Snow White’s wishing well
When Walt Disney was a child, he saw a silent movie version of “Snow White”. It can be argued that above all other influences this was perhaps the first and most enduring inspiration for all of Disney’s future work. From developing one of the first full length feature animated film, to using cinema as the basis of his trying to establish a type of entertainment that encompassed all of one’s senses, to making “Snow White’s Scary Adventure” one of the cornerstone attractions of his parks.
Sometime early this year, Snow White’s Scary Adventure is due to close. Fantasyland is expanding, but Snow is being shut out. In the attraction’s place will be a meet-and-greet area for the princesses of Disney World to welcome the guests as they pass through the castle and onto the streets of the new and improved Fantasyland. An unexplored castle looms, Belle’s Castle (from Beauty and the Beast) will rise above the expansion area. So, not only has Snow been evicted, she’s also been overlooked in the new real estate boom. She must now wander aimlessly from meet-and-greet to meet-and-greet, hoping for a hand out. Supposedly, nods to the present attraction will be found within the new 7 Dwarves’ Diamond Mine attraction, but I doubt that gives the Princess much solace.
Belle’s Castle looms over the new Fantasyland
When the attraction opened with the park in 1971 as Snow White’s Adventures, the idea was that YOU were Snow White. She never appeared in the attraction. It was you running from through the forest, meeting the dwarves and being offered the offending apple. Kids (and parents) couldn’t wrap their heads around this, no matter how inspired, and so several years ago the attraction was updated with images of Snow braving her predicaments, and the attraction was renamed Snow White’s SCARY Adventures. Perhaps a bit of a warning to parents that very young children might be alarmed by the dark ride.
I’m not sure why the closing of the attraction saddens me so. Snow White’s Scary Adventure is not one of my favorites by far: the wait is usually too long, the special effects are not much more than glow-in-the-dark cut outs, and the narrative of the ride is spotty at best (I guess it was figured we’d know the story..).
I think what gauls me about this is the non-preservation aspect of it all. Trust me, I am not the “my days were better than the present” type of guy. I’m all for changing and moving forward and the newest and the brightest and all that. But I hate the thinking that to update means to tear down. ‘Space’ you say. ‘We needs must make room for the future.’ Well, Disneyland is much smaller and they’ve manage to make major updates and changes and have kept not only Snow White around, but Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, as well! I mean, I do believe the word is ‘Imagineer’, so surely they could have come up with a way to preserve this ride, building on what had already come before..? Begin with the ride as is, and then open it up into a whole new dimension, combining the past and present.
Let’s see, it’s been forty years since the opening of this attraction, so most of the kids who first experienced it and remember it with affection are probably not the park’s target audience any longer. Time for a faster, cleaner, flashier attraction that will appeal to the kids who might otherwise want to see Harry Potter-land over in the resort-that-shall-not-be-named. So they have opted to just tear it down and not not look back. No consideration has been given to those who return to Disney often just for nostalgia’s sake. To experience that childhood high gotten every time we enter the Kingdom de Mouse. Wait..when did I start talking about myself? Well, so be it.
The windows are kept low enough for kids to see into and pumped in bakery smells prevail
I feel like my memories are being cast aside as not being worthy. *sigh* Perhaps they’re not worthy. I am definitely not the target audience for Disney, anymore (if ever). The fact that the parks are a money making venture is clear. At the end of the day, no matter how nice everyone is, how safe everyone feels, how many joyful surprises have been had, it comes down to the bottom line. I have always felt, though, that the importance of the daily cash total has been ingeniously woven throughout the experiences that seem to to balance the cold hard facts. …The pumped in bakery smells, windows in stores low enough for kids to peer through, ‘extra’ experiences for extra fees, the ridiculous cost of food, drink, souvenirs, etc. are all tempered by the quality and smile inducing factor of the merchandise and the happiness and memories the experiences bring.
The closing of Snow White’s Scary Adventures seems to be an unsubtle, un-thought-out act of hostility amidst all their usual attempts (successful or not) at carefully hiding their merchandising and marketing. “We’re building a bright shiny new expansion, so screw you.”
Maybe it’s not so dumb after all, ’cause just like poor Snow, they know I’ve really got no where else to go…
No Wait Time, Any Longer