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!"
Disney Tickets are now available online at Discount Prices.
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.
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.
