Closed Disney rides have a seat in roller coaster museum

Two former Walt Disney World rides will be represented in the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives after donations of their distinctive vehicles by Disney Parks, the organization announced Tuesday.

Snow White’s Scary Adventures, which closed at Magic Kingdom in 2012, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, a part of DisneyQuest when it closed in 2017, will be part of the museum, which is under construction in Plainview, Texas.

“Our partnership with Disney Parks has been incredible over the last several years. We started with a Matterhorn vehicle celebrating the birth of the modern steel roller coaster,” Jeff Novotny, NRCMA chairman, said in a news release. The Matterhorn car from Disneyland was donated in 2012.

“With this Snow White vehicle and unique Astro Blaster car, the museum collection is expanding assets that showcase the importance of storytelling in the theme-park industry,” he said.

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The Astro Blasters vehicle worked like a bumper car but also launched balls at other participants. The DisneyQuest space, located in the West Side neighborhood of Disney Springs, eventually was demolished, making room for tenants such as City Works restaurant and the now-shuttered NBA Experience.

The Scary Adventures ride vehicle has a faux-wood mine car feel with the Dopey dwarf name, two rabbits and a butterfly carved into the front. The attraction’s building now houses Princess Fairytale Hall, which was part of the park’s Fantasyland expansion plan along with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster.

The National Roller Coaster Museum, founded in 2009, is a nonprofit organization that promotes the preservation of historic coasters and other artifacts. It has more than 75 ride vehicles in its collection, including cars from the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens at Williamsburg, Virginia; the Coney Island Cyclone of New York City; Cedar Point’s Wildcat and Mantis; the SooperDooperLooper from Hersheypark in Pennsylvania; and Montezooma’s Revenge from Knott’s Berry Farm in California.

There is no set opening date for the museum, which is located in west Texas and about 50 miles from Lubbock. It will “fully open once fundraising allows us to complete construction,” its website says. The organization holds special events that are available to fans.

For more information, go to rollercoastermuseum.org.

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