Original version (1955-1982)

The earliest version of Peter Pan's Flight debuted at Disneyland on the park's opening day in July 1955. This iteration of the attraction was the shortest in length and contained the fewest animated figures and simplest audio. The queue line was largely external, and its exterior façade resembled a colorful medieval tournament tent adorned with stripes and decorative shields. As with contemporary opening-day Fantasyland dark rides Snow White and her Adventures and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, guests boarded ride vehicles in front of a massive, elaborate mural adorned with characters and settings from the film on which the ride was based. Peter Pan himself did not appear in the original ride at all (aside from his depiction on the mural), nor did the Darling children, the Lost Boys, the mermaids, or the Native Americans (save for a captive Tiger Lily in the final scene).

The 1955 Peter Pan attraction laid the foundation for the basic three-act structure that most subsequent versions of the ride have adhered to. Following the first brief scene inside the Darling children's nursery (only about three-fifths its current size), guests sailed over the moonlit London skyline (much the same as it is today), the fantastical realm of Neverland (seen entirely from an aerial perspective, with no close-up vignettes or characters), and finally into the cavernous Skull Rock, where a sword-wielding Captain Hook ordered the bumbling Mr. Smee to shoot down riders as they flew by. The final sight in the attraction was Tick Tock the crocodile, staring intently at guests, his mouth agape, just before they exited the scene through a set of doors disguised as a waterfall and returned to the loading area.

This simpler version of the attraction existed until 1982, when it was closed as part of the major redesign of the New Fantasyland, where nearly all of the area's architecture and attractions were updated with richer theming and new technology. A significantly enhanced version of Peter Pan's Flight debuted in May 1983, and is largely the same version that exists today.

Expanded version (since 1983)

Departing from the station, but before entering the actual ride building, guests fly over the rooftops of London. The new version of the ride includes Audio-Animatronic versions of the characters, like at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. As part of the new remodel, scenes from the Florida ride were added to Disneyland, including the pirate ship deck where Peter and Hook duel on the tip of the ship's bowsprit (at the Magic Kingdom Peter and Hook duel on the ship's mainsail). Few scenes are identical between the two versions, but they are very similar nonetheless.

Attraction poster

The new Disneyland ride opened as part of New Fantasyland on May 25, 1983. After winding through the queue, guests board a three-passenger miniature galleon, which is suspended from a track on the ceiling above to enhance the sensation of flying through the air. The ship leaves the load area and winds through the Darlings' nursery, passing Nana the Saint Bernard dog nursemaid next to some toy blocks which spell "D1SN3Y" when read backwards. Wendy, John and Michael Darling are on the bed and Peter Pan's shadow is on the wall.

Guests hear Peter Pan saying, "Come on, everybody! Here we go!" At this point, the ship flies out of the nursery window and over moonlit London. Lights from Tinker Bell twinkle all around. Below guests are miniature versions of some of London's famous landmarks, including St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and the River Thames.

Then, going past "the second star to the right and straight on 'til morning," the flying ships reach Neverland, where guests pass some of its landmarks, including the Indian village, a glowing volcano, a giant octopus, three colored fish, The Lost Boys' camp, Mermaid Lagoon, and Skull Rock. It is here that guests encounter some of Neverland's most famous residents, including Princess Tiger Lily, Mr. Smee, Tick-Tock the Crocodile and Peter's arch-rival, Captain Hook, in addition to Peter and the Darlings.

On February 2, 2015, the attraction closed for refurbishment. It was originally scheduled to reopen on May 21, 2015, but was later pushed back to July 1, 2015.^[7] New animatronics of Wendy, John, and Michael now fly above John's bed in the Nursery (previously John and Michael were sitting in John's bed, with Wendy sitting on a chair next to them). New special effects were also added to the London and Neverland scenes.^[8]