MK Thoughts on New Fantasyland

[Magenta Panther]

It's really a shame about "Belle". It starts out so magically, then devolves with a thump into Romper Room. Bad show, TDO.

 

[ProfSlim]

Must say, it seems the only thing to "save" this expansion will be the mine train (and that remains to be seen). In my opinion the expansion provides some very nice detail abound, well done atmosphere to evoke the characters and settings portrayed, but the positives seem to end there...

Little Mermaid falls completely flat. Sure, it's aimed for the younglings, but really, is that the best Disney could do ? What adult would want to wait in line for a second ride on Mermaid, regardless of how much their children like the attraction ?

Circus, again, for the younglings but it's just a retread of what already existed.

Storytime with Belle. Overhyped meet-and-greet.

Again, I think Disney nailed the visuals/theme but missed big on a reason why I would want to walk through the expansion area again. Seems like a wasted opportunity at this point.

Prediction: (I hope I am wrong). Mine Train will be a short (duration) and subtle "C" ticket with, maybe, one brief second of "E" thrill. It will be themed to-the-9s for sure but will not evoke passion.

 

[magicallactose]

It's really a shame about "Belle". It starts out so magically, then devolves with a thump into Romper Room. Bad show, TDO.

Agreed. Romper Room Cardboard Cutouts aside, I thought the theming was very uneven. The cottage was impressively themed and made me feel like I'd stepped inside the film. The mirror effect was jaw dropping. But the themeing of the 'castle' rooms was so sparse and underwelming.

 

[Bocabear]

I agree completely! The inside of the castle looks like a Marriott hotel convention services corridor and meeting room...only thing missing were the folding tables and metal ballroom chairs. It could and should have been so much more...

 

[Cousin Huet]

We really liked watching our little one and other kids in the family experience Storytime with Belle. Now we were there before it officially opened and the crowd was minimal but it was done really well (cute) and the kids were just amazed. Kind of different in the sense that the climactic part is a young boy getting to dance with Belle which I thought was interesting but our little girl loved it. The transforming door effect is really cool and the new AAs were pretty impressive too.

Having been able to just walk on repeatedly at the Little Mermaid ride in Disneyland I am not so sure how I feel about the waits there but hopefully that evens out over time. Our daughter loves that as well and it is a nice refreshing break from any heat for adults.....but like I said....at Disneyland is was always a walk-on when we went and the same was true for us at the new one because we havn't been since the opening to the public (we will see in September).

The new Dumbo is a much needed improvement and Barnstormer is great for the little coaster lovers, but that area, despite a very nicely done theme, is subpar to me.....I would have like some elaborate Alice in Wonderland area myself with the Mad Hatter Tea Cups moving and maybe a new Dumbo going in that area somehow, but its still much nicer than before. I also had the idea to make the Circus area a Pooh's Corner area and replace the current Pooh with a Pinochio or Alice darkride (or even something new involving Bambi or a Lion King darkride).

I think they missed big time by not using the BOG area for a darkride as I believe they could have made it space in the layout to include a restaurant and ride had they wanted to.

I still think it is a huge PLUS overall and that once the Mine Train is done it will be quite impressive as the views from that will be breathtaking. I look at that ride like a supersized darkride instead of a coaster much like Splash, so the idea that it is a "lame kiddie coaster" just doesn't sit with me. Hope everyone gets to go check it out when it is all done because it really does add to the park.

 

[Cardinals314]

It's kind of hard to judge New Fantasyland right now since it isn't completed yet. As of now, I think it's just ok. The theming is pretty good overall. So far the expansion has given us a copy of a ride from California, an extra Dumbo, a quick service, and pretty much a character meet and greet (Enchanted Tales). The Mine Train ride needs to be very good in order for me to be impressed with the new expansion.

 

[TyrantBoss]

Aesthetically it looks fantastic.
A bit low key for my taste.
Be Our Guest restaurant was great...especially the West Wing where I ate. That was worth the price of admission.

Ariel's Undersea Adventure was very pretty, but Imagineers missed a golden opportunity with Ursula.
They could have incorporated the GIANT Ursula before she gets beaten. That would have a great surprise at the end.

Of course...with everything else...it probably would have scared someone's kid and the parents would have freaked out and caused Disney to make changes.
So nevermind.

 

[Cousin Huet]

This is a real old picture but that land is usable, but I don't know if it needs to be a land of it's own, it could be used as some large Fantasyland related dark-ride/show building. It seems to me that the large Circus Tent that's now Pete's Sideshow Meet & Greet could make a good entrance/queue building to a ride with the actual ride/show building built on this land behind it

Not sure of the logistics to get back there, but would be a pretty good sized area to add an attraction (show building) for another princess......maybe an indoor boat ride through the Louisiana Bayou at night with all kinds of fireflys and scenes with Tiana/Naveen, Louis, Dr. Facilier, and Mama Odie.....etc. It would be even better to work this in to a new New Orleans square area elsewhere in the park, but I'm not sure if there is room where it would make sense unless you were able to develop land around/near the Haunted Mansion. You could include a Tiana's Place restaurant on the water and a Bourbon street full of shops along with the attraction and a M&G.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I think a Disney Villains dark ride would be soooooo awesome...

 

[Sped2424]

Not sure of the logistics to get back there, but would be a pretty good sized area to add an attraction (show building) for another princess......maybe an indoor boat ride through the Louisiana Bayou at night with all kinds of fireflys and scenes with Tiana/Naveen, Louis, Dr. Facilier, and Mama Odie.....etc. It would be even better to work this in to a new New Orleans square area elsewhere in the park, but I'm not sure if there is room where it would make sense unless you were able to develop land around/near the Haunted Mansion. You could include a Tiana's Place restaurant on the water and a Bourbon street full of shops along with the attraction and a M&G.

Yes to all of this^

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not sure of the logistics to get back there, but would be a pretty good sized area to add an attraction (show building) for another princess......maybe an indoor boat ride through the Louisiana Bayou at night with all kinds of fireflys and scenes with Tiana/Naveen, Louis, Dr. Facilier, and Mama Odie.....etc. It would be even better to work this in to a new New Orleans square area elsewhere in the park, but I'm not sure if there is room where it would make sense unless you were able to develop land around/near the Haunted Mansion. You could include a Tiana's Place restaurant on the water and a Bourbon street full of shops along with the attraction and a M&G.

This would all work in New Orleans Square, at DL.

 

[randyrut]

I think it is impossible to say how the whole FantasyLand area looks or feels until all of the fences, barriers, walls, etc are down and the entire thing is complete. Of course it feels cramped now, but once everthing is completed, it will probably open up and feel like it has always been there. I think the whole area is amazing and they did an unbelievable job with it. From a visual aspect, it is better than I could have imagined. However, there are down sides...

The Little Mermaid ride is pretty awful in my opnion. It feels like an expensive version of any ride you can see at small time amusement parks. I understand it is for children, but cmon, the whole this is so hokey. This is Disney World. Put your money into the ride and make it something people will talk about for months, not walk away from and say, "What was that?" The queue, however, is awesome.

And the review of Be Our Guest? Well, first, the castle, the atmosphere, the ambience...UNBELIEVABLE! They outdid themselves! It is something that small kids will remember forever, and adults will be impressed with everytime they go there. The dinner food? Eh, maybe we had a bad night, but all of our meals (7 of us) were not very good. Undercooked pastry, overcooked steaks...if they can fix that part of it, it will become the best part of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Sped2424]

This would all work in New Orleans Square, at DL.

Then it needs to happen! I really am kinda surprised they havent done anything more than a meet and greet for her over there. Considering how the movie was a success albeit not on the scale of tangled but still made a good profit and continues to be making money in merchandise I would think they would have at least given her the restaurant. They could retheme it and then have a live band ray and the fireflies similar to the movie playing all day, and of course the signature dessert would be beignets

 

[MotherOfBirds]

Am I the only one who was really underwhelmed by the Ariel AA's as well? I remember production videos that disney put out gave the impression that these were going to be a really impressive, state-of-the-art kind of deal.

 

[Captain Neo]

This is a real old picture but that land is usable, but I don't know if it needs to be a land of it's own, it could be used as some large Fantasyland related dark-ride/show building. It seems to me that the large Circus Tent that's now Pete's Sideshow Meet & Greet could make a good entrance/queue building to a ride with the actual ride/show building built on this land behind it

The 2009 plan that Rasolu approved came with the idea of adding a Tinker bell indoor boat ride to Pixie Hollow (where Circus currently is)

 

[Captain Neo]

This expansion took the ugliest part of the Magic Kingdom and made it the most attractive. Loved the dueling dumbo's with an indoor queue. The Little Mermaid is a step up on the classic FantasyLand dark ride(with a much higher capacity and a solid 6 minute ride length) That said the ending to the ride feels a bit rushed, but I feel it is a solid D ticket. Last month my wife and I had lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant and thought it was one of the highlights of our trip. It is really well themed and the food was excellent. I can't wait for the Mine Train to be completed(I have high expectations that it will be a real crowd pleaser.

But the real question that needs to be answered is this:

Do you feel that Little Mermaid/Mine train/B&B Reasturant/added Dumbo is a good replacement for Skyway/Snowwhite/20ksubs ?

To me the answer is No and here is why: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a real meaty e-ticket and when it was shut down everyone's expectation was that it would be replaced by an even better e-ticket (That is what the Disney Way used to be). It however wasn't and we had to wait over a decade to get 1 c/d-ticket dark ride in it's spot + an additional reasturant. To me that isn't worth it. In the 90s they had plans for Villians/Bald Mountain a water coaster themed to the various Disney villians (there was also a variation themed to Fantasia) it would have been a real crowd pleaser and that would have been something worth waiting for. Alternatively, if 20k was replaced with several C/D ticket type rides like modern versions of Disneylands Alice in Wonderland, a rapunzel ride, etc. or the Little Mermaid land from Tokyo Disneysea that would have been good too but what we got was clearly something thrown together on a small budget relying on a cloned c-ticket and princess meet & greets because as Disney seems to think us WDW fans will just eat up whatever crap they throw at us.

 

[Disney Analyst]

That specific area will never be developed. It encroaches too much onto the extremely limited backstage area behind Fantasyland. Also, it just doesn't make sense to try to expand into an already limited area that encompasses a steep ravine and drainage canal. Plus New Fantasyland essentially forms the back wall of the park now, nothing will be built behind it. Closing the Speedway or expanding Frontierland/Adventureland are the best chances for any other "expansion" of MK.

Not to mention to the extreme right, right out of the shot of that photo is the firework launching zone.

 

[unkadug]

Not to mention to the extreme right, right out of the shot of that photo is the firework launching zone.

I still can't find the photo you are referring to....

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I think its a good tradeoff- that said, I loved 20k leagues and the skyway, but they always felt more Tomorrowland to me.

 

[tare]

I was there in December and I did like it. Just not what I thought it would be.