The new Little Mermaid ride...why....

[Robo]

I think the difference in wait time between the two has to do with the preshow and the stretching room in HM. There is no preshow at LM, so it loads continuously. HM loads, then stops when the stretching room fills up, then loads again.

There are actually two stretching rooms and when the HM is busy, there are more than enough guests coming from those two rooms to continuously fill all of the Doombuggies, fed from that switchback queue, with no gaps.

BTW, there is no stopping the Doombuggies except for loading guests with problems getting into the moving buggies.
They don't stop if there are no guests to board. They just keep running... some empty.

That ride system (called "Omnimover") cannot stop just a section at a time, as ALL of the vehicles are connected, end-to-end, in a long continuous chain-like loop.
If you stop any of the vehicles, they ALL stop.
They can SLOW the pace of the entire loop, too.

Little Mermaid's clamshell vehicles are the same "end-to-end loop" situation.

 

[scrapquitler]

There are actually two stretching rooms and when the HM is busy, there are more than enough guests coming from those two rooms to continuously fill all of the Doombuggies, fed from that switchback queue, with no gaps.

BTW, there is no stopping the Doombuggies except for loading guests with problems getting into the moving buggies.
They don't stop if there are no guests to board. They just keep running... some empty.

That ride system (called "Omnimover") cannot stop just a section at a time, as ALL of the vehicles are connected, end-to-end, in a long continuous chain-like loop.
If you stop any of the vehicles, they ALL stop.
They can SLOW the pace of the entire loop, too.

Little Mermaid's clamshell vehicles are the same "end-to-end loop" situation.

Yes, I get all that. But the lines going into the stretching room from outside do stop and start, and I think that's why the wait time is longer with the HM. You are outside, they fill a whole stretching room in a bunch, then you ahve to stop and wait until the second stretching room is emptied out for that one to fill, so the line OUTSIDE doesn't move continously, even though the loading line inside does.

 

[Robo]

Yes, I get all that. But the lines going into the stretching room from outside do stop and start, and I think that's why the wait time is longer with the HM. You are outside, they fill a whole stretching room in a bunch, then you ahve to stop and wait until the second stretching room is emptied out for that one to fill, so the line OUTSIDE doesn't move continously, even though the loading line inside does.

I agree with that.
Thanks for clarifying.

 

[epcotty]

Just compared my footage from this time and the time before, the lighting does make a difference and it looks better now

 

[BrdwayBoy]

I have to agree with epcotty. The new lightning does make it look a bit better. I've always enjoyed the ride; it may not be anything ground-breaking, but I do enjoy it especially on a hot, humid afternoon.

My biggest complaint is the end... we go right from the "Kiss the Girl" to Ursula's demise...ummm, what? I know they're counting on the fact that everyone on the planet knows the story but c'mon - that's just LAZY story-telling.

 

[Planogirl]

We thought that the LM ride was pretty humdrum too. However I was glad to see that Disney at least covered up the spike that was sticking into Ariel's back.

As for thrill rides being more popular, I would say that that is often true but not always. The popularity of Peter Pan continues to amaze me. It shouldn't because I love Peter Pan myself. It has a charm that I don't see in the LM.

 

[Accident]

It was a little 2D to me, not too much going on in a very non-interesting way. It's also alone in that back area so at night you really want to go back there after parades or fireworks, that whole walkway is just really awkward with only that ride and meet ariel on 1 side and 7dmt on the other (the back of it, you can't see it).

I nominate they turn it into a new longer mr toads wild ride.

 

[disneydude365]

Every time I've been it's had a 30-45min wait minimum I always love the fast pass line to get through personally I love it! The beginning is my favorite feeling like you're being submerged under the sea with the light effects and the chilled winds
The ride itself is classic Disney ride it a few times each trip

 

[andiraye]

I love it, but probably more for nostalgia's sake. It reminds me of the old dark rides Snow White and Mr. Toads, which to me are quintessentially Disney - dark, full of music and a little campy. I guess I hear everyone's criticisms but I'm glad there's a classic Disney style ride without a 45 minute line!

 

[ScottlovesDisney]

Thanks everyone for your critiques of the ride and experience. I can't wait to find out for myself in 2016!!

 

[rainboots]

In Feb 2014, it was one of the longest waits we had! We really enjoyed it, but we have little princessy girls who love TLM!

 

[Sparkly]

It's a cute ride and I do it at least once every trip. I will only do it when it's a walk on though. The area's better at night.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

I think it's super cute. I really enjoy it and would ride it a few times on our upcoming trip. DH and I rode it a handful of times because it was a walk on during our trip back in October.

 

[Minnesota!]

The ride blows. Accurate description above of "riding through a Warehouse full of props". Not well done...at all.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I completely disagree with the posts that said it is boring. I think it is a great ride, and so do my husband and son. It has a rather long queue (the wait time is often the time just to walk the queue!), so that helps to spread people out before loading; then when you go to load, it is constantly loading like the Haunted Mansion (unless a wheelchair or something needs to be loaded).

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Once you ride it, you are pretty much done with it.

Not for us! We rode it several times each of our past two trips.

Didn't know that, thanks. But isn't it the same kind of capacity ride as Haunted Mansion and the Doom Buggy? I'm seeing Haunted Mansion wait times usually doubled of those of Little Mermaid. Mind you, I'm not complaining as Little Mermaid is my fave Disney movie of all time (well, just behind Bambi but he's never getting an attraction NOR is he ever seen in the parks!) so when I DO go next year I'm hoping this trend continues as I will ride it over and over. But I'm just surprised a new ride doesn't have the Wait times compared to Haunted Mansion.

Haunted Mansion is a classic and has a big following. Heck, it is so popular they even made its own merchandise store recently.

We thought it was cute, but really wasted a FP+ on it. When we walked into the inside queue it was like a ghost town and we got right on the ride. Now I know to go standby on that one and use a FP+ for something that needs it.

Definitely a waste of a FP most times of the year. I have always been able to either walk on or wait two-three minutes.

It's a very beautiful area to walk through at night.... It's too bad there is not any sane reason for an adult to walk through that area at night.

I don't really get this...we walk through that way lots.

 

[hakepb]

Not for us! We rode it several times each of our past two trips.



Haunted Mansion is a classic and has a big following. Heck, it is so popular they even made its own merchandise store recently.



Definitely a waste of a FP most times of the year. I have always been able to either walk on or wait two-three minutes.



I don't really get this...we walk through that way lots.

At night, the only attractions in that direction are LM, Barnstormer and Dumbo (because the MK railroad closes at night)

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

Funny, I felt the same way about 7DMT!

I felt the same way last August after my first ride. However, after 4 rides last week, it sort of grew on me. I like it now much better. Still wouldn't wait 2 hours for it, 80 mins is my max on any ride. It was funny to hear what people say at the exit. Some people would walk away happy (most likely FP+ people) and many complained about not worthy of 2 hours waiting time. I did see the wait for 7DMT went up to 210 mins after the thunderstorm. Crazy.

I really don't mind Under the Sea, but it is a disappointment as a new attraction. My family do re ride to escape the heat or the rain.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

At night, the only attractions in that direction are LM, Barnstormer and Dumbo (because the MK railroad closes at night)

We will go over there specifically for LM or Dumbo; plus it is near BOG if we are eating there. I like going that path as opposed to the main path sometimes too just for less traffic.

 

[Xennia]

...are the wait times listed online always so short? While 7DMW is always close to an hour, every time I check Ariel's it's 15 minutes or less. I thought, with it being new as well, the demand for this would be close. So why isn't it? I haven't been there since both rides opened. Just curious.

Hubby and I call these rides cattle calls.

They herd you in and you think it's crazy but it happens and your in a seat in a few minutes.

I love it.