Fantasyland Construction

If you are a fan of the Magic Kingdom, chances are you also enjoy your time in Fantasyland. While it is very dated, the rides are classics. With options like It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventure, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic, Cinderella's Carousel, Dumbo and the Mad Tea Party, Fantasyland has not had a good rehab in a while.

Per WDWMagic.com, construction has begun on the rehab/extension of Fantasyland. For you long-time visitors of Walt Disney World, you probably remember the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Ride that has been long gone but never demolished. I am hoping that they will incorporate this in to the new construction.

From the website:

Announced at D23 Expo on 12 September 2009, Jay Rasulo outlined plans for the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to:

• Visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty's birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast's castle library.
• Be Our Guest and dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast's castle.
• Fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.
• Journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction - also opening at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011.
• Meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow.

The new Fantasyland will be opened in phases, with the majority of the new land opening in 2012. The Pixie Hollow area will open in 2013.

What are the major components of the new Fantasyland?

• Ariel’s Adventure - a massive, E-Ticket ride based on The Little Mermaid. It uses an Omni-mover ride system (similar to that of the Haunted Mansion). This will be the same ride that is opening in Disneyland Resort's California Adventure, however, the Fantasyland version at Walt Disney World will feature a different exterior.
• Elaborately themed areas for Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Pooh, and Tinkerbell.
• New table service and counter service restaurants. The largest being the 552 seat Be Our Guest restaurant located in Beast's Castle, which will be a counter service restaurant by day and a full table service restaurant by night. The Be Our Guest restaurant will feature 3 dining rooms - Beast Ballroom, West Wing and the Castle gallery. The Beauty and the Beast area will also include the quicks service restaurant Gastons Tavern.
• Interactive next generation meet and greets with the Disney Princesses.
• An entire new Dumbo area based on a circus theme. The new Dumbo will feature 2 ride systems, more than doubling the capacity. It will feature a new "queueless" entry with interactive games and playgrounds, along with seating for parents.
• An entire mini-land devoted to Pixie Hollow - featuring a huge play zone and meet and greets with Tinker Bell and the other fairies.
• Construction of a castle wall to separate the existing Fantasyland to the new highly themed Fantasyland area. The wall will begin around by Pinnochio Village Haus and run across the front of the Cinderella Golden Carousel towards Snow White and Winnie the Pooh.
• The existing Toontown Fair train station will be completely rebuilt to for the new theme of that area.
• A number of shops, restrooms, and smaller food and beverage locations will be included in the area.

What will happen to Mickey's Toontown Fair?
Mickey’s Toontown Fair will be removed to make way for what will be the Pixie Hollow area of Fantasyland. It is expected that the Barnstormer (to be re-themed as part of Dumbo's Circus) will remain. The Mickey and Minnie meet and greet is rumored to be relocated to the Expo Hall on Main Street USA.