On the face of it, Peter Pans Flight is a fairly sub-standard attraction. It’s short, un-thrilling, and very dated. But it remains one of the fan-favorite rides at Disneyland and people are willing to queue for huge lengths of time to experience a flight over London’s rooftops and beyond in a flying pirate ship. So what makes this ride so popular and do we agree with the public perception of it, or should you give this one a miss in favor of something more exciting? Find out with our review.
- Location – Disneyland Park – Fantasyland
- Type – Dark Ride
- Duration – 2 Mins
- Height Restriction – None
- Average Queue time – 30 mins – 90 Mins
- Genie+ – NO
- Additional Info – Classic Opening Day Ride, Loved by all Ages, Timeless.
-
Thrill Rating
-
Fun
-
Smoothness and Comfort
-
Uniqueness and Theming
-
Value For Time
What it Peter Pan’s Flight
Peter Pan’s Flight is a Classic ride based on the Disney version of the classic Peter Pan story. The ride was one of the opening day attractions and has run ever since only undergoing some minor alterations in 1983, and a full refurbishment and new animatronics in 2015. The alterations and refurbishments have done little but expand and improve on the original vision.
The ride is not complex, with no thrill elements just a simple overhead track onto which a basket in the shape of a Pirate ship is suspended simulating flying, while you gently float over the landscapes below.
Queue
The Queue is fairly ordinary and not very exciting. The most noticeable thing about it is the length. The ride was never really designed for the types of visitors numbers that attend the park today. Throughput is low and the ride appeals to all age groups and tastes: Meaning queues are massive and slow-moving. There is no Genie+ service on the ride making things even worse.
Ride Experience
The Ride Starts off in the Bedroom of the Darling Children and then heads out the window over the moonlit rooftops of London, before heading to Neverland and visiting multiple scenes from the film such as a Giant Volcano, The Lost boys Camp, Skull Rock, and Captain Hooks ship.
Most of the characters from the film are met along the way and the finale sees Captain Hook in a spot of bother with Tick-Tock the Croc. It’s a basic ride, that on the face of things lacks any real substance to warrant standing in line for an hour or more, However…
Overall
We ADORE the ride! You may be forgiven for thinking we were on a bit of a downer about the ride. After all, our descriptions of it paint a picture of mediocracy at best. But the ride is a perfect example of how, with a Genius’ attention to detail and imagination as vast and complex as Walt’s, You can put together something really magical from such little.
The Models are quite basic but with the perfect lighting, which is dreamy moonlight, and a million specks of starlight your imagination can be taken to somewhere far more magical than reality dictates. To look at the ride from a technical viewpoint it’s a huge letdown but that would be wrong. The ride is a perfect blend of Imagineering brought to life and the journey over London and to neverland and back is really captivating and magical.
Yes, the queues suck, yes the ride is very short and very basic but rides like this are the reasons we love Disney. It’s impossible to explain exactly why Peter Pans Flight works so well but it just does and need’s to be ridden to really appreciate the ride.
We often include a video of the rides in all our reviews and articles, however, for Peter Pan this is pointless. The Videos we took look awful, and fail to capture the essence of the ride, we have even seen ones shot with high-end camera equipment in low light and these make it even worse. This is one ride you have to experience in person to appreciate.
Have Your Say
Let us know what you think of Peter Pans Flight. How long did you queue and was the wait worth it? Did you enjoy the ride and did your kids enjoy the flight too? Whatever you have o say about Peter Pan’s Flight just fire away in the comments below.