Lance Around Orlando

Fantasyland at Disney World is Doubling in Size by 2013

On February 11, 2011 Mickey’s Toon Town Fair in Fantasyland will close as Disney begins the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history–designed to DOUBLE the size of Fantasyland.

The new Fantasyland is scheduled to open in phases beginning in late 2012. Here are some of the highlights:

–Under the Sea~Journey of the Little Mermaid will be a major new attraction on which guests will travel with Ariel and her friends through their exciting adventures above and below the wave–all against a musical backdrop of songs from the classic film.

–The castle of the Beast will stand majestically upon a hill just across an old stone bridge from Ariel’s new home. The Be Our Guest restaurant will feature a lavish dining experience in the elegant ballroom, gallery, and mysterious “West Wing” of the castle.  According to Disney, the 550 seat restaurant will offer “great food fast” by day and full table service in the evening. In nearby Belle’s Village, guests will find the rousing Gaston’s Tavern and Bonjour! Village Gifts.

–Just outside the village will be Belle’s cottage and Enchanted Tales with Belle. The adventure begins in Maurice’s workshop, where a magical mirror will become the doorway to a new kind of storytelling experience with Belle and Lumiere.

By 2013 Disney hopes to open most of the remaining enhancements

Ride with the 7 Dwarfs

–The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will be a rollicking, musical roller coaster featuring a ride system with a train of vehicles that swing back and forth, responding to every twist and turn of the track.

–The Princess Fairytale Hall will be a place where guests can greet guests in their new home, an elegant royal court on the site where Snow White’s Scary Adventures stands today.

Popular Dumbo Will be Twice as Big

–The Storybook Circus will have two circling carousels of airborne pachyderms on Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The queue for this attraction has an array of fun-filled family games and interactive wonders for kids of all ages inside the big top

–Next door will be Goofy as The Great Goofini, a reworking of the Goofy Barnstormer coaster currently in use at Toon Town Fair.

It sounds like Disney is expanding their magic. We’ll keep you updated as more details are unveiled.

some portions of this post ©Disney

This entry was posted on January 21, 2011 at 10:15 am and is filed under Disney. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.