SPOILER ALERT The Little Mermaid- Ariel's UnderSea Adventure is open at DCA

**nemomusicalfan1** · 05-30-2011, 07:18 PM

YouTube - ‪The Little Mermaid the Ride in HD - Full Ride Through Disney California Adventure‬&rlm;

How will this one compare to WDW?
Are you surprised?
What do you think?

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 05-30-2011, 09:06 PM

ok... that just really is crudy.. because were is the ending with the storm and all that.. i mean really.. were is the battle at the end?

**eeyore79** · 05-30-2011, 10:10 PM

the ride is supposed to be about the same in florida...im excited...

**WDW4Ever** · 05-31-2011, 01:34 AM

I rode this on the 21st with Dave Smith in California Adventure and I will say that it is better than the video shows. The most amazing part, to me, was the animatronics themselves. The skin was done very well and looked literally like a cartoon brought to life. The colors of the skin were great as well as the animation in them. Ariel's hair, when it's twisted upward, itself is animated and it works very well. Ursala's jowls are animated as well and it really bring her to life.

The effect, when you're going "under the sea", with the water and bubbles floating up on the clamshell in front of you is a very cool effect to see in person which is immediately followed by another neat effect. When you look up through the hole in the rocks to see Ariel and Flounder up near the surface.

What I disliked: While the "Under the Sea" scene is by far the most enthralling, some parts from your clamshell seem to be a little bare. What's cool though is, of all the scenes, its the most captivating. It's the only scene where you're completely surrounded by the fish with the song being sung. Flotsam and Jetsam made a nice appearance straight away after this scene.

My favorite part: I'm a ****er (lollipop) anyway for the Kiss the Girl scene from the movie so seeing it brought to life, to me, was a highlight. But the Sebastian animatronic was phenomenal. He moves so quickly and so fluidly. Also, his eyes are the new type of eyes similar to Mr. Potato Head at Midway Mania. They're screens, not inset eyes. I thought, though, that the boat that Ariel and Prince Eric were in could have spinning. That's just me though.

What Dave disliked: Also during the Kiss the Girl scene, he didn't like the fish that were blowing the water. He thought it looked cheesy, too fake, and like they were sword swallowing.

As for the end: I liked how Ariel's "voice" was animated. That way you at least got what was going on. I thought the scene with Ursala needed the boat more than it needed lightning. Something was definitely missing here, however.

I really liked the fireworks over the marriage scene, the appearance of King Triton, and the score at the finale scene.

All in all it's a good ride and the first dark ride we've gotten in quite a while. I'm most happy about the fact that Disney didn't hype this up to be more than it was. It's a dark ride, not the next Tower of Terror. It is what it is and it's nice.

**NC_WDW_Daddy** · 05-31-2011, 01:59 PM

I'm looking forward to seeing this.

**eeyore79** · 06-01-2011, 01:27 AM

u rode with dave smith?? how?? *bows*

**WDW4Ever** · 06-04-2011, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by eeyore79

u rode with dave smith?? how?? *bows*

Yes, I went to Disneyland two weeks ago now with Dave Smith. I'm friends with him and most of the Archives staff plus a whole bunch of amazing DL and WDW CMs thanks to him. I met him thanks to D23 and an Archives tour.

**disneymaniac87** · 06-04-2011, 09:46 AM

Ariel Blinks. I'm floored. I think it looks amazing and do believe you miss things because of video. You never can capture everything on a video!

**Berdo** · 07-19-2011, 04:02 AM

This thing looks excellent and now I'm even more motivated to go to Disneyland. First Carsland and now this? I'm gonna have to plan a trip.

**KacieG** · 07-19-2011, 11:12 AM

When watching all of the "behind the scenes" of the building of the ride, they all seemed so proud of how realistic the AA's are because of the skin and the natural movements. I'm jealous of those of you who've been able to ride/see it already!
Here are the Imagineers:
‪Imagineers at "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure"‬&rlm; - YouTube

**WDW4Ever** · 07-19-2011, 11:27 AM

The animatronics really are impressive. They're impressive from an animation/artful direction, not sophistication like disco yeti.

**supernova** · 07-19-2011, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by WDW4Ever

The animatronics really are impressive. They're impressive from an animation/artful direction, not sophistication like disco yeti.

Was just about to type that. WDI is getting much better in creating their animatronics. The motion is quite flid (even Scuttle), and the facial expressions changing on Ariel in the boat... impressive stuff.