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Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

19 bytes added, 00:03, 11 March 2018
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Tony Baxter's Little Mermaid attraction would begin with guests passing a shipwreck before arriving at Ariel, who was looking longingly at the human world. The mermaid then claimed that "someday I'll be a part of that world”. After passing by Prince Eric's boat, Sebastian would tell Ariel that life is better under the sea. At this point the attraction's ride vehicles would dive under water where they would witness Sebastian and his friends performing the song "Under the Sea".
Continuing on, guests would pass by Ursula's two minion eels, before entering the sea witch's lair. Here, Ursula and Ariel would make a deal that allows allowed Ariel to turn into a human in exchange for her voice. As a part of the deal, if the princess was not able to get Prince Eric to kiss her, she would become beholden to Ursula. As a menacing instrumental version of “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” played in the background guests would emerge from underwater , where they would find themselves in the middle of the battle between Ursula, King Trident and Prince Eric. After the sea witch was defeated, guests would then see Scuttle who would ask Flounder "any kissing?" At this point in the attraction guests would enter the "Kiss the Girl " scene from the film. Here, Prince Eric and Ariel were serenaded by Sebastian and other marine life. Finally, after passing by the now human Ariel and Prince Eric waving from their boat, guests would enter the unloading area.
====See The Unbuilt Attraction====
One of the special features on the Little Mermaid Platinum Edition DVD release was a simulated ride-through Tony Baxter’s unbuilt Little Mermaid dark ride. Click play below to experience the attraction.
===Creation in Disney’s California Adventure and The Magic Kingdom===
[[Image:ArielJourney.jpg|thumb|400px|Ariel in Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. Photo Credit: Disney.]]
On October 17, 2007 Disney announced that a new Little Mermaid dark ride attraction would be built as a part of the refurbishment of Paradise Pier in Disney's California Adventure <ref> http://allears.net/dlr/news/dca_exp.htm </ref>. When designing the new ride, Imagineers built a 1/4 inch scale model and then a 1 inch sale model of the attraction so that they could "ride" through it <ref name= "press"/>. On June 3, 2011 the attraction opened to guests as The Little Mermaid- Ariel's Undersea Adventure <ref> http://allears.net/dlr/tp/dca/ariels.htm </ref>. This dark ride attraction took guests through the story of the Little Mermaid and featured the songs "Poor Unfortunate Souls", "Kiss the Girl", "Under the Sea " and "Part of Your World".
Similarly, at the D23 Convention, in 2009 Disney unveiled its plans for an expansion of the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. As part of this expansion , Disney announced that a Little Mermaid attraction would be constructed <ref> http://thedisneyblog.com/2009/09/12/d23-confirms-fantasyland-expansion-rumors/ </ref>. Although the concept art initially released for the Magic Kingdom version of the attraction looked substantially different than the attraction in Disney’s California Adventure, the two attractions ended up being essentially the same (although The Magic Kingdom’s version has a much larger facade and a more extensive and interactive queue) <ref> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/orl-bk-new-fantasyland-disney-world-magic-kingdom-story.html </ref> <ref> http://allears.net/tp/mk/under-the-sea-journey-of-the-little-mermaid.htm </ref>. Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid opened on December 6, 2012 as part of the Fantasyland Expansion <ref> http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-little-mermaid.htm </ref>.
On February 2, 2015 Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid was closed for a month long refurbishment <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/ariels-adventure/news/20oct2014-under-the-sea---journey-of-the-little-mermaid-closing-for-a-month-long-refurbishment-in-early-2015.htm </ref>. During this time, many of the show scenes had their lighting dimmed (with the Under the Sea scene having its lighting redone with backlight)<ref name= "wdw"> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/ariels-adventure/news/04mar2015-video---under-the-sea---journey-of-the-little-mermaid-reopens-from-refurbishment-with-show-scene-upgrades.htm </ref>. Furthermore more animatronic fish were added to the attraction and Ariel and Prince Eric’s hair was changed from plastic to a more realistic looking hair in the scenes when they are on land <ref name= "wdw"/>.