Comments on: Magic Kingdom Fantasyland Expansion Plans Leaked

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:05:23 +0000

I think the addition to Fantasyland is brilliant. I have been going to Disney parks world-wide for over 40 years. In all that time, Disney has always been “right on” with their renovations and changes. The ONLY exception that I can think of is when they gutted “Journey Into Imagination” and started over with that Imagination Institute thing. Example: In 1986-1987, they completely renovated Fantasyland at Disneyland. It is simply SPECTACULAR. NO ONE said “Oh, I sure wish the old Fantasyland would come back.” From what I can tell, this will be “Meet and Greet” on steroids! There will be a kind of little “show” associated with each encounter, including little bits of MAGIC (Cinderella’s ragged dress changes to a ball gown before your very eyes, etc.) So friends, don’t get so anxious! There WILL be things for boys to do (Villians will roam the area, etc.) There will be no waiting in the hot sun.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:26:22 +0000

This is not a hoax and it is the real plan. It was announced at the D23 Expo on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo. This was reported in the Orlando Sentinal with this exact drawing and an artist’s rendering. So this is currently the plan they are going with.

Also let me say to a previous post that HP is NOT a rip-off of “the worst witch”. I’ve seen both and they are not related. I don’t even know why you could compare the two.

As for this plan of Fantasyland. I think of Walt was alive today he would probably not like all of the ideas. Since Eisner left it seems that Disney has started to go downhill. They need another visionary that’s going to take charge and try new radical things. This is not radical and looks more like an investors idea to capitalize on a quick fad. It’s like what they did with Pleasure Island. It was a place for young adults to enjoy a type of Disney magic that they ruined and closed down club by club. They need to change their ways from trying to capitalize on the kids and go back to a full FAMILY oriented vision for ALL kids age 1-99 just like Walt himself had in mind. And I’m sorry to say, but this new plan is NOT in line with that.

By: disneyfreak

disneyfreak — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:45:33 +0000

I’ve heard that the building should be finished by 2013.

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:01:26 +0000

Just got home from Disney tonight. My children are young so we spent much time in Fantasyland. We saw lots and lots of engineer types walking around, and architectural drawings being poured over, near Snow White’s ride. Looks like it isn’t a hoax. As for M&G — there is no doubt kids LOVE them. When I was a kid and you just had to happen upon a character if you were lucky — that was the saddest part of my trip — didn’t get to see enough characters and not the ones I wanted to see. Whether we want to spend time that way or not, meet and greets are important to the kids. An

By: Disney Vs. Universal – Round 1,642 | My Food Chain Gang

Disney Vs. Universal – Round 1,642 | My Food Chain Gang — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:26:28 +0000

[...] Fantasyland area, adding a Little Mermaid attraction, among other things. If the rumors on this blog are true, it seems to me like Universal is going to win this time. More meet-and-greet space at [...]

By: McDonald

McDonald — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:46:37 +0000

Keep in mind that Disney now owns all the Marvel characters. Tween boys and comic geeks rejoice!

By: Nefi Bernal

Nefi Bernal — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:52:46 +0000

It’s very exiciting that disney will have some new areas to look at for the next time I visit, however I do agree with all of the people who believe there needs to be more rides or attractions within this expansion. and as John mentioned on the last post, disney need to stay away from the thing which are found in every county fair around the country.

By: John Frost

John Frost — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:40:42 +0000

Ack. Just say no the the Ferris Wheel in the Magic Kingdom. For that matter, just say no to any attraction you can find at your local county fair. A vacation at the mouse is a chance to get away from all that stuff.

By: John Frost

John Frost — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:39:23 +0000

Not yet. Disney will often use different companies for different phases and areas of a project. But it’s probably a safe bet whomever it is, they’ll be hiring. So that’s good for Central Florida.

By: carla

carla — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:27:05 +0000

does anyone know what construction company may be doing the expansion??

By: Kalib

Kalib — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:37:16 +0000

Disney should look at adding more rides along with these new attractions. A huge ferris wheel in Dumbo’s new Circus area would be great. If they could also add a swinging pirate ship (like Davie Jones’ ship) in Adventure Land or other rides with these new plans, it could appeal to more younger boys as well. Magic Kingdom is long due for a complete over haul. I think they should review revising each Land, or at least clean it up a bit.

By: John Frost

John Frost — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:36:58 +0000

There are two ways to look at this. Either we’re getting a new Ariel attraction and Belle restaurant with a lot of stuff thrown in because they can… Or… we’re getting a highly themed Fantasyland Expansion that is the vision Disney has for the future of its parks.

By: Bob Wendt

Bob Wendt — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:31:47 +0000

More rides are needed. Disney needs to takes note of DisneySea in Tokyo. Talk about an imaginative park. Ariel’s Lagoon would be perfect for Fantasyland. Added attractions like Mysterious Island – Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20000 Leagues under the Sea. Could add to the park’s character. Additionally, an Indiana Jones Temple of Doom and a Pirate Land need to be added to Adventureland. Walt Disney was a man with a vision. He put it on the line and the result was people responded. Disney management needs to be dreamers, true imagineers. We need E attractions. We need to capture young men and girls, but also entertain the adults who grew up loving Disney.

By: John Frost

John Frost — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:15:54 +0000

I think they’ll definitely have to deal with the issue of where the Fab Five can be found. They’re essentially being evicted from the park.

By: AngryDisneyFan

AngryDisneyFan — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:40:00 +0000

Let me start: LunaFan, tell your daughter that Harry Potter is a rip off of “The Worst Witch”. Anyway, to the topic. This is truly, TRULY idiotic if they follow through. I mean…. ToonTown is one of the only places for M&G now of a non “oh look, we bumped into a character” type. They have completely girled up fantasy land with this. Pixie Hollow is horrible in all shapes and forms, and they are gonna compromise ToonTown for a fad of straight-to-DVD Disney flicks? Great planning. Why the Hel are they moving Dumbo and modernizing it? It’s great as is! The B&B restaurant is long overdue and I am glad to see that. As far as the Little Mermaid ride goes, that is a CLASSIC Disney flick that has always needed more then a stage show.

By: D23 Confirms Fantasyland Expansion Rumors — The Disney Blog

D23 Confirms Fantasyland Expansion Rumors — The Disney Blog — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:33:31 +0000

[...] from Jay Rasulo at the D23 Expo today. There’s some good detail of the plans at my previous post looking at the blueprints. Now we also have some gorgeous concept art to go with it. (click for larger [...]

By: mom of luna fan

mom of luna fan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:57:23 +0000

I am the mother of an 11 year old girl. She has zero interest in these plans , I have shown them to her and her comment is , “Harry Potter is way cooler than that. Princess stuff is for little kids.” She is absolutely hanging on the edge of her seat for wwohp as are her friends. I mention Disney to them just to guage reaction and it is “thats ok , but HP is gonna be off the chain”. These comments are coming from eleven year old girls that do beauty pageants as a hobby. I hope Disney does not go overboard with this because the girls love Potter too. There are plenty of female characters in HP for the girls to become just as obsessed with as boys and they do.They dont like the wizards of waverly place either, they call it a cheap HP ripoff, and they have read all seven of those huge books. I just thought I would share the reactions ive heard from real kids of the age group this is supposed to be appealing to.

By: TDC #65: A New Fantasyland? What About Boys? « Those Darn Cats

TDC #65: A New Fantasyland? What About Boys? « Those Darn Cats — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:13:40 +0000

[...] #65: A New Fantasyland? What About Boys? You’ve heard by now about the leaked Fantasyland expansion plans for Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, right? And so you’ve probably already heard the criticism that once again, Disney’s [...]

By: Blueprints for Magic Kingdom released « Theme Park Outsider

Blueprints for Magic Kingdom released « Theme Park Outsider — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:30:56 +0000

[...] More details at The Disney Blog. [...]

By: MagicGuy

MagicGuy — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:36:53 +0000

The Pooh Playground still exists on the blueprint as well… actually, if you look, the expansion takes place around the current fantasy land. I work at Disney and can bet they will build around fantasy land… keeping it open. They will build the second Dumbo in the new location… when everything begins to open, they will close the old dumbo and relocate it to the second location so it will never close. For all of you complaining about waiting in MG lines when you could be on rides… isn’t it all about making magic for your children? you’ll see more rides when they grow up. Let them enjoy it.