Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid

Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid: attraction at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World — live wait times, operating status, and planning data on MouseHub.

Wait time history

Historical wait patterns for Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid accrete daily as MouseHub records waits every 15 minutes. Charts appear here once enough history exists.

Visitor sentiment

4.6· 1,905 Google ratings

People say this tourist attraction offers a slow ride through scenes from the movie, featuring animatronics and music. They highlight the ride is enjoyable for children and fans of the movie, and the queue is immersive with seaside-themed details. They also like the ride is a good break from the heat and crowds.

Summarized with Gemini · Report summary

The MouseHub take

Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid opened in Fantasyland on December 6, 2012, and it retells the movie from a slow-moving clamshell that never stops for loading. There is no height requirement, so nobody in the party sits this one out. The route passes Ariel's gadget-filled grotto, Sebastian conducting the singing, dancing fish, and a sinister eel-infested lair before the happily-ever-after finale. Ursula is the figure people remember, looming 7.5 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Despite the theme, there is no water anywhere on the ride and you come off dry.

It works best in the middle of a Fantasyland afternoon. The standby line runs indoors beneath Prince Eric's castle, which is a large part of why people ride it in July. Riders who come off happy wanted a cool, seated few minutes with young kids and got exactly that. The disappointed ones waited a long time for a headliner and found a gentle dark ride that ends sooner than the line suggested.

At a glance

Best for
Parents of preschoolers who already know the songs, and anyone who needs a cool, seated break without leaving Fantasyland.
Skip if
You have one Magic Kingdom day with headliners still on the list, or gentle dark rides do nothing for you.
Ride type
Continuously moving clamshell dark ride through animatronic show scenes
Intensity
Gentle. Slow-moving and dark the whole way, no drops, with one large Ursula scene that startles some toddlers.

The good

  • No height requirement, so nobody waits outside
    Disney lists this one as Any Height. Toddlers, grandparents, and everyone in between ride together.
  • The clamshells never stop moving
    Loading happens on a belt that keeps rolling, so standby advances steadily instead of stalling between dispatches. A line that looks long often is not.
  • Ursula is worth the trip on her own
    The sea witch looms 7.5 feet tall and 12 feet wide in her lair, and she is the scene most riders talk about afterward.
  • The queue is indoors and air conditioned
    Standby runs inside the show building under Prince Eric's castle. On a July afternoon that does more for the rest of your day than the ride itself.
  • Hand-drawn animation runs through the show scenes
    Disney mixes hand-drawn animation sequences in with the physical figures and effects, which keeps the scenes closer to the film than a screen-based ride manages.
  • The song scenes land if you know the film
    Sebastian conducts the singing, dancing fish in the big number, and Flounder, Scuttle, and King Triton all turn up along the way.

The bad

  • The overflow line loses the shade
    Once standby backs up past the indoor stretch, it spills into an uncovered outdoor switchback with sun on it and little airflow.
  • The story jumps straight to the ending
    The ride leaves the eel-infested lair and lands in the happily-ever-after finale with nothing in between. Riders who don't know the movie lose the thread.
  • The clamshells stop more than you would expect
    Loading pauses whenever a guest needs extra time to board, and a stop can leave you parked in front of one static scene.
  • Ursula frightens some small children
    She is enormous and staged in a dark lair. Toddlers who sail through the rest of the ride sometimes lose it here.
  • The ride ends before the wait feels paid off
    It runs short, and a long standby line sets an expectation the show scenes don't meet.

Veteran tips

  • Save it for the hottest part of the afternoon
    The indoor queue and the dark show building work as a cooling break. Riding at rope drop spends the one hour when headliner lines are short.
  • Check the posted wait before you commit
    A high posted wait means the line already reaches the outdoor section. Come back after dark instead of standing in it.
  • Spend a Multi Pass here only on packed days
    This sits in Magic Kingdom's second Lightning Lane Multi Pass group, so a selection here uses one of the two slots you would otherwise put on Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean.
  • Let kids work the interactive queue
    The standby line has interactive elements built into it, and they buy a few minutes of patience from small children while the line moves.
  • Mobility devices transfer at the load area
    Disney lists this attraction as Must Transfer to Wheelchair. The same page lists a wheelchair access vehicle, audio description, and handheld captioning.
  • Reassure kids that nothing gets wet
    Disney states it on the attraction page: the ride takes you under the sea with no actual water, and you come off dry.
  • Ride it while the fireworks run
    Fantasyland empties toward Main Street for the nighttime show, and the posted wait here falls for the length of it.

MouseHub editorial, written from visitor reports and official Disney sources. Last reviewed .

Sources