Fantasyland Is Expanding

[Tim]

Maybe this is old news to some, but Disney has officially announced an expansion of Fantasyland as well as a new attraction: Ariel's Undersea Adventure. It's about time!

[DopeyDancer87]

Any word on if they are taking rides out?

[clion]

Complete coverage about Fantasyland expansion:
DisneyDaddy!

[DVC Mike]

New Fantasyland: Walt Disney World announces plans to overhaul Magic Kingdom -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Disney announces major expansions in Anaheim and Orlando -- latimes.com

[princessariel]

I'm so excited!!

[DisneyGuy87]

Dopey, it looks like ToonTown is a going to be gone from what I am hearing, aside from Barnstormer

[bellaDisneydncr]

This is going to be so AMAZING!!!

[mercurywaxing]

Toon Town isn't much of a loss. Mickey will be on Main Street, which in my mind where he belongs because he. It doesn't appear that any old rides will go away. Much like the "real" times in which the Fantasyland stories take place the prince and princesses will be behind the castle walls while non-royalty will be outside the walls. Pooh, Peter Pan, and yes Snow White even fitsbecause the ride is mostly about her adventures outside a castle.

Not much for me there other than a new sit down restaurant (Thank Jeebus!) but I'm glad to see the place get a freshening up.

[Disney2000]

I am really excited about this!! However... I really hope they do this Expansion Right. The mermaid ride sounds great and the restaurant sounds like it's goin to be amazing! Fantasyland is allowed and supposed to have characters.

I'm just worried about...
1. I hope they don't even get close to dwarfing the castle.
2. I hope the Dumbo area is really great and good for EVERYONE... and maybe they expand it so that young and old boys and girls will both be drawn back to that corner of the park.
3. Keep the character meet and greets there for a few years... but don't spend too much money that it takes away from the other rides and projects. Hopefully these meet and greets will be changed to rides someday.
4. DO NOT focus this expansion on the disney princess franchise. The original movies are fine to be focused on, but there are other characters in the movies besides the princess.
5. I hope they realize that this fantasyland expansion is great, but the other lands shouldn't be neglected because they need some work too... (ah hem tomorrowland!!)
6. Don't let monitary restraints stop this expansion at all. Do it all out no matter how much it costs, because it will probably cost less than ripping it down and rebuilding it the way it should have been in the first place.

Anyway. Even after all my negativity, i'm still VERY excited to see this happening!!

[eyeinthesky]

can't wait! Maybe they'll to hire more Imagineers to complete the project (fingers crossed)

[lizseesghosts]

Magic Kingdom is my favorite park, so I am incredibly excited about this. I just hope they keep boys in mind when planning. So much emphasis is placed on princesses, and while that is great for girls, it is often at the expense of the boys. As a mom with 2 young boys, I am hoping there will be enough there for all of us to enjoy!

[Disney05]

Magic Kingdom also is our favorite park. Really looking forward to the completion of this.

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

I'm looking forward to it and seeing something new.

[wdwtristan]

Im scared that these plans will end up like AK's Phase 3. I am really hoping that Im wrong though.

[disneyfun55]

While I am excited about the expansion of FantasyLand, it saddens me to see Mickey's Judges Tent going away. This was such a special place to have a very personable interaction with Mickey and have good quality photos taken either with or without the Disney Photographer (i.e. no squinting due to sun or being terribly rushed due to the line of 50 million people behind you). I really hope that they replace this experience somewhere else in the park...perhaps Exposition Hall???

I also agree that they need to be careful on focusing too much on the princesses. If it is all about them, then they will lose out on 50% of the kids that enjoy FantasyLand. Don't get me wrong, I love what they have done for the little girls with BBB, but if they simply incorporate things like the Lost Boys or Peter Pan in the Enchanted Grove area, I think it will go a long way!

Think about it...another interactive experience where kids get to be taught how to be a Lost Boy similar to the Pirate Experience in Adventureland or the Jedi Tutorial over at HS. That would be AWESOME!!!