We'll get to the inside in a moment, but as we start the conversation about what makes Seven Dwarfs Mine Train such a valuable Fantasyland experience, we are going to start with the outside.
To start, I'm going to borrow some great words written about another hill in another Fantasyland. Citing the peerless FoxxFur of Passport to Dreams Old and New has a couple great posts I want to cite, starting with her piece on the Matterhorn in Disneyland. There's a lot there, and you should absolutely read it, but there's one paragraph I'm most interested in, where she discusses the approach to the mountain:
As we draw near, there is a surprise: the trees part, and a huge waterfall comes into view. The waterfall instantly suggests that there is going to be more going on in the Matterhorn than we expect, yet the Matterhorn looks picturesque, inviting with its alpine trees and flowers. A mountain stream winds around the base of the mountain, which somehow looks like cold mountain water thanks to the contrasting landscape around it.
Second, in an article about the awkward transitions of Disneyland -- which you should also read -- she spends time walking around the perimeter of the Matterhorn, and detailing its various elements, and how it fits sharing space in multiple different lands. In the summary she states:
I like to think of the Matterhorn as being themed to part of the Hub, and in fact it forms a sort of second hub; walking its perimeter is one of the most satisfying scenic tours in Disneyland. What could have been a liability is turned into a seemingly natural part of an imaginative visual landscape.
She calls the Matterhorn a thematic "wedge" that sits in the terminus of Fantsyland, Tomorrowland, and the Hub, serving as a scenic transition from one location to another, while also serving as its own gorgeous landmark.
I'm absolutely not going to attempt to put the physical presence of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to that of the Matterhorn. That's a tall order that possibly no attraction can live up to. The concepts FoxxFur brings up here, though, are applicable to the hill of the Mine Train, as well, and Fantasyland is better for it. It just hasn't been around for six-plus decades to elicit think pieces yet.
For most of Fantasyland's history, it had a large, beautiful, transitionary piece with kinetics, but from the early 2000s until the opening of Mine Train, that aspect was missing. In 2014, a lovely centerpiece to the back side of Fantasyland returned, though, and what Mine Train has that the lagoon did not is that ability to go on a 360 degree tour of the grounds. Typically, theme park attractions are shoved against the perimeter where a show building can be hidden off-stage, or maybe inside of a larger complex. Rarely is something like the Matterhorn or the Mine Train built where its aesthetics can be appreciated from all angles.
That satisfying, scenic perimeter tour FoxxFur talks about in Anaheim can be had here, as well. Approaching from the castle walls you'll see the peak of the attraction's climactic drop, popping out from the top of a hill dotted with trees. To the right, the attraction's entrance is warm, inviting, and suitably-cartoonish with a quaint Bavarian entrance, with the mine opening just past it on the hillside.
Should you head around the west side the hill, you'll find it at its most adventurous. Crossing a gigantic stone bridge takes you over a waterfall tumbling down to the river below. Here you get up close and personal with the mine carts plummeting down the drop, spinning below the bridge, and whipping back up to head into the trees. The screams of the participants add to the overall feeling of excitement here, and the half-view of what the attraction holds is tantalizing.
Around the backside of the mountain, other locations become centerstage, but the peaceful trees up above help sell the setting, while providing a useful berm for the rest of Fantasyland. Here, that "wedge" concept FoxxFur coined for the Matterhorn works, as well, for Mine Train, though a little differently. Mine Train is 100% in Fantasyland, but the 2012 expansion of the land created almost a section of sub-lands that the Dwarfs' hill helps split up.
Through the castle walls of the courtyard, it creates a weenie, that visual landmark that draws you down the street; or in this case, into the forest. The Bavarian entrance matches the village in the courtyard, and the southern edge with its thick and varied trees fits up against the 100 Acre Woods of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The western end's waterfalls blend perfectly with the foreboding rock work of the Beast's castle, and as you head around on the north end, the hillside transitions into a market and village, separating Prince Eric's castle from the rest of the land. Then, as you start to complete the circle, the slope becomes more gradual, transitioning you back to the rest of Fantasyland. If the west side of the hill is excitement and adventure, the east side is peace and tranquility. In your trip around the mountain, you get t wo completely different thematic extremes. Here on the east, the carts take a more leisurely tour of the landscape, more gentle curves elicit fewer screams than drops, and you're met more with sounds of nature and the distant taps of hammers on rock. The more natural look also serves as a backdrop when leaving Storybook Circus, creating a view of the woods beyond the tents, and masking most of the bustle of the rest of Fantasyland.
Different moods and visuals, complete with varied elevations, lush trees, flowing water, and the kinetics of mine carts rushing by make for a lovely tour. An attraction is more than what its riders experience from load to unload, or even from greeter to exit. An attraction is part of a shared whole, and it can simply exist, or plus, or even subtract from that whole. The hill of Mine Train is a dramatic plus to Fantasyland, adding excellent visuals and atmosphere before ever entering the complex.
Which is not at all to say the attraction itself isn't a joy to experience, as a unique blend of dark ride with rollercoaster. The coaster sections are kind of like the advertisement, the easy pitch that gets you in the door. It's easy to tell someone what a rollercoaster is and what makes it fun, and all of that is exposed to passersby.
The coaster elements themselves are simple, but definitely fun. The drop presents a gorgeous view of the Magic Kingdom before a steep plummet into a fun turn over a waterfall. The opening section twists and turns around a carefully-constructed landscape like any good Disney coaster should. The swinging carts aren't a game-changer, but they do add just a little bit extra to the feel of the attraction to make it both unique and also sell the setting of the location.
The dark ride inside is the real magic, though. Fitting perfectly in Fantasyland, where classic dark rides reign supreme, its a beautiful, black-lit, musical, animated experience as good as any show scene in any Fantasyland on either coast. The sequence makes an unequivocal statement of, "this is absolutely Fantasyland, just with some new twists." Then, it culminates in one of the most fun lift hill experiences you'll find on any coaster.
It's just all such a gorgeous use of color in a dark landscape. Atmosphere, music, and Marc Davis sight gags come together for a brief but perfect experience. Similar to Festival of the Lion King, and other attractions we'll be seeing, Mine Train makes the smart choice to set itself in its fictional universe, but not trapping itself into retelling the exact story of its fictional universe. In fact, it doesn't seek to tell a story with a plot at all. It does a perfect job of setting its place (the Seven Dwarfs' mine), and tells you all it needs to (you are in the Seven Dwarfs Mine). As with so many other classic attractions, the excitement comes from existing in the story, rather than seeing a three act script where we have to save the day from the villains. It just is and there's not a thing wrong with that.
Since the opening of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, there have been some who have expressed disappointment over it for what it is not. It's not Thunder Mountain (which might make the list), or Expedition Everest, or the Matterhorn. It's not a giant coaster, or a long dark ride. However, I argue it was a fantastic use of the space available, an attraction that manages to be both new and a perfect fit in the Magic Kingdom's most classic land, and a huge boon to the aesthetic of the world around it. Here, we are not judging the attractions for what they are not, but rather purely for what they are.
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