Snow White's Enchanted Wish

The version of the Snow White dark ride that opened along with Disneyland on July 17, 1955, uniquely titled Snow White and Her Adventures, was designed by Claude Coats and Ken Anderson, both of whom were largely responsible for the look of the 1937 feature film. The original ride was slightly shorter than the version that replaced it, contained cruder animation and audio, and relied far more on two-dimensional plywood "flats" for scenery than any other iteration of the attraction. Quite notably, Snow White herself did not appear in the ride initially, as riders were meant to assume the role and perspective of the titular character themselves. This was also true for the other two opening-day dark rides, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan's Flight, but in the case of Snow White in particular, the concept apparently never caught on with most guests, and many were confused as to why the character of Snow White was not actually seen in the attraction.[6] In response, a single Snow White figure was eventually added to one of the interior scenes at some point in the 1960s or early 1970s, as photographic evidence suggests.[7]

Just as with the Peter Pan and Mr. Toad rides, the loading queue of the original Snow White attraction was located within a wide opening in the wall of the show building decorated with colorful, patterned canvas awnings akin to those of a medieval jousting tournament (this aesthetic was uniform across the entirety of Fantasyland prior to 1983), and spanning the entire front wall of the space housing the ride was a detailed mural illustrating most of the scenes encountered within the ride, as well with the cast of the original 1937 film. Directly in front of the mural was the ride's loading queue, where guests boarded one-seat ride vehicles embellished to appear as hand-carved wooden benches rendered in the style of the Dwarfs' furniture from the film; these vehicles were replaced with two-seat variants in the 1960s.

Upon being released by a ride operator, guests were shuttled forth and made a ninety-degree turn toward the gaping, wood-timber entrance to the Dwarfs' diamond mine at the far-left end of the mural. All was dark at first, but riders soon found themselves venturing through underground tunnels fitted with numerous rows of wooden beams. Here, gems of every color studded the rock walls and shone brilliantly under ultraviolet light. Guests soon approached a forced-perspective mural of a seemingly endless mineshaft continuing into the unseen distance before turning around and passing into the mine's gem vault, its huge door held open by Dopey (rendered as a plywood flat), who peeked out from behind it, grinning at riders as they passed by. Inside the vault was the Dwarfs' vast stock of precious jewels, piled high into glistening mounds within kegs and mine carts. Guests delved deeper into the mine, where the other Dwarfs were seen picking away at ore by lantern light as they sang their Dig-a Dig Dig song. Heading to the left, riders encountered Dopey once again (this time a fully dimensional animated figure like the other six dwarfs), who pointed worriedly to a wooden sign reading, "BEWARE OF THE WITCH".

Guests then passed under a final set of wooden timbers, exiting the diamond mine into the serene forest, where many animals such as deer, birds, and rabbits looked on from behind the trees. Up ahead was a fork in the road marked by a labeled sign pointing in one direction to the Dwarfs' cottage and to the Queen's castle in another. Guests approached a forced-perspective mural of the distant woodland cottage but turned instead into the direction of the castle. The scene quickly shifted from a peaceful and pleasant forest into one of gnarled tree roots, dead vines, and muddy colors as riders passed under two ominous-looking vultures perched overhead on a limb. Guests then turned left toward the open entrance of the sinister-looking stone castle and passed through. Directly ahead within its dim interior was a passage leading back outside, where another labeled wooden sign signified the Dwarfs' cottage. As guests advanced toward the open doorway, however, a wrought-iron portcullis slammed shut in front of it, blocking the way out. Ahead, at the end of a dark, straight corridor, a skeleton chained to the wall rattled as guests approached it, moaning, "Go baaaack..."

Riders then veered away under a stone arch and saw the hunched shadow of the lurking Witch right in front of them, creeping across a stone wall plastered with a large spider web. Hanging strings simulating cob webs brushed against guests' faces as they passed under another arch, and rounding a sharp turn, they encountered the Witch herself at her cauldron — her massive spell book nearby — holding a newly poisoned apple over her brew. "Have an apple, dearie!" she croaked as she turned to face riders, who were promptly jolted away into a dark corner. Guests shortly came face to face with the old hag once more; this time she was partially obscured behind a large stone column, again offering the deadly, bright red fruit. Guests then escaped the dungeon by crashing through a solid masonry wall, and after a short interval of darkness, found themselves threading through the frightful woods, where many dead, gnarled trees with twisted, menacing faces and looming postures grasped with arm-like branches. Beyond the forest was the thatched-roof home of the Seven Dwarfs, complete with warm light emanating through its windows. As riders drew near the inviting cottage, its front door swung open, revealing the Witch once more as she once again offered her poisoned apple. Finally, riders approached a tall cliff, where the old peddler was seen one last time, cackling as she attempted to pry a boulder onto guests from above. As the huge rock tilted forward, the wicked crone was struck down by a bolt of lightning, giving a horrid shriek as she met her demise just before guests passed through a camouflaged set of crash doors within the rock surface below her. After a final short stretch of darkness, guests were taken back out into the queue area to disembark.

In January 1961, a number of updates were made to the Snow White dark ride by a team headed by Imagineer Yale Gracey.[6] These included improved, rebuilt figures of the Witch replacing several of the cruder models present on opening day, fully dimensional trees in the dark forest scene replacing the original plywood flats, and various new scene details such as ambient sounds. Snow White and Her Adventures ceased operation in December 1981 for a major overhaul coinciding with the New Fantasyland project, a dramatic reimagining of Fantasyland in which the majority of its attractions and architecture were improved with far more intricate theming and superior technology. The updated Snow White attraction, titled Snow White's Scary Adventures, opened in May 1983.

The Evil Queen's book of spells in the dungeon

Guests enter the ride building through the Evil Queen's castle. Overlooking the entrance is a high window whose curtains are parted every few minutes by the Evil Queen. A metal, gold-colored apple is within reach of guests standing in the queue. Touching the apple causes the disembodied voice of the Queen to cackle menacingly. Guests wind their way through a dungeon inside the castle, passing by a book of poisons. The book reads, "One taste of the poisoned apple and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping Death." Like most of the dark rides, the boarding area is dominated by a large mural depicting characters from the movie.

The ride vehicles resemble mine carts and feature the names of each of the Seven Dwarfs, much like their beds in the film. When guests board the ride vehicles, they enter the Dwarfs' cottage first. Here, the music and yodeling from "The Silly Song" can be heard, while birds, chipmunks, and other forest creatures perform housekeeping tasks such as hanging a clothesline and washing the dishes. Guests pass Snow White followed by some of her animal friends climbing the stairs to the second floor of the cottage. The guests then move past the Dwarfs, who are performing "The Silly Song".

When guests leave the cottage, they pass by the Queen who says "Soon I'll be fairest in the land." They then enter the Dwarfs' diamond mine, which is full of jewels of many colors. Guests pass under a branch with two vultures perched on it and enter the Queen's castle. There, they see the Queen as she stands before her Magic Mirror with her back to the guests and beautiful reflection saying, "Magic Mirror on the wall..." She then turns and faces the guests. They see that she has become an ugly, green-eyed, toothless witch with a wart on her nose. "With this disguise, I'll fool them all!" she adds. This effect is achieved by two models—one queen and one witch—rotating on different sides of the 'mirror', which is actually a sheet of transparent glass. Projections and LED lights create the effect of cobwebs and electricity running through the walls. Guests continue to pass through the castle laden with skeletons. Nearby, the Witch is accompanied by a raven in a dungeon where she is creating a poisoned apple for Snow White. She heads for the Dwarfs' cottage in a small boat.

Guests wind their way through a menacing forest. Here, trees have ugly faces and branches like talons or grasping hands. Bats fly everywhere and logs resemble snapping crocodiles. The guests then turn toward the Seven Dwarfs' cottage. The door opens to reveal the Witch, who offers the guests the apple. Guests turn towards a mountainside where the Dwarfs pursue the Witch. Nearby, the Witch tries to roll a boulder down the mountain to crush the Dwarfs below. However, a strike of lightning causes her to tumble to her death; her scream is heard as guests exit the area.

Returning to the boarding and debarkation area, guests pass a giant book featuring a silhouette of Snow White and her Prince with his horse as they wander away towards a castle. The words at the bottom of this picture read, "And they lived happily ever after." The guests then disembark from the ride vehicles and return to Fantasyland.

The installation at Disneyland was manufactured by Arrow Development.[8]

This version of the attraction closed in January 2020.[9]

The original version of the ride at Magic Kingdom in Florida which ran from 1971 to 1994 was very different, and arguably more frightening. Snow White was not seen at all, and the Dwarfs showed up only briefly in one scene. There were also seven witch figures in this version, whereas there were only six in the 1994 version. The queue was similar to Tokyo Disneyland's current queue. It featured the Dwarfs' mine, with their cottage visible in the distance. Guests began by entering the castle in a scene very much like the 1994 ride; however, there was no part where Snow White was seen cleaning. Instead, riders saw a side of the Dwarfs' cottage as "I'm Wishing" played in the background. Upon entering, with the queen watching in a nearby window, the guests saw a mirror, but not the magic one. The Queen still transformed into the Witch by saying, "Mirror Mirror on the wall, I am the fairest one of all!" and was still seen at the cauldron preparing the poisoned apple. The riders then "crashed" through the dungeon walls and escaped through the forest with the tree monsters and the crocodile logs (still bumping into the Witch, who was on a boat). Soon, guests arrived in the Dwarfs' cottage to see the animals peering in at them. They then passed the Dwarfs (in their only appearance) walking up the stairs to their room to investigate a frightening shadow. The Witch was waiting in the doorway with the apple. Riders would then exit the cottage, back into the woods, and pass by two ominous vultures. The final scene was the diamond mine, where the Witch appeared several more times. Her final appearance was on top of a doorway, pushing an enormous jewel onto the riders. Riders would then enter a room full of flashing cartoon-like strobe lights (similar to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland in California) with the Witch's cackling echoing in their ears. Guests then disembarked. Ginny Tyler did the voice of the Witch in this version, while Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Hal Smith, Hans Conried, and Dallas McKennon did the voices of the Dwarfs.

On October 14, 1994, the Magic Kingdom attraction was closed in order to undergo a redesign in order to be similar to the Disneyland version, but in a different order with a few new scenes. The attraction re-opened on December 16, 1994 with a much lighter tone. Guests boarded the ride by a mural depicting the characters of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and began their ride in the Queen's courtyard where Snow White was seen working outside. The Queen watched her (and the guests) from her window. Inside the castle, the scene was similar to the Disneyland version (with the Queen turning into the Witch and working at the cauldron), although the Magic Mirror (voiced by Tony Jay) was added who said, "Alas! Snow White is the fairest one of all," to which the Queen (voiced by Louise Chamis) replied, "Never!" The ride continued into the forest where the Huntsman (a newly added character in this version, and voiced by Peter Renaday) tells Snow White to run away and strobe lighting effects that resembled lightning lit up Snow White running through the tree monsters, and then into the Dwarfs' cottage where the "Dwarfs' Yodel Song" played. In a new scene, the riders then passed the Witch giving Snow White the apple, then emerged from the cottage as she gloated that she was the fairest one of all. From there, guests rode through the mine where the two of the Dwarfs (Sleepy and Sneezy) called to them to stop the Witch. After the scene where the Witch tried to drop a rock on the dwarfs, there was a new ending with the Prince waking Snow White and then leading her away on his horse as two of the Dwarfs waved goodbye. Dopey was seen above the bridge, waving to all the passengers. Guests then traveled through the open doors under the bridge and disembarked.

Tokyo Disneyland represents a mix of the American versions at the time of the park's opening, although it is largely based on the pre-1994 Walt Disney World version. It begins in the castle where the Queen transforms into the Witch, moving on to the dungeon and passing her on boat. After going through the forest, guests enter the cottage and instead of seeing the dwarfs passing up the stairs seeing the shadow, the Seven Dwarfs are seen Doing The Dwarfs' Yodel song, with Snow White watching from the stairs (similar to the beginning in Disneyland and in Disneyland Paris). Exiting the cottage, guests find the Witch outside waiting for them, then enter the mines (mix in the Disneylands in California and Paris and Similar to the Pre-1994 version). They approach the cottage again and encounter the Witch with the apple. The ride ends like Disneyland's version, with the Dwarfs and Witch on the cliff, although without the "happy ending."

Disneyland Park (Paris)'s ride is basically the same as the 1983 Disneyland version. The only real difference is that one of the mine carts use a sound effect from the pre-1994 Disney World version and a happy ending similar to Disney World's. However, in this variation, instead of passing the Prince waking up Snow White and then Dopey on an arch, all the Dwarfs, the Prince and Snow White are on an arch, with Snow White sitting on the Prince's horse and waving the guests goodbye. On the left side of the guests, the Prince's castle is seen above the clouds. The ride is also called Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains, which is French for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.