Snow White's Scary Adventures: Evicted!

I had better begin with a further explanation before I go in too far, for those who are not aware of what is currently going on at the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom is currently undergoing the most ambitious expansion that it has ever seen in its almost 40 year life. The demolition of the Toontown area and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Submarine Voyage has created room for the Fantasyland expansion project. This project is set to create a larger home for the Disney Princesses and move and double the size of the super-popular Dumbo attraction.

What does this have to do with Snow White's Scary Adventures, an attraction that has been in place since 1971? The sad answer is that due to a few cuts in the expansion budget, some things were scrapped from being built. This in turn made the higher ups at Walt Disney Imagineering take a look at the already existing prime Fantasyland real estate.

Only one other "ride" has been completely removed from the Fantasyland footprint; Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Many, many fans cried out in horror as that ride was removed to be replaced with a Winnie the Pooh based attraction. With that exception Fantasyland has not changed very much other than a few cosmetic fix-ups here and there.

I know that Snow White's Scary Adventures is not the most popular attraction at Walt Disney World, but it has some deep history to it. Not only is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the first full-length animated feature film, it is Walt Disney's crowning achievement and without it, one could say the Disney parks would not exist.

In the early 1970's when Walt Disney World was under construction, the developers had to choose attractions for this new Fantasyland. Disneyland in California had a very popular version all its own and they were not sure if it should be copied for the East Coast or to create a new one. They decided to import the attractions over, but considered switching out the Snow White attraction with a new one featuring Sleeping Beauty.

In the end the fairest one of all won, and Snow White's Adventures was built and opened with the park on October 1, 1971. For 23 years this ride entertained guests of all ages and proved to be relatively popular. The ride featured the guest taking on the role as Snow White and dealing with the problems that she faced. Many did not understand this interesting take on a ride, so many left confused as to wondering why Snow White was not depicted in the ride.

1994 brought a new design for the ride and a new name; Snow White's Scary Adventures. Changes in the ride included the incorporation of Snow White and a different plot line allowing the guests to view more of a complete story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. These changes freshened up what seemed to many an outdated ride.

January 18, 2011 brought news that was hard to hear. Snow White's Scary Adventures will be closed to make room for a Princess greeting spot near Cinderella Castle. Snow White will not be completely leaving the Magic Kingdom as a new area in the expansion will recreate the Seven Dwarfs cottage and house a mine car type roller coaster. For those of us who enjoyed being chased by the Evil Queen and having a boulder almost drop on us, this will not be the same. We have no control what happens, but we can only hope that it is for the best. I for one can say that I will miss my "scary adventures".

Walt Disney World Commercial

Who didn't want to be like the Huxtables in the 80's?

Dreams can come true...

I decided that my first post for my blog should explain when and where I became infatuated with the Walt Disney Company. The story begins in a time that not many can remember; the 1980's. I was a mere three years old and my parents told my brother and me some of the greatest words a child can ever hear, "We're going to Walt Disney World".

Now, back in the day, going to Disney World was not something that one did all the time. It was one of those things that someone would do and never go back. My brother and I realized how important this was and we had to act accordingly. Unfortunately, there was a time before the internet, so we were forced to page through books and decide what we would do while we were down there.

Eventually, spring finally came and it was our time to visit the most magical kingdom of them all. When we reached the Polynesian Village hotel we checked in quickly and took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom for our first day of theme park fun. We took in some favorite attractions such as: the Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, and the Pirates of the Caribbean. Seeing all of these things we had read about and saw on TV was amazing for us all.

We met Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and all sorts of other characters, but had yet to meet the person I had been so eager to meet; Cinderella. At that time in my life, Cinderella was the most beautiful woman in the world, so obviously it was a little upsetting to not find her. The following day, my dad decided we would go to EPCOT Center. When you are three years old and looking for Cinderella, EPCOT is not the place that you want to go.

The day at EPCOT was full of all the educational "fun" that any child of the 1980's would want. We got to see a robot that we figured would become a fixture in our home in the 1990's. Back then, we all thought we would get robots, but we never did. To my surprise, while walking through the United Kingdom at the World Showcase a double-decker bus full of characters stopped, but still no Cinderella.
Well, our final day at the most magical place on earth began much like the first, we returned to the Magic Kingdom. Today was the day that we were to eat at King Stefan's banquet which was located in the castle. We sat down at our table in awe of eating in a "real" castle and were greeted by an unexpected guest. Cinderella, herself visited each table and talked with the guests! I was so excited to meet the woman of my dreams.


After enjoying ourselves so much, my parents decided that we would return to Disney World the next year. We have continued going usually at least once a year since, in what has become a tradition for our family. Having grown up with Disney World, I have learned a lot and like to discover new information. I hope this blog will be interesting and maybe even convince you to visit Walt Disney World.