Image belongs to Blake's family.
Find out what to see before it’s too late.
By Blake
Originally posted February 19, 2010.
Construction walls have already become visible to Guests in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom as backstage ground-breaking begins for the epic Fantasyland Forest project. That means it’s only a matter of time before Guests begin to see significant changes in onstage activity for a few select Magic Kingdom attractions. What’s coming? What’s going? What’s being re-themed? Between the first installment of this two-part special and the volume you’re about to read, we’ll cover the many details that make Fantasyland Forest one of the most talked-about Imagineering endeavors in history. Let’s continue our countdown for the “catch ‘em while you can” attractions to put on your must-see list before they become Pixie Dusted away into memories.
You may read more after the jump.
5. The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm
This kiddie coaster embodies Goofy’s personality to a tee. In the ride, Guests hop onboard a toony airplane and zip through the premises of Goofy’s farm. With Goofy as our pilot, everything doesn’t exactly go as planned. Eventually the plane storms through the barn, startling the chickens and providing Guests with a pleasantly mild ride.
The Barnstormer has been a favorite for youngsters since it opened with Mickey’s Toontown Fair in 1996. Many preschool- and elementary-aged children have flocked to the attraction to prove to themselves (and sometimes their older siblings) that they “are to” brave enough to experience a thrill ride, even if it’s not quite as frightening as Space Mountain.
Thankfully, though, as Fantasyland Forest begins to take shape, The Barnstormer is staying for the long haul. Young guests thirsting for a mild thrill will indeed still be able to head to the Magic Kingdom’s northeast corner for a small roller coaster, though the ride won’t be Goofy-themed anymore. For a while it was speculated that the revised Barnstormer would become themed to either a seven dwarfs mine car adventure or somehow tied to the upcoming nearby double Dumbos. The spring 2010 issue of Disney twenty-three magazine settles the rumors by stating that The Barnstormer will become re-imagined as an extension of the Dumbo area.
The Barnstormer will receive a Dumbo-themed renovation. Image belongs to Blake's family.
To me, the Dumbo area sounds like it could have the potential to be a lot like the not-so-favorite Dino-Rama! section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, though hopefully the Imagineers will execute the new subdivision in an enjoyable, not cheesy, way.
Additionally, the current placement of The Barnstormer is different than its location on the model version of Fantasyland Forest that appeared on StitchKingdom.com several weeks ago. Since the model appears to show The Barnstormer directly adjacent to the Walt Disney World Railroad Station, it can be concluded that either The Barnstormer will be moved to where Donald’s Boat currently is, or that the Railroad Station (and, for that matter, the railroad tracks) will be moved closer to The Barnstormer. I’d go with the former, but I suppose anything can happen at this point. It is also a possibility that the model could be changed later on down the road to reflect a different geographical position for The Barnstormer than the one it currently displays.
4. Minnie’s Country House
You know those small little details that are scattered throughout Disney park attractions? You know, those tiny gems that you probably don’t notice right away, but that you’d definitely take note of their absence if they were gone? Minnie’s Country House is a treasure trove of those wonderful details. The attraction is chock full of magnificent tidbits to look at and really do a great job at helping Guests truly believe that they have stepped into the home of Minnie Mouse.
Minnie's home includes lots of pink and many flowers. Image belongs to Blake's family.
The attraction’s format is relatively simple, with basically the only thing to do being stroll through Minnie’s house and exit through her quaint, manicured backyard garden. However, with the rather quick pace that the crowd moves at, there’s not enough time to soak in all of the details in one visit. Repeat trips to Minnie’s Country House allow more opportunities to take a look at the many visuals that help bring Minnie’s personality to her home.
Although not an E-Ticket attraction by any means, Minnie’s Country House is an enjoyable walk-through experience that offers a nice break amongst the many high-edge attractions throughout the rest of the Magic Kingdom. As part of Fantasyland Forest, Guests will be able to visit the homes of Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle, with Minnie’s Country House being subtracted out the equation. So even though similarly-styled attractions are slated to come soon, the specific Minnie theme will indeed by missed.
3. County Bounty/Toontown Hall of Fame Tent
A pair of adjacent fair tents between Mickey and Minnie’s houses accommodates County Bounty (the resident everything-Disney gift shop) and Toontown Hall of Fame (the go-to place for popular characters). They both share the same entrance, but are distinctly different experiences.
The entrance to County Bounty and the Toontown Hall of Fame Tent depicts some of the toony fun to be had inside. Image belongs to Blake's family.
County Bounty is one of the Magic Kingdom’s most expansive souvenir stores – it would be difficult not to find at least something satisfactory to bring back home in this place! However, just as good of a selection can easily be found elsewhere on property, like at Once Upon a Toy at Downtown Disney (especially since both venues share a unique create-your-own Mr. Potato Head station). But what really snags this attraction’s place towards the top of my list is its unifying theming throughout the shop that tell a very creative story.
The premise of Mickey’s Toontown Fair is that the county fair has arrived in Toontown, the friendly town where Mickey and his cartoon friends reside in. Appropriately, the atmosphere throughout Toontown depicts a zany, out-of-proportion style that makes Guests feel as if they’ve stepped into a vintage Disney animated short. County Bounty is truly the heart of this “The fair’s come to Toontown!” theme and successfully ties together several hints we get from the rest of the land to confirm a concrete idea of what’s going on. Throughout County Bounty, there are various pictures and awards adorning the walls and kiosks that display “first-prize winners” (all toons, of course) to several of the fair’s contests. And the smell! County Bounty definitely has one of Walt Disney World’s most pleasant smells: a delightful scent of delicious cotton candy.
The other half of County Bounty is the Toontown Hall of Fame Tent. Throughout the years, it’s changed significantly several times, though it has kept one element constant: this place is a character hotspot. Its air-conditioned queue (with that scrumptious smell of cotton candy still filling the air) also makes the Hall of Fame one of the most bearable character lines to wait in. That’s quite helpful because the line here can get pretty lengthy! It’s all worth it in the end, though, as the Hall of Fame has been host to some of Disney’s most popular characters to please a variety of audiences.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the Hall of Fame, Guests choose to enter one of several (previously three, but now two) lines, each line with its own set of characters that all share a common theme. For instance, the “Disney’s Famous Pals” room once included the likes of Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Chip and Dale; and the “Mickey’s Toontown Gang” room once featured Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto. Villains and Hundred Acre Woods friends have also had their share of greetings in the Hall of Fame at one time or another.
The Toontonw Hall of Fame Tent previously included Mickey's friends like Goofy. Image belongs to Blake's family.
Today, though, the Hall of Fame offers guests the opportunity to visit Disney Princesses or shrink down to the size of a fairy to meet Tinker Bell and several of her friends from Pixie Hollow. According to the DisneyShawn blog, the tie-in to the Toontown Fair theme for the Princesses and Fairies is that they’re celebrities to the fair, but to me that seems like a little stretch on the Imagineers’ part. It’s just as well, though; as Fantasyland Forest moves in, the Princesses and Fairies will no longer strive to semi-fit in with a cartoon theme as they receive areas of their very own while Mickey and friends take a backseat.
Even though the Hall of Fame itself is being removed, its characters certainly aren’t. In Fantasyland Forest, Guests will dance with Cinderella in Dreams Come True with Cinderella, celebrate Aurora’s 16th birthday in A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty, and help Belle tell a story in Enchanted Tales with Belle. Additionally, Guests will not only be able to shrink to a fairy’s size, but they’ll also enter Pixie Hollow, where they’ll be able to meet the Disney Fairies and (possibly) experience a to-be-announced ride.
So while you shouldn’t have any trouble in finding the Princesses or Fairies once Toontown is gone, you’ll definitely want to pop into County Bounty if you can to get a last look at its wonderful theming—and to smell that cotton candy scent!
Lastly, outside of County Bounty and the Hall of Fame, there’s a statue of Cornelius Coot, along with a plaque that gives Guests a little “history lesson” about the founding of Toontown.
A statue of Cornelius Coot is outside of County Bounty. Image belongs to Blake's family.
2. Town Square Exposition Hall
Town Square Exposition Hall isn’t exactly what you’d call a secret. In fact, its position as one of the first shops available to Guests once they enter the Magic Kingdom makes it quite a busy place, especially since it’s also a great spot to stock up on camera supplies (from Kodak, of course).
The back of Town Square Exposition Hall, though, is a completely different story. Nestled into the back quarters of this popular camera shop is a quiet area that’s overlooked by many Guests. If you venture here, you’ll find several fun photo-ops themed to Disney masterpieces like Steamboat Willie and 101 Dalmatians, as well as an informative timeline of the Walt Disney Company, stretching from its initial startup all the way through a few years ago. There’s also a quaint movie theater with seats, where you’re free to relax and watch classic Disney cartoon shorts. More details about Exposition Hall can be found over at Jack Spence’s blog at AllEars.net.
Fun photo-ops like this Steamboat Willie scene can be found in the back of Town Square Exposition Hall. Image belongs to Blake's family.
Characters are also known to occasionally show up here. In the early 2000’s, all seven dwarfs could be found here. Today, though, you’re likely to only find characters here on rainy days. So if it happens to be drizzling, don’t hesitate to pop on in and at least check for characters!
You may ask why an attraction on the complete opposite side of the Magic Kingdom from Fantasyland would have anything to do with the Fantasyland Forest expansion. Well, in the grand scheme of things, it might not have any association with Fantasyland Forest at all. During construction, though, Town Square Exposition Hall is planned to be vital in giving Guests an opportunity to see their favorite characters. Since Mickey and Minnie are moving out of Toontown, they’ve got to go someplace, right? And Exposition Hall is expected to be that new spot for Guests to meet the big cheeses.
However, that may present a few operational issues. Throughout the entire day, Mickey and Minnie are very plainly seen in the general vicinity of Exposition Hall for quite a lot of productions. They appear in Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party (which runs down Main Street), the castle stage show just up the street, the 3pm afternoon parade, and the nighttime parade. That presents a pretty huge problem. Either all of those entertainment options have to be cancelled in order to accommodate the new location of the mice’s meet & greet, or the appearance times for Mickey and Minnie in Exposition Hall will be distinctly limited. I’m not quite sure how this could end up, or if it’s even been addressed by Disney yet.
Town Square Exposition Hall is also supposed to be a temporary location to find the Princesses until their new attractions are ready for opening. It is not yet known where the Fairies will go (or if they’ll be anywhere at all) during construction.
As for beyond construction (aka once Fantasyland Forest opens), the Princesses will definitely move back out of Exposition Hall, though Mickey and Minnie’s schedule is unknown at this time. It is also not specified as to whether the Imagineers mean that Exposition Hall will be a literal new home for Mickey and Minnie (as in, their living quarters), or if it will simply be the “home” of their new meet & greet spot.
The parts of Exposition Hall that I mentioned might already be closed; no one seems to know for sure. Regardless, make sure to head to Town Square Exposition Hall while you can. In the midst of a hectic and crowded day in the Magic Kingdom, it’s one of the few places to get some R & R and a little quietness! But with Disney’s two most popular sets of characters moving in, I wouldn’t expect it to be very quiet for much longer.
1. Mickey’s Country House/Judge’s Tent
Mickey’s home will always have a special place in my heart, as it’s where I met Mr. Mouse for the first time. There is a significantly large number of other places around Walt Disney World where Mickey can be found (which will soon include the aforementioned Town Square Exposition Hall), but there’s something about visiting the actual home of Mickey Mouse and then meeting him in-person right after your grand tour that’s just plain cool. It really packs that “Wow!” factor without overdoing anything.
Mickey’s Country House has the same basic idea as Minnie’s Country House, this time just with a Mickey theme. However, instead of getting to roam freely throughout Mickey’s abode, Guests instead walk down a central hallway and simply peer into four different rooms. These include the living room (where Mickey has left the TV on an exciting football game), the bedroom (where you’ll see his wardrobe, as well as a few baby pictures), the kitchen (which is currently—and always has been— undergoing remodeling by Donald and Goofy), and the game room (where it looks like Donald’s luck has once again run thin—check out the scoreboard).
Once in the backyard, Guests get a peek into Mickey’s garden, where nearly everything is creatively shaped like a certain famous mouse. Also in the backyard is Pluto’s doghouse.
Next, Guests can choose to either exit through Mickey’s garage (where several more fun details await), or to head into the Judge’s Tent for a personal meeting with Mickey. While waiting in line in the Judge’s Tent, Guests hear comical back-and-forth banter from Donald and Goofy, who are apparently operating the projector that displays highlights from the visiting county fair on a large screen towards the front of the line.
Then it’s finally time—the big moment has arrived! A Cast Member escorts you and several other guests into a room where you not only find Mickey, but—surprise!—Minnie also! I’m not sure why, but it’s not advertised anywhere throughout the park that Minnie can be found in the Judge’s Tent with Mickey. This makes an already-magical experience even more wonderful, and is definitely an awesome photo-op.
Mickey, along with Minnie, greet guests in the Judge's Tent behind Mickey's Country House in a very Disney moment. Image belongs to Blake's family.
Mickey’s Country House and the adjacent Judge’s Tent are experiences that truly put the icing on the cake when looking at Mickey’s Toontown Fair as a whole.
Mickey's Toontown Fair has shared countless magic moments for many guests and has been a prime place to find characters, including Chicken Little. Image belongs to Blake's family.
That wraps up our tour of what to see while you can before Fantasyland Forest makes a permanent home in the Magic Kingdom. The plans are quite ambitious—some of the most prestigious additions to the parks in years—and are sure to delight Guests of all ages when they are unveiled in 2012 and 2013.
Related BlakeOnline articles:
- Blake's Picks - Top 10 Magic Kingdom Attractions to See Before the Fantasyland Construction Begins, Part 1 (posted January 30, 2010)
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