Snow White's Scary Adventures's story is based on Disney's 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, their first animated feature film. Venture into dark forests, creepy castles, dank dungeons, dark mines and slippery cliffs as you relive frightful moments from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And, if you see an apple, don't take a bite or it might be your last! Snow White's Scary Adventures is a suspenseful ride into lighthearted and frightening moments from Disney's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Follow the dark and sinister path of Snow White as she flees into the foreboding forest to avoid the wrath of the evil Queen.
The 2-minute tour takes you to the merry cottage of the Seven Dwarfs and through mines filled with glowing gemstones. Soon, your mine-cart vehicle is spirited away to spookier locations. Proceed with caution to the dark and haunted forest, the Queen's sorcery chamber, skeleton-filled dungeons and dangerous storm-swept cliffs. You're never really safe from the watchful eye of the evil Queen. Peer up at the window above the outside entrance to Snow White's Scary Adventures, and, if you're patient, you might see the Queen pull aside the velvet drapery to spy on those below.
Ride Experience
Guests enter the ride building through the Evil Queen's castle. Overlooking the entrance is a high window whose curtains are parted every few minutes by the Evil Queen. A metal, gold-colored apple is within reach of guests standing in the queue. Touching the apple causes the disembodied voice of the Queen to cackle menacingly. Guests wind their way through a dungeon inside the castle, passing by a book of poisons. The book reads, "One taste of the poisoned apple and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping Death..." Like most of the dark rides, the boarding area is dominated by a large mural depicting characters from the movie.
The ride vehicles resemble the beds of the Seven Dwarfs and feature the names of each dwarf, much like their beds in the film. When guests board the ride vehicles, they enter the Dwarfs' cottage. Here, the music and yodeling from "The Silly Song" can be heard. Guests pass Snow White followed by some of her animal friends climbing the stairs to the second floor of the cottage. The guests then move past the Dwarfs, who are performing "The Silly Song".
When guests leave the cottage, they pass by the Queen who says "Soon I'll be fairest in the land." They then enter the Dwarfs' diamond mine, which is full of jewels of many colors. Guests pass under a branch with two vultures perched on it and enter the Queen's castle. There, they see the Queen as she stands before her Magic Mirror with her beautiful reflection saying, "Magic Mirror on the wall..." She then turns and faces the guests. They see that she has become an ugly, green-eyed, toothless hag with a wart on her nose. "With this disguise, I'll fool them all!" she adds. This effect is achieved by two models-one queen and one hag-rotating on different sides of the 'mirror', which is actually a sheet of transparent glass. Projections and LED lights create the effect of cobwebs and electricity running through the walls. Guests continue to pass through the castle laden with skeletons. Nearby, the Hag is accompanied by a raven in a dungeon where she is creating a poisoned apple for Snow White. She heads for the Dwarfs' cottage in a small boat.
Guests wind their way through a menacing forest. Here, trees have ugly faces and branches like talons or grasping hands. Bats fly everywhere and logs resemble snapping crocodiles. The guests then turn toward the Seven Dwarfs' cottage. The door opens to reveal the Hag, who offers the guests the apple. Guests turn towards a mountainside where the Dwarfs pursue the Queen. Nearby, the Queen tries to roll a boulder down the mountain to crush the Dwarfs below. However, a strike of lightning causes her to tumble to her death; her scream is heard as guests exit the area.
Returning to the boarding and debarkation area, guests pass a giant book featuring a silhouette of Snow White and her Prince with his horse as they wander away towards a castle. The words at the bottom of this picture read, "And they lived happily ever after." The guests then disembark from the ride vehicles and return to Fantasyland.
Touring Tips
- Except on the busiest days, lines will not be longer than 20-30 minutes.
- True to its name, Snow White's Scary Adventures focuses on the perils of Snow White's journey. The ride does contain some scenes that might be frightening for young children - including creepy dungeons, human skulls and skeletons, evil ravens, hungry vultures, haunted trees, unexpected transformations, poisoned apples and the murderous Queen. Though it ends with Snow White and the Prince living "happily ever after," the ride passes through through several dark and rather scary scenes. There's a dungeon with skeletons in chains, the transformation of the Evil Queen into the Wicked Witch, and the Witch's fall from the cliffs.
- The appearances of the Wicked Witch can make this attraction quite scary for kids. Don't make this the first "dark" ride you go on with your young children... they may not want to go on any others!
- Snow White's Scary Adventures is located across from Peter Pan's Flight and next to Pinocchio's Daring Journey. The queue enters the doors of a rather foreboding looking castle and past a dungeon scene before arriving at the loading area.
- As with most Fantasyland attractions, the line is shortest early in the day. It's not quite as popular as some of the others, so the queue may be a little shorter.
- The closest restrooms are located next to the Village Haus Restaurant, along the exit to Frontierland.
- Snow White is often available in the "Princess" Meet and Greet area in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Facts
- Located in Fantasyland, it is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on Disneyland's opening day in 1955. The ride was also one of the few rides that was operational since opening day in Walt Disney World Resort, until May 31, 2012.
- There are two rows in each of the mine car vehicles, which will seat up to four adults. Each car bears the name of one of the 7 dwarfs - Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, or Grumpy.
- In the tower above the entrance to Snow White's Scary Adventure there is a large window covered in red curtains. Keep looking at the window and every 30 seconds or so the curtains part to reveal the figure of the Evil Queen.
- As you enter the building there is a bookstand with an apple on it. If you touch the apple, you'll hear the sound of thunder and the laugh of the Evil Queen.
- When the attraction was remodeled in 1983, the new soundtrack featured the voice of Adriana Castelotti, the original Snow White.
- In honor of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, a golden mine car has been added to the attraction.
- Snow White's Scary Adventures is a dark ride at the Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park (Paris) theme parks, and, formerly, Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort.
- For the most part the ride remains very similar to when it opened in 1955. The big change is in perspective. The original conception of the attraction was that the rider was Snow White, and therefore she was never actually seen in the ride.
History
Snow White's Scary Adventures opened on Disneyland's opening day as Snow White and her Adventures. Imagineers had designed the ride so that guests felt like they were the main character of the story; in this case, guests were Snow White. Few people understood this concept, and some wondered why Snow White was not featured in the ride. During 1983, all of the Fantasyland dark rides were slightly redesigned as part of a large overhaul of Fantasyland. This attraction and the other dark rides were modified to include the main characters of the films they represented. Today, Snow White appears once in the attraction. The present outdoor facade was made to resemble the Evil Queen's castle from the movie.
When the Witch offered guests the poisoned apple in one scene, guests frequently tried (and sometimes managed) to steal the apple and bring it home as a souvenir. When Fantasyland was reopened in 1983, they solved the problem of the ever-missing poisoned apple by replacing it with an image of an apple projected by means of a parabolic mirror. Guests who reach out to steal the apple now find their hands passing through it.
Walt Disney World's original version of this ride, like their early version of Peter Pan's Flight, also put the guests in the role of the story's main character (Snow White). Around Christmas of 1994, a less frightening version of the ride took its place; an appearance by Snow White was also added. The redesigned ride took some cues from the version at Disneyland Paris, including increasing the ride capacity of each ride vehicle from four to six passengers.
The Walt Disney World version closed on May 31, 2012 to make way for Princess Fairytale Hall, part of Disney's New Fantasyland Expansion. A new Snow White ride, themed to the mines in which the Seven Dwarfs mine jewels, will be opened as a part of the expansion under the name Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Ben, an autistic 14 year old boy, and his family was a last members to ride Snow White's Scary Adventures before it was closed, and it was his 3,500 time he went on it.
Hidden Mickeys
- In the loading area, is a Classic Mickey made out of trees. It can be found on the first wall of ride.