The popular ride Peter Pan's Flight at Magic Kingdom has been closed for a few weeks this summer for refurbishment. The fan-favorite attraction takes guests soaring through the skies over nighttime London and Never Land, encountering scenes and characters from the film.
The attraction has just reopened a few days ahead of schedule, and there are some changes that have been made to one particular scene. Disney is constantly making an effort to update its attractions and experiences to be a positive and inclusive experience for guests, and this change is evidence of that. UPDATE! We now have info on this change at Disneyland too.
Keep reading for the changes that have been made to Peter Pan's Flight. You can see all of the Disney World rides currently under refurbishment in our full guide.
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Disney Changes Scene in Peter Pan's Flight
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The Never Land Tribe scene in Peter Pan's Flight has been updated after the ride's closure. The changes are meant to present a more respectful depiction of the Never Land Tribe as opposed to the harmful depiction from the film that was originally present (see the old scene below).
Update August 20, 2024: The Disneyland Resort has told the OC Register that the attraction at Disneyland Park will have similar changes made to the Never Land tribe scene. There is currently no scheduled refurbishment for Peter Pan. We anticipate that the change will be made the next time that the attraction closes.
Disney has the following note appear on Disney Plus before the Peter Pan film: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.
Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
We can also use this statement as a way to interpret Disney's motivations behind changing the scene in the attraction as well. Instead of removing this part of the ride, they worked to add a scene that was a more respectful depiction.
According to Walt Disney World, “In Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom Park, a serene lagoon transitions into a mountaintop community where brightly colored teepees frame the Never Land Tribe’s harvest celebration. Here, Tiger Lily and her grandmother gracefully perform the traditional Fancy Shawl Butterfly Dance by the fire, capturing the vibrant spirit of the occasion.”
See the new moment from the ride from a video shared by LaughingPlace.com on X:
The Never Land Tribe scene in Peter Pan’s Flight has been updated to be more representative of true life and less of those seen in the film. #DisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/jT9Q3qOUxS
— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place) August 16, 2024
We would be safe in assuming that these changes will also be coming to Disneyland in the future as Disney will aim to maintain this consistency across its attractions. There is no Disneyland refurbishment currently scheduled for Peter Pan, but we would not be surprised if we see one scheduled in the future as these changes would make sense.
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Disney has made changes to attractions in the past that do not diminish the story in any way but serve to make the ride more inclusive for all. One notable example of that is the changes made to the Pirates of the Caribbean reimagining the auction scene, which now depicts the auctioning of the townspeople's possessions instead of the auctioning of brides.
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Should have left the old scene.
I understand the reimagining to be more accurate and inclusive, and like the changes to Peter Pan. However, it has bothered me since they made the changes in Pirates of the Caribbean, that was reality. They auctioned off people – it may not have been right, but it was true. When my son was young and we saw it on the ride, it opened up conversations about history and mistakes that people made – how some of those things are still being made. Reality sucks sometimes, but sugar coating things make us open to history repeating mistakes because no one sees them as wrong.