Ariel and Ursula Meet Jodi and Pat at Disney California Adventure Park

What an exciting moment! Jodi Benson and Pat Carroll, the familiar voices behind Ariel and Ursula from 1989’s animated hit, “The Little Mermaid,” reunited and rode the new attraction, The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure park yesterday. They’ve obviously remained good friends, because they greeted each other with warm hugs and hellos outside the attraction. As Pat said before she boarded one of the clam shells, “This is an exciting day!” For guests and fans of their movie, “The Little Mermaid,” it’s been 22 years of waiting for a Little Mermaid attraction. For Jodi and Pat, it’s been 25 years! They began working on the film in 1986. It was so much fun to see their reactions to the characters they helped bring to life. It’s also fun to hear Pat laugh, because you can hear Ursula in her wonderful laugh. Check out this video and see for yourself this special moment.

Comments

  • im sorry but im not liking how open are about the proyects now, breaking the magic……showing the voices, the rides with lights on, etc etc..please keep the mistery.

  • Aww man I wish I was there yesturday to see Jodi and Pat it would of been great to see him.

  • We rode it yesterday and I saw Jodi when she was getting on the ride so I waited at the exit to take a picture with her! I saw the movie when it first came out and I’ve loved Ariel since I was 5. I now have a huge Ariel collection and a tattoo on my back to boot! Meeting her was amazing, so was the ride!

  • I’m glad that we get these sneak previews…. since I’m not sure when my family will be able to go on the new attraction (the little one won’t tolerate the long wait, even though he probably would love the end product).

    If I didn’t want to see the behind the scenes stuff… it’s simple as not clicking to watch the video. (Besides, it’s not like showing the voice actors and the internal workings of the attractions is anything new. Take a look at “The Reluctant Dragon” — a wonderful little Walt-era film that showcases the behind-the-scenes workings of the Disney Studios, including voice actors of some familiar characters. Or many of the Disneyland and Wonderful World of Color television episodes that did the same. Walt enjoyed showing how some of the tricks were done, and you can tell when watching him show off the study models, unfinished audio-animatronics, and more from Pirates of the Caribbean, for an example.

    This blog is just the new-fangled way of doing what Disney has done all along. 😀

  • well diana, not to be a NERD but…

    in the 1960’s, they aired entire specials about how the effects in rides like the haunted mansion were achieved. they used clever wording but you’d see animatronics being sculpted on in a studio. i think the only thing that has changed is the tone they use, but even that isn’t drastic.

  • Looks amazing!!!! but they need one in Disney World too!!!!!

  • Wow….i can’t wait to come to DL again and see this done…we were then in Oct 2010 and we saw was construction….fastpass for this ride?

  • I disagree with that sentiment Diana. I think that it is amazing to finally see what goes on “behind the magic.” I relish in seeing it. I am excited to see the progress and see just how imagineers do what they do.

  • Very cool! Its great that Jodi and Pat were able to see each other again and ride the attraction.

    Diana–That is something that Walt did all the time. For example, showing behind the scenes of Haunted Mansion.

  • That’s COOL. I love seeing the faces behind the voices. Cant wait to ride it in OCTOBER!!

  • Keep posting as many behind-the-scenes videos as you can! It’s the 21st century, and showing who played the voices of characters in an animated film 22 years ago is not exactly going to destroy anyone’s imagination.

  • I have to say, I wasn’t as impressed with Mermaid as I hoped I’d be. It’s pleasant. Some of the effects are nice, but it’s not a particularly exciting dark ride. Some of it is a bit boring honestly. Luckily, Star Tours made up for that. We went six times and would have gone more.

  • Wow was there yesterday as Jodi and Pat were boarding thier clam shell,,,, how exciting for them to see and hear this wonderful ride. Felt very lucky to have been one of the first to experience this wonderful ride with these two delightful ladies. Had both my grand daughters with me, 11 & 3 and they both loved it rode it 4 times. Thanks ladies and Disney

  • I was able to go on the ride during soft openings. I think its a very solid dark ride that is sure to be popular. The animatronics and effects are wonderful.

    People need to be aware that the attraction’s story is told through music. So there is a big emphasis on the musical numbers and this is not a “book report” ride. So you should not expect to see every scene and event that took place in the movie.

  • I just finished watching the opening at Visions Fantastic. Got to listen to Jodi and Pat sing. It was great. VF also went through the ride, but it was pixilated and cut out, probably because it was inside the building.

    For those that are interested, you can take a virtual ride via You Tube. Just put in “Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and go from there. The kids are gonna love it.

  • I LOVE the ” behind the scenes” look at all the new happenings, it only builds to the excitement and wonderment of it all! I love how the imagineers put so much detail and thought into every little thing they do , its amazing! I am SO excited to see this new ride , we are waiting to see the unveiling of the new FantasyLand at Disney World , I know its going to be indescribable! The magic of it all! I only wish Walt could see his wonderful Disney Parks now , he would be so proud!

  • Please if you can upload a video of all the performances!!! Would REALLY love to see them! 😀

  • I got to ride The Little Mermaid this past weekend and there was the thrill factor of being able to be one of the first to ride something new, the animatronics were amazing, especially Ursula and Arial’s hair, but still there seemed to be something missing. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason the ride just didn’t feel complete. I don’t know, still it’s an enjoyable experience, one that will hopefully just get better with time!

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