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 Park News - (7/30/10) WDW has confirmed today that they will be keeping the Main Street Electrical Parade INDEFINITELY.
(7/27/10) Some new construction pictures from the Magic Kingdom and a few from Epcot can be found at WDW Mouse Tales.
(7/22/10) A new construction update for the Magic Kingdom can be found at Orlando Parks News.
(7/19/10) MouseSteps drops into the Magic Kingdom this week to see what’s new in Fantasyland as well as a look at the rehabbed areas of the Expo Hall on Main Street.
(7/14/10) Lots of dirt pushing taking place at Fantasyland lately while they prepare it all for the first phases of new construction. Check it out over at Orlando United.
(7/11/10) I actually missed this when it was posted back in May but The Theme Park Guy managed to get permission for a rare low-altitude fly-over the Magic Kingdom and posted some great pictures of the park showing of the size of the Fantasyland expansion site as well as a look down into the former River Country waterpark.
(7/10/10) New pictures from the Magic Kingdom focusing on Fantasyland and Liberty Square have been posted to MouseSteps.
(7/6/10) Tour through July 4th at the Magic Kingdom over at MouseSteps this week as well as take a great look at the park’s fantastic fireworks show as seen from across the water at Amusement Insider. Meanwhile you can also check up on the latest construction updates over at Florida Thrills.
(7/2/10) A look back at the relaunch of the Main Street Electrical Parade has been posted to Amusement Insider this week.
(6/29/10) Some new general update pictures from the Magic Kingdom can be found this week at Orlando Parks News and MouseSteps.
(6/11/10) The Magic Kingdom found a new use for the new Tomorrowland stage area… and have started Stitch’s Club 626 Dance Party there for 5 hour runs. Read all about it at the Save Pleasure Island Blog.
(6/4/10) Orlando Parks News takes a look around the Magic Kingdom today to see what’s changed in Fantasyland and on Main Street as well as confirming the name change for the Carrousel. Disney did confirm this as well on their official blog last week, I just missed it I guess. I’m told that the name is already changed on the ride itself and that the name change will also be on the new park maps starting June 6th, along with the rest of the Summer Nightastic changes.
(6/3/10) I’m not quite sure why but according to Magical Mountain the Magic Kingdom is planning on renaming the former Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel to Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. Disney has even reportedly come up with a new backstory for the ride. That said… the article claims it would change names on June 1st, but as of this writing late on June 2nd, the official Magic Kingdom website is still listing it as Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel. Is it a case of slow programmers or did they change their mind?
(5/28/10) A large photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be found today at Orlando Theme Parks News.
(5/26/10) A general photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be found this week over at Coaster 101.
(5/12/10) A new construction update comes from Orlando Theme Parks News. Looks like quite a bit of Main Street is getting a little touching up at the moment, along with all the work starting back in Fantasyland.
(5/10/10) MouseSteps takes a look at the new murals put up on the construction walls in Fantasyland this week.
(5/5/10) I believe the test is over, but last week a Next Gen queue entertainment option was given a test run at the Haunted Mansion. You can see photos and read all the details over at WDW Magic.
(5/3/10) A general photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be seen at Florida Thrills Network this week.
(4/30/10) MouseSteps has posted a few new pictures from Fantasyland this week, showing off that the big tree from Pooh’s Playful Spot has actually been moved to a new location across the pathway to the left of the Pooh ride entrance.
(4/27/10) A new photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be seen at Orlando Theme Park News.
(4/14/10) A new photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be seen this week at MouseSteps, as they take a last look at the Ariel’s Grotto area.
(4/9/10) Check out this pair of amazing pictures showing off the early morning launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from within the Magic Kingdom earlier this week.
(4/6/10) MouseSteps takes a look at what goes on inside the Magic Kingdom during Easter. With all the big fancy pastel dresses, you’d almost think you were in Cypress Gardens.
(3/26/10) A new photo trip report to Disney’s Magic Kingdom can be found at Orlando Theme Park News.
(3/12/10) Lets take a trip back to Disney’s Magic Kingdom… the Magic Kingdom of 1975. Yep, one of our readers uncovered an old film his family shot on vacation back then and uploaded it for everyone’s enjoyment. This film includes some great footage of the “America On Parade” parade and vintage costume characters. A pitty it didn’t have sound… it would have been great to hear the sounds of the park back then as well. Check it out here.
(2/10/10) You can sneak a peek at the newly finished rehab on the Crystal Palace over at Orlando United.
(2/1/10) A new construction photo update from the Magic Kingdom can be found at Orlando Park News. There is a look at Splash Mountain’s rehab, the ongoing rehab on the castle and even a look at the inside of Space Mountain with the lights on.
Ride Rehabs - The following information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.
Small World – 8/1/10 through 10/22/10
Liberty Belle Riverboat – 8/16/10 through 8/25/10
2010 - Main Street Electrical Parade & Summer Nightastic - (6/9/10) A ton of new pictures from Disney’s Electrical Parade can be found at MouseSteps and Florida Thrills this week.
(6/7/10) Orlando United has a look at the first performance of the returning Main Street Electrica Parade at the Magic Kingdom.
(4/28/10) I’ve got a few more details to share about that new Summer Nighttastic Fireworks Spectacular show coming this summer. I’ve been told that this will actually be a slightly retooled version of the Magic, Music and Mayhem fireworks show that was created for the Pirate & Princess special upcharge event nights. The new show will also feature full perimeter fireworks as well during all performances… weather permitting of course.
(3/3/10) Walt Disney World management has now settled on June 6th through August 14th as the run of Summer Nightastic, which will include the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade and the new fireworks show.
(2/11/10) Walt Disney World made a few surprise announcements late yesterday, two of which will affect the Magic Kingdom this summer. Starting in early June the park will see the return of the updated Main Street Electrical Parade as it ran at Disneyland last summer. In addition to having some new floats that it didn’t have the last time it ran at Walt Disney World, the floats have also been upgraded with new LED lighting and even the soundtrack has been given an upgrade. The Wishes fireworks show will also go on hiatus in favor of a new Summer Nightastic fireworks show.
2012-2013 - Fantasyland Expansion & Little Mermaid - (7/30/10) According to this Jim Hill article Disney may be rethinking and retooling their Fantasyland expansion plan in the wake of the runaway success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
(7/15/10) One of our readers, with his son on his shoulders, managed to take some nice
shots of the Fantasyland construction site over the wall and sent them in. Enjoy!
(5/3/10) A few other fun details about the Fantasyland plans, including a previous mention that the Beauty & The Beast eatery would transform into a table service restaurant at night can be found over at Jim Hill Media, which was posted way back in February. A few other details about the eatery, such as the inclusion of several Living Character Imitative creations on dining carts.
(5/2/10) While we know that the new double-sided Dumbo attraction (aka: Dueling Dumbos) is a lock for the new Fantasyland expansion, it has long been generally assumed that the Magic Carpets of Aladdin would be removed and converted into the second Dumbo ride. It’s come to my attention that this may not actually be the case after all and the new version of the ride could possibly purchase one if not two entirely brand new ride units, depending on the status of the original Fantasyland ride which has logged it’s share of flight time.
(4/29/10) Behind the Thrills has posted a new set of Fantasyland construction pictures this week.
(4/26/10) About Theme Parks has posted an interesting rumor about the new Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant coming with the Fantasyland upgrade. The article claims that while the restaurant will function as a typical quick service restaurant during the day, it will transform into a full-service high-end eatery in the evenings for Dinner.
(4/17/10) MouseSteps takes a long look around Fanstsyland as the first construction walls start to go up and the transformation begins.
(4/12/10) Disney has confirmed that Ariel’s Grotto, Scuttle’s Landing and Pooh Playful Spot have now been closed to allow for new Fantasyland construction.
(3/31/10) A Screamscape reader tells us that the last day for the Ariel’s Grotto character Meet ‘n Greet area will be April 11th. After that, Ariel will grow feet and wear a new gown and move over to a new temporary home at the Adventureland Veranda with Prince Eric while the new Little Mermaid attraction is built.
Speaking of the massive Fantasyland Expansion project, check out the various construction walls starting to go up in Fantasyland over at Orlando United as the work on the project is just beginning to start up.
(2/16/10) To clear things up, I’ve been told that the previously rumored construction walls between Toon Town and Fantasyland are actually backstage and not on the public pathways.
(2/10/10) Insiders tell us that a new chain link fence went up Tuesday around the parking lot behind Fantasyland as they prepare the site to begin work. Another reader also tells us that a couple of blue construction walls have started to go up on the pathway between Toontown and and the Pooh meet ‘n greet area. (Update - More readers sought out these new blue walls and were unable to find them...)
(2/4/10) I’m not sure if the artwork is online anywhere yet or not, but I’m told the new Spring 2010 issue of D23 Magazine has some all new concept artwork of the Fantasyland remodel that looks great. A few items mentioned within… much of the new expansion area, beyond that new back castle wall, is now being called Fantasyland Forest. Since most of this area will be built on solid ground, and not on top of the Utilidor system, they will actually be able to plant real large trees and create real water systems to make it more natural looking, something that couldn’t be done before.
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid will be built within “a highly detailed rockwork grotto behind a fully rendered version of Prince Eric’s castle”. The new Beauty & The Beast area will have three elements, the first of which is Enchanted Tales with Belle. Guests will enter Maurice’s cottage and step through an enchanted mirror to be transported to The Beast’s library for an interactive storytelling session with Belle. There is also the Be Our Guest Restaurant where you can dine in one of three different rooms from Beast’s castle (one is the Ballroom), and outside will be the Belle’s Village area that will include Gaston’s Tavern.
Dreams Come True with Cinderella will take place within the Tremaine Chateau from the film and the guests arrive to visit Cinderella right when her dress transforms from rags into a ball gown before your eyes. A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty will be in Briar Rose Cottage just as Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are preparing to celebrate Briar Rose’s birthday.
Dumbo’s Circus is the name of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant’s new home that will include the twin side-by-side Dumbo attractions (aka: Dueling Dumbos) along with an indoor, air-conditioned circus tent themed queue. The indoor queue will be a fully “immersive circus enviroment inside Dumbo’s Big Top”. Guests will play along with sideshow acts and carnival midway games while they wait. The current Goofy’s Barnstormer coaster will be rethemed to the new Dumbo environment and given a new clown theme.
Imagineering is carefully planning everything that will happen here in the new Fantasyland to use as a template of what to do at all the other Fantasylands around the world. Currently everything mentioned above is expected to be ready by Fall 2012, however the 4th mini-land, Pixie-Hollow, is slated to open a year later in 2013 as part of Phase-2.
(2/1/10) I’m told that at some point during the Fantasyland renovation the Railroad will also be shut down for a couple of months to allow for a rebuild of the Toontown station, as well as give them time to perform some much needed work to the rest of the line’s tracks where needed.
Currently it seems that those backstage parking areas have already been shut down to CMs. Look for a few minor public areas to begin to close down as early as late March.
(1/31/10) Screamscape sources tell us that starting February 1st the early prep work for the massive Fantasyland update will begin, starting with the closure of the management parking lot area just behind the Ariel Meet & Greet area to make way for office trailers and such. Construction in the guest areas isn’t likely to happen until sometime after the busy Easter holiday period is over.
(1/22/10) Take a look at this 3D Model showing off the new revised Fantasyland project posted to Stitch Kingdom. There are a few big changes made to the model from the artwork that leaked out over the summer. For starters the location of Dueling Dumbos has been moved to the space between the Tomorrowland Speedway and Goofy’s Barnstormer. The new Pixie Hollow area has been moved to where Dueling Dumbos was going to go, but also seems to have a new ride which they describe as a Fairies themed version of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree where guests are pulled along in carts by giant mice. The outside of The Little Mermaid looks great, and so do the various other buildings all around to house the various Princess’ meet & greet attraction areas. However it looks like the latest addition to Fantasyland, Pooh’s 100 Acre Wood, will be removed as it is no where to be found in the new model.
(12/17/09) According to an article posted in the Winter 2009 DVC magazine, they claim that Ariel’s Undersea Adventure ride will be ready to open on both coasts by 2011. Given that the California site has been under construction for some time and Florida has yet to break ground, I do find this hard to believe, but time will tell. The article also mentions that the first half of the Fantasyland makeover will be ready by 2012 (Fantasy Forest… aka the Princess Meet & Greet area) and that the Pixie Hollow area will be ready by 2013. I’m guessing the new version of Dumbo will also be ready by 2012.
(12/15/09) Disney has announced that they will begin work on the massive Fantasyland remodel starting in Spring 2010, and that the project is expected to take four years to complete everything. No word on just how soon the first new sections or attractions may be ready to open however.
(9/21/09) Some may have noticed that the Carousel is still next to Dumbo in the new concept artwork released by Disney last week. According to AmusementInsider the reason for this is that the artwork was not intended for the Magic Kingdom, but rather created awhile back as a proposal for Tokyo Disneyland, so don’t take anything you see in that one picture too seriously.
In other news, while most people were happy to see Disney renovating Fantasyland and Toontown Fair into something new, there are some out there who have grown fond enough of Toontown Fair that they don’t want to see it vanish at all and have created their own online Petition against this plan.
(9/14/09) Disney confirmed those previously leaked plans to expand and double the size of Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom over the weekend at the D23 Expo. They say the project will be open in two phases, with the first opening in 2012 and the rest finished by 2013. Once completed the new and improved Fantasyland will feature mini-lands to be themed to four key movies where the kids can meet and greet with the princess and associated characters from Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The Beauty & The Beast area will also feature two new eateries: Gaston’s Tavern and a large 552-seat Be Out Guests restaurant. Of course the highlight of the entire expansion will be the new Little Mermaid dark ride
which they promise will be an E-Ticket you wont want to miss.
Phase two will involve the revamping of a large section of what is now Toontown to become Pixie Hollow, though they gave no major details here as the design work is still ongoing for this section. As previewed in the leaked plans, Dumbo will be moved over into the Toontown area where it will be doubled in size (two rides) to create what has already been nicknamed Dueling Dumbos. The new version of Dumbo will also have a queue enclosed under a three-ring circus tent that promises to be full of interactive games and fun, so you wont even know your waiting in line while you are in there.
While Toontown Fair will be no more, the plans do seem to indicate that Goofy’s Barnstormer will remain in place and it has been said that Mickey & Minnie’s houses will be moved to a new location somewhere else in Walt Disney World. Check out the video below of the announcement. You can also find even more great screen shots showing off all the new concept artwork shown at the D23 Expo for Fantasyland over at Amusement Insider.
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