Blake’s Picks – Top 10 Magic Kingdom Attractions to See Before the Fantasyland Construction Begins, Part 1

Image belongs to Blake's family. 

There are exciting projects on the horizon for Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland, but the park’s current slate of attractions will be getting a few changes in the midst of the expansion. Read to find out what attractions to put on your must-do list before they slip away into yesteryear. 

 By Blake 

Originally posted January 30, 2010. 


If it was big news when Toy Story Midway Mania! was announced, then I’m not sure what one would call the frenzy surrounding the recently-announced expansion of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland in Walt Disney World in Florida. Everyone seems to be anticipating the new enhancements in one way or another, and fans certainly haven’t been shy in sharing their enthusiasm on various websites, blogs, and message boards. 


First revealed at the D23 Expo in September 2009, the many new plans for Fantasyland include side-by-side Dumbos with an immersive queue, a dark ride themed to The Little Mermaid, a restaurant themed to Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast, an area based on Pixie Hollow from the Disney Fairies films, and meet & greets taking place at the homes of Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle.

Concept art for the new Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom.  From left, you can see Beast's castle, Ariel's Adventure, Tremaine Manor, and Aurora's house.  In the back right corner you can see Pixie Hollow and the double Dumbos.  Image copyright Disney. 

However, with those changes come ripple effects for several different areas and attractions in the Magic Kingdom. Some things will be temporarily changed to accommodate construction, some will be modified to better fit in with the themes of the new enhancements, and some will be completely gone altogether. 

Everything from the point where this picture taken is remaining the exact same.  This includes Snow White, the carrousel, PhilharMagic, Peter Pan, and Small World.  The changes will occur to the area behind where the photographer was positioned.  Image belongs to Blake's family. 

Alas, the most significant closure that will take place during the Fantasyland hoopla is Mickey’s Toontown Fair, which I am definitely saddened by. Toontown is one of my favorite areas in all of Walt Disney World due to its creative details and welcoming charm. I suppose the main reason given in this case for the land’s departure is that it was only supposed to be a temporary area in the first place when it initially opened for Mickey’s 60th birthday in 1988. (Back then it was known as Mickey’s Birthdayland, then Mickey’s Starland, and finally Mickey’s Toontown Fair.) The only part of Toontown that will remain is The Barnstormer, but more on that later. 


Here’s a list of what I think guests that are visiting the Magic Kingdom in the next few months should be sure to make an effort to experience before the construction for the Fantasyland expansion begins. 

Read more after the jump.



10. Toontown Teardrop 

Trick answer! Why? Because the Toontown Teardrop has already ceased operation! The first of the several closures to be had by existing Magic Kingdom attractions, the Toontown Teardrop was an area in the very back corner of Mickey’s Toontown Fair (between Mickey’s Country House and the Walt Disney World Railroad Station) where guests could often find rare and unusual characters available for meet & greets at random times throughout the day. Named for its tear-shaped vicinity when viewed aerially, the Teardrop was exciting for character fans to visit because you never knew who you might find there, or even if there was going to be someone there at all.


Why is such an awesome experience so far up in my list? Well, ordinarily if something like this had been deleted from WDW’s agenda completely, I would have been a little disappointed. However, no sooner had the Teardrop stopped being used as a character area than two similar venues opened for business! Swap one character spot in favor of two new ones! Cool! Now, both Millennium Village (also called World ShowPlace Events Pavilion) in Epcot and the Good Times Gathering Spot (the former location of Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends) in Disney’s Animal Kingdom are used for the same purpose that the Teardrop was. Although character lineups and appearance times vary, you can get a pretty good idea of how everything there works over at WDW Character Hunt (link for Epcot, link for Animal Kingdom). It should be noted that as far as I know, even though characters appearances have stopped at the Toontown Teardrop, the Teardrop area itself is still open for guests to visit (though you won’t find much more than a few bushes and trees). 



9. Storytime with Belle 

Held in Fairytale Garden several times each day, this is a small live show in which Belle tells the story of Beauty and the Beast with the help of audience participation. It’s very popular and its small seating area fills up quickly quite often. Again, you might ask why something this great wouldn’t be further on down the list. The answer is that Storytime with Belle isn’t truly going away permanently. Once the new parts of Fantasyland open, guests will be able to visit Belle in Beast’s castle, where she is expected to perform a similarly-styled show to Storytime with Belle.

Belle will be moving her storytime to a different location.  Image copyright Disney.   

The concept art shown at the D23 Expo of the new Storytime with Belle indicates that Belle will be in her yellow ball gown, as opposed to her less-formal blue dress that she wears in the current show. Additionally, it appears that the new version will implement several special effects to help bring Belle’s story to life even more. While this certainly sounds like a wonderful upgrade for the show, fans that prefer the current secluded area of Fairytale Garden should make a note to catch the show there soon. 


Additionally, in between morning performances of Storytime with Belle, guests can usually find Cinderella’s stepfamily (including Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella) greeting guests on the Fairytale Garden stage. With the upcoming arrival of Tremaine Manor, guests that prefer to visit the hysterical stepfamily in the Garden should do so soon. 


It is unknown at this time what Fairytale Garden will be used for once Storytime with Belle and the Tremaine character greeting move out. 




8. Ariel’s Grotto 

Located in the very back of the current Fantasyland, Ariel’s Grotto is the only spot in all of Walt Disney World that guarantees a meet & greet with Disney’s fishiest princess, Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Long lines can be found at Ariel’s Grotto practically all day long as guests wait to meet Ariel in mermaid form inside a sea-themed environment. Outside of the meet & greet area is a water play area where younger guests are free to splash around as they please. 

Ariel's Adventure is a new dark ride coming to Fantasyland.  Image copyright Disney. 

Once again, although this is a popular attraction, it is expected to be replaced by a similar venue nearby the upcoming The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure once that ride opens. 




7. Pooh’s Playful Spot/Toon Park 

 Pooh’s Playful Spot, a playground geared for preschoolers, opened in fall 2005 on part of an area formerly occupied by the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction and later by the Fantasyland Character Festival. Themed quite nicely with the nearby The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride, Pooh’s Playful Spot extends the Hundred Acre Woods theme beyond the ride and into the Fantasyland atmosphere, while at the same time having entertainment value for young guests as their parents take a breather. I’m thinking that theming like this (where an environment stretches itself beyond rides) will be similar to what we can expect from the various new happenings coming to Fantasyland. 


The existence of Pooh’s Playful Spot in the expansion, though, is quite peculiar. Initially it was thought that it would be replaced by a Winnie the Pooh meet & greet. This seems sort of odd considering that the Playful Spot already functions as a regular character greeting area for Pooh and friends. Once a detailed 3-D model look of the Fantasyland updates were posted last week on Stitch Kingdom, speculation rose at first that both the Playful Spot and the meet & greet had been shelved, and then later that they both would remain. 

Will Tigger be still be greeting guests in Fantasyland? Fans don't seem to know yet!  Image belongs to Blake's family. 

 

So to sum it up, enjoy Pooh’s Playful Spot as if it were going away, but don’t be surprised if it sticks around. 


Similar in style, though quite different in theme, Toon Park is another playground located near Donald’s Boat and the Walt Disney World Railroad Station in Mickey’s Toontown Fair. It includes several sheltered cartoony play fixtures, and is expected to be completely removed from Magic Kingdom’s agenda.  




6. Donald’s Boat 

Specifically titled the Miss Daisy, Donald’s Boat opened in 1996 with Mickey’s Toontown Fair and allows guests to see the home of Donald Duck. Although it appears as if the boat has two stories, guests are only permitted to visit the first floor, where they can find various detailed knickknacks that belong to Donald. It is concluded that perhaps the upstairs could be the home of a quaint bedroom for the ducky star. 

Donald's moving out of Toontown.  Image belongs to Blake's family. 

Did I mention that the boat has a few leaks? Outside is an all-out free-for-all as youngsters play in a Donald-themed water area, the result of several water spouts shooting up out of the ground and from the boat onto unsuspecting (and many times suspecting) guests.

Duplicate versions of the classic Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction are coming nearby to where Donald's boat is currently located.  Image belongs to Blake's family.   

What I’m a bit curious about is how/if Disney is planning to substitute the many play areas that are currently on the Magic Kingdom’s slate into the Fantasyland changes. Right now it seems that two water areas and two playgrounds will vanish with nothing remotely similar to replace them, though I suppose that could change as more details are revealed. Even though play areas are a somewhat smaller aspect of the parks in the grand scheme of things, it’s still a bit odd that there are so many of them right now and there apparently won’t be any of them later. 


That’s all I’ll get into right now, but be on the lookout for a following installment when we’ll get down to some of the biggies that are simply devastating to see go away. It looks like Mickey might just have to settle for his west-coast cottage as he bids his Floridian home farewell. 


Related BlakeOnline articles:

• Blake's Picks - Top 5 Hollywood Studios Attractions (posted May 16, 2009)
• Theme Park Headlines - New Frontiers (posted September 12, 2009) 

By Blake; posted January 30, 2010.  Cinderella Castle, existing Fantasyland, Tigger, Donald Duck, and Dumbo images belong to Blake's family.  New Fantasyland concept art, Belle, and Ariel's Adventure concept art images copyright Disney.