Is The Little Mermaid attraction worth the hoopla?

[hookedonears]

All of the WDW regulars can't wait for the Little Mermaid attraction that is coming at the end of this year. Will it be worth making a special trip to the world to ride? We love Peter Pan. Does it compare?

 

[jdb in AZ]

This is so subjective; it's hard to answer. There's no flying pirate ship, but it is a cute ride.

Our DD in Virginia is anxious to go to WDW (again) but I told her to wait til Fantasyland is finished, including the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train ride. Don't know if you'd want to wait that long or not.

 

[PigletSeeker]

It's a cute ride. My kids (7,5 and 3) love it and we usually ride it twice. The thing I love most about it is the line is very fast moving. Even on busy days, we've never waited more than 10 minutes. It's a pretty different ride from Peter Pan. A lot of Animatronics and catchy tunes.

 

[coaches24]

The one at DL is well done. We liked it. DD esspecially liked it and I didn't mind going on it the 4 or 5 times we did.

 

[sheetz]

It's generally considered a "D" ticket ride--a pretty good ride, but not necessarily something you'd plan a big vacation for unless you happen to be a huge Little Mermaid fan. If you can it'd probably be best to wait till all the Fantasyland expansion is complete.

 

[lcasa]

It's generally considered a "D" ticket ride--a pretty good ride, but not necessarily something you'd plan a big vacation for unless you happen to be a huge Little Mermaid fan. If you can it'd probably be best to wait till all the Fantasyland expansion is complete.

Agree completely - to me not nearly as magical as Peter Pan, but cute - there was so much hype I was actually pretty disappointed the first time I rode it, but it's growing on me - and they have actually made a couple of fixes to improve it ( like get rid of that bubble hair that looked so silly)

 

[hulliechrisp]

is it the same ride system as epcot's nemo ride?

 

[DLR29]

is it the same ride system as epcot's nemo ride?

Yup! But with so many more animatronics as opposed to video screens.

As for the OP question, I really enjoy the ride. What I also really enjoy is that I've never seen the line more than 15-20 minutes (and that was on a really really crowded day). It's super easy to fit the ride in to any day because the high capacity allows for so many people to enjoy this attraction.

 

[MerryJ]

We just got back from our first trip to Disneyland, and I was only at WDW many moons ago when I was 6 years old myself, so forgive me if my advice isn't as useful! I didn't get a chance to go on Peter Pan, so can't compare Little Mermaid to that. I did enjoyed Little Mermaid though. I think it was better than any of the other kiddie movie themed dark rides that I went on at Disneyland (Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, probably even Roger Rabbit), mostly because it was more up to date.

I didn't think it was as good as Buzz Lightyear (because it lacked the interactive element that makes that great), although it was close (but very different!). I also didn't have any big Mermaid fans with me! We happened to walk past it one late afternoon and there was a 5 minute wait posted and we hopped right on. We enjoyed it, but as I was just writing in my trip report, I don't understand why people would wait in line for 30 minutes or more for it.

 

[Carolynleanne]

It's a fun ride, but as previous poster said, not worth a trip on it's own. Our 7 month old loved it because of the music and animatronics everywhere. It got stuck twice while we were on it for about 5 minutes and he didn't even care cause he was so entertained.

 

[hookedonears]

Thanks for the input. We can't wait to ride it, but a special trip probably wont be in the offering.

 

[disney777]

I'm a big LM fan, but I wouldn't wait more than 15 min for this ride. But maybe I can say that because I have many opportunities to see it being a local. The longest I've waited for it was 45mins, when it first opened up. But I won't do that again. I went on it yesterday, twice in a row around noon, and walked right on both times. Yes, I'm glad the stupid hair was changed. It's a cute ride, but not something to base a trip on unless you are local.

 

[SGDisneyFam]

We were there for a soft open of it, and by the size of the queue area i expected it to have a long wait time. Since then I have never seen the line go outside of the main building.

Our daughter who is 3 and princess obsessed, loves this ride so we usually end up on it 3 or 4 times when in the DCA. Plus its a way to cool off when its hot outside.

 

[jlwhitney]

I can't wait to ride it. I will admit that while Peter Pan is cute, its by no means my favorite.....too old and outdated... but i love winnie the pooh at wdw

 

[DisneytheKid]

Good to know!

Yup! But with so many more animatronics as opposed to video screens.

As for the OP question, I really enjoy the ride. What I also really enjoy is that I've never seen the line more than 15-20 minutes (and that was on a really really crowded day). It's super easy to fit the ride in to any day because the high capacity allows for so many people to enjoy this attraction.

 

[elaine amj]

My DD and I are big LM fans and are thoroughly excited to see this ride. Unfortunately, our WDW trip is planned for late Aug and it won;t be ready. But we will go to DLR at some time next year....so we'll ride it then!

 

[PryncessChrysty]

It's a cute ride, but not worth making a trip just to see it. If it was to see all, or most of the new Fantasyland's debut, that might be worth a trip, but not just for the ride.

Here, the line averages about 5-10 minutes on most days and will most likely peak around 30 min when the big crowds start coming out for Cars Land & Buena Vista Street. But I think this will be a case where something is more popular on one coast than the other, and the lines at WDW will most likely stay consistent around 30-40 minutes. One good thing about it is the omni-movers for this ride are close together, and can handle a lot of traffice per hour.

 

[MagicMomma1]

DL's LM was so hyped and we were looking forward to having something marvelous to lure us over to DCA before the arrival of CL and BVS but DH and I both felt LM fell short. Disney's famed for their amazing, elaborate, endless attention to detail yet gave us an attraction that feels... unfinished. We left asking each other where LM went wrong?

The ride doesn't flow as well as it ought, feels somewhat disjointed. You travel between scenes past plain bare cavern walls that do nothing to carry you along in the story or continue the sensation of being a part of Ariel's undersea world. And I confess I was really disappointed with Ursula's lair. Apart from her bulk, it's empty and boring. Where are the "poor, unfortunate souls" writhing piteously on the cavern floor? Or the bright pink sea plants that hang like streamers from the ceiling? DH and I aren't Imagineers but each time we ride LM we come away feeling a bit let down and filled with ideas for how to make it better. LM hasn't been "plussed". And while entertaining, won't go down as one of the great Disney rides because it fails to immerse you. You might enjoy the attraction but you never quite BELIEVE it. This is NOT a ride we'd make a special trip for.



That said, our 2 young DS's love it--especially the youngest. He was still 2 on our last trip and after riding as a fam, he insisted going 2x more with me and wanted to keep going!

 

[markinmt]

Make sure to keep an eye out for Mr. Limpet

 

[pixiewings71]

We like LM but it's not what it was hyped up to be. When it first opened we waited about an hour to ride it, we were so let down when we got off. Now we like it, but we won't ride if it's more than 10 minutes.