New Fantasy Land @ WDW?

[RoccoP72]

Saw this over at Orlando Sentinel and thought I would copy & paste for all:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/.a/6a00d83451c3cb69e20115711e3b7e970c-800wi

Yes, the Internet is abuzz with the (alleged) blueprint for an expansion of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom (We first saw them at the Soft-Opening (http://softopening.blogspot.com/2009/07/soft-opening-has-secured-copy-of-magic.html) side of the Disney Report site.) Truth be told, it launched discussion here at Theme Park Rangers World Headquarters as well.
Whether this is approved or pie-in-blue-sky or jumping-off-spot or trial balloon or just plain (very elaborate) ruse, it's still fun to talk about. (Disney, for their part, as usual, doesn't officially comment on rumor or speculation. But lets!).
Blow up the image above and orient yourself. Cinderella Castle is not shown -- it would be off to the bottom-left, but the round thing in the corner is Cinderella's Carrousel. The round image center-bottom is Wild Tea Party, and you can see the Indy Race Car track to the right of that.
This graphic puts a New Fantasyland atop the old structure, moves a few things and prompts a bunch of questions. Here are a few things we tossed about:
+ What does this mean to Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toon Town? Homeless? How does Barnstormer fit into these plans?
+ The idea of Dueling Dumbo rides (upper right) is fun ... but why are two areas designated "DUMBO"?
+ Like much of Disney in the 21st century, it's princess-heavy, noting a Cinderella attraction, an Aurora attraction and big Little Mermaid attraction (dig that lower-intestine-style queue!).
+ We like the idea of a Be Our Guest restaurant, especially if it's decorated with dancing plates and utensils. But we don't believe for a second that Gaston's Tavern would serve anything stronger than root beer.
+ The area marked as "Castle Wall"? What the Tink? Hard to imagine separating the old homestead from Fantasyland, but maybe we're being too literal?
+ And what of the other current attractions such as "it's a small world" and Peter Pan? That feels a little Lower Fantasyland right now.
+ Reason to believe: something HAS to be in the works somewhere, right? At this point in time, there's no announced projects for any of the Disney World parks (we're not counting Space Mountain revamp until they're more specific). And there is the matter of a whole handful of Harry Potter scheduled to open next year at Universal's Islands of Adventure.
+ Reason to believe, part 2: Ranger Matt points out that it reminds one of the Disneyland Hong Kong style: lots of gardens to walk around in, lots of characters to meet.
+ But what would boys do back there?

Anyone think there is any truth to this or what?

[ghost1000]

Toontown is supposed to be demolished, and the Barnstormer is getting a Cheshire Cat theme. In fact, there's supposed to be a whole Alice section.

It's planned for the 40th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom, so everything should be in place by October 2011.

And it's been greenlit (according to a Cast Member I know).

And Stitch's Great Escape is going away, and the Tiki Room won't be under new management any more. It's going to get the Stitch theme from Tokyo Disneyland. And Aladdin's Flying Carpets are also going away (they're going to use the parts to build the dueling Dumbos).

[jrbdad]

This looks great!

[TimK]

I think it's definitely a Disney creation. If not, I'm sure Disney would have at least denied creating it rather than resorting to "no comment."

Whether or not it's the finished product is the real question. This could be just one of dozens of designs. Although I doubt they would have gone into such great detail for a pie-in-the-sky design. Initial concepts would have been outlined with much less detail.

Still until Disney announces it, I'll retain a little skepticism. This is a pretty significant investment and it addresses just one of the four theme parks. Epcot and DAK haven't opened a new attraction for 2+ years. Plus there are persistent rumors of the Monster's Inc coaster and Star Tours 2 at DHS.

MK could certainly use this enhancement so my fingers are crossed! :fingerscrossed:

[idratherbeinwdw]

Ohhhh please not more Stitch. :boohoohoo: It's bad enough they messed up the original Tiki Room.

But if Stitch's great escape goes away I will celebrate that. :)

It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

[DisneyGeek]

Toontown is supposed to be demolished, and the Barnstormer is getting a Cheshire Cat theme. In fact, there's supposed to be a whole Alice section.
...
And Stitch's Great Escape is going away, and the Tiki Room won't be under new management any more. It's going to get the Stitch theme from Tokyo Disneyland. And Aladdin's Flying Carpets are also going away (they're going to use the parts to build the dueling Dumbos).

Toontown wouldn't be a big loss to me, and the Chesire Cat could be cool. I LIKE Tiki Room UNM so that would be upsetting:boohoohoo:, but the only thing constant in life is change I suppose. SGE and AFC going bye-bye would be fine with me also.

I'm really interested in the possability of Star Tours 2. That would probably ROCK! :thumbsup2:

[MatterhornMiss]

I'm having a little trouble seeing how it would fit (size-wise) into the MK. I know there is currently a bunch of wasted space (IMO) on character meet and greet since they took 20,000 Leagues out (:boohoohoo:). And (even though I find it detestable, it is a classic) where is IASW?

If there really is going to be an overhaul of Fantasyland, I hope they will add more slow, dark rides like Snow White or Peter Pan (or like Alice in Wonderland at DLR).

[DisneyGeek]

And (even though I find it detestable, it is a classic) where is IASW?

I'm pretty sure it's a small world would be off the blueprint to the left. DW would be crushed if they took it out, she's loved it since her first Disney trip and we always try and ride it at least once for her!!!

[newjerseynick]

I'm pretty sure it's a small world would be off the blueprint to the left. DW would be crushed if they took it out, she's loved it since her first Disney trip and we always try and ride it at least once for her!!!

I think you are right, on the bottom left of the map is Pinochio's Village Haus,
and PPF is across from that. This is like Fantasyland Heights.

Nick

[ghost1000]

I'm having a little trouble seeing how it would fit (size-wise) into the MK.

Most of it will be built backstage.

[KNWVIKING 2.0]

They had better not do away with IASW.

That's my mid-morning/ mid afternoon 30 minute, sitting down,air conditioned siesta.

[Zach Skellington]

If you go to Google Earth it is easy to see where this will fit.

[djplong]

What about the other parks? Well, of course nothing is official - but if you keep an eye on screamscape.com (where the fantasyland stuff was also posted), you can get an idea. And a lot of these seem to be coalescing around the 2011-13 timeframe depending on budgets..

AK - Two words: Beastly Kingdom. Looks like the "E-ticket" ride will be "Journey to the center of the Earth" themed, using turbocharged Sinosaur//CTX/Indiana Jones ride technology.

DHS - More Pixar stuff, a Monsters Inc coaster being the most talked about.

Epcot - there's currently an argument going on between imagineers who want to upgrade the World Showcase with more attractions and beancounters who are happy to think of it as nothing more than a shopping mall with nice restaurants.

[Colorado Belle]

All II can say is that I'm glad Stitch will be gone, but can they bring the alien back cuz I kinda liked the ride then.


I guess the dueling dumbos are cuz of the long lines. Never road the carpet ride...can't do circles anymore. Guess I'll be forced into doing the tiki room next trip...just to say goodby; but frankly havent' done it in a couple decades or so.

I don't think anything Disney does will take thunder awary from HP at US. I just hope US does justice to it...and I already have my tickets thank you very much!

[TimK]

What about the other parks? Well, of course nothing is official - but if you keep an eye on screamscape.com (where the fantasyland stuff was also posted), you can get an idea. And a lot of these seem to be coalescing around the 2011-13 timeframe depending on budgets..

AK - Two words: Beastly Kingdom. Looks like the "E-ticket" ride will be "Journey to the center of the Earth" themed, using turbocharged Sinosaur//CTX/Indiana Jones ride technology.

DHS - More Pixar stuff, a Monsters Inc coaster being the most talked about.

Epcot - there's currently an argument going on between imagineers who want to upgrade the World Showcase with more attractions and beancounters who are happy to think of it as nothing more than a shopping mall with nice restaurants.

Take some of that with a grain of salt. Most of those rumors have been swirling around for years. Beastly Kingdom dates back to the park's inception over 10 years ago, and every 6-12 months the rumors flare up once again.

I'm cautiously optimistic since Disney doesn't have anything in the pipeline now (aside from Space Mtn and TTA.) But we'll see what finally gets announced out of all these rumors. :fingerscrossed:


I don't think anything Disney does will take thunder awary from HP at US.

I'm starting to think that may be why Disney has waited to announce its future plans. Many of us expected Disney to unveil some major project to compete with HP. But now that I think about it, there really isn't anything Disney could do to discourage people from giving HP a look.

In retrospect it may make more sense to plan major upgrades for the years immediately following HP's opening to help discourage the repeat business. After visiting HP in 2010 or 2011, Disney wants to regain the focus in '12 and '13 with their own new offerings.

[DisneyGeek]

(aside from Space Mtn and TTA.)

I LOVE TTA; what are they doing to it?



In retrospect it may make more sense to plan major upgrades for the years immediately following HP's opening to help discourage the repeat business. After visiting HP in 2010 or 2011, Disney wants to regain the focus in '12 and '13 with their own new offerings.

That would seem to make sense.

[TimK]

I LOVE TTA; what are they doing to it?

Nothing major...mostly just sprucing up while Space Mountain is getting the big overhaul. New lighting, paint, that sort of thing.

BTW, the official Disney website is showing Donald's Boat as being down for refurb from September 4 - 13, 2009. That doesn't seem to bode well for the radical expansion of Fantasyland. :( Not much need to rehab that waste of space if it's scheduled to be bulldozed in a few months.

[donald is #1]

Hmmm, all these possibilities would be very interesting (esp, Star Tours 2.0). I won't hold my breathe waiting for them, but I would love to see it.

[MatterhornMiss]

What do HP and US stand for? Hewlett Packard? United States? Hollywood Planet? Ultrasound?

[ffpmme]

What do HP and US stand for? Hewlett Packard? United States? Hollywood Planet? Ultrasound?

HP= Harry Potter and US= the dark side (Universal Studios)

US is building a Harry Potter Park or section, I am not sure.

I am looking forward to seeing it. :covermouth: :blech:

[RoccoP72]

If this is ends up being true, I just hope that the Be Our Guest Restaurant will be a standard table service. I just feel that the MK is short on Table Service restaurants and the addition of atleast 1 or 2 new restaurants would make me happy :D

[ffpmme]

You are so right. I would love a newe table service @ MK!!!!

[TimK]

Alain Littaye has posted a roundup of the attractions planned for the next 3+ years in his blog here:

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/08/looking-towards-future.html

(BTW, I bought Alain's Disneyland Paris book a couple years ago and it is excellent!)

I got the link from Honor Hunter's Blue Sky Disney (http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/)blog and he concurs with pretty much everything Alain listed. Both have proven to be quite accurate in reporting this sort of info.

The good news is that the Fantasyland refurb and Star Tours 2 :yahoo: appear to be legit. Elsewhere I've also heard that both projects (and stuff for other Disney parks) will be announced at the D23 expo next month.

The bad news is that there's apparently nothing on the horizon for Epcot or DAK, the Monster's Inc coaster (DHS) has reportedly been shelved, and none of this new stuff will begin to open for at least 2 years.

Hopefully Fantasyland and ST2 will be real home runs. WDW seems to be settling for singles and doubles lately rather than really swinging for the fences (Nemo attraction, 3 Caballeros, American Idol, Innoventions stuff, etc.) If they are looking at 2+ years with nothing major added to the parks, this stuff better knock our socks off. :angry:

[MatterhornMiss]

:blech: Gag me out the door. I didn't realize that all those princess areas were just MEET AND GREETS! Ugh. I want more rides--especially if they are removing attractions to put this crap--I mean stuff--in. :mad:

[TimK]

:blech: Gag me out the door. I didn't realize that all those princess areas were just MEET AND GREETS! Ugh. I want more rides--especially if they are removing attractions to put this crap--I mean stuff--in. :mad:

I'm not entirely sure on that. The map on page one clearly says "Attraction" for the Belle, Cinderella and Aurora areas. Don't know if Meet-and-greet = Attraction in Disney lingo or if there will actually be more to it. :confused24:

If you look at the Cinderella area, you should be able to make out the "Y" shaped layout of the building. Looks like everyone enters thru the same place and then there are identical rooms to the left and right. Given the size and layout of those rooms, I had thought perhaps they were dual theaters for something along the lines of Turtle Talk. But they could just be two meet-and-greet rooms (kinda like how they have multiple Mickey's in Toon Town now.)

Guess we'll have to wait for details to know for sure. :goodvibes:

But again if this plan is correct, there really aren't any attractions being lost to build this. (Unless you consider Mickey & Minnie's houses an attraction.) Most of the land is north of where Dumbo and Ariel's Grotto are currently located.

At the very least we would be gaining the Little Mermaid dark ride, doubling the capacity of Dumbo, new Pixies playground and Belle/Gaston restaurant. The only losses are the two houses, Donald's boat (waste of space) the Toontown meet and greet areas and that dinky playground currently in TT.

[KNWVIKING 2.0]

The only part of Toon Town worth keeping is Pete's Bumper Crop.

[MatterhornMiss]

I'm not entirely sure on that. The map on page one clearly says "Attraction" for the Belle, Cinderella and Aurora areas. Don't know if Meet-and-greet = Attraction in Disney lingo or if there will actually be more to it. :confused24:

If you look at the Cinderella area, you should be able to make out the "Y" shaped layout of the building. Looks like everyone enters thru the same place and then there are identical rooms to the left and right. Given the size and layout of those rooms, I had thought perhaps they were dual theaters for something along the lines of Turtle Talk. But they could just be two meet-and-greet rooms (kinda like how they have multiple Mickey's in Toon Town now.)

Guess we'll have to wait for details to know for sure. :goodvibes:

But again if this plan is correct, there really aren't any attractions being lost to build this. (Unless you consider Mickey & Minnie's houses an attraction.) Most of the land is north of where Dumbo and Ariel's Grotto are currently located.

At the very least we would be gaining the Little Mermaid dark ride, doubling the capacity of Dumbo, new Pixies playground and Belle/Gaston restaurant. The only losses are the two houses, Donald's boat (waste of space) the Toontown meet and greet areas and that dinky playground currently in TT.

I had noticed the "attraction" on the sketch, but was disheartened by the reference only to meet and greets in the article posted.

Mickey's Toontown (or whatever it is called at WDW) at least has the kiddie roller coaster. . .

[ghost1000]

Goofy's Barnstormer is supposed to get a Cheshire Cat themeing with the new Fantasyland.

[MatterhornMiss]

:scratchchin: Hmm. That wouldn't be too bad. . .