The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure (stylized The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure) is a dark ride attraction based on the 1989 Disney animated film "The Little Mermaid", located in Paradise Gardens Park at Disney California Adventure and in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, where it is titled Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (stylized Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid). The ride opened on June 3, 2011 at Disney California Adventure, and on December 6, 2012 at Magic Kingdom. In the early-to-mid-1990s, Walt Disney Imagineering
Ursula (The Little Mermaid) of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula became the first Disney villainness to receive her own song. During production of "The Little Mermaid", Ursula's design evolved and transformed dramatically. Animator Glen Keane's earliest sketches of Ursula were drawn to resemble Rae, specifically based on the actress' audition for the role. The short-lived casting of Stritch as Ursula and her subsequent performance eventually inspired the animators to design the character as "a tall, thin regal-looking sea witch" based on manta rays and scorpion fish, complete with a long cape. At one point, Ursula had also been drawn with spikes to resemble a spinefish.