Overview
In 2012, Snow White's Scary Adventures at Disney World closed. Since then, the space has either been vacant or turned into a meet-and-greet. So we decided to revitalize the ride building into an original dark ride.
This attraction uses much of the initial track to minimize costs. It utilizes pieces of the classic fairytales "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Sword in the Stone."
Story
Guests board carriage-themed vehicles as they traverse a forest to Grandma's House. Along the way, they meet a "friendly" wizard who points the way. But upon arriving, the house transforms into a rotten house full of spiders and skeletons. The wizard tricked them!
They careen back through the forest as the wizard chases them. He stops in front of the cart and transforms into a fearsome dragon. Looking around, visitors realize they are in the dragon's lair. At the top of a pile of gold sits a sword in a large stone pedestal. They grab the sword and lunge at the dragon as the room descends into darkness.
Waking up, guests find themselves back in a medieval village presenting the dragon head to the king. He knights visitors for their bravery and sends them off to explore the kingdom.
Transformation Illusion
This illusion depicts a wizard transforming into a dragon by means of the Pepper's Ghost illusion. The illusion is achieved by having a piece of acrylic at a 45-degree angle to the two figures and using a light to project the image of the wizard onto the acrylic so that it appears he is in the same place as the dragon.
The viewer initially sees the wizard's projection. The light projecting the wizard's shadow dims while the light illuminating the dragon brightens. Concurrently, the dragon begins stretching its wings. Once the wings are fully outstretched and the wizard's projection is gone, the dragon's eyes illuminate.
Results
The final concept transforms the former Snow White's Scary Adventures space into an original dark ride while reusing much of the existing track to reduce costs. The combination of Little Red Riding Hood and The Sword in the Stone creates a cohesive story filled with suspense, surprises, and adventure. The Pepper's Ghost transformation adds a memorable special effect that brings the wizard-to-dragon reveal to life. This attraction revitalizes the space with an original experience that combines storytelling, practical effects, and existing infrastructure.
