Fantasyland Expansion

From Magic Maker® Julie Paolino

If you’ve ever been to the Walt Disney World® Resort, you know that the Magic Kingdom® Park is divided into themed lands.  Fantasyland® is the place to go to feel nostalgic about some of Walt Disney’s most beloved movies of all time.  It is home to rides where you taking flight with Peter Pan, bounce around with Tigger and Pooh, or soar with Dumbo. In Fantasyland® you will also find other attractions such as the classic ride, “it’s a small world” and the more recent addition, Mickey’s PhilharMagic.  Very little has changed in Fantasyland® in the 38 years since the Walt Disney World® Resort first opened its doors.  But hold on to your Mickey ears, because Fantasyland® is getting significant makeover!

The Fantasyland® makeover will focus strongly on the princess theme.  One of the biggest additions is a new attraction based on Disney’s The Little Mermaid, called Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid. New storybook interactive areas will feature three of Disney’s best known princesses in an area called the Fantasyland Forest. Here Guests will visit Cinderella’s Chateau and help her prepare for the ball, visit Sleeping Beauty in Briar Rose’s Cottage just in time for her 16^th birthday party, and have a storytelling session with Belle in the Beast’s library. If you are feeling hungry, you will be able to stop by the Be Our Guest Restaurant for a bite to eat.

In addition to the princesses, little ones will also take pleasure in another area based on the Disney Fairies.  This new Pixie Hollow character meeting area will allow Guests to get the feeling of being fairy sized and truly immersed in the Fairy world.  Here a visit with Tinker Bell will certainly be the main attraction!

Beyond princesses and fairies, the classic Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction is being relocated. It will soon reside in new “circus grounds” where Guests will participate in interactive experiences, under an air conditioned big top tent, all while waiting to board one of the flying elephants. Parents take note, there will be two Dumbo spinners under one big top which will cut the usual wait time in half!  Also being incorporated into the new “circus grounds” is Goofy’s Barnstormer, the kid sized roller coaster, which will take on a clown theme.

You may wonder where all this is going to fit. Sad to say, but Mickey’s Toontown® Fair will be removed to make room for the Fantasyland® expansion. But don’t worry; Mickey and Minnie are rumored to be getting new houses near the front of the park.

The first phase of the Fantasyland expansion, which will include Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid attraction, the Fantasyland Forest, and Dumbo’s Circus is set to debut in the fall of 2012. Pixie Hollow will follow in 2013.  Now, with such exciting changes on the horizon, let Off to Neverland Travel® help you plan your next magical getaway!

*Images Walt Disney Imagineering Concept Art, actual construction may vary