the new Fantasyland today,was pleasantly surprised as I had no idea it would be open.The land looks great,really enjoyed the Little Mermaid and got to try the Butterbeer rival drink at Gaston's Tavern,it was like frozen soft applesauce with a light sweet foam,definitely more aimed at a younger crowd as I've never heard of a kid who doesn't like apple juice or apple sauce.That pork shank they have on the menu is like something out of the Flintstones,a huge bone with half meat and half grease,what was there to eat tasted good but I definitely won't be buying that again,a turkey leg is nowhere as messy.Can't wait for the dwarves coaster to open.

Here's my opinion which probably doesn't matter. My mom is now 45 and went when she was just a child (can' really tell exactly when.) I am 23 and am dying to visit. To me the Que is only is only a pre-show and most people will only visit the attraction once. So as far as the complaints go this attraction is perfect. This isn't something that needs to be re-ridable. Most GP only get to go once.

I was able to go today (Saturday) and pretty much see everything including the Be Our Guest restaurant.

The entire area is beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 rides on The Little Mermaid. (Wait...that didn't sound right!)

My only gripe (if you wanna call it that) is with LeFou's brew. Yes, I know it is served in Carsland. And I know it is Disney's attempt at Butterbeer. I just didn't care for the taste of it. Basically frozen apple juice. And the "foam" topping I had on mine had no flavor at all. I saw them serve the topping from a canister ie. whipped cream, but it didn't even taste like that. Probably too late to tweak the recipe, and people will buy it regardless.

Cannot wait to see this place at night!

Anyone bitching about a dark ride going up, anywhere, is a Grade A simpleton.

So, can anyone guess what the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train layout will be?

There's going to be complaining about rides wherever you are, and I think sometimes California gets singled out because of the immense concentration of parks. You also have to remember that for every crazy Disney enthusiast, there's probably 3 dozen normal theme park enthusiasts.

Mermaid looks amazing in both parks. The facade for MK fits perfectly with the fantasy theme and the facade at DCA fits in perfectly with the Turn of the Century Pier theme. The MK facade would probably look incredibly weird in DCA and vice-versa. Plus the DCA version was place in a pretty compact spot to begin with.

^I agree that the queue for each version of Mermaid has to fit in with their respective park. But I still think Florida got the better deal here. The same is true for the queues for Midway Mania (out in the sun for DCA, indoors and air-conditioned for DHS).

^I agree that the queue for each version of Mermaid has to fit in with their respective park. But I still think Florida got the better deal here. The same is true for the queues Midway Mania (out in the sun for DCA, indoors and air-conditioned for DHS).

Completely agree with you there. TSMM and LM were more side projects for the DCA expansion when compared to their main focuses (WOC & Carsland), so they probably focused a lot less on the queue detailing.

I've always thought that the queue and building for California Adventure's Toy Story [Midway] Mania looked a lot better than Hollywood Studios' one. Under the Sea's queue looks 100 times better at Magic Kingdom though.