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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Interactive Queue

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We talked a bit about Disney’s new idea of improved scene one guest experiences during our first look at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train interactive queue. These additions to the guest experience don’t just make waiting in time less boring, they transform the interaction all together.

Take the new Dumbo attraction. The play environment is friendly for kids of all ages and Disney has found that some families return to the attraction later in the day, just so the kids can experience the play zone again. In essence, it’s like its own attraction. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad recently had its own queue re-envisioning. It drastically updated the story Imagineers are able to tell and added a new variety of interaction as well.

With Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the audience is in the middle of those two attractions. As such, the interactive experiences are more a mix of the above some great Disney scene ones.

We were able to sneak back into the queue during a rainstorm and get some daytime shots and footage from the interactive elements.

I found at least one ‘easter egg’ in the gem sorting game. There’s a bar of soap, which we know the dwarfs don’t like, so when you touch it, it squirts off the screen. Cute.

There are also a few more photos below the jump.

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Imagineers Program First Full 3D Audio-Animatronics at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

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It’s been 50 years since Walt Disney debuted the first full sized audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln figure at the 1964 World’s Fair, the next generation of figures debuting in Seven Dwarfs Mine Train might just be as big an evolutionary jump as the original Abe Lincoln figure was. (Let’s just hope they don’t have as many problems as “Leaky Lincoln” did at his debut.)

Walt Disney Imagineering has prepared this short documentary look at how these new audio-animatronics were created.

I saw a few new figures in there and a few more show scenes. As the video says, I think Walt Disney would have loved how advanced these figures have become and would be exploring the storytelling potential on many new attractions.

More photos below:

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Disneyland Paris Releases New Details of Ratatouille Ride

In case you need another reason to get excited for summer, here’s a pretty good one: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy. Disneyland Paris recently announced the opening of a new section dedicated to our favorite cooking rat, which will house a new ride, a shop… Read More »Disneyland Paris Releases New Details of Ratatouille Ride

Disney Imagineering Announces Winners of Student Design Competition

Every year since 1991 the Imagineers at Disney have launched a contest asked college students to send in their biggest, brightest, and most magical ideas for a new park, attraction, hotel, or other concept. The theme this year for the Imaginations Design Contest was to… Read More »Disney Imagineering Announces Winners of Student Design Competition

Update on the Details of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in New Fantasyland

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Disney’s Imagineers have been high-ho’ing away on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride at New Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom, and we finally have proof that it’s almost ready to ride! We know it will open sometime in 2014, although when exactly is still unannounced.

The aspect of the train that I find the most fascinating is its aged look. Obviously it’s a brand new ride, but the Imagineers specifically painted and carved the wood to make it look weathered. The rusty hinges on the doors and the crumbling rock structures also add to the worn appearance, which I think makes it feel more authentic. The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an old one, so it makes sense to combine it with an aged, yet new theme park ride.Read More »Update on the Details of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in New Fantasyland