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Magic Kingdom Update – New Fantasyland and more

Time marches on and summer is almost here. That means it’s time for another photo update from the Magic Kingdom. Disney continues making real progress toward opening the rest of Storybook Circus and, hopefully, parts of Fairytale Forest (of whatever they’re calling the new section these days).

It’s a long update today, so let’s get right to it, then, shall we. The Bakery facade remains shrouded along with two buildings in Town Square. I’m glad they’re doing the facade refurbishments, but it has been taking a long time.

Rapunzel is now doing meet & greets next to Town Hall. Her old place near Fantasyland is being converted for the Scottish Princess Merida. I think they should have had a cage match with the winner earning the best location.

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Disney Searches for Scot to Play Merida in Parks

As you might expect Disney is searching overseas for a few red-haired Scottish lasses to play Princess Merida from the upcoming Pixar animated film Brave. According to a story in the Daily Record, the ideal candidate would be someone who is bilingual (Gaelic and English),… Read More »Disney Searches for Scot to Play Merida in Parks

What should happen next at Downtown Disney Orlando?

Okay. Pleasure Island as it once was is long gone. These days the signs remain but the entertainment experience is completely different. For a while it looked like we’d get Hyperion Wharf (a name I like, but am not sure it was right for at… Read More »What should happen next at Downtown Disney Orlando?

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Photo Update

If I had to rank the four Walt Disney World parks just in frequency of my visits, Disney’s Hollywood Studios would place third. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being in the park, it’s just that the things I do enjoy always sends me walking from one side of the park to the other based on the show schedule, fastpass availability, and availability of decent counter service with air-conditioned seating. The haphazard nature of DHS’s pathways are an artifact of its status as a working studio during its initial years. But this park is top of my list for a drastic new series of placemaking.

Alas, my armchair Imagineering will have to wait for another day, today I have a photo update capturing a few of the changes since my last visit.

We’ll start our tour at The Magic of Disney Animation, which now features this Campus Map. Note how it shows that guests can now skip the movie to get into the main building. It also specifically lists the characters inside by name. So it looks like it will be a while before we see a replacement for Winnie The Pooh. Important to note if an autograph with Winnie the Pooh is a must. You can avoid the crowds at the Magic Kingdom and get it at DHS.

The biggest change inside the Magic of Disney Animation was the updated Animation Gallery. A new exhibit called ‘Setting the Scene’ has been installed. You can still see some of the Academy Awards Disney has won, but everything else is changed.

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Disney World Merchandise Roundup

Yesterday we shared a new kitchenware and dish set for sale at Walt Disney World, but that isn’t the only bit of new merchandise to show up at the parks. Here are a few more things that caught my eye as I wandered around the parks.

Of late, Disney has been making easy to find the new stuff by grouping it together with other ‘New Arrivals.’

I’m seeing a lot more clothing where the Mickey Mouse element is woven into the pattern. Let’s you were your Mickey clothing without having to have a cartoon on your shirt. I like that idea.

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Worst Disney Attraction Ever

Despite creating the genre and 57 years of experience in the theme park industry, The Walt Disney Company has not hit every attraction out of the park. In fact, some were complete strikeouts. Here are a few of my nominees for the worst Disney Attraction… Read More »Worst Disney Attraction Ever

Exotic Driving Experience Schedules VIP Day with Christian Fittipaldi

With Father’s Day on the horizon, a son could make his race fan father very happy with a gift of a VIP Day with former Formula One driver Christian Fittipaldi at the Exotic Driving Experience (EDE) on the Walt Disney World Speedway. Exotic Driving Experience, which opened in January, offers customers the chance to climb behind the wheel and drive exotic supercars on a real racetrack.

The Disney Blog had the honor of completing a ride-along with Fittipaldi at the wheel and it was quite the experience. Today, EDE announced a new offering, VIP Day with Christian Fittipaldi. Here’s a video of our ride along with Fittipaldi at the wheel.

EDE has partnered with the renowned international driver to offer an exclusive exotic car driving program this summer. Limited to only 24 participants, this is truly the ultimate driving event for supercar enthusiasts.

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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