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Peter Pan's Flight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Pan's Flight is a single-bench (two to three person) suspended dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris theme parks. Located in Fantasyland, it is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on Disneyland's opening day in 1955. The ride's story, music, staging and artwork are based on Walt Disney's Peter Pan, the animated film version of the classic Peter Pan story by J.M.Barrie.
History
The original intent of the attraction was for the guests to fly through the ride as if they were Peter Pan. Audiences did not quite grasp this concept and were left wondering, "Why wasn't Peter Pan in the Peter Pan ride?"
The Florida version of the ride, which opened in 1971, expanded on the original Disneyland attraction. While the overall theme and format of the ride was consistent with the original in California, the Florida ride, as with the other dark rides, would feature its characters in Audio-Animatronic style.
In 1982, Disneyland's Fantasyland was in a phase of major overhaul. Some of its rides were relocated to make room for expanded versions of the dark rides (as well a brand-new one). The posh redo of Fantasyland now resembled a rustic European village in the Alps, rather than a medieval faire. Mr. Toad and Snow White's dark rides moved their respective loading areas (and partial murals) indoors, but the Peter Pan ride still featured a colorful mural, depicting the characters from the film. In 1983, an Audio-Animatronic Peter Pan was added to the ride.
Ride plot and features
Expanded Walt Disney World installation (1971 - present)
The load/unload area features Omnimover-style moving ramps (like the Haunted Mansion) to better allow for smooth traffic flow. The scenes in the ride are done on a larger scale and feature audio-animatronic figures. The Lost Boys camp and Mermaid Lagoon are now a part of the Never Land scene. Also, Hook's 48-foot pirate ship, complete with deck, masts, sails and rigging is included. Guests see Hook and Peter engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the mainsail, while the boys are lashed to the mast and Wendy is about to walk the plank. Guests then see Peter and the Darlings posed victoriously on the ship, poised to sail into the sky, back to London.
The article text above is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peter Pan's Flight".
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