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Disneyland Fantasy Faire Models and a New Show for Both Coasts?

Disneyland has announced that the current Princess Fantasy Faire meet and greet, located in the Fantasyland theater location, will be closing August 12th. They also let it be known that the plan is to prep the theater to once again host a stage show and they’re promising a new concept in entertainment.

With papers filed for some construction on Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theater of the Stars, home to Beauty & The Beast stage show, many are wondering if Disney will be saving costs by building sets and costumes for two shows at the same time. Most speculation is centered on will it be for a past movie (many assume Tangled is the likely candidate) or another revue show (like Animazement). The theme park stage version of Beauty and the Beast didn’t debut until a year after the movie came out, so they’re not too far off that timeline with Tangled. But revue shows have a little bit for everyone… it’s a toss up.

As you know, Fantasyland will actually be expanding soon when the Fantasy Faire area opens up in the old Carnation Gardens location. The Princess Meet and Greets will move to this location, along with some entertainment offerings during the day and the return of swing dancing at night.

Walt Disney Imagineering has shared this photos of the models for Fantasy Faire. The large tent that will cover the dance floor reminds me quite a bit of the color scheme for the Prince Charming Carousel at the Magic Kingdom.

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Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station Imports Watery Fun to Storybook Circus

Casey Jr Splash 'N' Soak Station

The Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station has officially opened at the Magic Kingdom and with it arrived a circus of fun to Storybook Circus. The Water Play area contains playful camels (what is it with Imagineering and spitting camels?), monkeys, elephants and giraffes who splash along with guests. Joining Dumbo, the Flying Elephant and Barnstormer featuring Goofy as the Great Goofini in Storybook Circus, Casey Jr. is the most recent phase to open in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland expansion.

I got to spend a few minutes watching my son run through the area and was impressed with the variety of methods for getting wet while exploring Casey Jr. During the hot months it will provide a great way to cool down and during the cold months it will still make a wonderful photo opportunity. There is a big problem with a lack of shade between Casey Jr and the Storybook Circus bathrooms. With the sun beating down it was pretty hot even with the play zone just a few feet away.

The astute observer may have caught that each car has a number on its back. Those numbers, 71, 82, 89, and 98 stand for the opening years of the four Walt Disney World parks. I haven’t yet noticed any Hidden Mickeys, but I thought that was a great tribute.

More photos of the water play area below the jump

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Be Our Guest restaurant – Video of Inside the Ballroom

The Beauty and the Beast themed Be Our Guest restaurant promises to add a whole new dimension of immersive story telling as guests get the chance to be right in the memorable ballroom scene where Belle and the Beast danced together from the classic Disney animated film. Here’s a sneak peek inside the Be Our Guest ballroom with a look at the Chandeliers that will occupy much of the overhead space in the room.

The three chandeliers hang in the main dining room, the largest measuring twelve feet in length and eleven feet across with 80 lights and 100 large crystals. The two smaller chandeliers on each side measure 9.5 feet in length and eight feet across with 50 lights each. The trio of chandeliers are inspired by ones seen in the dining room in Beast’s Castle.

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New Fantasyland Expansion, Video Tour from Behind The Walls

Yesterday I had the great privilege to get a tour of the New Fantasyland expansion from Walt Disney Imagineer Chris Beatty. No photo or video was allowed on that tour, but Disney has made available the following two very recent videos from the construction site. Up first is an interview with Art Director Ted Robledo who talks about the project and what guests can expect when this exciting project is complete.

Below the jump is a more extensive look at the work being done, particularly around the Be Our Guest restaurant, Maurice’s Cottage, and The Little Mermaid attraction.

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New Fantasyland Time-Lapse Video

The kind souls at Walt Disney Imagineering were nice enough to share this time-lapse video of construction at New Fantasyland. The video runs through about March 23rd or so, so the latest construction on the Mine Train isn’t shown. But it is still an enjoyable… Read More »New Fantasyland Time-Lapse Video

Storybook Circus Soft Opening Update

Storybook Circus - New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
A new poster lays out current and future attractions, stores, and dining coming to Storybook Circus. I love that Humphrey the Bear is there. I wonder if he’s replaced The Three Little Pigs who were featured on previous posters.

Took a few days of vacation last week, but returned just in time for the Magic Kingdom to do a soft opening of the first small portion of the New Fantasyland expansion on Tuesday. Storybook Circus opened half of the relocated Dumbo – The Flying Elephant. The Barnstormer returned with its new Great Goofini theme, and the Fantasyland Train Station returned with new restrooms and a tribute to Walt’s past.

This portion of Storybook Circus was not supposed to open until March 24th or so. But hotel occupancy forecasts that revised the Spring Break crowd expectations upwards forced Disney to race ahead and open the attractions 12 days early. I must say that every cast member was up to the task and very helpful. Details are obviously still being worked out in a few places, but signs of fore-thought were abundant too. All in all a great effort and result from Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom.

There are so many great details, I took a ton of photos and still didn’t capture but a fraction. You may have already seen a few in my post made live from the park yesterday. I’m not sure how many parts this post will have, but I know it will be more than one. So let’s get to it.

Here is a sort of overview of what I saw today, we’ll come back in and fill in the gaps in future posts.

Storybook Circus - New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
The first sign guests got that today would be different, was a new guidemap with an old image of Dumbo on the cover.

Storybook Circus - New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Inside, the map reflects the soft opened area of the New Fantasyland expansion. They even show only one side of Dumbo being open. However, #35 has a caveat.

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Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Making Progress to New Fantasyland Opening (Part 2)

In part one of this week’s update we visited The Main Street Firehouse which has its firefighter badges back, Storybook Circus which is moving steadily toward a spring opening, and then the construction across from Peter Pan where new restrooms will go. We’ll pick up right there, remember the photos have larger versions if you click on them…


This brown wall is where a second access to Fantasyland will be located. I’m a bit unclear how traffic patterns are going to work in this area with the haunted mansion queue often taking up this whole space in the summer. But I’m sure they’ve thought of that… right?


That foliage clearing has made the pet cemetery decidedly less spooky.

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