Ride Profile
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Officially opened last month, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is the crowning jewel of Walt Disney World’s New
Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. This rocking coaster features a first-of-its-kind ride system and theming in spades. You’ll dig it, says Paul Ruben
Seven Dwarfs Mi T
Hi ho, Hi ho It's off to work we go...
hat familiar tune from the 1937 Disney animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs resonates in your head as you depart the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The attraction immerses Magic Kingdom guests in the lovable world of Sleepy, Doc, Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy, Happy and Dopey, sending passengers on a playful musical adventure into the mine “where a million diamonds shine”. “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is both literally and figuratively the centrepiece of New Fantasyland, so we knew it had to be something special,” says Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Tom Staggs. “The attraction appeals to everyone in the family and provides just the right blend of heart, humour and thrill while keeping with the charm of this special land.”
The attraction is both a rollercoaster and a dark ride. It features an innovative new ride system using six 20-passenger trains of five cars each. The system allows each of the four-passenger cars to pivot back
and forth during the twists, turns, hills and drops of the ride, including drops of 41 and 31 feet (12.5 and 9.4m). Guests reach a top speed of 34mph (55kmh). Along 2,000ft (610m) of track, passengers pass through magical mountain scenery studded with red poppies and live oak, cedar and birch trees. At the midpoint of the attraction, the train slows and enters the dark ride portion, a mine aglow with gems and scenes with animatronic dwarfs and frolicking forest creatures. Music from the film accompanies the journey. At ride’s end, the cottage of the dwarfs, replicated from the animated movie to exacting detail by Walt Disney Imagineers, comes into view with a dancing Snow White visible through a window. A final surprise finds the Evil Queen, lurking outside the cottage disguised as an old hag, with a poisoned apple in hand.
Staggs was joined at the ride dedication ceremony on 2 May by Snow White and all seven dwarfs who proudly brought their freshly-mined gems. “It’s my honour to dedicate the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which we think will become an instant classic in New Fantasyland,” said Staggs at the ceremony.
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JUNE 2014
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