Future Plans For WDW's Fantasyland

[MichaeLeah]

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted a comment in here for over a year (maybe a few years) but I couldn't resist the temptation to come in and read your commments about and contribute to this conversation about the enlarging of Fantasyland. I first learned about it when I looked at the newspaper yesterday and I spent hours yesterday online looking at the blueprints and concept art.

I think these changes will bring wonderful aesthetical value to Fantasyland. I anticipate we will all be blown away. I am not that enthused about princess meet and greets (although maybe that will change as we have a daughter on the way) but I don't think that really matters. These changes are so beautiful that I think it will be thrilling just to walk around this area. The atmosphere is so improved. I think we need to give these meet and greets a chance, though. I think the Imagineers have developed a new interactive way to meet the characters. For example, we are supposed to get to see Cinderella magically change from rags to her gown. That would be cool (hope they practice alot before they start doing that or Fantasyland is going to end up being an adult section! hahaha). I am not into interactive stuff at the parks, but the kids are (I think). And all these attractions are sure to spread people out and shorten the lines in Fantasyland. Good grief--there will be so many attractions there now that you could spend the whole day in Fantasyland alone.

I want to contibue an artistic comment that I am not sure if many people noticed. The original idea with Fantasyland is that the entire area is the courtyard of Cinderella's Castle. That is why you can see bits of the castle wall around the whole area. I was very confused when I saw the new castle walls in the new plans for Fantasyland. What were they changing? Why wasn't all of Fantasyland part of the courtyard anymore? Well, I think I figured it out. The area has been changed so that now only the carousel area is still the courtyard--as is Peter Pan and It's A Small World. But then you leave the courtyard to go to the French countryside (or towns or whatever). That is where you find the house were Cinderella grew up. You can reach Belle's village and Beast's castle. I was looking at The Little Mermaid again last night and I think it takes place in south France along the Mediterranean coast. So most of Fantasyland is French. Of course the outskirts have different theming (Dumbo).

The ride capacity increase for Dumbo was desperately needed. People wait an hour for that 90 second ride.

There is my two cents....that and five bucs will get you a coffee at Starbucks.

[blackcauldron85]

we have a daughter on the way

Congratulations!!!!!

[Jack Skellington]

we have a daughter on the way

Congratulations!!!!!

Ditto !!

BTW thanks for the video guys, so the Beast's castle looks small coz it's supposed to look really far away, that's smart but I hope it looks believable.

[Want2beBelle]

Here is a video of the announcement:

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A lot more artwork is shown here than what was released. I will stick with my previous assessment, all style and no substance. Beautiful theming that will surly drop some jaws but nothing more than little meet and greet activities for kids. The Dumbo idea still seems dumb.

Thanks for the video, it looks great, but as most have said its an extension of meet and greet, but i'm so excited for b&tb area, this also opens up new places for brides to get married cause brides now marry where cinderella's castle is at, now they have more options. Does anyone know how many castles will be their? Also, y cinderella needs another area, they should've had snow white, cinderella has a whole castle already... Even though i luv her it doesn't seem fair...

[blackcauldron85]

I'm just now watching the video. My thoughts:

lol at everyone kind of stopping being excited when he mentions princesses.

Cool that people ooohed when Aurora was on screen.

Why would we visit with Cinderella and her stepfamily if she lives in the castle with Prince Charming? I mean, I've met the Tremaines at WDW before, so I guess Cindy could've let them stay.

With all that Disney's been doing lately to gain a male audience, this new Princessland sure isn't helping.

I so want to dine in the Beast's castle- so excited for that. Need to save my $$$, because surely it'll be expensive. Will it be a character meal, though?

How can there be no queue to Dumbo? I mean, there will still have to be a line to get on the ride...maybe he meant no straight-up boring waiting line, but there still has to be an organized line onto the ride.

With all the money spent on Pixie Hollow, I hope that the Tink films are going to be beloved films. Granted, I still haven't watched the first film yet, but do you think that the Tink films should be held with the same high esteem as the Princess films, or just the DACs in general? Will Pixie Hollow be near all the Princessland stuff? I know that it's really not called Princessland, but it might as well be.

Now I'm finally getting around to reading all the posts in this thread that I missed:

I wonder what they'll serve if they can't serve beer in Disney World?

Germany at Epcot sells beer...?

one cannot think of this new Fantasyland as just some fancy icing on a meet-n-greet cake. The huge investment into theming is what sets Disney theme parks apart from other entertainment oriented parks

While I totally agree, at the same time, there is so much undeveloped land, that I think some people might think that the money could be better used to either add brand-new attractions (shows and rides), or just build a 5th theme park.

It's really an interactive experience to not just meet a character, but to explore their environment and be a part of it...be a part of their story.

I am excited about that, visiting the locations from the films. As much as I love meeting characters, though, I'm less excited about the making birthday cards thing, but I am 24...

Disney is simply catering to the responses of its guests by doubling the ride capacity of its most popular Fantasyland ride.

I actually think that this is a great idea, since the line for Dumbo always is 30 + minutes. My only issue is, will Timothy be on the top of both sides of the rides? I mean, granted, there are going to be like 30 Dumbos, but still... maybe Mr. Stork should be on top of the 2nd ride or something.

Also, there are rumors that the 2nd Dumbo attraction is going to be a rethemed Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

I know that that rumor has since been proven false, in the concept art, it shows there just being a replica of the Dumbo ride right next to the Dumbo ride. 2 clones of the same ride. So what was the news? Take the existing Aladdin ride and use that for the 2nd Dumbo ride, so they don’t have to build new from scratch?

But hey, the new rides wouldn't have to just be DL "clones". I'd be totally for more new ones as well - Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, etc. All I meant was that by losing Toontown, I would rather it be for more than just one new ride, especially when the Mermaid ride isn't even taking up Toontown's real estate!

That’s a very good point, and I feel the same way, pretty much. I think that there should be a good balance between theming and attractions. While I am definitely excited for the TLM ride and the B&tB restaurant, and, yes, it’ll be fun to visit locations from the films, I’d be more excited had they announced more new attractions. At the end of the video, though, he was going on to mention other lands…anything important that he mentioned?

Either way, I'm happy that the Barnstormer is staying in some way.

Say what?!? Or are you meaning that the Cheshire Coaster or Casey Jr. coaster would be taking up where the Barnstormer currently is?

[quote"Mike Duster"] Why is it the majority doesn't seem to care much for Cinderella and her world?[/quote]
I don’t think that it’s so much that people don’t care about Cindy and her world, but it’s more of a, Cinderella already has a castle and a carousel, we want new rides instead of meet & greets, darn it!

I think that Cinderella should have her attraction and meet and greet moved to inside the castle somehow. Isn't Tokyo Disneyland having a Cinderella attraction put in? Or is that only underneath their castle, and Disney World has no room? But if Cinderella's castle could have a ballroom interior, she could transform and dance there!

Then, give Snow White a meet and greet in the forest near Aurora, perhaps where she sang to the animals. But maybe that couldn't work.

I actually like those ideas, but I wonder if there is enough room in the castle?

Lessen Beauty and the Beast land! It is the biggest one and takes up so much room! Have Belle's cottage be wherever Gaston's tavern is, don't make two seperate sections! Or don't have the cottage at all, let her put on her show and stories inside the Beast's library inside the castle! How on earth does it make sense to go to the Beast's castle by magic mirror, and then walk to his castle later?

With no extra Cinderella, downsizing of Beauty and the Beast, and downsizing of Dumbo (he doesn't need that much of what they planned!), then maybe we could keep Donald's and Mickey's house (Minnie could move in and have her own room), get an Alice ride, a Pinocchio ride, and a better Aladdin ride! And meet and greets right next to their rides, there rides would have facades like their homes.

I think that Gaston’s Tavern is a necessity in Princessland, since it’ll make men want to go there more than if it were all making cakes and birthday cards! (When I’m saying men and girls, I’m meaning like stereotypical. Like my dad. He would have no interest in all the “girly” things, but he would be a little more comfortable surrounded by…beer? ) I still don’t know much about the new additions, as far as details go, but I want to go to the cottage!!! And to the castle. I’m excited for those.

Also, you should get to tak to their animal friends, either with the living character thing, or animatronic puppets with people somehow doing their voices and movements, in a corner with Jaq and Gus, in a bowl or in the water for Flounder and Sebastian

Awesome idea!!!

The Princes should also be about

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! I couldn’t agree with you more. Not only would that be more fun, it’ll make more sense (I mean, do the girls shoo their husbands away for the day or something?!? And boys might feel more comfortable in the area. They can get their pictures taken with the princes in manly poses or something…

Yeah, it looks like the Barnstormer will probably end up being Casey Jr. sooner or later, but a Chesire Cat coaster would be nice to add more Wonderland elements to Fantasyland.

You answered my question, so thanks!

I am very happy with the size of Beauty and the Beast's land considering the 3 different settings Disney chose to build, though I do understand how the building of this costs the loss of the original characters' homes. As much as I would love to keep the Toontown homes in the new Fantasyland expansion, they don't really match the fairy tale theme of the new areas and Fantasyland itself. The toons are more modernized, but still lovable characters. Come to think of it, Dumbo doesn't really match either. If I had my way, I would not build Pixie Hollow at all and keep Dumbo's Circus and reaarrange Toontown. It could be like Dumbo's travelling circus came to visit Toontown and you can visit the Toon's homes and then visit Dumbo's circus "while it's in town."

Those are some great ideas. I agree. Especially since we don’t know how long the Tink films will be popular…I mean, little kids love them, but will they stand the test of time like Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, etc.?

[Kram Nebuer]

I want to contibue an artistic comment that I am not sure if many people noticed. The original idea with Fantasyland is that the entire area is the courtyard of Cinderella's Castle. That is why you can see bits of the castle wall around the whole area. I was very confused when I saw the new castle walls in the new plans for Fantasyland. What were they changing? Why wasn't all of Fantasyland part of the courtyard anymore? Well, I think I figured it out. The area has been changed so that now only the carousel area is still the courtyard--as is Peter Pan and It's A Small World. But then you leave the courtyard to go to the French countryside (or towns or whatever). That is where you find the house were Cinderella grew up. You can reach Belle's village and Beast's castle. I was looking at The Little Mermaid again last night and I think it takes place in south France along the Mediterranean coast. So most of Fantasyland is French. Of course the outskirts have different theming (Dumbo).

Wow, I totally forgot about that idea. I remember in the original concept for Disneyland by Herb Ryman, all of Fantasyland was enclosed within the castle courtyard and it's very interesting that you noticed they were bringing back (or rather reinforcing) this idea with the Fantasyland expansion. I also like the idea of the French countryside for the outskirts of the castle. Cinderella was definitely French, as well as Beauty and the Beast. Your theories about the South of France setting for TLM also make sense. I always assumed it took place in Denmark where the story originated, but the Mediterranean Sea makes more sense for King Triton's undersea kingdom rather than the North Sea. Also, Ursula mentions the "winds of the Caspian Sea" (Caspian Sea is in the Middle East) which would probably be more relevant to the Med. Sea.

Also, I know there's a thread somewhere on this forum in which the setting of Sleeping Beauty is discussed based on the names of the characters (Aurora, Philip, Hubert, Stefan), but I can't remember if evidence led it to be more French or German. I think it was something like Prince Philip and King Hubert were from a German kingdom while Princess Aurora, King Stefan and Queen (Leah) were from a French kingdom.

Sorry, got a little off topic!

Why would we visit with Cinderella and her stepfamily if she lives in the castle with Prince Charming? I mean, I've met the Tremaines at WDW before, so I guess Cindy could've let them stay.

I'm confused about this too. I think we're supposed to assume we're viewing Cinderella at the parks AFTER she's become a princess, now living at the castle with her prince, so this is the Tremaine's home or Cinderella's former home. Even with the Cinderellabration show from the Happiest Celebration, it was confirmed that Cinderella at the parks is after the films' events, but I guess in the same spirit of Cinderellabration, we're looking at a snippet back in time of when Cinderella was living with the Tremaines and we get to be in the middle of her story. I don't know how that makes sense though since how will she have time to get to the ball after her transformation if we're teaching her how to ball room dance and become her knights?

Germany at Epcot sells beer...?

That is true about Germany selling beer! And what's more it's expected in a pavilion about Germany, so it would be wrong not to have it there as people would expect it in Gaston's tavern. I think the only trouble is Fantasyland is definitely more kid friendly and kid oriented than Epcot's world showcase initially was.

Also, I agree with you about developing the undeveloped land into something else like more shows, attractions and theme parks, but I think the important thing to remember is not just the costs to make it, but the costs to keep them up after that. The costs and potential profits of operating new eateries, meet and greet areas, one new and one relocated carnival ride and themed area, and one E-ticket, dramatically outweigh the costs and potential profits of a bunch of new rides with an accompanying new theming or a whole theme park. It's sad, I know, but Disney's still a business. I hate it when reality puts a limit on the products of creativity.

I actually think that this is a great idea, since the line for Dumbo always is 30 + minutes. My only issue is, will Timothy be on the top of both sides of the rides? I mean, granted, there are going to be like 30 Dumbos, but still... maybe Mr. Stork should be on top of the 2nd ride or something.

I know that that rumor has since been proven false, in the concept art, it shows there just being a replica of the Dumbo ride right next to the Dumbo ride. 2 clones of the same ride. So what was the news? Take the existing Aladdin ride and use that for the 2nd Dumbo ride, so they don’t have to build new from scratch?

I really like the idea of Mr. Stork on top of the 2nd or maybe even the ring leader guy! I don't think they'd put two Timothy's, even if they gave him different color costumes. But I'm with you at being anti-Timothy clones! Guests would be confused as why there are two. I feel like they are going to have two different themes to each side based on the new system of "queue" for the ride (described in article I shall post later).

At the end of the video, though, he was going on to mention other lands…anything important that he mentioned?

The whole presentation was set up like an old episode of Disneyland in that they'd go to the different realms of Disneyland for the topic of the evening. For the presentation, they changed the titles of the realms, but kept the same theme. "Fantasy" was for the Fantasyland news. "Adventure" announced the already known Adventures by Disney around the world itineraries and Disney Cruise Line news. "New Frontiers" talked about the 3 new lands at Hong Kong Disneyland (VERY EXCITING...we need to start a topic about all those plans soon). "Tomorrow" spoke about the other new ideas and brought everything back to Disneyland and new things coming for Walt's original park and resort. Thankfully, the WHOLE presentation was caught on video and with pictures through LaughingPlace:
http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-946.asp
It's very entertaining and watching it with the crowd makes it more exciting!

With all the money spent on Pixie Hollow, I hope that the Tink films are going to be beloved films. Granted, I still haven't watched the first film yet, but do you think that the Tink films should be held with the same high esteem as the Princess films, or just the DACs in general?

I LOVE the new Tinker Bell movie and I'm really excited for the rest of the series. Amy, I think you really need to get on watching it, because it really was enjoyable! I'm very glad that the release was delayed and the story was changed because the wait was definitely worth it. I think John Lasseter did a good job of playing a role in recommending changes to the movie franchise. The movie is a lot better than the other Disney sequels in that it definitely has shown efforts to be more than just a movie series that would launch and support another Disney brand that would earn the company lots of money. The story has a solid and interesting fairy mythology associated with it and has more original story that had great sources of inspiration (the original Disney fairy books by Gail Carson Levine...not the quick buck kiddie chapter books they make now). So far, the Tinker Bell series has a great start since it really is a back story we don't really know and people would be eager to find out. I'm certainly eager to see how Tink will eventually end up hanging out with Peter Pan; I hope the series doesn't disappoint in this aspect.

Since only one movie has been released and another is almost here, it's hard to say now if the movie series will become treasured classics like the other DACs to merit having the land be as lasting as the storybook Princess areas will be. I certainly can say though that the Tinker Bell movies will be more memorable than the other Disney sequels because the filmmakers really put better effort into the story. If the movie franchise does fail to have the popularity and nostalgia as the DACs, I'm hoping the Imagineers retheme Pixie Hollow to Wonderland.

[Kram Nebuer]

This was a part of my previous post, but it made it much too long than it already was, haha. I found some more complete details about the Fantasyland expansions in this article from WDWradio, whose personnel were present at the D23 and spent some time speaking with the Imagineers. It answers a lot of good questions that Amy brought up.

The expansion, which doubles the size of Fantasyland, is not without its casualties. Imagineers said that Mickey's Toontown will be slowly shut down and then eliminated. However, they did say that Mickey and Minnie's houses will be saved and "have a great place" in another location. Goofy's Barnstormer Coaster will be re-themed with a new overlay and possibly moved into the new Dumbo expansion area. Also re-themed will be the train stop. For the first time Fantasyland will now have a train stop.

Phase One will see the largest amount of construction with five new themed-areas including one for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Dumbo. All the princesses will have their own castle, cottage, or chateau that will serve as "meet and greets."

Cinderella will have a country chateau where she lives with her stepmother and stepsisters and guest will be able to see her transformed into a princess. Visitors will be able to then share a dance with Cinderella.

In Sleeping Beauty's kingdom, guests will be able to celebrate Aurora's Sweet 16 Birthday with her good fairy guardians Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. They will also be able to make birthday cards for Aurora's birthday and give them to her at her party.

For The Little Mermaid guests will step into the story by approaching Prince Eric's Castle, walk by the grotto, tide pools and to the underside of the castle where the dark ride attraction is located. According to the imagineers, it will be a different story queue for Walt Disney World and Disney's California Adventure, but the actual ride will be the same.

Beauty and The Beast will have the Beast's Castle as the focal point. The castle will have three rooms or areas: the Beast's Ballroom, the West Wing, and the Castle Gallery. In addition to joining Belle for an enchanting story performance, the castle will house a 552-seat restaurant with 3 dining rooms. These dining rooms will be quick service dining facilities by day and transform into table service at night. Imagineer Jon Georges said this dining transformation has never really been done before in any of the parks.

According to Georges, the main room is the Beast's Ballroom. It will be very grand in scale where guests will be able to sit and take in the entire environment. The darkest and smallest of the 3 rooms is the West Wing - the Beast's private antechamber where no one was allowed to go. Only the Beast was 'allowed in this room,' but now guests will be able to go in and experience what only the Beast saw. There will also be special effects including the rose with the petals falling off and a lightening effect that will bring the portrait of the Prince to life and transform him into the Beast. In the Castle Gallery guests will dine in splendor in a space that completely comes to life. The Gallery will be lined with portraits and tapestries that will tell the back-story - in a magical way - of who the castle staff was before it was cursed. At night the Gallery will become a sit-down restaurant.

Dumbo's new area will become a 3-Ring Circus with an expanded Dumbo ride - actually 2 separate Flying Dumbo rides that will be side-by-side. What makes this unique is that there will be no queue, but a covered, interactive play area for kids and kids-at-heart, as well as bleachers for guests to sit down. Guests will get a "feather" upon entering and when your "feather" is called you proceed to one of the two Flying Dumbo rides. Also pictured in the park illustrations was Casey Jr's Circus Train. During the press conference, Jon Georges was asked about the circus train and would it be in the area. He said that they are looking for opportunities for Casey Jr., and they might re-vision him and he may be used in a different way.

The Second Phase will be Pixie Hollow. This section, expected to be completed in 2013, will be the new home for not only Tinker Belle, but also all her friends.

When asked about the fact that it was heavily themed to girls with all the princesses and fairies, Jon Georges said, "We are really making great strides to broaden the appeal to not just little girls and not just little boys, but to families in general." He continues to say, "Some of the early play tests we had... at Imagineering have really been great to show how we can take those classic stories from those films which really appeal to everyone. They have dragons and princes and swordfights and there's great villains in every one of those films... you're gonna get more than just the ball gown dress and the princess in the room. We really... excited about making it an attraction for everyone."

Eric Jacobson, another Disney Imagineer, said that they are also constantly updating the other side of Fantasyland with major re-dos to Peter Pan's Flight and It's A Small World.

The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are always changing and evolving to bring new experiences and create memories every time someone visits. As Jay Rasulo said in his keynote presentation, "Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we're always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places."

http://www.wdwradio.com/Disney-News/A-W ... Plans.html

I'm really excited for the new BatB restaurant and the new queue for Dumbo now that we know more what it's going to be like. I'm most glad that the restaurant is going to be quick service during the day and table service at night so that people who can't afford a table service meal can still experience the Beast's castle!

Also, this answers lots of questions, but brings on a whole bunch more! I'm super satisfied that Mickey and Minnie's houses will not be torn down...I mean what a travesty that would be to children everywhere to learn that Disney World tore down Mickey's house! But I'm really really curious as to the new area it's supposed to be at and where in the Magic Kingdom (or Disney World) is it going to fit? Also, in the end, there's a brief mention of "major re-dos" for Peter Pan and Small World. What does this mean?!?!

[Prince Charming 12]

I like the purposed changes to Fantasyland! I think Mickey's Toontown Fair is an underutilized "land" in the Magic Kingdom, for most guests anyway.

I found it interesting that they are adding another Cinderella area, as I thought the castle already served as her location. Could there be some unannounced changes in store for the castle? The new Beauty & Beast restaurant looks neat, too. It is good to see that The Little Mermaid attraction is finally becoming a reality, rather than just fan speculation over these past few years. Is it possible that the wait for Dumbo might actually be fun?

I guess we should get our final pictures of the old Fantasyland and Toontown, for the eventual thread of "do you remember when.............."

[Big Disney Fan]

I think the new Fantasyland is looking quite good. But I can't help but wonder: if Toontown is gone, where will be able to reliably find Mickey and Minnie? It's their home and it's being torn down.

[goofystitch]

I think the new Fantasyland is looking quite good. But I can't help but wonder: if Toontown is gone, where will be able to reliably find Mickey and Minnie? It's their home and it's being torn down.

The big rumor I've heard from friends who work in the Magic Kingdom is that the back area of Expo Hall on Main Street will be turned into a meet & greet for the fab 5. That area currently houses a small theater playing classic shorts and photo ops with character cut outs. From what I hear, they are planning to put up some nice backgrounds for each character, sort of like they have at Epcot's Character Connection or in the animation building at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

[Escapay]

I like going to Exposition Hall with the sole purpose of vegging out and watching "Steamboat Willie", "Flowers and Trees", and "The Band Concert" over and over again.

albert

[Super Aurora]

hmmm Interesting. So the Current Fantasyland re-do is true. They better make Small World like the other Disney parks. Can't wait see new facades for Snow White and Peter Pan.

[goofystitch]

They better make Small World like the other Disney parks.

If by making it "like the other Disney parks" you are referring to adding Disney characters like they did in Hong Kong and Disneyland, then you should really ride it first. I've done it at Disneyland and the new characters are distracting and take away from what that attraction is all about. Instead of seeing children of the world coming together in peace, it has turned into a game of hide-n-seek with Disney characters.

Luckily, I know someone involved with the expansion who says that It's a Small World is not in the budget. It recently had a big refurbishment in 2007 and isn't due for another one for at least 5 years.

[PrincePhillipFan]

Wow, this is all shaping up to be really interesting so far! What has me interested more than anything is this:

When asked about the fact that it was heavily themed to girls with all the princesses and fairies, Jon Georges said, "We are really making great strides to broaden the appeal to not just little girls and not just little boys, but to families in general." He continues to say, "Some of the early play tests we had... at Imagineering have really been great to show how we can take those classic stories from those films which really appeal to everyone. They have dragons and princes and swordfights and there's great villains in every one of those films... you're gonna get more than just the ball gown dress and the princess in the room. We really... excited about making it an attraction for everyone."

I really hope that this is true. While the princes at Disneyland you can find often in meet and greets, it's almost impossible to see them at WDW. I really hope this leads to acitivities for boys in the area with Phillip, Beast, and Charming, and more character opportunities with them!

[jpanimation]

They better make Small World like the other Disney parks.

If by making it "like the other Disney parks" you are referring to adding Disney characters like they did in Hong Kong and Disneyland, then you should really ride it first. I've done it at Disneyland and the new characters are distracting and take away from what that attraction is all about. Instead of seeing children of the world coming together in peace, it has turned into a game of hide-n-seek with Disney characters.

Luckily, I know someone involved with the expansion who says that It's a Small World is not in the budget. It recently had a big refurbishment in 2007 and isn't due for another one for at least 5 years.

Good to hear. The Disney additions are a ridiculous way to cash in on their properties as I doubt it will affect any newcomer's opinion on the ride (but certainty peeve long time fans). Not sure who that change was aimed at but I don't remember aliens representing Hawaii. America didn't need its own section as its a mixture of all cultures/races and cutting the rainforest down to size isn't sending a good message.

Just glad they won't be touching that section of Fantasyland, as its nice to have some of the classics untouched, although I'd like to see something done with the old Skyway building.

Also, before Disney starts re-imagining anymore rides in any of the parks, they should consider returning JII to it's former glory. The ride hasn't had a line since they screwed it up and nobody enjoys it anymore.

[singerguy04]

They better make Small World like the other Disney parks.

If by making it "like the other Disney parks" you are referring to adding Disney characters like they did in Hong Kong and Disneyland, then you should really ride it first. I've done it at Disneyland and the new characters are distracting and take away from what that attraction is all about. Instead of seeing children of the world coming together in peace, it has turned into a game of hide-n-seek with Disney characters.

Luckily, I know someone involved with the expansion who says that It's a Small World is not in the budget. It recently had a big refurbishment in 2007 and isn't due for another one for at least 5 years.

He's said it before, but what he meant was that he wants the exterior to be re-designed so it looks like the Mary Blair inspired designs of the other small world rides. He's not alone in that either, I would LOVE it the WDW Small World was as dramatic on the outside as the one in Disneyland! It seems so hidden and awkward as it is now.

[goofystitch]

If by making it "like the other Disney parks" you are referring to adding Disney characters like they did in Hong Kong and Disneyland, then you should really ride it first. I've done it at Disneyland and the new characters are distracting and take away from what that attraction is all about. Instead of seeing children of the world coming together in peace, it has turned into a game of hide-n-seek with Disney characters.

Luckily, I know someone involved with the expansion who says that It's a Small World is not in the budget. It recently had a big refurbishment in 2007 and isn't due for another one for at least 5 years.

He's said it before, but what he meant was that he wants the exterior to be re-designed so it looks like the Mary Blair inspired designs of the other small world rides. He's not alone in that either, I would LOVE it the WDW Small World was as dramatic on the outside as the one in Disneyland! It seems so hidden and awkward as it is now.

Good to know. I talked to an Imagineer about that once though and he told me there isn't room where it's located to make the exterior like Disneyland's. It's location in Magic Kingdom is in such a way that you a.) wouldn't be able to see it fully and b.) it would cause huge traffic snares in that area. That is why they made the backdrop inside in that style.

[singerguy04]

still, even if it weren't exactly the same it'd be cool if they used the space to theme it similarly. Keep the ride in its location, but tear apart the exterior and just change that. It doesn't need to look identical, but along the same theme. I'd prefer that anyway because I hate Disney's obsession with cloning it's attractions to begin with.

[goofystitch]

still, even if it weren't exactly the same it'd be cool if they used the space to theme it similarly. Keep the ride in its location, but tear apart the exterior and just change that. It doesn't need to look identical, but along the same theme. I'd prefer that anyway because I hate Disney's obsession with cloning it's attractions to begin with.

I think the main challenge with that is it would disrupt the fairytale villiage atmosphere they are creating. In Disneyland, Small World is separate from the main square of Fantasyland where the dark rides are located, but at Magic Kingdom it is connected. I can't think of an architecturally pleasing way of flowing from Pinocchio's Village Haus into Small World, since the buildings are connected. You also have Peter Pan's Flight directly opposite, so there really isn't too much they can do.

As for the existing skyway building next to it, they just tore down the one in Tomorrowland and from what I've heard, the Fantasyland will go the way of Mr. Toad during the expansion to provide some much needed stroller storage space. Fantasyland is plagued by a lack of stroller parking, so this would solve that operation problem.

[Super Aurora]

Yea I was referring to the exterior stuff. I'm glad WDW not doing that disney characters in Small World stuff.

What you said makes sense and I can understand it (although the traffic snare reason i don't get) However I looked on the map from google satellite and I see that with even the new Fantasyland expansion, There STILL enough land space available develop some thing else.

Here is photoshoped map I map in how it could been planned out.




The new facade buildings could re model in bavarian inspire look and could even add Pinocchio ride that could sit right next to the Pinocchio Village Haus. Small World is bit further away from the fantasy Land village but not too apart and still contain within.

Reason I'm like this is cause that "re-model" they did inside seems like they didn't put any consideration or thought into it. Small world where it is now just doesn't give off a grand appeal like it should.