| Snow White's Scary Adventures | |
 | |
| Magic Kingdom | |
| Land | Fantasyland |
| Opening date | October 1, 1971 |
| Closing date | May 31, 2012 |
| Guests per car | 4 (1971-1994) 6 (1994-2012) |
| Ride duration | 2:50 minutes |
| Re-dedicated | December 16, 1994 |
Snow White's Scary Adventures is a dark ride at the Disneyland Park, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. It also existed at the Magic Kingdom, but closed on May 31, 2012. 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. Some footage of the original version would be part of the 1962 film 40 Pounds of Trouble, which featured a lengthy sequence set inside Disneyland. During 1983, all of the Fantasyland dark rides were expanded and 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.
Magic Kingdom'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; and appearances by Snow White were 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.
Snow White's Scary Adventures permanently closed at the Magic Kingdom on May 31, 2012, as it is a side effect of the Fantasyland expansion in the park.
Attraction summary
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 a ghost. 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 (to give the ride a "bad ending").
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 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 with the Huntsman telling Snow White to run away and never come back, and then into the Dwarfs' Cottage, where the dwarfs where performing "The Silly Song." . 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 Sneezy) 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, happy 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.
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