Disney World to get Fantasyland facelift
ORLANDO (AP) – Disney executives this weekend announced plans for the largest expansion in the history of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and include a new, lavish ride based on the Little Mermaid.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo made the announcement Saturday at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, the first-ever gathering of Disney devotees, to announce the ambitious new project in Orlando.
Analysts predict the expansion will re-ignite travel to Orlando, which has lagged in the global recession.
Disney’s parks are a major profit center for the entertainment giant, contributing about a third of the company’s revenue.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the biggest addition will be the Little Mermaid attraction, based on Disney’s 1989 movie of the same name.
Plans call for an enclosed ride that will carry guests through the underwater realm of Ariel – the redheaded mermaid. It will use an Omnimover ride system similar to that of the Haunted Mansion, and will move through scenes featuring characters and songs from the movie.
The ride, which has a working title of Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid, will be the same as one being built as part of the $1 billion overhaul of Disney’s California Adventure theme park in Anaheim, Calif., though the attractions will have different exteriors.
In addition, Disney said it plans to update Star Tours, the Star Wars-themed simulator ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with new 3-D effects.
The refurbished Star Tours will debut in 2011. The Fantasyland overhaul will be complete by 2013. Disney declined to say how much it will spend on the projects. Princesses will also figure heavily in the renovation.
Disney World will construct individual areas – whether a castle, cottage or chateau – where guests can interact with some of the company’s best-known princesses and other characters from their movies. Children will be able to dance with Cinderella, celebrate Aurora’s birthday with the Good Fairies, or play a role with Belle in a performance in the library of the Beast’s castle.
Disney intends to relocate Dumbo the Flying Elephant to a new “circus grounds” that will include an interactive queue under a big-top tent to entertain children waiting in line. Disney will add a new Pixie Hollow character-greeting area, home to Tinker Bell and other fairies.
To accommodate the expansion, Disney will raze most of Mickey’s Toontown Fair, the smallest of the Magic Kingdom’s “lands.” Gone will be both of the walkthrough country houses where guests were guaranteed to meet Disney’s most famous characters: Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
Disney says Mickey and Minnie will get new homes near the front entrance of the park. The children’s roller coaster, the Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm, will remain, though it will be re-themed, likely with a circus overlay linking it to Dumbo.