Original Fantasyland Dark Rides...

[princedalton]

So I know that things have changed on some of the Fantasyland dark rides...for example, in the movie "Forty Pounds of Trouble" starring Tony Curtis and Suzanne Pleshcette, they go on a day trip to Disneyland and they ride Snow White and it looks COMPLETELY different...I mean they only show like 2 shots, but I could tell things have been updated. So my question is what were the rides like before the big renovation in the early 80s? I am most curious about Snow White, and Peter Pan...and even Mr. Toad. I know that there's an article on Mr. Toad at Yesterland...but I would love to see more pictures of it as well as the other rides I mentioned.

[princedalton]

...nobody???

[Yendorb]

Sorry, I remember them, but it is really hard to remember specific changes. Of course, most of the scenes were flat, not the sculptured figs and animatronics that you have in the rides now. I remember alice as going the other way, you went up the leaf to get into the main building. Toad changed the least, really mostly an exterior change, but again, the changes are so long ago now that it is really hard to remember. I just felt your topic needed a reply, and now someone that does remember will help out and correct me.

[JesterMn]

I don't have any pics, but a few recollections...

Snow White used to start with you going directly into the Dwarf's Mine. Snow White herself never made any appearance whatsoever (the concept is that you were Snow White, re-living her adventure, but no one got that, so they added the part with the house and seeing her on the stairs just so that you'd see her once). In the queue, they added the intentionally scary looking dungeon scene to scare off little kids who would be too scared in the actual ride (as over 90% of it is in the Evil Queen's dungeon).

Pan is mostly the same, but the scenes now at the end of the ride, on Captain Hooke's ship, strike me as added in the later renovation.

There was no Pinocchio at all... I believe it was a live theater of some kind and a Welches juice bar.

I don't think Alice ever went backwards, but the Mad Tea Party used to be in the main ride portion, and once you went outside, you never went back in again, the ride was just over.

I don't have any specifics on Toad, other than I just think it was improved.

[DisneyFan28]

I saw on youtube for the snow white ride,you also went around the wishing well and the queen was originally inside the attraction instead of the outside window we are all used to seeing her in today

heres a video of the OLD snow white ride(before everything)
EDIT:cant seem to find it
EDIT2:FOUND IT!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Th7LJFzG1o8&feature=related

[DisneyPro]

DisneyFan28, are you sure this is Disneyland not Disney World?

[DisneyFan28]

Whoops it is WDW..sorry.

[Yendorb]

Yeah that is Disneyworld, and pretty much the same as the DL one. I was wrong about the backwards Alice, but It did get the conversation going. The last bit of alice was going through the keyhole of the doorknob character, you crashed through a series of smaller and smaller doors then you were outside on the leaf. There is a good picture at the Disneyland postcard site you didn't go back into the building for the unbirthday party.

[Yendorb]

There was no Pinocchio at all... I believe it was a live theater of some kind and a Welches juice bar.

Right, there was no Pinocchio, the Fantasyland theatre played old Mickey Mouse cartoons. It also used to be home to the mouseketeers in the early days. Welches juice bar was between snow white and the theatre.

Visit the yesterland site, there are some good pics there.

[DisneyFan28]

these postcards are neat.

looks like the teacups didnt change much over 50 years

and alice does look different back then. guess the tugley woods and card march and croquet scenes never existed back then

[Yendorb]

these postcards are neat.

looks like the teacups didnt change much over 50 years

and alice does look different back then. guess the tugley woods and card march and croquet scenes never existed back then

It had those scenes, they were just very different

[retrodiz]

I actually preferred the Tea Party scene when it was inside the ride; it was much more interesting and colorful than the Card March/Croquet scenes. (Too much green, I guess.) It may not have made as much sense in terms of the storyline order, but the ride was really designed as a series of "flashes" rather than a narrative.

The original inside scene with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse was quite a kick. You rode all around the surface of a giant tea table, surrounded by crockery. There were stacks of teacups swaying and threatening to topple over, and huge teapots that whistled and spouted steam.

I really do miss the old version.

[Aladdin]

Yesterland has some info and pictures. It also mentions that some changes were done during the 1983 refubishnment to Fantasyland. Take a look here.

Oh, to add a little more info, teacups, which were in Fantasyland on opening day, were located where the Carousel is now. The Alice in Wonderland Dark ride didn't open until 1958, but did go through some refurbishment during the Fantasyland makeover in 1983/84, when the Teacups were moved in front of the Alice Dark Ride.

Here is what the space looked like that is currently housing Pinnocchio.

[Aladdin]

I found another page from Ken Netti that has a couple pictures, and history of the Snow White attraction. It also talks about the Snow White attractions in Paris and WDW. There is also a drawing and rundown of the scenes of the original Snow White attraction in DL. Some great info at that page!