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Storybook Land Canal Boats

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Storybook Land Canal Boats
Storybook Land Canal Boats entrance at Disneyland
Disneyland
AreaFantasyland
Coordinates33°48′50″N 117°55′06″W / 33.81377°N 117.91825°W / 33.81377; -117.91825
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 17, 1955
Disneyland Park (Paris)
AreaFantasyland
Coordinates48°52′31″N 2°46′29″E / 48.8753°N 2.77467°E / 48.8753; 2.77467
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 3, 1994
General statistics
TypeBoat ride
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
Duration10 minutes
ManufacturerIntamin (Disneyland Paris only)
ThemeFairy tales
Vehicle typeNarrowboat
Vehicle capacity14 (Disneyland)
20 (Disneyland Paris)
SponsorVittel (Paris; 2024–present)

Storybook Land Canal Boats is an attraction located at the Disneyland and Disneyland Park (Paris) theme parks. Passengers embark on a leisurely paced outdoor boat ride through a winding canal featuring settings from Disney animated films recreated in miniature. The Disneyland version was one of the original attractions when the park opened on July 17, 1955, although the miniature buildings and landscaping were not added until the following year.[1] The version in Disneyland Paris is named Le Pays des Contes de Fées (meaning "The Land of Fairy Tales" in French) and opened in the spring of 1994.

History

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English church and watermill
Dutch landscape

The ride's concept dates back to Walt Disney's plans for a "magical little park" across the street from his Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. This modestly scaled, never-built amusement park was to include a gravity flow canal boat ride among its attractions.

When plans for the much grander Disneyland were being made, there was to be a "Lilliputianland", inspired by Madurodam, a miniature city in the Netherlands that Disney once visited. However, the technology did not yet exist to create the miniature animated figures that were to inhabit the "Lilliputian" village, so the canal ride opened under the name Canal Boats of the World. It was intended to be a journey past miniature recreations of the great landmarks of the world, but time and money prevented its completion. The ride was plagued by other problems. The outboard motors were prone to overheating, often forcing the boats to be pulled by hand, and because the attraction opened with little landscaping, it earned the nickname among park executives as "The Mud Bank Ride".

After two months of operation, the Canal Boats closed while Storybook Land was constructed and the muddy banks were landscaped with miniature plants, including a bonsai tree planted by Walt Disney himself. The idea of having Monstro the whale consume the canal boats came from a never-implemented concept for a "Monstro the Whale" ride, in which small boats were to be swallowed by Monstro and then plunged down a watery path into a pond below.

The attraction reopened on June 16, 1956, under the new name Storybook Land Canal Boats. The models, scaled 1 inch to 1 foot, included Gepetto's village from Pinocchio, the Pigs' houses from Three Little Pigs, the Kensington Gardens from Peter Pan, Alice's cottage from Alice in Wonderland, the Old Mill from the 1937 Silly Symphony cartoon of the same name, Toad Hall from The Wind in the Willows from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the diamond mine from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', and Cinderella's Castle.[2]

Over the years several scenes have been added to and removed from the attraction.[3] Most notably, the Sultan's Palace from Aladdin appeared where the miniature Toad Hall from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad had previously stood for a major refurbishment done in 1994. Toad Hall returned the following year in another location.

For the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, the Tinker Bell boat was painted gold and the lighthouse given a gold and maroon theme. Due to high demand, a second boat, Wendy, was painted gold and also renamed the Tinker Bell for the duration of the anniversary. Once the anniversary had concluded, both boats were repainted to their former appearance.

Beginning December 20, 2014, the attraction at Disneyland added the village of Arendelle from Disney's Frozen including Anna and Elsa's castle, Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, and Elsa's ice palace. These additions replaced the three Dutch windmills representing The Old Mill (1937).[4]

Disneyland version

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Monstro, eye partially closed
View of attraction from Casey Jr. Circus Train in 2007

Passengers enter the attraction through a chain queue that winds in front of the loading dock. A lighthouse at the queue's entrance was once a ticket booth from when Disneyland required tickets for riding individual attractions. Storybook Land Canal Boats originally required a "D" coupon.

The motor-driven boats are scaled-down replicas of Dutch, English, and French boats. All of the boats are named after female Disney characters except for Flower (retired), the male skunk from Bambi. Passengers are seated along the edges of the boat, facing inward, although children are sometimes permitted to ride on the front flat part of the boat. A costumed guide sits just above the passengers on the back of the boat, perched above the engine housing, and narrates the ride.

After departing from the dock, the boat passes through a short cave sculpted to look like Monstro, the whale that swallowed Pinocchio. Monstro is partially animated: his eye opens and closes, and periodically steam comes out of his blow hole.

The canals past the Monstro cave are landscaped with miniature trees and shrubs. Along the banks are small buildings representing the homes of characters from Disney animated films, although not all the locations were actually depicted in film. While no characters physically appear in the attraction, many of these settings feature sound recordings of characters singing.

The miniature settings include:

The boat then returns the passengers to the loading dock from which they boarded.

The attraction pauses operation during any fireworks shows, allowing riders to view the show from the canal. Normal operation resumes once the show has ended.

Names of the Canal Boats:

  1. Alice
  2. Ariel
  3. Aurora
  4. Belle
  5. Cinderella
  6. Daisy
  7. Fauna
  8. Faline
  9. Flora
  10. Jasmine
  11. Merryweather
  12. Snow White
  13. Tinkerbell
  14. Wendy

Storybook Land Canal Boats Queue Music

  1. The Second Star to the Right from Peter Pan
  2. Snow White Overture
  3. Babes in Toyland Overture
  4. Sleeping Beauty Overture
  5. Darby O'Gill and the Little People Overture
  6. Love is a Song / Little April Showers Medley from Bambi
  7. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes / The Working Song Medley from Cinderella


Paris version

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Unlike the original in California, a guide does not accompany the riders. The boats here are guided by an underwater wire rather than being propelled by an on-board motor. Passengers enter their boats via a slowly revolving platform. The whole transport system was developed by Intamin (as a Tow boat ride). The Cave of Wonders from Aladdin midway through the voyage replaces the Disneyland version's Monstro cave. The boats also float past these settings, accompanied by music from the respective film and minimal dialogue:

Names of the Canal Boats:

  1. Alice
  2. Ariel
  3. Aurora
  4. Belle
  5. Cinderella
  6. Fauna
  7. Maid Marion
  8. Flora
  9. Jasmine
  10. Merryweather
  11. Pocahontas
  12. Snow White
  13. Tinkerbell
  14. Wendy
  15. Mary Poppins

Le Pays des Contes de Fées Queue Music

  1. Snow White Overture
  2. Winnie the Pooh from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  3. I See the Light from Tangled
  4. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? from Three Little Pigs
  5. Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid
  6. The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia
  7. Let it Go from Frozen
  8. A Whole New World from Aladdin
  9. The Sword in the Stone Overture
  10. Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast
  11. Casey Jr. from Dumbo
  12. When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio
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  • Words spelled out in bushes cut into letters
    Words spelled out in bushes cut into letters
  • Beginning of the ride
    Beginning of the ride
  • Traveling through Monstro's mouth
    Traveling through Monstro's mouth
  • One of the first buildings encountered
    One of the first buildings encountered
  • Bridge to the pigs' homes
    Bridge to the pigs' homes
  • Home of the Big Bad Wolf
    Home of the Big Bad Wolf
  • One of the Three Little Pigs' houses
    One of the Three Little Pigs' houses
  • Casey Jr. Circus Train
    Casey Jr. Circus Train
  • Kensington Gardens from Peter Pan[6]
    Kensington Gardens from Peter Pan[6]
  • Cinderella's Castle
    Cinderella's Castle
  • Giant's patchwork quilt from Lullaby Land
    Giant's patchwork quilt from Lullaby Land
  • Sultan's palace from Aladdin
    Sultan's palace from Aladdin
  • French village featuring a castle from Cinderella
    French village featuring a castle from Cinderella
  • Agrabah
    Agrabah
  • Toad Hall
    Toad Hall
  • Two Dutch windmills from The Old Mill (removed in late 2014)
    Two Dutch windmills from The Old Mill (removed in late 2014)
  • Pinocchio's Alpine village
    Pinocchio's Alpine village
  • Prince Eric's castle from The Little Mermaid
    Prince Eric's castle from The Little Mermaid

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Strodder, Chris (2017). The Disneyland Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). Santa Monica Press. pp. 460–461. ISBN 978-1595800909.
  2. ^ Gennawey, Sam (2014). The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream. Keen Communications. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-62809-012-3.
  3. ^ "History of Storybook Land Canal Boats". Hunting Pixie Dust. 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  4. ^ "Frozen Fun Comes to Disneyland Resort – UPDATED". dapsmagic.com. December 20, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Yesterland: Storybook Land from the Skyway". www.yesterland.com. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  6. ^ "The Story of Storybook Land". www.mouseplanet.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  • Bright, Randy (1987). Disneyland:Inside Story. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. pp. 43, 81, 116–17, 119, 128. ISBN 0-8109-0811-5.
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