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Fantasyland Expansion

Final Countdown To New Fantasyland

We are just 6 days away from the highly anticipated Grand Opening of the Newย Fantasylandยฎ Area in theย Magic Kingdomยฎ Park. Officially opening on Thursday, Dec. 6th to park guests is the Enchanted Forest, consisting ofย Under the Sea~Journey of the Little Mermaid,ย Enchanted Tales with Belle,ย Ariel’s Grotto, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Gaston’s Tavern.ย Storybook Circus, also part of theย Newย Fantasylandยฎ expansion, previously opened to guests.ย Future additions to New Fantasylandยฎย includeย Princess Fairytale Hall(2013) andย Seven Dwarfs Mine Trainย (2014).

We thought that someย Newย Fantasylandยฎ Fun Facts would be a great way help pass these few remaining days!

  • Originally 10 acres, the Newย Fantasylandย expansion doubles the size to 21 acres!
  • Inside the Library atย Enchanted Tales with Belle,ย guests will find over 12,000 “books.”
  • Beastโ€™s Castleย contains 115 windows.
  • The design teams called the lion-like figures flanking the door at the entrance toย Be Our Guest Restaurantย โ€œgolions,โ€ a combination of goat and lion. The figures above the entrance doors, eagles with snake tails, were called โ€œsneagles.โ€
  • Be Our Guest Restaurant’sย centerpiece chandelier measures more than 12 feet tall and 11 feet wide. It boasts more than 84 candles and more than 100 jewels that hang down to give it added shine.
  • As a way to identify them, the six stone figures on the bridge leading toย Be Our Guest Restaurantย were all given the name โ€œFrankโ€ during the design phase.
  • At the Magic Kingdomยฎ Park, Disneylandยฎ Paris, Hong Kong Disneylandยฎ, and at the Disneylandยฎ Resort, Timothy Mouse carries a magic feather atop theย Dumboย attraction. At Tokyo Disneylandยฎ, he holds a circus whip.
  • Talk about authenticity! The music heard from the old fashioned calliope in the front ofย Peteโ€™s Silly Sideshowย was recorded from a set of antique circus crank organs owned by a collector in Southern California.
  • Of the 183 characters inย Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid,ย more than 70 percent (128, to be exact) are featured in the โ€œUnder the Seaโ€ scene.
  • Theย Audio-Animatronicsยฎย figure of the sea witch Ursula is 7 1/2-feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Photos: A Look Inside Magic Kingdomยฎ Park’s Enchanted Forest

Guests who visited theย Magic Kingdomยฎ Park this past weekend received an extra surprise when they were treated to a “dressย rehearsal” for the Enchanted Forest of theย Newย Fantasylandยฎ Area. Guests were able to experience theย Under the Sea~Journey of the Little Mermaid Attraction, take part inย Enchanted Tales with Belle,ย and meet and greet everyone’s favorite mermaid insideย Ariel’s Grotto.ย Althoughย Be Our Guest Restaurantย wasn’t serving food, guests were permitted to go inside and look around.

Whileย Enchanted Forestย remained open all weekend long, it is unclear how often these “Dressย Rehearsals” will happen between now and the scheduled soft opening date on Nov. 19. Special previews will be held starting Oct. 20 – Nov. 11 for registered parties of select groups, including Cast Members, Annual Passholders, D23 Members, and DVC Members.

Photos: Step Inside Peteโ€™s Silly Sideshow

Peteโ€™s Silly Sideshow, the new meet and greet area inside Storybook Circus atย Magic Kingdomยฎ Park welcomed its first guests yesterday. Inside, guests can choose to take one of two paths. The first will lead them toย The Astounding Donaldo, the most charming of snake charmers, andย The Great Goofini, circus stuntman extraordinaire. On the second path you will find Madame Daisy Fortuna, a mysterious gypsy fortuneteller, and the Parisian poodle trainer, Minnie Magnifique!

Take a peek inside the circus sideshow!

Photos: Castle Walls Emerge In New Fantasylandยฎ Expansion

Construction walls have come down around a section of the castle walls that will be part of the Newย Fantasylandยฎ at Magic Kingdomยฎย Park. Guests will be amazed at the amount of detail that they will see in the wall and the sections that are still to come.

Click the images in the gallery below to enlarge:

The grand opening of the Enchanted Forest section of theย Newย Fantasylandยฎย is set for Dec. 6, 2012, with limited previews of the area starting Nov. 19, 2012.

Magic Kingdomยฎ Park’s Be Our Guest Menu To Feature Wine & Beer

Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort recently announced that beer and wine will be included on the dinner menuย when theย Be Our Guestย Restaurantย opens on November 19th.

โ€œAs part of the overall theming, we wanted to offer wine that enhances the guest experience and complements the French-inspired cuisine. The wines focus primarily on Franceโ€™s famous wine-growing regions, including Champagne, Alsace, Loire, Rhone, Burgundy and Bordeaux.” –ย Stuart McGuire, Beverage Director, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

The restaurant will also offer the leading French beer, Kronenbourg 1664, and various Belgian beers from that same themed area.

Longtime Disney Chef Roland Muller, a native of Alsace, France, has lead a team ofย Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort’s Culinary Cast Members in creating the lunch and dinner menus for the restaurant. After more than three years of work, they are sure that guests will be happy with the selection.ย See a full listing of menu options here.

Enjoy this preview of some of the dishes you can expect fromย Be Our Guest Restaurantย when it opens in just a few short months!

Artist Rendering of Ariel’s Grotto Released

Theย Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort has released an artist rendering ofย Ariel’s Grotto, a new meet and greet location that will be part of the New Fantasylandยฎ Expansion.

ย Ariel’s Grotto will be located near theย Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid Attraction,ย but will be a separate experience. When Ariel moves to her new location, she will meet her guests in mermaid form. The new Grotto location will officially open Dec. 6, but a preview period will start Nov. 19, 2012.

 

All images are artist renderings. Actual construction may vary.

Video: Sneak Peek of ‘Enchanted Tales With Belle’

We’ve already seen how many details the Imagineers are including in Newย Fantasylandยฎ Area in theย Magic Kingdomยฎ Park! There truly is no inch of this expansion that wasn’t well planned with creativity and innovation.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is no exception. Imagineers wanted this experience to be more than a meet and greet – something that every guest would remember, regardless of their age or interest in Disney Princesses.

The Enchanted Tales with Belle experience begins inside Maurice’s cottage, Belle’s childhood home, and ends inside the library at Beast’s Castle.

You’re going to love this experience! Enjoy as this two-part video asย Imagineers Chris Beatty, Chris Kelly and Ted Robledo explain how this “tale as old as time” will be brought to life – with you as a star! Parents: You may want to keep these videos to yourself and save the MAGIC for the little ones to experience in person!

The Enchanted Forest portion of theย Newย Fantasylandยฎ Area in theย Magic Kingdomยฎ Park will open Dec. 6, 2012 with limited previews beginning Nov. 19.

Contact your Magic Makerยฎ today and ask how you can experience theย Newย Fantasylandยฎ expansion at a discounted price!

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‘Be Our Guest Restaurant’ Reservation Information

Finally, the date we have all been waiting for!

The newย Be Our Guest Restaurant atย Magic Kingdomยฎย Park will begin taking advanced dining reservations for their dinner service on Monday, Aug. 20th at 7a. The first dinner service will be on Mon. Nov. 19th. All advanced dining reservations will require a credit card guarantee and guests who do not cancel at least one day in advance will be charged a $10 per person cancellation fee.

Be Our Guest Restaurantย is part of the New Fantasylandยฎ expansion in theย Magic Kingdomยฎย Park. Located belowย Beastโ€™s castle, guests will be transported into the magical world of Beauty and the Beast.ย The restaurant features three themed dining rooms: the mysteriousย West Wingย with the โ€œenchanted rose;โ€ theย Rose Galleryย with twirling, larger-than-life figures of Belle and Beast; andย The Ballroomย with elegant details, such as a domed ceiling, twinkling chandeliers and glimpses of softly falling snow outside.

Lunch is quick-service (no reservations required) and will be delivered to your table after you have ordered from a self service kiosk while Dinner is a traditional table service meal. They will be offering a fun French-inspired menu which we reported on earlier this summer.ย Be Our Guest Restaurantย will be a participating on the Disney Dining Plan. Lunch will be considered (1) Counter Service credit and Dinner will be (1) Table service credit.

If you haven’t discussed theย Be Our Guest Restaurantย with your Magic Makerยฎ yet, be sure to contact them quickly!ย Be Our Guest Restaurantย is expected to be very popular and advance dining reservations for the location will be extremely difficult to secure for the upcoming months.

Grand Opening of New Fantasylandยฎ Slated for Dec. 6th

We are so excited to share a very special date with you!

The grand opening of ย the New Fantasylandยฎย at Magic Kingdomยฎย will take place on Dec. 6, 2012. Attractions included in this phase of opening are:

  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
  • Enchanted Tales with Belleย 
  • Arielโ€™s Grotto
  • Be Our Guest Restaurantย 
  • Gastonโ€™s Tavernย 
  • Bonjour! Village Gifts.

Limited previews of the attractions will begin Nov. 19. Additional phases of theย New Fantasylandยฎย opening includeย Princess Fairytale Hall in 2013 and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Trainย in 2014.

Peteโ€™s Silly Sideshow Coming To Storybook Circus

Our guests who have been fortunate enough to visit the Storybook Circus section of the Newย Fantasylandยฎ area have no doubt been amazed at the new additions to the Magic Kingdomยฎ.ย But while touring the area, it is hard to not notice that the Storybook Circus area is still not completely open. Details on 2 of those unfinished locations were just released today.

One of the big-top tents will house Pete’s Silly Sideshow. Inside, guests will have the opportunity to meet some of their favorite Disney characters who secretly have some circus-like special talents! The other tent will beย Big Top Souvenirs.

Here’s a first look inside Pete’s Silly Sideshow:

An opening date for Pete’s Silly Sideshow has yet to be announced. Once opened, Mickey will continue to greet his guests inside his current location at Town Square Theater onย Main Street, U.S.A.ยฎ.

All images are Walt Disney Imagineer Concept artwork. Actual construction and design may vary. All entertainment is subject to change.

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