Day 111: Think of a Wonderful Thought
March 18, 2023
Dear Disney,
During our trip in January, Lady and I got to ride Peter Pan’s Flight. Jim Dear stayed with Jim Jr. who was passed out and could not be woken up for anything. As always, the line was long, but we took a chance and stepped in line. Even though it didn’t seem long from the outside, we had a little while to look around the queue. Jim Dear and I usually rush through, but it was nice to notice little details on the ride queue. Lady was content to wait silently so I played a little game with myself to see how many carved symbols were hidden in plain sight that had to do with the movie, Peter Pan. From memory I can recall the pirate ship, a teddy bear, a toy wagon, and a top hat. It could be a fun game of I Spy to play to keep yourself and your group occupied until your turn comes.
When Lady and I stepped into our pirate ship we were off to Neverland! The ride was like falling into a memory. All the dark rides in Fantasyland are like that for me. Memories of being with my parents, on choir tour, on my honeymoon and anniversaries superimpose into the actual moment of the ride. Lady and Jim Jr. haven’t watched as many Disney movies as Jim Dear and I have. We were raised during an amazing renaissance period of animated films (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hercules, and Mulan to name a lot), so it was refreshing to see it through their eyes and answer questions for them during our time at Disneyland. I am so happy to be able to share this world with them and have the same excited feeling when I see the castle, smell fresh churros, or hear a piece of music, but it’s even more profound to see it all with my children and make new memories with them.
After riding the attraction, I asked Jim Dear about Peter Pan’s Flight. Jim Dear stated that to him, Peter Pan’s Flight was one of Disney’s earliest innovations regarding theme park attractions. Unlike most of the original Disneyland attractions, Peter Pan’s Flight is not a reimagining of a classic carnival ride. From the attraction vehicle to the use of forced perspective, Peter Pan’s Flight brings the consumer into the world of Peter Pan wholely and completely. From the very beginning, Walt planned on having an attraction based on Peter Pan and monopolizing on the newly branded Tinkerbell from his 1950’s television show Disneyland.
Disney’s Imagineers considered all sorts of ride vehicles, including riding on the back of Peter Pan himself, but settled on the Pirate ship as the vehicle of choice. The Imagineers used a conveyer system previously used for carrying materials around warehouses to move the vehicles through the air allowing the guests to feel like they were flying. Some of the original plans included going under a rainbow and through skull rock, but the course changed during construction and again during the 1983 Fantasyland remodel.
That being said, Jim Dear said that Peter Pan’s Flight, as well as the movie itself, creates conflicting feelings in Jim Dear. We both has a dear friend who loved Peter Pan and personified the idea of Wendy herself. A few years ago, she passed away and the feeling of loss never truly goes away. Peter Pan and Peter Pan’s Flight fills Jim Dear with melancholy, so when Jim Jr. was passed out, it was a little bit of a relief for Jim Dear. Sometimes a person does not want to feel certain feelings; remember certain memories.
Peter Pan was a great inspiration to Walt Disney. Walt recounts that when he was 8 or 9 he and his brother spent all of their money on tickets to see Maude Adams in Peter Pan at the Marceline Playhouse. He said, “For two hours, we lived in Never Land with Peter and his friends. I took many memories away from the theater with me, but the most thrilling of all was the vision of Peter flying through the air.” It is obvious from the directions he gave his imagineers that this event never left his mind.
A story that I heard was that when the imagineers that designed Peter Pan’s Flight brought the designs to Walt he would say, ”Couldn’t we fly the pirate ship over the backyard? And could we have the dog, Nana, float up in the air like she does in the movie?” If the designers ever said no, Walt’s frustration would be felt. It is told that the designers, Claude Coates and Herb Ryman quickly learned that only answer to Walt’s questions were “We’ll find a way.” I am unsure if that is true, but I know that Jim Dear and myself would never want to tell Mr. Disney “No.”
In Disney’s 100 Years of Wonder, consider the amazing and innovative attraction, Peter Pan’s Flight, the next time you go to Disneyland. The line is long, and it always is, but it goes fast, and experience what it is to like to be a lost boy.
Till next time.
Sincerely,
Darling and Jim Dear
