Tag Archives: Fantasyland

Fantasyland’s Big Top Souvenirs

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If you’ve yet to visit the new Fantasyland expansion, make a plan to stop by Storybook Circus and visit one of the best-themes, coolest shops in the Magic Kingdom.  Today’s installment of Saturday’s With Nick gives us a terrific idea about what can be found under the Big Top!

Fantasyland’s Big Top Souvenirs

By: Nick

Ladies and Gentlemen, please direct your attention to the Storybook Circus portion of the New Fantasyland expansion, to discover the most stupendous, the most terrific, the most fantastic new shopping experience in all of Walt Disney World: Big Top Souvenirs!

That may have sounded like hyperbole, up there, but this really is a fantastic place, with a circus tent atmosphere located in the new Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom next to Pete’s Silly Sideshow.

 

The fun starts before you even get inside the store. On one of the days we visited, 2 Cast Members were out front, and they were pin trading in a new and novel way.

The pins were presented on popcorn themed cushions! Love it!
 
The circus atmosphere continues throughout your shopping or dinning experience.

I did say dining, as there is a snack section and a beverage section. I didn’t have any of the goodies this trip, but will be sure to the next time I go to the circus.

It’s great to see one of my all time favorite characters, Humphrey the Bear, represented. Not familiar with Humphry? Please check out some posts about him here.

There are circus cars all around the store, serving different purposes, such as this embroidery station.

Checkout locations.
They have all sorts of merchandise, from your basic Walt Disney World and Mickey Mouse tees…
… to special items, such as these hats, mugs and plates featuring Dumbo.
So come one, come all, to the newest and best store in all of Fantasyland: Big Top Souvenirs!
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Disney’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Again

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RM-7DMT-RocksAbout six months ago, I visited the Magic Kingdom’s newly expanded Fantasyland to ride the much touted and highly anticipated Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  During that first experience I was admittedly underwhelmed.  I’m 100% certain is was due all the build up and hoopla leading up (for a couple of years) to the ride’s opening and the subsequent realization that it is, in spite of all that hype, still a kiddie coaster.

I like to believe I’m a fair person and am pretty self-aware.  I knew I’d had my expectations too high for those poor Dwarfs and their train – the ride is literally two minutes long.  How much pizazz was I expecting in 120 seconds?  I rode it once and, boom! just like that, it was over.  I had to give the attraction a second chance.  A do-over.  A mulligan, if you will.  The second time, I’d know the ride’s length and what to expect so I could pay much closer attention to each and every detail.

While first impressions may make or break a relationship – not so with Disney attractions, I’m happy to report!  Attitude adjustment and FastPass+ firmly in hand, we made our way into the Seven Dwarf’s queue – it was a hot day and a couple of Cast Members were handing out cups of ice water to guests as they entered the attraction (nice touch!).  Remembering the somewhat tricky lap bar (be careful not to pull it down too far – it’s easy to do because it “glides” into place and stays there).  We climbed into our train car and waited for clearance to go.SevenDwarfsLoading

On the first ride, I was disappointed by how “firm” the cars were.  Rather than freely swinging from side to side as I’d expected, they felt stiff and barely moved.  By the second try, I noticed right away there was a lot more movement adding just the right amount of extra action to what is an amazingly smooth and quiet ride.RM-7DMT-Train1

When the train slowed down to enter the mine, I was ready!  I took in many more of the details the second time around.  This part of the ride is just fantastic!  The change from outdoor coaster, riding through the trees and hills, to a slow trip past the Dwarfs as they work is what makes this attraction so unique.  If you’ve not ridden this coaster before, be sure to pay close attention to this part!RM-7DMT-Train2

I still didn’t get a good look into the Dwarf’s cottage at the end of the ride, but did notice a few more details that I’d missed before.  I guess I’ll just have to ride it again next time I visit the Magic Kingdom.  Since we’d purchased Memory Maker, we got the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train video as a souvenir and it’s very adorable.

Have you ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train? What did you think of it?

 

Disney’s Under the Sea – Voyage of the Little Mermaid

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In Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Fantasyland has always been a favorite place for Fantasyland Photo Opparents and grandparents to take small children and enjoy some of Disney’s more whimsical, milder rides and attractions.  These are the ones made for every age – low or no height requirements, no rough twists and turns, no scary surprises – The kinds of rides Walt Disney himself had a hand in creating so children and adults could have fun together.

As part of the Magic Kingdom’s new Fantasyland expansion, the Little Mermaid ride (officially:  Under the Sea-Voyage of the Little Mermaid) is an adorable tribute to Ariel’s story – full of all our favorite characters and Queue for Voyage of the Little Mermaidscenes.  Tucked beneath Prince Eric’s castle, guests board clammobiles for a fun and fanciful journey through familiar scenes – brought to life, straight from the movie!  As you approach the attraction, there’s a great photo op and most likely a Disney photographer will be standing by to snap your picture in front of a ship with Ariel as the figurehead!

The queue is full of clever surprises – so much so that I was actually disappointed that the line moved quickly and I couldn’t look at the details as long as I would have liked.  The queue starts outside where you’ll feel just like you’re IMG_3003at the seaside walking in and out of caverns carved by the ocean’s waves.  Look down and you’ll see a variety of seashells under foot.  Look along the walls and find starfish and barnicles.  Once you go inside, there are interactive parts to this queue involving Ariel’s treasures and some cute and funny little blue crabs.

The indoor part of the queue is cool and dark – as is the ride itself.  Lighting effects make you feel like you are truly going under the sea in your clam shell.  Unlike Epcot’s The Ride Vehicle for Voyage of the Little MermaidSeas With Nemo & Friends which offers a new storyline continuing where Finding Nemo left off, Under the Sea – Voyage of the Little Mermaid (similar to Peter Pan’s Flight) offers only a selection of scenes straight from the movie. This is what divides visitors’ opinions about this attraction – Little kids (and Mermaid fans) love seeing the familiar scenes reproduced in great detail and larger than life.  Big kids and adults are often disappointed by the scenes’ simplicity and how the ride offers nothing new or different – basically just replicates parts of the movie exactly (with low-tech animatronics to boot).

Judge for yourself!  This attraction is worth at least one visit for the experience.  The highly detailed, interactive queue is very well done and the ride itself is a great place to sit down and cool off for a bit fromScuttle the Florida heat.  This is a continuously loading attraction, so you may want to save a FastPass for something else as the line moves pretty quickly.  Personally, I liked the ride okay, but I LOVED the queue!  I have to agree with the folks that would have liked a little something new or different in the Little Mermaids story – there seems to be wasted potential.

Have you ridden the new Little Mermaid ride?  What did you think about it?

 

WDW Ariel and Eric in Silhouette Ariel Getting Legs Ursula - Voyage of the Little Mermaid WDW Little Mermaid's King Triton

 

 

So Long Snow White – Hello Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

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Snow White's Scary Adventure - WitchThroughout my life (yes, nearly 50 years!), I’ve often found myself in a small minority of people who like change.  Change doesn’t generally bother me – most of the time I’m in favor of it.  For sure, I’m not as resistant to it as most folks tend to be.  In fact, in my job (the one I have to support my Disney vacation addiction), I’m often responsible for helping people adjust to and embrace change.  This sort of brings me to today’s topic…Snow White's Scary Adventure - Peek Inside

Two years ago we were at Walt Disney world during the last week of May.  Snow White’s Scary Adventure was closing forever after May 31st, 2012, so I planned for our group to be in Magic Kingdom that day in order to take a farewell ride.  As we rode along through all the scenes, I tried hard to feel sentimental and drum up some appropriate feelings of nostalgia – tried hard to be a little sad even.  Well….not so much.  Snow’s ride had never been one of my favorites and, in the spirit of totally honesty, I was not going to miss it.  At all.  I didn’t hate it or anything – To name my feelings, I would say I was perfectly ambivalent.  Yes, it was a Fantasyland classic, but it always seemed to lack the whimsy of Peter Pan’s Flight.  For sure, it wasn’t as interesting as It’s a Small World and Fantasyland Construction Wall Signwas completely without a catchy tune.  I guess you could say – I was in pro-change mode.  Close the ride and make something else?  Build a new Snow White-related attraction?  Make a Princess Fairytale Hall for meet-and-greets?  YES!  I was completely in favor of those plans.  Change is sometimes good and necessary.  This was certainly one of those times.

I walked by the walls surrounding the Fantasyland Expansion that day in 2012 and wondered what we could expect from the barely-begun Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – it seemed a fitting plan to pay tribute to one of the most Disney-esque of movies, while adding some much needed pizazz to a Snow White experience.  Back then, very little was know about the would-be attraction and its cutting-edge technology.  As construction updates began to appear on my favorite media sites, my excitement slowly built….

Next week, almost exactly two years to the day from the date we said goodbye to Snow Seven Dwarfs on Fantasyland Construction WallWhite’s Scary Adventure, I’ll finally get to ride the much-anticipated Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!  I’ve watched the YouTube videos, read the reviews and blog reports and am absolutely thrilled to have booked FastPasses for the afternoon of May 30th.

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Seven Dwarfs Sign Fantasyland Construction WallAre you excited for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train?  Do you wish Snow White’s Scary Adventure had stayed in Fantasyland in place of the Princess Fairytale Hall?