These 10 Disney Rides Have Changed Dramatically Since Their Opening

Part of being a Disney fan is accepting and eventually embracing change in the parks. Walt Disney famously said, “Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world.” It certainly seems as if the Disney company has adopted this idea as a manifesto of sorts, because the theme parks are in a constant state of flux. Disney even holds a huge fan convention once every two years, where they announce upcoming changes and additions with a great deal of pomp and fanfare.

While construction on brand new projects is ongoing, Disney often makes significant changes to existing attractions as well. Rides might undergo updates or refurbishments in an attempt to make them more accessible to audiences or to correct past cultural insensitivities. Sometimes these changes are temporary, and sometimes they last. Often one attraction can experience several iterations during its tenure at the parks.

I've seen changes come and go, and like many seasoned Disney park goers, I've become familiar with the resulting emotional rollercoaster. It can be sad when the company decides to overhaul or even remove a beloved attraction. We mourn the loss of those nostalgic connections while looking forward to the new with curious anticipation. On the other hand, there are times when it's easy to embrace a much-needed update. Here are ten Disney attractions that have transformed substantially since opening day, for better or worse.

Snow White's Enchanted Wish

Debuting on Disneyland's opening day in 1955, Snow White and Her Adventures originally took guests on a surprisingly macabre journey through the dwarfs' diamond mine, a haunted forest, and the Evil Queen's castle dungeon. This slow-moving dark ride gave the audience a first-person viewpoint of events from Snow White's perspective. Guests didn't seem to grasp this concept, and many wondered why the raven-haired protagonist wasn't featured on the ride.

So, when Disneyland closed the attraction in 1981 for a major refurbishment as part of its New Fantasyland project, a scene featuring Snow White became part of the updated attraction, which opened in 1983 as Snow White's Scary Adventures. The new name was intended to reflect the somewhat terrifying aspects of the ride, and Imagineers replaced the brightly-colored outdoor facade with the more foreboding exterior of the Evil Queen's castle.

Recent Changes to Snow White Ride at Disneyland

In 2020, Walt Disney Imagineering gave the Disneyland attraction some serious TLC by installing new scenes, updating the audio/visual technology with LED black lighting, laser projections, and a state-of-the-art animation system, and refreshing the exterior to compliment Sleeping Beauty castle. Dubbed Snow White's Enchanted Wish, the new iteration of the classic attraction swaps the creepy forest scenes for a cheery one inside the dwarfs' cottage, where Snow White dances with the dwarfs as music plays and the scent of apple pie fills the air. There are still a few scary moments, but the colors have been punched up, and the overall tone of the ride is lighter and happier.

Peter Pan's Flight

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Like Snow White, Peter Pan's Flight is an original Fantasyland dark ride based on a Disney animated feature that opened with Disneyland Park in 1955. Because it focused on the lighter side of fantasy storytelling, with its flying pirate ships and magical islands in the sky, it was an early fan favorite.

In the beginning, it was another ride meant to be experienced from the perspective of the main character, so Peter himself was notably absent. When Disney brought the ride over to Magic Kingdom, they answered guest complaints about Peter Pan's omission by prominently featuring the adventurous young protagonist. Notably, the finale features a dramatic duel between Peter and Captain Hook atop a 48-foot replica of the Jolly Roger. Other additions to the Magic Kingdom edition include the Lost Boys camp scene, Mermaid Lagoon, and Hook doing the splits over the jaws of Tick-Tock Croc.

Disneyland New Fantasyland Project and Recent Magic Kingdom Changes

Disney brought all of these additions back to Disneyland in 1982 as part of the New Fantasyland project. Audio-animatronics, like those in the Magic Kingdom attraction, replaced the original silent, stationary characters from opening day. The exterior also received a bit of a makeover, with an English architectural design to match the setting of the story. In 2015, Disneyland updated the ride again, with new audio-animatronics in the nursery and extra special effects.

Just a year later, Disney addressed the excessive wait times for Peter Pan's Flight at Magic Kingdom with an all-new interactive queue line packed with details and surprises. And, most recently, a long-problematic scene received a thoughtful refurbishment to create a more respectful depiction of the Never Land Tribe. Similar changes will be coming to this same scene on the Disneyland ride soon.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Despite the popularity of this classic swashbuckling adventure over the years, Pirates of the Caribbean has seen its share of changes since opening at Disneyland in 1967 and at Walt Disney World in 1973.

Many are aware that in 2006, Disney transformed the existing attraction to reflect the box office success of the Pirates of the Caribbean films by adding animatronics of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbosa, along with projections, audio, dialogue, and props to tie in the plot from the movie franchise. Several years later, to coincide with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Disney replaced a waterfall mist projection of Davy Jones at both Disneyland and Disney World with Captain Blackbeard. Imagineers also added projections of mermaids swimming alongside the boats and a mermaid skeleton tied to a stake on the beach to the attraction at Disney World.

Changes to Pirates of the Caribbean Town Scene

Twice, the ride was refurbished to better reflect modern cultural sensibilities. In 1997, scenes featuring lecherous pirates chasing women were altered to depict pirates in pursuit of food the women are carrying and a woman chasing one of the pirates instead. During this refurbishment, the well-known “Pooped Pirate,”—who, exhausted by chasing women, hid behind a barrel—became the “Gluttonous Pirate” in search of food, and a cat replaced the woman who once hid inside the barrel.

In 2017, Disney made another major cultural change by replacing the bridal auction scene with a new scene featuring a ginger-haired female pirate, aptly named “Redd.” Instead of auctioning women off to be brides, she presides over an auction of stolen goods.

Journey Into Imagination With Figment

A little purple dragon with a cult fandom is the star of this EPCOT attraction and perhaps one of the only reasons for its longevity. If there's another, it's the original theme song, “One Little Spark,” by the Sherman Brothers. These are the threads that have sustained the guest connection to this ride throughout its three very different iterations.

When it opened in 1983, Journey Into Imagination featured an unconventional scientist character called the “Dreamfinder” and his imagined dragon-like companion, Figment. With its memorable, upbeat Sherman Brothers tune and an opportunity to interact with the Dreamfinder and a puppet version of Figment outside the pavilion, it was a hit! Unfortunately, then-sponsor Kodak wanted a new ride, so Disney closed the original attraction in 1998.

An extremely unpopular reimagining of the ride, called Journey Into Your Imagination, opened in 1999. This version featured Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle), the chair of the Imagination Institute from Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, who all but replaced the Dreamfinder. Aside from a few appearances in queue line videos, Figment was nowhere to be found, and “One Little Spark” was relegated to a subtle instrumental inclusion in the failed ride's score. Due to the overwhelmingly negative guest response, this version of the ride barely lasted two years at EPCOT before it closed.

Today's Version—Journey Into Imagination With Figment

The third and current version of the attraction brought back the beloved purple dragon as an unsanctioned tour guide through the five sensory labs at the “Imagination Institute.” After the sight and sound labs, the experience goes awry in the smell lab, and instead of the Taste and Touch labs, Figment takes guests on a detour through his own imagination. The theme song is back and takes center stage at the end of each scene, especially during the finale, when Figment and Dr. Nigel Channing reunite and sing the chorus together. Sadly, there was no return of the Dreamfinder, but this version of the ride is still running over 20 years later.

Spaceship Earth

EPCOT's flagship attraction has transformed several times over the years to reflect the progression of communication technology. Originally, Vic Perrin narrated this journey through the recorded ages, and the finale at the top of the sphere featured a space station filled with astronauts. Walter Cronkite took over the narration in 1986, and Imagineers added new scenes near the end, including a “paperless office” and a boy working on a computer.

A 1994 refurbishment replaced Cronkite with the incomparable Jeremy Irons, and a large new scene portraying an online video call between the United States and Japan replaced three previous scenes, including the two added in 1986. The original first half of the attraction remained mostly unchanged, but Imagineers removed the space station climax and created new scenes focusing on communication in the future for the descent.

Most Recent Spaceship Earth Update

Spaceship Earth's most recent update debuted in 2007, with a new musical score, new costumes, lighting, props, projections, and audio-animatronics, and once again, new narration, provided by Judi Dench. Several major scene changes happened during this refurbishment. A Greek play became an early math lesson, and new scenes depicting the birth of the computer age took the place of the international call scene.

Imagineers also installed an interactive touchscreen system on the ride vehicles, allowing riders to make a series of selections to customize their vision of life in the future. Disney announced another refurbishment scheduled for the 2020s, but this project fizzled in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Spaceship Earth did receive an incredible upgrade to its exterior in 2021, when the new Beacons of Magic lighting system went live for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration.

Country Bear Jamboree

This historic Frontierland stage show featuring a colorful cast of singing audio-animatronic bears has been entertaining guests at the Magic Kingdom for over 50 years. As an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World, its popularity led Disney to bring the attraction first to Disneyland in California in 1972 and eventually to Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. The show ran with minimal changes until Disney introduced a seasonal overlay in November of 1984. Featuring festive costumes, holiday decorations, and a country take on traditional favorites, like “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland,” the Country Bear Christmas Special ran annually from late November until the New Year.

Due to the popularity of the Christmas special, Disney created the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown, which replaced the original show at Disneyland in February of 1986 and came to Grizzly Hall in Magic Kingdom a few months later. This road trip-themed version of the show included songs like “On the Road Again” and “The Great Outdoors.” The original show returned to Disney World in 1992, but Vacation Hoedown ran at Disneyland until the attraction closed in 2001. In 1994, a variation of Vacation Hoedown called Vacation Jamboree opened at Tokyo Disneyland, where the show continues today, rotating between the original and the two overlays.

Recent Refurbishments and Country Bear Jamboree Reimagining

In 2012, the standard Country Bear Jamboree at Magic Kingdom experienced a lengthy refurbishment during which Grizzly Hall got a fresh paint job, the animatronics got a spruce, and Imagineers tightened up the show, removing two of the original songs but keeping the rest.

This still-beloved version of the show ran for over a decade, delighting audiences with its (slightly offensive) nostalgia and hilarity, until Disney updated the show this year with a brand new setlist comprised of classic Disney songs performed Nashville-style in a variety of different country music genres.

Test Track

Sponsored by General Motors (and now Chevrolet specifically), Test Track replaced EPCOT's World of Motion with an attraction designed to represent a GM vehicle testing facility, where riders moved through a series of assessments to evaluate the performance of an automobile prototype. Ride vehicles made their way through hot and cold environments, steering and braking trials, and finally to the highlight of the attraction – a speed trial around the ride's exterior track reaching 64.9 mph.

In 2012, Chevrolet sponsored a sleek attraction makeover featuring a design studio where guests could design their own “Sim-Car” to test in a digital, TRON-esque environment. Although the aesthetic of the ride was vastly different, the series of tests was fairly similar, and the ride still culminated in an exhilarating outdoor speed test. After the ride, guests could view their race the performance of their Sim-cars, race their designs, and even film a commercial. This popular version of Test Track closed in June this year for a re-imagining that will bring back concepts from World of Motion.

Soarin'

Soarin' is a motion simulator attraction with a unique mechanical lift system that allows guests to experience the sensation of hang-gliding over a variety of awe-inspiring locations by suspending them 30-50 feet in the air. Its 80-foot, 180-degree IMAX digital projection screen is concave to create the illusion of flying through the scenery, and wind and smell technology further immerses the audience in the geography of the places they encounter.

This exhilarating attraction opened with Disney's California Adventure in 2001 as Soarin' Over California with a pre-show that paid tribute to the history of California's aviation industry. This version of the attraction gave guests aerial views of several famous places in California, including Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Napa Valley. It was so popular that Disney soon brought it to EPCOT. In 2015, Soarin' Over California closed for refurbishment at California Adventure and reopened later the same year with updates to the screen and projection system and new exterior theming. Other changes included replacing a mock-up RS-25 rocket engine with a fire lookout tower.

Soarin' Over the World Update

A global version of the ride featuring natural wonders and landmarks from all over the world debuted as Soarin' Over the Horizon at Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. The very next day the new film replaced Soarin' Over California at the American parks under the title, Soarin' Around the World. Despite the visual distortion guests experience when seated in the peripheral rows on the attraction and clamoring from the original's devoted fanbase, this remains the current version of Soarin'. However, Disney has brought Soarin' Over California back for limited runs, like to Disney World in honor of the 100 Years of Wonder Celebration, and to Disney California Adventure during the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.

Star Tours

On January 9, 1987, Disney brought the Star Wars galaxy to life for the first time at Disneyland, California. Set just after the events in Return of the Jedi, Star Tours made it possible for fans to embark upon an ill-fated Starspeeder voyage to the forest moon of Endor via motion simulator. In the following years, it premiered at Disney MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios), Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris.

For over 20 years, the original Star Tours ran unchanged, but during the past decade and a half, the attraction has experienced several updates to the worlds and characters it features, as well as its technology. Currently, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue randomizes interchangeable scenes from several recent Star Wars stories, including the sequel film trilogy and Disney+ series like Ahsoka, Andor, and The Mandalorian. Hundreds of different ride experiences are possible.

Jungle Cruise

This classic Disney river excursion has a history of evolution and transformation, and the original Disneyland opening day attraction would be almost unrecognizable to guests who have experienced the ride recently. Before the comedic ad-libbing skippers came aboard, Jungle Cruise cast members played their role as boat tour guides totally straight.

In fact, humor was absent from the Jungle Cruise narrative until Walt brought on animator Marc Davis to “plus up” some of the Disneyland attractions in the 1960s. He added many of the playful elements we're familiar with today, like the elephant pool and the stranded safari scenes. These, in turn, influenced the skipper narration, which continued to include more comedy as the years passed. A similar but not identical version of the ride opened with Walt Disney World in 1971, and now there are versions of the attraction in almost every Disney park.

Imagineers continued to add new animals and scenes to Jungle Cruise throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but a bigger change came in 1994, when Disney shortened and rerouted the Adventureland attraction to make room for Indiana Jones. In addition, the ride received a 1930s re-theming to match the setting in Indy. Following these changes, the American parks began mixing it up seasonally with a holiday overlay dubbed “Jingle Cruise” in 2013. Disney expanded this overlay in 2014, and it ran annually at both Disneyland and Disney World until 2016. It continues to be a part of Magic Kingdom holiday celebrations today.

Recent Changes to Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise has remained a popular keystone attraction at the parks for decades, but in the recent past, it has faced criticism for its negative portrayal of Indigenous people—the “headhunter party” and the Trader Sam “head salesman” character in particular. In 2021, Disney announced it would be making significant changes to the storyline for the ride to “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.” These recent changes are consistent with the tradition of building upon Jungle Cruise lore to provide an enhanced experience guests can enjoy and connect with.

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