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Peter Pans Flight
at Magic Kingdom
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Sail away aboard
a flying galleon and follow Peter Pan on a whimsical
journey into Never Land. Refuse to grow up as you navigate
by the second star on the right to float above the glittering
lights of moonlit London. Glide above mermaids, Indians
and by Hook as he tries to escape the snapping jaws
of an alligator. "Come on everybody, here we go!"
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The original intent of
the attraction was for the guests to fly through the ride
as if they were Peter Pan. Audiences did not quite grasp
this concept and were left wondering, "Why wasn't Peter
Pan in the Peter Pan ride?" In 1983, during Fantasyland’s
remodeling, an Audio Animatronic Peter Pan was added to
his namesake ride.
The original ride featured
the ride vehicles flying through the nursery, out over London,
onward to Never Land, and finally through Skull Rock, where
riders saw Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Princess Tiger Lily and
the Crocodile before unloading. The exterior had a medieval
design with the queue being outside.
Disney
Tickets are now available online at Discount Prices.
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The Florida version of
the ride, which opened in 1971, expanded on the original
Disneyland attraction. While the overall theme and format
of the ride was consistent with the original in California,
the Florida ride, as with the other dark rides, would feature
its characters in Audio-Animatronic style. The load/unload
area featured Omnimover-style moving ramps (like the Haunted
Mansion) to better allow for smooth traffic flow. The scenes
in the ride were done on a larger scale. The Lost Boys camp
and Mermaid Lagoon were added to the Never Land scene. Also,
Hook's 48-foot pirate ship, complete with deck, masts, sails
and rigging was included. Guests saw Hook and Peter engaged
in hand-to-hand combat on the mainsail, while the boys were
lashed to the mast and Wendy was about to walk from a plank.
Guests would then see Peter and the Darlings posed victoriously
on the ship, poised to sail into the sky, back to London.
In 1982, Disneyland's Fantasyland was in a phase of
drastic overhaul. Some of its rides were being relocated
to make room for expanded versions of the dark rides (as
well a brand-new one). The posh redo of Fantasyland now
resembled a rustic European village in the Alps, rather
than a medieval faire. Mr. Toad and Snow White's dark rides
moved their respective loading areas (and partial murals)
indoors, but the Peter Pan ride still featured a colorful
mural, depicting the characters from the film.
Departing
from the station, but before entering the actual ride building,
guests would fly over the rooftops of London. The new version
of the ride included Audio-Animatronic versions of the characters,
just like in Florida. As part of the new remodel, scenes
from the Florida ride were added to Disneyland, including
the pirate ship deck (unlike in Florida, Peter and Hook
do not duel on the mainsail in California; but on the very
bow of the ship). Few scenes are identical between the two
versions, but they are amazingly similar. The new Disneyland
ride opened as part of the rest of the New Fantasyland on
May 25, 1983. |
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