Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is a journey in Fantasy Springs, the $2 billion growth that includes this space plus the Frozen Kingdom and Rapunzel’s Forest from Tangled. The brand new port-of-call is the costliest land in Disney historical past and a worthy addition to Tokyo DisneySea, one of the best theme park on the planet.
We’ve already reviewed Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, which we referred to as “flawless–a contemporary masterpiece of Imagineering.” That Arendelle attraction is prone to be the #1 journey of the Fantasy Springs growth with most friends. It takes a contemporary fan-favorite film and adapts it right into a meaty 6.5 minute boat journey with a incredible queue, memorable music, spectacular Audio Animatronics, and “how did they try this?” particular results.
Whereas I had effusive reward for the brand new Frozen boat journey, I’m nonetheless not 100% certain it’s my private favourite in Fantasy Springs. It in all probability is, however Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey can be within the operating, and a detailed second at worst. So think about my shock after I pulled up the ole web to seek out that armchair reviewers had deemed it an enormous miss. This overview mainly explains why they’re misguided, together with comparisons to a couple different Disney and Common points of interest to correctly contextualize the journey by way of By no means Land.
Actually, it shouldn’t be massively stunning that Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is receiving quite tepid reactions amongst followers. Such a factor invariably occurs when a brand new 3D screen-based attraction opens and the folks “reviewing” it are watching 2D on-line ride-through movies.
It additionally shouldn’t be stunning that “experiencing” any attraction, not to mention one like this, through YouTube is suboptimal and fairly removed from what its creators supposed. On the threat of stating the apparent, if the journey expertise had been materially replicable through movies, what could be the purpose of paying all that cash to go to a theme park within the first place?
Personally, I don’t assume ride-through movies precisely mirror the expertise of normal ole darkish rides with Audio Animatronics and dimensional units, which is why I’m so anti-spoiler myself. And I definitely don’t assume video can do justice to points of interest which might be, themselves, screen-based.
A lot of the success of screen-based points of interest hinges on the entire package deal and the way suspension of disbelief is achieved (or isn’t!). In that case, ride-through movies are like a photocopy of a photocopy, versus viewing the factor itself in actual life. However we’ve been by way of all of this earlier than with Avatar Flight of Passage and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem, which had been initially panned by critics who watched ride-throughs. Opinions clearly are what they’re, however visitor consensus on each of these could be very totally different from first impressions through video.
The identical is now true with Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey–an attraction that friends visiting Fantasy Springs IRL are going to utterly adore, regardless of the damaging first impressions through video.
Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey begins with friends coming into a shipwrecked space of Fantasy Springs (vibes of Storm Lagoon and even Coral Touchdown over at Tokyo Disneyland). You traverse outside caves full with particles and a waterfall earlier than coming into a formidable indoor part of the queue.
The indoor portion of the queue emulates the jungle at nightfall, and is actually the bottom camp of the Misplaced Children. It’s vaguely paying homage to Lord of the Flies or Yellowjackets besides with out, you already know, all of the dying and darkish facet of human nature. Though it’s my understanding that the unique Peter Pan was darker than Disney has led us to consider…however I digress.
The environment within the perpetual nighttime setting of the jungle is pitch-perfect. The environment is serene and decompressing, the right antidote for what’s certain to be an extended wait. There’s additionally loads of visible curiosity, from tree forts to private belongings of the youngsters. As with the queue for Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, there are additionally periodic results that activate to make the jungle really feel extra alive.
Listed here are my images from the queue of Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey:
From there, you enter the hideout pre-show. This units up Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey, the premise of which is that friends develop into a member of the Misplaced Children and save John from Captain Hook and his pirates with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. The preshow and journey are totally in Japanese, however it’s not significantly story-driven although there may be dialogue.
After Peter Pan informs friends that John has been kidnapped by Captain Hook and his pirate crew, they board a ship and set off on an journey. Listed here are images of the pre-show and queue main as much as the load space:
Tinker Bell then sprinkles fairy mud on the boat, and friends to soar into the sky. Alongside the best way, friends see Wendy, Michael, the mermaids, Tiger Lily and, different beloved characters from the movie.
As they journey, friends will uncover Captain Hook’s moored ship, the Jolly Roger, and be immersed within the battle between Peter Pan and the pirates. (All photographs that comply with are courtesy of OLC; images and video are usually not allowed on the attraction itself–even throughout media previews. Effectively, aside from “response pictures,” however I don’t assume you need to take a look at a bunch of images of my mug sporting 3D glasses and looking out confused.)
The 6-minute 3D motion-base-simulator-meets-dark journey attraction has friends boarding makeshift boat journey automobiles just like the Scoop from The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man or Transformers: The Experience 3D, two points of interest at Common Orlando (Spider-Man was at Common Studios Japan, however has since closed). The high-walled boats direct visitor consideration at a sequence of screens that mix seamlessly with bodily units.
From my perspective, Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It takes the tried and true formulation of the Common Spider-Man and Transformers rides and iterates upon these. This alone might disappoint Disney followers, particularly since The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man is about 25 years outdated. However it shouldn’t. I’m actually excited for Walt Disney World to lastly get Indiana Jones Journey, and that’s even older! The very best rides aren’t good for a couple of years or a decade or no matter–they stand the take a look at of time.
To that time, I like each The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man and Transformers: The Experience 3D, which rating 10/10 and 9.5/10, respectively, in our journey opinions for Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. I wrote that Spider-Man is “probably the greatest theme park points of interest on the planet” when reviewing that, and I actually consider it’s a timeless masterpiece–a rarity for a screen-based attraction. Transformers garnered comparable reward for its superior and chaotic vitality–it’s like a Michael Bay blockbuster come to life.
It’s truthfully wonderful how the ‘on paper’ description of rides may be so comparable, but the feeling and vibe are completely totally different. Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is an journey, certain. It’s proper there within the identify. However under no circumstances in the identical means as Spider-Man and definitely not within the frenzied sense of Transformers.
As a substitute, Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is rather more like Avatar Flight of Passage, however utilizing a very totally different journey system. With that simulator at Pandora: World of Avatar, you’ve battle and pleasure, but additionally an impressive and well-paced attraction that takes its time to decelerate and chew on the surroundings. The thrills are adopted by a quiet and introspective second, and a grand finale that’s beautiful and takes your breath away.
Despite the fact that Avatar Flight of Passage is a screen-based attraction, that fades away through the expertise. You’re absolutely immersed within the expertise, and absolutely droop disbelief and embrace the motion over Pandora. It’s the identical concept with Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey, however much more is completed right here to make you overlook you’re using previous a sequence of screens.
Each points of interest have a sure je ne sais quoi that provokes an emotional response not like many different rides, and that’s a direct results of the pacing and means they progresses from thrilling to serene hovering. It’s simply such a satisfying expertise, and it’s tough to completely articulate why.
On paper, Avatar Flight of Passage is nice, however not the masterpiece it’s to so many friends who really expertise it. Identical to that journey was dubbed ‘Soarin’ on Steroids,’ this takes the ‘flight simulator’ (for lack of a greater time period) journey idea to the following stage.
I’m spending a lot time on these examples as a result of that is precisely the formulation of Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey. It’s The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man meets Avatar Flight of Passage, with the journey system of the previous and the pacing of the latter. Absent compelling ride-through video and given my perception that this journey additionally has a sure je ne sais quoi to it, that’s one of the best I can provide–comparisons to 2 points of interest with which you would possibly already be acquainted.
Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is ideal to me. I just like the adventurous however majestic flight over By no means Land, and the choice to go on this route with a journey within the fashion of Spider-Man, however that eschews the frenzied motion for one thing extra mellow was a daring–and proper–selection. The choice to borrow the beat-by-beat pacing from Flight of Passage was sensible. It’s really like that or Hovering: Incredible Flight–and even Peter Pan’s Flight, however in simulator type.
It helps that Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey does an admirable job merging the screens and bodily units collectively. This would appear like a given because it’s over twenty years after Common Inventive perfected the expertise with Spider-Man. And but, newer points of interest like Remy’s Ratatouille Journey usually do a horrible job of mixing screens and units.
Fortunately, the identical isn’t true right here. It’s arduous to inform the place the screens finish and the dimensional environments start. Actually. Imagineering received intelligent in portray among the surroundings to match the screens (one of the best instance of that is the sky in display matching the units, and the border of the screens being hid by bushes or jungle).
Imagineering additionally used a particular UV paint that’s paying homage to old fashioned darkish rides, and likewise, of animation. There are additionally various props and sensible results within the bodily units which might be activated by the motion on the screens. For instance, the Misplaced Children within the above picture are turning a wheel on-screen that lifts the precise boat as much as the fitting, solely to have it fall a cut up second later.
All of this mixed, together with visible trickery in the best way the screen-based motion is offered (shadow-play, squinching, scrim projections), makes for a memorable expertise–and one the place suspension of disbelief is achieved. Every part is working so properly in unison that your mind stops seeing it as units vs. screens–it’s all By no means Land.
My greatest criticism of Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is that it by no means actually rises above The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man or Avatar Flight of Passage. I might’ve liked to see it bringing one thing new to the desk (and perhaps it does through “invisible” expertise), however from a guest-facing perspective, it’s mainly simply the intersection of these two points of interest.
Audio Animatronics are the apparent factor this might’ve added, however truthfully, I’m wonderful with Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey not having these. I feel AAs really would’ve labored in opposition to it, drawing friends out of the second with expertise that’s very visibly totally different from the animation.
What I might’ve appreciated to see is extra from the bodily environments. Because it stands, they’re mainly elaborate frames (for lack of a greater time period) for the screen-centric motion. As famous, there are dimensional results in these scenes, however they couldn’t stand alone with out the screens. It’s not like Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure or Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem, two points of interest that might arguably stand on their very own as darkish rides with out the screens (at the least some scenes) .
If viewing Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey as Flight of Passage however with a special journey system, there’s not likely a lot to criticize. It takes every thing about that attraction that works properly, and enhances it.
The cadence of the journey car helps with this, and I like the choice to drift round within the water, with the boats bobbing round forwards and backwards earlier than easily chickening out and hovering over By no means Land. That’s interrupted by cannon fireplace and motion, however it by no means will get jerky. As with Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, it’s such as you’re the cinematographer for this scene–properly, till your boat/the digital camera crashes into one of many pirates.
However, the floating then flying sensation is immensely satisfying. In tandem with the visuals, it’s what makes this a particular expertise, even when it’s “solely” an iterative one on paper. The finale of the journey is the chef’s kiss, giving friends one final flight over By no means Land to savor because the parting scene.
You understand how friends inexplicably clap on the finish of sure rides as a result of it simply hit the entire proper notes? Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is that sort of attraction.
In the end, Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is an unbelievable attraction that’s undoubtedly technically spectacular. However it’s much more spectacular how, as soon as once more, the tail doesn’t wag the canine and the expertise fades away, blurring collectively into the background. The tip result’s a journey that feels such as you’re flying over By no means Land, seeing the Misplaced Children have interaction in shenanigans, battling pirates, and so forth. The enjoyment comes from the serenity and ease…even when it’s not really easy (in any respect) to perform such a sensation.
Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey is true up there for me with Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey as my favourite attraction in Fantasy Springs. They’re virtually incomparable since they’re so totally different. I like the feeling of floating and flight in Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey, so it’s the journey I favor for the vibe. However I’m a sucker for Audio Animatronics, so Frozen Journey in all probability will get the sting. It’s a detailed name, although, and these two are positively the 1A and 1B rides in Fantasy Springs.
The higher query is how Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey compares with The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man or Avatar Flight of Passage. For me, that is higher than the latter. There’s quite a bit to be stated for really transferring by way of bodily environments and the additional dimension that provides to an attraction.
As a lot as I like the Flight of Passage visuals and pacing, that is in all probability higher. The comparability to The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man is harder; that’s a time-tested fashionable masterpiece that modified the sport over twenty years in the past. I favor the laid-back fashion of Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey, however respect simply how revolutionary Spider-Man was on the time.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Peter Pan’s By no means Land Journey? Have been you underwhelmed by the ride-through video, or do you perceive that 2D video of a 3D attraction gives an incomplete expertise? What are your ideas on both this or that–good and dangerous? The place does this journey rank relative to different next-gen Fantasyland points of interest? Do you agree or disagree with our overview? Any questions? Listening to your suggestions—even once you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
