WDW Toontown changes?

[Maddie2]

Does anyone know anything of changes in Toontown? I was recently reading a TR and the poster mentioned something about not being able to go back in time to see Mickey's house again. What??? Are they taking Mickey and Minnie's houses away?

 

[Faldred]

Yes. Toontown is being removed for the Fantasyland expansion.

 

[tjkraz]

Are they taking Mickey and Minnie's houses away?

Thankfully yes. There have been rumors of them being moved to a new location on property but I don't think Disney has committed to that yet, much less announced a site.

The houses are cute but in the grand scheme of things they are a total waste of space. Disneyland Toontown is much better. Nothing wrong with having some distinctive attractions on each coast.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

There is no definite announced schedule as of yet.

The last I heard was about a month ago Disney was soliciting bids for the contracts. At this stage, I personally don't see construction until late next year.

But, I've been wrong before.

Also, I'd like to add this question to the mix: Will it be closed in stages, or in one big swoop? Since the castle wall would be built where Dumbo is now, I wonder how long we must do without it?

 

[rantnnravin]

wouldn't it make more sense for them to start at the back and work their way forward so as to minimize the negative effects to the current fantasyland over the course of the construction, rather than building the "castle wall" now?

 

[Maddie2]

I agree that in the grand scheme of things, the houses are not a real rich use of property, but wondering what else is supposed to be leaving?

And, castle wall? What?

Any idea what will be coming in that is new?

Thanks!

 

[mousesweetie]

Fantasyland expansion press release
Sep 12, 2009

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo detailed plans for future lands, attractions and adventures that will be delighting Disney guests for years to come, at the first D23 Expo. Most notable among the announcements were the confirmation of an all-new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

"Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we're always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places," Rasulo told a crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California before taking them on a "behind-the-magic" tour of their favorite Disney destinations.

Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular "Star Tours" attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011. Based on the iconic Lucasfilm "Star Wars" films, the attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy.

For Walt Disney World in Florida, 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.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I'm sure the MK Fantasyland expansion will be in phases.

Completion won't be until 2013. That's not because it will take 3 years for the construction of attractions such as the new Dumbo.

By completing the expansion in phases, Disney can provide a positive guest experience during construction; Disney can advertise new additions to Fantasyland over the course of several years; Disney's capital spending for this project can be spread out.

There is no reason to close the old Dumbo until the new Dumbo is ready.

Look to Disney's California Adventure for an example of how a major Disney theme park refresh/expansion is managed in phases

 

[Disco]

All the construction for the "expansion" (it really isn't an expansion as they are just reclaiming the submarine ride area) will be behind the current FL. Rides will not be affected except for Dumbo as they are moving it.
It is undetermined if the Pooh Playground will be moved so that might be closed for a while too. On the blueprints it looks like it is in a slightly different location but frankly I think it was an alignment issue and it is staying put.
Of course, TT will be leveled except for the Barnstormer. No loss there.
I'm guessing the Barnstormer will be in use for most of the renovation until they have to rebrand it.
The rumors of the Mickey houses being kept and moved were a misinterpretation of the public's reading of the news. They said that they would be relocating the Meet and Greets to the front of the park and not the houses. Character Meets are not held in the houses.

 

[Disco]

I agree that in the grand scheme of things, the houses are not a real rich use of property, but wondering what else is supposed to be leaving?

And, castle wall? What?

Any idea what will be coming in that is new?

Thanks!

The only exciting new things are the Little Mermaid ride and the new Beast themed restaurant.
The Little Mermaid is a people mover ride similar to the other ones like the Haunted Mansion. It will probably be pretty similar to the virtual LM ride they featured on one of their movie release DVDs.
The restaurant is interesting in that it sounds like it will have animatronics built in with the theme.
The rest of the new attractions sound like glorified meet and greets.

 

[MJMcBride]

The rest of the new attractions sound like glorified meet and greets.

True, although the redone Dumbo sounds interesting at least in the new way they are attempting to que guests

 

[yitbos96bb]

I agree that in the grand scheme of things, the houses are not a real rich use of property, but wondering what else is supposed to be leaving?

And, castle wall? What?

Any idea what will be coming in that is new?

Thanks!

Yes, please google and see the pictures and such. This is WDW's answer to Harry Potter Land.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Thankfully yes. There have been rumors of them being moved to a new location on property but I don't think Disney has committed to that yet, much less announced a site.

The houses are cute but in the grand scheme of things they are a total waste of space. Disneyland Toontown is much better. Nothing wrong with having some distinctive attractions on each coast.

I think those rumors are dead wrong... I mean some of the tents are being reused... such as the Judges Tent being used for Dumbo.

 

[yitbos96bb]

I'm sure the MK Fantasyland expansion will be in phases.

Completion won't be until 2013. That's not because it will take 3 years for the construction of attractions such as the new Dumbo.

By completing the expansion in phases, Disney can provide a positive guest experience during construction; Disney can advertise new additions to Fantasyland over the course of several years; Disney's capital spending for this project can be spread out.

There is no reason to close the old Dumbo until the new Dumbo is ready.

Look to Disney's California Adventure for an example of how a major Disney theme park refresh/expansion is managed in phases

My understanding was the Old Dumbo and the Aladdin Carpets are being redone for the new dumbo.

 

[skier_pete]

My understanding was the Old Dumbo and the Aladdin Carpets are being redone for the new dumbo.

That's wrong...it was a rumor, but Aladdin's carpets are not moving. The Old Dumbo will probably be re-used though.

No one really knows how the construction will be done (well, no-one in the general public) but you will probably see walls go up next year. The areas most likely to be closed somewhere along the way are Ariel's Grotto, Pooh's Playful spot, and Toontown. I suspect Dumbo will keep running in place for a while, but at some point they will have to close this as well to complete the construction.

My guess, they will close Ariel and little else at first, and do much of the Princess section to get the Restaurant, Little Mermaid ride and M'n'Gs up and running. The LAST thing they will do is pull out Dumbo before they open that section. Once they open that, they will shut down Toontown and re-install Dumbo there.

 

[yitbos96bb]

That's wrong...it was a rumor, but Aladdin's carpets are not moving. The Old Dumbo will probably be re-used though.

No one really knows how the construction will be done (well, no-one in the general public) but you will probably see walls go up next year. The areas most likely to be closed somewhere along the way are Ariel's Grotto, Pooh's Playful spot, and Toontown. I suspect Dumbo will keep running in place for a while, but at some point they will have to close this as well to complete the construction.

My guess, they will close Ariel and little else at first, and do much of the Princess section to get the Restaurant, Little Mermaid ride and M'n'Gs up and running. The LAST thing they will do is pull out Dumbo before they open that section. Once they open that, they will shut down Toontown and re-install Dumbo there.

Ah ok... I heard the aladin thing when the plans were first announced. I'm guessing they keep Dumbo running until the last moment and will close toon town off. Based on the plans, Dumbo will be rebuilt, with the Judges tent in toontown repurposed as the new Big top playground area... Frankly I'd rather them rebuild a new dumbo... preferably one that loads MUCH faster than the current one. And since they aren't moving Alladin, maybe it will be an all new Dumbo... OOH I want to bid for the Dumbo Cars in auction! ;-)

 

[Disco]

Frankly I'd rather them rebuild a new dumbo... preferably one that loads MUCH faster than the current one. And since they aren't moving Alladin, maybe it will be an all new Dumbo... OOH I want to bid for the Dumbo Cars in auction! ;-)

LOL,
The new Dumbo will load 2x faster once they're done with it. Otherwise I don't think there is much that can be done technologically to improve on a standard spinning carni ride.
Rotating loading platform to bring guests to their Dumbo faster?

 

[sters]

I think the proposed queless Dumbo system sounds intersting, yet I'm tryting to imagine gathering multiple kids from the playground section back into a line. Have you ever tried to round up the kids at Honey I Shrunk the Audience in a hurry?

 

[Geubux]

Here's an engineering opinion:

Barnstormer: This could keep operating by having a walkway and wall off the rest of Toon Town. Another path/entrance could even be made. This would allow construction to proceed as long as possible without closing the attraction.

Dumbo: Since it looks like there will be two dumbos, obviously a new Dumbo will be brought in. The old Dumbo could continue while the queue and the new Dumbo are installed. Once the new one is complete, the old could be shut down and the spot it is to occupy would be walled off during installation. This would allow for operation of the new queue and new dumbo.

 

[doconeill]

Here's an engineering opinion:

Barnstormer: This could keep operating by having a walkway and wall off the rest of Toon Town. Another path/entrance could even be made. This would allow construction to proceed as long as possible without closing the attraction

Somewhat difficult, since the peak of Barnstormer could give a view of the construction, and Disney does not like that. To avoid it, the walls would have to be pretty high and close, and then it would be like riding in a box...

Dumbo: Since it looks like there will be two dumbos, obviously a new Dumbo will be brought in. The old Dumbo could continue while the queue and the new Dumbo are installed. Once the new one is complete, the old could be shut down and the spot it is to occupy would be walled off during installation. This would allow for operation of the new queue and new dumbo.

This is the likely scenario, since various sources pin Dumbo as being the most popular ride in WDW. But whether they could deal with the installation of the old one while operating the new one is questionable.