Goodbye Toontown :(, Hello Princesses!

An aerial view of the new Fantasyland construction during Spring 2011.

I know I should have blogged about this sooner, but I wanted to do my research before I threw my opinion around here. It may seem odd, but to tell the truth I’m still kinda on the fence about this whole “Fantasyland Expansion” thing. Weird? Yeah, I know. My favorite area in my favorite park is going to double in size and I’m still not too sure about it. As they say, I guess stranger things have happened. Anyway, here’s what’s going down in the Magic Kingdom.

Way back in 2009 Disney announced plans to do a major reconstruction on the Fantasyland area of the Magic Kingdom park. The overhaul would double the size of the area and create spectacular and permanent homes for the most popular Disney princesses, as well as bring brand new movie-themed attractions to the park. The original plan called for Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora to have their own special areas and attractions. Tinkerbell and her fairy friends would also have their own home at Pixie Hollow, and the Dumbo attraction would be moved to a new location, doubling in size and capacity.

I’m not sure exactly when, but at some point before January 2011 the plan changed. Cinderella and Aurora’s areas were eliminated, most say because Disney was afraid there were too many girly elements to the plans. Instead, Cinderella and Aurora will join other lesser-celebrated princesses in Princess Fairytale Hall. The Pixie Hollow area was also scrapped, with Tinkerbell in friends finding a home somewhere in EPCOT (no real details on that yet). New attractions replaced these eliminated areas. There are now plans for a Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train coaster and Goofy’s Barnstormer coaster is getting a makeover with a circus theme being added around the area that it will share with the Dumbo ride. Confused yet? Yeah, it took me a minute to sort through all that too.

Noticed I haven’t mentioned anything about Mickey’s Toontown Fair? That’s because Mickey, Minnie and Donald are now homeless :(. I think this is the biggest problem I have with the new expansion. When I realized Toontown had been wiped off the map, I almost wanted to cry. I loved this area as kid. I still love it. When you’re a little kid there’s nothing cooler than getting to walk through Mickey Mouse’s living room, or browse through Minnie’s refrigerator, or hop aboard Donald’s boat. If I had known our December trip would be my last time in Toontown, I would have taken a little more time and a few more pictures.

Not everyone shares my sentiments of course. My mom and dad are thrilled about the change. They had to all but drag me out of Toontown when I was little, and Mom was dreading having to go through the same thing with the grandkids (because you know any child of mine is going to be as much of a Disney kid as I was). Then I told her Dumbo was doubling in size, and she realized she wasn’t going to be totally off the hook :).

A rendering of the new expanded Dumbo attraction.

The meet and greet area for Mickey and the gang has been moved to the square on Main Street, in the old Exhibition Hall. They’ve been there since April and everything seems to be going well so far, or at least the photos look great. I know Walt always said move on to things bigger and better, but it’s still sad to see Toontown go. On the bright side though, I did get to see the neighborhood all decked out for Christmas :).

As for the rest of the new Fantasyland, I’m super excited about it! 

A rendering of the Ariel's Adventure attraction.

Work is well underway on the new Little Mermaid ride called Ariel’s Adventures. The ride will be similar to Disney’s other omni-mover rides (like Winnie-the-Pooh and Nemo), but something about this one just seems cooler. You start your journey on land and then dive down below the sea visiting all your favorite scenes from the movie.

A rendering of the Beast's castle and Belle's village.

On the other side of the construction site, crews are building the Beast’s castle, which will house the new Be Our Guest restaurant. Belle’s village and cottage will also be built providing new and unique ways to interact with Belle herself. 

A rendering of Snow White's cottage and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Across from Belle will be Snow White’s cottage and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride. I’m not sure exactly what the plans are for this coaster, but I imagine it to be a blend between the traditional dark movie ride-throughs and the Thunder Mountain coaster. I don’t know about you, but that sounds absolutely AWESOME to me!

Well, that’s the basic idea of what’s going on behind that big construction wall at Magic Kingdom. Areas of the new Fantasyland will be opening from 2012 to 2013. Can’t wait!!