Fantasyland

Fantasyland is the land that comes to most people's minds when you say Disney. Here Disney movies come to life. From the classic Peter Pan attractions to the more modern Winnie the Pooh (which replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the late 90s). You can find the ever popular Its a Small World and Dumbo here too. Many of these attractions are almost copies of their Disneyland counterparts.

Fantasyland underwent a large addition/update. The first phase of the expansion called Storybook Circus soft opened on 3/12/12 and included the Barnstormer, half of the new Dumbo, and the new Train Station/Restrooms. In summer 2012 Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station as well as the second half of Dumbo opened. In October 2012 Pete's Silly Sideshow and the gift shop opened followed by soft openings of Belle's, Gaston's, and Little Mermaid. The official opening of the New Fantasyland was December 6, 2012. The remaining portions will open in 2013 and the final phase in 2014.

 
Geek's Thoughts & Suggestions

I have yet to experience the full "New Fantasyland" so I am going to without comment till I do.

Original thoughts:
If you have young kids you will definitely want to go to Fantasyland as early in day as possible to try to avoid the lines. It is really a pain to wait in a 45 minute line for a less than 2 minute ride. Even slower moving is the endless Dumbo line at times. If you do not have little kids usually in the very late evening the lines are much more manageable..

** A Warning to the weak of mind, once you go on It's a Small World that song will be in your mind for a while (which really isn't too bad of a thing, LazyGeek says it is though) **



Geek's First Impressions of Storybook Circus (4/2012)

In April 2012 I was able to experience the first phase of the new Fantasyland. The area is called Storybook Circus and encompases the far north/east portion of Fantasyland. It includes the Barnstormer, Railroad station, and half of Dumbo. As I walked around this tiny portion of the expansion project I could not help but to be impressed. The Imagineers are laying quite a bit of detail, story, and creativity into the expansion. This is a solid first step and I cannot wait to see the future portions come on line. By the time the mine coaster comes online in 2014 the experience of visiting Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom will be completely transformed and if early indications are anything will be incredible.
Geek's First Impressions on the "New Fantasyland" (5/2013)
  • I entered the queue for Enchanted Tales with Belle and waited about 10 minutes from when I entered the queue till I was in the room with the magic mirror/gateway to the Castle. I could see how this line would move extremely slowly later in the day. The queue itself was extremely well done, as was the rest of the new sections. All the trees, rock work, stones, streams, etc.. look great! I would have liked to have been able to move around the workshop a bit more. It turned out to be more of a queue than a room to explore so taking pictures without annoying those around me was a bit of a challenge.
  • The effect of the magic mirror/portal to the castle was great! The video and pictures and I have seen showcase it well but being there and watching it happen was very well done. I found the experience to be a little hard to classify. It is more involved than your classic meet and greet but not quite a full fledged show either due to how brief it is. I thought it worked really well and the children in the session I attended all seemed to be having a great time as were their parents watching them interact with Belle and play their parts.
  • As I was roaming around taking pictures outside Be Our Guest I noticed the door was open and turns out they were allowing you into the entrance area to take pictures of the Ball Room. So I was able to get some pictures with no one inside. So keep that in mind if you are interested in seeing what is inside without eating, check by early in the morning. They start serving lunch at 10:30am. As I was leaving the area around 9:00am the first guest was asking to line up for lunch already! She said she had tried to get in the past several days and it was her last day so she was getting in line early.
  • We stopped by later in the morning around 11:00am and waited about 20 minutes to enter and order our lunch. Around our table we ended up sampling most of the entrees on the menu. The general consensus was the food was good. Some of the dishes were a little on the salty side, but that could be our California taste buds too. The touch screen ordering process went very smoothly and there were enough options to get food plain, etc.. The food arrived at our table about 10 minutes after ordering so it was fairly efficient too. For those not familiar with how it works. For lunch Be Our Guest is quick service dinning. You enter and go to a touch screen kiosk to order your food and pay. You are issued a red RFID puck that is used by the wait staff to locate you and bring your food to you in the dining room of your choice. You can choose to eat in the main Ball Room, the dark West Wing, or a room I called the Music Box room.

  • Walked by the new Tangled restroom area in Fantasyland. I know many have made fun of how the opening of this area was covered by the Orlando websites.. more pictures, video, etc.. of a bathroom than ever before... but it is impressive. The area is very very well done and works nicely to bookend Fantasyland. Now the question is when are they going to get the budget to update the rest of Fantasyland to match this and the new sections? It really shows you how poor the rest of it is.
  • I returned to the new portion of Fantasyland after lunch and walked through Gastons and out by the Little Mermaid attraction to finish my tour of the new area. I thought everything was great even with the center section being an active construction site (for the Dwarfs Mine Coaster that opens next year). The amount of detail that is present as you walk around and explore Gastons, the restrooms, and Village gifts is great. The area is small but it seemed to work and not feel over crowded.
  • Made our way back out to Fantasyland and grabbed Fastpasses for the Little Mermaid. First it is really awkward to have them by Philharmagic. Secondly thought it was a little poor they are generic tickets. And lastly still do not see the need for it. The line moves rather quickly at DCA with no Fastpass.
  • We walked out to the attraction and wait time was posted at 20 min, but it turned out to be a walk on. The queue itself is very impressive with the rock work and waterfalls. Also the interactive Scuttles Scavenger Hunt in the queue was fun to play. I actually went around twice just so I could try it out a little more.
  • The attraction itself is the same as its Anaheim cousin. I thought the clams rotated a bit more at the end to make Ursula a little more visible in the next to last scene.. I need to re-ride Anaheim to confirm... Also there is no Mr. Limpet here.
  • After dark I roamed around the new area and thought it looked ok. Nothing jumped out at me as too amazing.. but then again maybe I was just tired by this point
Attractions
Current Attractions: Current Entertainment:
  • Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire (Castle Forecourt Stage) (Opened: Jun 17, 2016)
Retired Attractions:
  • Legend of the Lion King Fantasyland Theater (Jul 08, 1994 - Feb 23, 2002)
  • Skyway to Tomorrowland (Oct 01, 1971 - Nov 09, 1999)
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage (Oct 14, 1971 - Sep 05, 1994)
  • Magic Journeys Fantasyland Theater (Dec 15, 1987 - Dec 01, 1993)
  • The Mickey Mouse Revue Fantasyland Theater (Oct 01, 1971 - Sep 14, 1980)

 

Retired Entertainment:
  • Dream Along With Mickey (Castle Forecourt Stage) (Sep 30, 2006 - Apr 02, 2016)
  • Cinderellabration (Castle Forecourt Stage) (May 05, 2005 - Aug 16, 2006)
  • Cinderella's Surprise Celebration (Castle Forecourt Stage) (Oct 01, 2001 - Feb 23, 2005)
  • Disneymania (Castle Forecourt Stage) (August 1992 - August 2001 anyone know the actual dates) (Aug 01, 1992 - Aug 01, 2001)
Dining Options
  • Cinderella's Royal Table
  • The Pinocchio Village Haus
  • Be Our Guest Restaurant (Opened 12/6/12)
  • Gaston’s Tavern(Opened 12/6/12)
  • Prince Eric's Vilalge Market
  • Cheshire Cafe
  • Storybook Treats
  • The Friar's Nook
Quick Facts
  • Cinderella Castle 189 feet tall
  • The Disney family crest is located in King Stefan's banquet hall on the fireplace
  • The horses on Cinderalle's Golden Carrousel are polished and cleaned every night , the carousel was renamed in 2010
  • A Dumbo elephant was sold for $35,000 at a 1995 convention
  • There are 257 dolls in "It's a Small World"
  • Closed & Removed Attractions
    • Fantasyland Character Festival (Closed in 2004)
    • Legend of the Lion King (Closed 2002)
    • Mr. Toad's Wild Ride(Closed in late 90s I think)
    • Skyway to Tomorrowland (Closed ??)
    • The Mickey Mouse Revue
    • Magic Journeys
    • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
    • Snow White's Scary Adventures (5/2012)
Related Disney News Releases
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