Shanghaî Disneyland "Voyage to the Crystal Grotto" boat ride will be one of SDL rides which will be unique to Shanghaî Disneyland when the park will open next year. The ride is described officially as "an enchanting excursion that travels the waters of Fantasyland. Fanciful fountains and sculptures line the water’s edge, celebrating classic tales of magic and imagination. At journey’s end, guests will glide beneath Enchanted Storybook Castle, into a secret, underground chamber in which fountains of light will leap and dance in shimmering pools, surrounding guests with magic, music and color. The experience is sure to inspire the dreams and imaginations of all who make this wondrous voyage."
So, "Voyage to the Crystal Grotto" will "celebrate classic tales of magic and imagination" but which ones, and where will they be located along the boat ride? This is what we'll have a closer look now, thanks to an upscale of the original rendering you can see at the top.
But, first, Warning: this article includes plenty of spoilers about the ride, so as usual make your choice and read it ( or not ) at your own risk.
First, SDL guests will have to get inside the boat and here is a closer view of the load / unload building.
What may be the first scene of the ride will be a Beauty and the Beast scene and it's the one we can see on the artwork just below the load building.
The next scene will be an Aladdin scene, with both Aladdin and the Genie, and fountain effects, apparently.
Here are two renderings for that scene - pictures by Andy Castro.
Next will be a scene which is the only one i couldn't identified from the artwork, the only thing we can see is what seems to be a giant ball with others oversized decors, and if anyone knows what it is, please let us know!
The next scene was more easy to identify and it will be a Mulan scene.
Here is the artwork for it.
Next will be a tribute to Walt Disney's Fantasia and the Mickey Sorcerer Apprentice sequence. Here is the artwork upscale...
And here is the rendering for that scene as shown at D23 - photo by Andy Castro.
The next scene during the boat ride will be a Tangled scene with the famous sequence with the Chinese lampoons. Being in small on the artwork the upscale was difficult...
...but artwork and models of the scene were shown at D23 - pictures by Andy Castro.
The next scene was more hard to identify but considering the "water theme" of the ride, i'm almost 100% sure that it will be a Little Mermaid scene. The upscale don't make it clear but you can guess the decor design in shape of shells and also see the red color of Ariel's hair, so i'm pretty sure it'll be a Little Mermaid scene.
After this one there might be another outdoor scene before the boat goes under the castle but we can't see it on the artwork. Anyway, the boat will then enter a grotto under Shanghaî Disneyland castle - the "Crystal grotto" of the title - where we can apparently expect some magical lighting effects...
...until SDL guests finally arrive in front of the giant crystal. This huge crystal being located under the castle i wouldn't be surprised if, in WDI storyline related to the castle, the crystal would have a kind of magic power with its magical effects going much beyond the grotto and eventually be responsible of something bigger in the castle mythology... we'll see...
Then the boat will go outside again - most probably by the door you can see on the left of the crystal on the artwork above - and up to the load / unload building.
To make sure you've well understood where will be each scenes i've indicated them on the artwork below.
Voyage to the Crystal Grotto looks like a charming boat / fantasy ride at the heart of SDL Fantasyland and will be probably also a way to introduce some Disney classics to Chinese guests who may not know them. It will be part of the not-to-be-missed rides when Shanghaî Disneyland will open next year!
Pictures: copyright Disney, Shendi, Andy Castro
