Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid closing for a month long refurbishment in early 2015

Oct 20, 2014 in "Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid"

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Posted: Monday October 20, 2014 8:36am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid is schedule to close for a month long refurbishment in early 2015.

The New Fantasyland dark ride will close on February 2 through to March 6, reopening to guests on March 7 2015. It is expected, although not confirmed, that the ride may receive a number of lighting upgrades that have already been installed at the ride's counterpart in Disney California Adventure.

Fantasyland soft opening - Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid Prince Eric's Castle

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Cesar R MMar 09, 2015

about time! imho that was the thing that ruined the immersion. bet it looks way better now.

wdwgreekMar 06, 2015

I like the new lighting and paint, under the sea looks incredibly better!

flyerjabMar 06, 2015

We rode this today to hopefully appreciate the upgrades. What I find with this particular dark ride is the more often I ride it, the more I like it. The first thing I will say is that the newly painted fish really pop out now. In the big Under the Sea scene, it creates a better illusion of depth in that big open space. It is also noticeably darker in that room which helps to hide the duct work and other non-show elements. For example, the rotating fish now appear to actually be floating as the rigging to support them is much more hidden. The other thing that looks better is that Ariel's hair in the final two scenes looks way better as it is now 'real' hair. I still hold to the opinion, however, that this ride is one or two scenes short of being a great dark ride for NFL. It is a shame that they made it a copy of the DCA layout instead of taking the opportunity to improve upon it. Other than that, though, the ride looks really good.

dreamscometrueMar 06, 2015

Further to my earlier post, here's another video shot yesterday, where it looks MUCH DARKER..more like DCA. It really does seem to depend quite a bit on the camera used. :)

Cesar R MMar 05, 2015

did they finally fix the visible ceiling and utilities in some scenes?

dreamscometrueMar 05, 2015

It looks much improved in the video compared to what we had; with more sea creatures, popping colors and seems to be a lot darker. Having said that, and to your point, it still doesn't seem as dark in the 'Under the Sea' scene as the DCA version. I'm stating that simply on comparison of the 2 videos below. It just seems to be lit differently, but I don't know if that's because of the actual lighting,the paint used on the figures, or the different cameras and settings used to record the video. (Perhaps @marni1971, @photoflight or someone who knows much more about video and lighting then I, would know.) Regardless, from what I've seen online, and heard from a relative who rode yesterday, it is much improved and completely changes the enjoyment factor of the ride. :) Edit: After watching both videos again, I noticed that every single scene is much darker in the DCA video, which makes me think that at least part of the difference is likely a result of the cameras used.

WondersOfLifeMar 05, 2015

Litte mermaid's ride is by far in my top 5 favorite rides on WDW park property!!! Not having a queue wait is just a flipping major bonus for me :D

ToTBellHopMar 05, 2015

Yes, it's the least of DHSs issues. It's been around awhile, but is still entertaining. The bigger issue is finding enough to do in the rest of the park to get to sunset.

Cesar R MMar 05, 2015

Well I was surprised they fixed the reflexive CC. last 2 times I went were off. last time I tried on this february.. it was working.

marni1971Mar 05, 2015

Indeed. I was pleasantly surprised how good it looked last fall. The odd issue but far better than on previous visits.

roj2323Mar 05, 2015

I think Studios has other shows, rides and empty spaces that need the money more. Fantasmic is fine the way it is for now.

CTXRoverMar 05, 2015

Rode this afternoon. Nice little update, but the under the sea room seemed brighter than DCA's post update. For instance, the fish mobile apparatus is still visible in our version, but I don't remember seeing it at all in the DCA updated version. I also remember that in the DCA version you could no longer see the whole under the sea room all at once, which I still could in our version. Perhaps some lighting tweaks are still needed (?)