The Little Mermaid: A question for those who've ridden both versions...

[furb & dez]

...does the clone at the Magic Kingdom fix the worst problem from the original attraction in DCA — too much "brightness" in the ride?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I would say no. The new ride seems overly bright in clamshell and track area.

 

[ktlm]

Having ridden both multiple times now, I would say yes. While they are basically the same ride, I think the WDW version is a whole different experience and feel. I absolutely loved it. I specifically noted that the lighting seemed better and the lights were much more well hidden in the WDW version as it was at DL which was something I was looking out for. Also the building and queqe at WDW make it a whole different experience as they really give you the feel that you are going under caverns and water, instead of it just being a ride in an obvious building. Having ridden the DL version both in the summer of 2011 and 2012, I will say that DL has made some adjustments and improved things over the original version when it opened, but I still think that WDW's is better!

 

[raven69david]

We've done both and they are identical to us. Both are bright and fibered but not overly bright.

 

[JDUCKY]

and both feature a rather hideous, to me and my DW, version of Ariel.

And the blowfish doesn't blow?

And the last scene was a total letdown, imho.

 

[figment_jii]

I didn't really notice any major differences between the two rides themselves (not counting the queue). Both seems bright in certain scenes (e.g., Under the Sea, the finale) and dark-ish in others (Ursula). Any differences were subtle enough to me, so that the ride felt the "same" in both parks.

 

[AdventureIsOutThere]

I thought they were very similar rides and did not notice a brightness problem with either ride but the queue is WAY better at WDW.

 

[katt789]

The differences I noticed were in the cue, its way more amazing in WDW, also in WDW Triton has a fake hair beard/eyebrows in the last scene, and Ariel does NOT have the ice cream hair she has in DLR

 

[lilpooh108]

What overly bright problem? I don't get it The DCA one has its faults but I didn't think lighting was one of them.

The Prince Eric castle was a really great addition to the whole ride/ambiance. It just made the ride better than the DCA one. Ariel still looks weird (her buggy eyes) in that first scene. The DCA one had her eyes broken for a day or two (it was flipped white). That was creepy. In WDW her eyes are still buggy. I'll never look at Ariel the same way again

 

[katt789]

Also!! I dont known if DCA does it, but in
WDW they crank the air con in the under water bits so it feels cooler there than in the above land bits, it was awesome

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Also!! I dont known if DCA does it, but in
WDW they crank the air con in the under water bits so it feels cooler there than in the above land bits, it was awesome

~That sounds so neat! I just *love* those Disney details. I can't wait to see this attraction!

 

[jdb in AZ]

The differences I noticed were in the cue, its way more amazing in WDW, also in WDW Triton has a fake hair beard/eyebrows in the last scene, and Ariel does NOT have the ice cream hair she has in DLR

I thought DLR fixed the ice cream cone hair.

 

[PrincessShea]

Both are bad, but for some reason the Magic Kingdom one struck me as less bad for some reason, but I couldn't completely pinpoint it. I think what others have said here about the lighting are probably right. But they are basically the same.

 

[interstate70s]

This is interesting we've ridden LM in DCA, and I'm not sure we'll bother in WDW when we go in May. My biggest beef with LM is Ariel,I agree with PP that she just looks so weird. Ursula is great though. I have mixed feeling about the ride in general. Little Mermaid was one of my favorites as a kid, so I was really looking forward to it, and rode it the summer it opened with no wait. Every time I've rode it I haven't had to wait. That's why I'm not sure if we'll bother with it in MK. It's fun, but wouldn't wait more than a few minutes.

BTW Yes Ariel no longer has ice cream cone hair in the Under the Sea scene in DCA, they attached an odd pony tail to the back of her head instead, and camoflagued the side view with some seaweed.

 

[ktlm]

I thought DLR fixed the ice cream cone hair.

They did. She had it when the ride opened in summer 2011, but at some point they closed the ride for a few days or maybe a week or two, to tweak things, and Ariel got new hair and some of the lighting issues were improved. When we returned and rode it in summer 2012, Ariel's hair was "down", and some of the things that had bugged me in 2011 (like several of the lights being out in the open and not hidden like in the classic dark rides) had been fixed.

 

[ktlm]

BTW Yes Ariel no longer has ice cream cone hair in the Under the Sea scene in DCA, they attached an odd pony tail to the back of her head instead, and camoflagued the side view with some seaweed.

That's what I was trying to figure out when we rode it at WDW last week but couldn't quite put my finger on. I knew her WDW hair looked different somehow! Her WDW hair is down and her DL hair is in a ponytail!

 

[Ltl Mermaid]

I've not yet ridden the attraction at WDW but I LOVE it here at DCA! Is it perfect? Well no bit nothing is. I find it to be a very enjoyable attraction and look forward to going on it whenever I am at DCA.

It surprised me to hear so much negative feedback, but that goes to show you that everyone has different opinions

 

[rrali33tt]

I have never been to DCA, but The Little Mermaid is my all time favorite disney movie. I was beyond excited to go on this ride. The cue was amazing..a lot of attention to detail...but I feel like the ride was a complete let down. I was expecting something amazing and I could see all the rods that attached the characters to the wall. The under the sea section was horrible because it was so lit up. I could see the lights at the top of the ceiling! I think it would be better if "under the sea" was done in neon colors and blacklight and if there was more movement. I also thought the ride was really short and if I had to wait more than 20 minutes to go on it, it would be a waste of time. ( I waited 10 minutes total to get on during MVMCP). Maybe one day it will get re-imagined but it will not be a must do for me.