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Magic Kingdom New Fantasyland Update - Beast's Castle

Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Part 2 – New Fantasyland Progress

Update: Just added part three with a lot more from around the Magic Kingdom.

In part one of this week’s Magic Kingdom Photo Update we covered some of the latest details to show up in Storybook Circus. Now we’re venturing into the rest of the Fantasyland expansion project. It too is racing toward completion. Limited soft openings are already underway at the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction the more of the land could open by late October or early November. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is still on track for sometime in 2014, but they did lay the first track inside the ride this week. So that’s a step in the right direction for sure.

Starting with Beast’s castle they’ve re-installed scaffolding to erect the artificial trees that will go up at the top of that hill.

Magic Kingdom New Fantasyland Update - Beast's Castle

A peek through the wall gives us this great view of the menu podium and entrance sign for the Be Our Guest restaurant.

Magic Kingdom New Fantasyland Update - Be Our Guest

Read More »Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Part 2 – New Fantasyland Progress

Magic Kingdom Storybook Circus Update - Marquee

Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Part 1 – Storybook Circus Nears Finish

Workers are all over the Magic Kingdom working on projects large and small. Changes are coming at such a rapid pace these days, it’s hard to keep pace with what’s new. Still, I have to try. Some of these pictures are a few days old, but I think they’re exciting anyway, and if you haven’t seen them, they’re new to you, right?. I’ve got almost 50 photos to share in this week’s photo update. We’ll cover New Fantasyland, Rapunzel’s Village, Tinker bell and more!

Today we’re going to get started with some of the final touches coming to Storybook Circus as the land races closer to opening. Make sure you scroll down to the end for a special treat you won’t want to miss. (Note: you can click on the image to see it larger, but you’ll have to click on the link to the full size image on that page to see it in the largest size I uploaded.)

The new Marquee for Storybook Circus is almost done. Looks nice too. Not quite as elaborate as the original concept art showed, but it fits in well with the rest of the area.

Magic Kingdom Storybook Circus Update - Marquee

Magic Kingdom Storybook Circus Update - Marquee

Read More »Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Part 1 – Storybook Circus Nears Finish

New Fantasyland Time-Lapse Video: Watch Two New Castles and a Disney Mountain Rise

Disney’s Imagineers smartly keep a record of their projects, often documenting them with photos taken at regular intervals. As it turns out those make terrific time-lapse videos too. That is the case with the New Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom. Here is the latest… Read More »New Fantasyland Time-Lapse Video: Watch Two New Castles and a Disney Mountain Rise

Zooming in on Magic Kingdom Construction

One of the features I really like about my camera, a Canon SX30, is its 35x optical zoom. I had an occasion to put it to a test last week when we dined at California Grill. It was nearing dusk and a huge rainstorm had just added significant amounts of water to the area and sending steam into the air. After walking out to the edge of the viewing platforms outside the restaurant on top of the Contemporary Hotel, I was able to get these images.

First is an image of a Magic Kingdom set in a reflection of light upon the water. It looks so beautiful I had to share.

Magic Kingdom Ferry Sunset

On the other side of the water, the Grand Floridian DVC tower is coming together nicely.

Photos of New Fantasyland and more below the jump:

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Disney Blog Roundup

Long time readers of the blog will remember the regular Disney Blog news roundup feature. We took some time every week to share some of the best writing from across the Disney blogosphere with a wider audience. We’ll we’re bringing it back, at least as… Read More »Disney Blog Roundup

Magic Kingdom to Serve Adult Drinks Starting This Fall

Magic Kingdom Beer

Snuck in at the bottom of a blog post on the Disney Parks Blog is a huge piece of news. When the Beauty and the Beast themed Be Out Guest restaurant opens as part of the New Fantasyland expansion it will serve beer and wine as part of its dinner menu. Outside of private parties, this will be the first time alcohol has been served at the Magic Kingdom, breaking a tradition that goes back to an edict from Walt Disney himself.

Walt did not want adult beverages served at Disneyland. He didn’t think it belonged in a family theme park. He did allow beer at the Holidayland corporate party pavilion, but it was outside the berm. Even then, the park had repeated issues with guests leaving for lunch and then re-entering a few sheets to the wind. Before Walt died, he did approve alcohol sales at Club 33, but went pretty far to make it a private club where the day guest would not be able to get served a drink.

We know that Walt was still against general sales of alcohol in his parks because of his attempt to build a second theme park. After Disneyland was a success, Walt looked east for a great place to build another park. After a lot of research, Walt settled on St. Louis, but when city founders insisted that Walt allow Annheuser Busch to sell beer in the park, Walt declined to build there. Instead he headed south for a little crossroads he remembered from an earlier trip to Florida – Orlando.

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Today’s Moment of Zen: A Squirrel’s Life at Walt Disney World

Sometimes Disney Magic comes in odd doses. Remember Monorail Squirrel? The poor squirrel that found its way onto the monorail track only to be chased by a monorail all the way from the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom Monorail Station? It looks like Monorail… Read More »Today’s Moment of Zen: A Squirrel’s Life at Walt Disney World

Enchanted Tales With Belle In Limited Soft Opening

When the original Fantasyland Expansion was announced it was going to have not one, not two, but three next-generation princess encounters. Guests wouldn’t just line up to get a photo with their favorite Disney princess, they would enter their world and participate in the story in some way. When the decision was made to add a coaster to the mix, two of those encounters went away.

The one encounter that’s left is the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction. It takes place in Maurice’s Cottage, which sits in a lovely wooded setting, just like in Beauty and the Beast. Guests enter Maurice’s cottage and see some special family mementos, then enter the work shop where a magical moment happens. (I don’t want to give too much away. If you want to see it, there are a couple of walk-throughs on YouTube.)

At the end of last week, the Magic Kingdom started offering limited testing of the attraction. Guests are taken behind the construction walls in small groups and then allowed to enter Maurice’s cottage. I have yet to make it myself, but on Sept 8th Duy Truong (friend of The Disney Blog) was invited.

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