Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

[Someotherguyuser]

I find it a bit humorous that MK would be adding clowns to the Fantasyland area. Nowadays the only places you would see clowns at theme parks are at Haunt events. If one of those clowns ran up to me to say hello, they would give me a good startle. Seriously!

[Double0Kevin]

I caught a glimpse of the royal people the other day. Didn't stop to watch much as I was on a mission for food at the time, but the people around seemed to be enjoying them a lot. Streetmosphere seems to be getting more and more popular at parks with themed areas, and it really does enhance the experience. Good to see MK really pushing the offerings in New Fantasyland.

[robbalvey]

TPR has been invited to the media day celebration for New Fantasyland (along with Test Track and Splittsville) and while we will have a full report after tomorrow's "official" opening, here's a sneak peek from tonight's event....

 

Just checked in the the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom New Fantasyland media event!

 

This is why we are at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom tonight!

 

Private party tonight at New Fantasyland for media and invited guests!

 

A sneak peek at Snow White's mine train roller coaster!

 

Construction pics of the Snow White roller coaster!

 

Here's a render of the coaster section of Snow White Mine Train! Here's the full video:

 

 

JUST SPOTTED! A fire breathing dragon flew over New Fantasyland!

 

Checking out some INCREDIBLE effects in Enchanted Tales with Belle!

 

The animatronics in Enchanted Tales with Belle are state of the art!

 

KidTums is pretty excited to play a part in Belle's story!

 

The story of Beauty & The Beast is acted out in front of us!

 

KidTums hanging out with Gaston in New Fantasyland!

 

Fans of Beauty & The Beast will love the items in Village Gifts.

 

KidTums approves of the New Fantasyland merchandise!

 

At a Disney media event, there is no shortage of food and alcohol!

 

We tried the "grey stuff" ... It was delicious!

 

The cupcake samplings from "Be Our Guest" restaurant were amazing!

 

Enjoying some of LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern!

 

Checking out the Storybook Circus area of New Fantasyland!

 

Dumbo features a new queue concept that allows kids to play while you wait!

 

Grab a pager...

 

... Let the kids play...

 

And then when it's your time... you go ride!

 

We'll give Barnstormer some love!

 

Wreck it Ralph is destroying the castle!

 

As we exited the park, we were given New Fantasyland Mickey ears! We'll be back tomorrow for more! Follow us on Twitter for live updates! www.twitter.com/themeparkreview

[jray21]

Awesome stuff! Can't wait to see more. It's really amazing what Disney is able to do.

[DarkRideNick]

I'm heading to MK for a couple days around Christmas and I'm so excited to check this out! I'm definitley eating at Gaston's and riding Little Mermaid!

[cfc]

Looks like Disney threw a great party to kick off the new Fantasyland last night. I'm looking forward to that new coaster quite a bit--reminds me a little of the new Mine Cars in Hong Kong (at least based on the layout).

[Hilltopper39]

I was originally really not that excited about this whole expansion from a personal perspective but it all looks really nice and I'm kinda excited about checking it out now. The 7 Dwarfs coaster looks like it might be a lot of fun, much more detailed than I originally had thought.

[robbalvey]

Looks like Disney threw a great party to kick off the new Fantasyland last night. I'm looking forward to that new coaster quite a bit--reminds me a little of the new Mine Cars in Hong Kong (at least based on the layout).

I sorta felt that too after seeing the animation and walking around the ride today.

[ernierocker]

I really had no idea that the new Snow White coaster would be so sprawling and take up that much real estate. I was under the impression that it was all indoors. Oops.

[cfc]

I thought it would be smaller, too, back when they first announced it. No complaints about it being a larger ride, though. If it's as good as the new one at Hong Kong Disney, they'll have a winner.

Edited December 6, 2012 by cfc

[ahecht]

I thought it would be smaller, too, back when they first announced it. No complaints about it being a larger ride, though. If it's as good as the new one at Hong Kong Disney, they'll have a winner.

 

It looks much, much shorter than the HK ride.

[robbalvey]

^ The roller coaster part is shorter, but it might end up being as "long" of a ride, time-wise, with the dark ride portion. That video they showed us last night was not the complete ride-through, just a part of it.

[Hilltopper39]

I really had no idea that the new Snow White coaster would be so sprawling and take up that much real estate. I was under the impression that it was all indoors. Oops.

 

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I saw some aerial photos of the project site that were posted a while back, the job site for the coaster is MUCH larger than I had previously imagined. It's so big that it seems like it should be the star of the new expansion even though it seems like throughout the construction process it hasn't been getting as much publicity as everything else.

[cfc]

I thought it would be smaller, too, back when they first announced it. No complaints about it being a larger ride, though. If it's as good as the new one at Hong Kong Disney, they'll have a winner.

 

It looks much, much shorter than the HK ride.

 

I didn't mean to imply that it was going to be as long as the ride in Hong Kong, but I was a bit vague. Only that the Seven Dwarfs ride seemed longer than I had originally thought it would be. But it is much like the Runaway Mine Cars at HDK because it's a "terrain" coaster, of sorts.

 

At any rate, I think it's going to be a good ride for the Magic Kingdom.

[robbalvey]

Just posted our New Fantasyland Media Day Update!

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=116&linkid=12739

 

Check it out and POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!

[Sir Clinksalot]

That dragon alone is making me want to book a flight to FL right now. That is totally badass!!!

[CpBluestreakCp]

It looks great. I was last at WDW in 2011, I think, and this is really making me want to go back and check it out. I think Disney did an awesome job on the New Fantasyland.

 

Seven Dwarf's Mine Train also looks interesting, hopefully it is WDW's equivalent to Hong Kong's. Hong Kong's coaster looked pretty sweet, so I'm crossing my fingers for that.

[ahecht]

That dragon alone is making me want to book a flight to FL right now. That is totally badass!!!

 

According to the video at http://wdwnews.com/videos/2012/12/05/b-roll-a-flying-fire-breathing-dragon-makes-a-special-one-night-appearance-to-celebrate-the-grand-opening-of-the-new-fantasyland/ this was a one-night only thing.

[cfc]

I think they've done a lot to make Fantasyland more appealing to adults, as well as kids. Love the look of the new restaurants, and can't wait to try the food.

 

Thanks for the great report!

[Sir Clinksalot]

Why would they build that dragon for only one night? That makes zero sense.

[robbalvey]

Why would they build that dragon for only one night? That makes zero sense.

If there is one thing we have learned is that Disney never "throws anything away" and I'm sure we'll see it come back in some "shape" or "form" in the near future!

[Nyteowl]

Thank you for the awesome coverage! This expansion is truly incredible and I hope I can visit WDW sometime again in the near future. Enjoy your new Fantasyland Florida residents!

[BeemerBoy]

Awesome stuff! I think we've definitely entered a new age of Disney refurbs/"expansions"/whatever. Not like they didn't produce quality stuff in the past, but after seeing and hearing the reports from both this and Test Track, I'm encouraged by whatever their future plans to update different areas of the parks may be.

 

Also, I think I heard/read somewhere that Ginnifer Goodwin actually took the role of Snow White on ABC's "Once Upon a Time" primarily because she's a huge Disney dork, and she figured it'd be her best chance to get membership to Club 33. Pretty cool if that's true.

[Meteornotes]

Awesome coverage. The new area looks amazing. Can't wait to try the new restaurants!

 

dt

[ahecht]

If there is one thing we have learned is that Disney never "throws anything away" and I'm sure we'll see it come back in some "shape" or "form" in the near future!

 

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