Fantasyland may be getting a little TLC..

[Walt1967]

take it for what it's worth.

http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Rumors board.

Here's a direct link to the Fantasyland post:
http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2008/07/blue-sky-buzz-orlando-its-just-fantasy.html

The Blue Sky Disney blog has a pretty good track record, but as the name implies, this is all blue sky stuff. Personally, I'd love to see some of these attractions actually show up.

 

[Walt1967]

Thank you !

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Interesting, but where on earth would they put it all? I'm hoping he's not implying that he is expecting to eventually see every single on of these things.

There are several problems they will encounter when adding things to Fantasyland:
1.) Lack of space. Rides are literally crammed into Fantasyland, I can't think of another area with so many rides in such a small space. There is very little room to expand.
2.) Traffic part 1: When I was trained there one of the first things I was told was, "We are the busiest land in the busiest park. We set the bar for the rest of the resort." Have you ever been in Fantasyland on a very busy day? The bottlenecks between Small World and Harbor House are an absolute nightmare. More attractions means even more traffic.
3.) Traffic Part 2: Traffic is frequently interrupted by the stage show. During the regular season the castle breezeway is closed off five or six times a day at least for the show. Whenever Celebrate the Season is playing (I was in that show), the breezeway is closed for the entire night due to the expanded cast. This further bottlenecks.
4.) Fireworks! The fireworks are shot off from the top of several rides in Fantasyland and are also shot off from behind Fantasyland. A huge portion of Fantasyland has to be closed off each night because it is in the fireworks fall out zone. This also impedes traffic. Any ride that is built would have to take the fall out zones into consideration.

So while all this stuff would be cool, I wouldn't hold my breath. The history of Fantasyland is that if one thing is added another is taken away, and I can't see any of our attractions going away anytime soon, with the possible exception of Snow White. I also cannot see them adding a roller coaster, as Fantasyland is the only area in all four parks that does not have a height requirement for any of its rides, that is part of the appeal.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

That would be so awesome. The MK needs some new rides desperately. I love the MK but they need to breathe some life into it. They also need to redo Space M. omg!!! It is so rough that I don't think I can ride it anymore It just wrecks me everytime and I do love the ride but since I'm not a teenager anymore, it does a number on my body!!!

 

[Condorman]

There is plenty of room to double the size of Fantasy Land in MK. Where they built that Winnie the Pooh Playland - behind that - is where 20,000 Leagues used to be. Look at it from Google Maps satellite view and you will see a huge parcel of unsued land between that and the railroad. They could put a dark ride, coaster, table service restaurant and souvenir shop in that much space.

Personally, I'd duplicate Ariel's Mermaid Lagoon from Tokyo DisneySea. Place a new TS called The Lookingglass Cafe - a character meal with Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, etc. The possibilities are endless. The money....

 

[bennyb98]

I agree that there is plenty of room in FL to expand. Heck bulldoze Pooh's Playful Spot and you can add a plaza with enough room for a couple of small dark rides and one big e-ticket. I don't foresee a big Fantasyland overhaul like DL saw in 83 (since most of the attractions are new or have been rehabbed lately, PPF being the exception) but some changes would be nice as long as they don't take anything away.

 

[Jessfrogger88]

I agree with most of what is being said... I don't want anything to go except Pooh's spot or Ariels Grotto... or all of Toon Town lol... There is too much space being taken up by character meet and greets and... just random play areas... you could defo fit a few dark rides in the area behind pooh... I hope this comes into play, but I hope Peter Pan, Pooh's Adventures, Small World and Philharmagic don't go anywhere.

 

[Jenvenza]

Very interesting stuff.....I guess all we can do is wait and see!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

There is plenty of room to double the size of Fantasy Land in MK. Where they built that Winnie the Pooh Playland - behind that - is where 20,000 Leagues used to be. Look at it from Google Maps satellite view and you will see a huge parcel of unsued land between that and the railroad. They could put a dark ride, coaster, table service restaurant and souvenir shop in that much space.

Personally, I'd duplicate Ariel's Mermaid Lagoon from Tokyo DisneySea. Place a new TS called The Lookingglass Cafe - a character meal with Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, etc. The possibilities are endless. The money....

It's not as simple as all of that. Part of that area is fall out for the fireworks, they are not going to build there due to the logistics of it. Part of it is also serves specific purposes backstage. Let's just say that there is not as much room to expand back there as people believe there is. The area that was 20k has been revitalized, the majority of it is Pooh's Playground. They just built that, it won't be going away any time soon. The other issue is that a certain percentage of the land has to be left undeveloped for conservation purposes. I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is supposed to be some sort of buffer around the parks. Yes, it would be great for MK to get new rides, just don't hold your breath for them to come to Fantasyland any time soon because expansion would be a logistical nightmare.

I also doubt they are going to replace anything:
1.) It's a Small World is a classic and just underwent a major rehab in 2004-2005
2.) Peter Pan just got a minor rehab in 2006 and is due for a major pretty soon if I recall correctly.
3.) Philharmagic is fairly new (2003) and is one of the most popular rides in the resort
4.) Snow White had a major rehab in 2004
5.) Dumbo is a classic, it's not going anyway
6.) Pooh is popular and is also fairly new
7.) Teacups are another classic and people would be upset to see them go

The only two rides I could see on the chopping block are Pan and Snow. Although to most people the rehab at Snow looks minor, it was pretty sizable. Aside from neatening up the ride itself, they split the panel into two and moved it to the other side of the tracks. They spent quite a bit of money doing that. Not to mention Snow is directly in the fall out zone. It would be stupid to try to put a new ride there because they wouldn't be able to control the crowd for Wishes without shutting it down, which would tick people off royally. The crowd control for the fireworks would be even more of a nightmare than it is now.

Pan is a classic, it recently underwent a fairly sizable rehab. If the rumors are true, it will be getting an even larger rehab soon. I don't know if you've noticed, but they are slowly rehabbing all the classics, if Pan hasn't had it already, it is due. Again, they wouldn't rehab it if they are going to get rid of it. The way the land is set up, there is simply no where to put anything at the moment. (

 

[Jessfrogger88]

What about Ariels Grotto and Pooh's Spot and they can redirect fireworks and im however they are utilizing the area behind poohs spot they could move that elsewhere...


I mean I don't know this, but I have seen them move created and eliminate things I didn't think they could before so if they are talking about a MAJOR fantasyland rehab...I don't see why they couldn't change the area a bit more.

 

[Condorman]

Any task can be accomplished if the Imagineers have the green light and funding to do it. Remember, this is the same company that dredged up the lagoon in front of MK, dumped the land beneath MK and built the park on top of it. That's a feat like something the Army Corps of Engineers would do. It's the same issue with that perfect piece of land between the Contemporary and the TTC. You know they could build a wonderful deluxe resort on that spot and yet they complain that during the last survey the land was deemed unsuitable and not solid enough for construction purposes. Once again, if you can build your own lake (not to mention reclaiming land in Honk Kong harbor) you can certainly shore up the soil in this area. That specific spot would be like having four city blocks in Midtown Manhattan that are undeveloped. That is huge! But they don't have the money, or do, and don't have the foresight.

 

[timmac]

They could put a dark ride, coaster, table service restaurant and souvenir shop in that much space.

... but based upon guest opinion, they should probably just limit that area to additional shopping and dining, and not worry about the whole "attractions" part of it

(In case anyone isn't familiar, look up the reasoning behind the closing of PI)

 

[Condorman]

It's funny, but in all the years I've been going to WDW, and although I would walk through PI during the daytime, I don't think I ever went at night. I can't say what it was like as I have no idea. But I don't think Disney would shut it down if it was making money or such an extraordinary success. I have no doubt people enjoyed it but apparently not enough people. I have always been curious what the Adventurer's Club was - can anyone tell me? What was the premise behind it; did they serve F&B; was it a comedy club; and why does it seem to have been the most popular destination there?

On a side note, DTD (DL version) is much nicer than the WDW version. If they could get rid of the dinky shops and put in some substantial places to shop and dine, well, it is supposed to be a Disnified version of a downtown, so I'd be OK with that.

As for Fantasyland, I do not see a major overhaul. No one would cheer it more than I but after spending 1.5m on DCA, I don't see it in their budget to do anything fantastic anywhere else until 2011.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

What about Ariels Grotto and Pooh's Spot and they can redirect fireworks and im however they are utilizing the area behind poohs spot they could move that elsewhere...


I mean I don't know this, but I have seen them move created and eliminate things I didn't think they could before so if they are talking about a MAJOR fantasyland rehab...I don't see why they couldn't change the area a bit more.

It's not that simple. There is a road behind there that takes CMs between the parking lot and the entrance to MK, there's several other backstage things there as well that aren't going to be moved anytime soon.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Like I said, the other thing you have to take into consideration is traffic. Yes, if they really wanted to they could probably squeeze something in, but that will increase traffic and the area bottlenecks as it is. They would need better entry and exit points, maybe even widen the Pan/Small World corridor. On a Phase 4 day, you cannot walk in Fantasyland, it is a nightmare. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if we added several new things that increased traffic even more.

With parks like MK, something new takes the place of something old. I cannot think of anything added to MK recently that did not replace something else:
1.) Stitch's Great Escape replaced Alien Encounter.
2.) Pooh replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
3.) Philhar replaced Legend of the Lion King
4.) Comedy Warehouse replaced the Timekeeper (I think).

Once things get too crowded, it affects the guest perceptions and the theming. Right now, the push seems to be to make existing rides/shops/dining better. A lot of attention is being lavished on DHS so the other isue is budget.

 

[minnie61650]

Like I said, the other thing you have to take into consideration is traffic. Yes, if they really wanted to they could probably squeeze something in, but that will increase traffic and the area bottlenecks as it is. They would need better entry and exit points, maybe even widen the Pan/Small World corridor. On a Phase 4 day, you cannot walk in Fantasyland, it is a nightmare. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if we added several new things that increased traffic even more.

With parks like MK, something new takes the place of something old. I cannot think of anything added to MK recently that did not replace something else:
1.) Stitch's Great Escape replaced Alien Encounter.
2.) Pooh replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
3.) Philhar replaced Legend of the Lion King
4.) Comedy Warehouse replaced the Timekeeper (I think).

Once things get too crowded, it affects the guest perceptions and the theming. Right now, the push seems to be to make existing rides/shops/dining better. A lot of attention is being lavished on DHS so the other isue is budget.

Remember 20,000 Leages Under The Sea was located in the area they want to add these attractions.

So if they build these attractions they would be replacing 20,000 Leagues with the Little Mermaid Ride and the coaster. I think they might have a seperate entrance into the area like there is an entranceway into Toon Town.

They could even have some of the attractions inside like Triton's Kingdom at DisneySea.

Yes, budget is an issue but keep in mind WDW 40th is coming up in 2011.
It would make perfect sence to add a new ride or two to the MK for their 40th celebration.
The 2011-2012 time frame is also the 75th Anniversary of Snow White. The Walt Disney company did have a huge promotion for the film's 50th annversary. So that may be why they are thinking of building a Snow White Coaster instead of using a theme from a newer film.


Just my 2 cents.

 

[bennyb98]

Or better yet give SWSA a much deserved paint job! Maybe tone the wonderful neonness down just a notch hehe But a SW mine roller coaster sounds fun!