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Fantasyland Expansion Opening Dates

It’s 2012: where’s the new Fantasyland? Three years ago when I first read about all of Disney World’s planned expansions for the Magic Kingdom, I was so excited that for a moment I could close my eyes and almost imagine being there. That is the Disney World I always imagined as a child, and I only have to wait for three years, and there it’ll be. Well, we’re halfway through 2012 now, but it seems like little has happened. The biggest expansion-related news to come out of a Disney Park has been about “Cars Land” out in Anaheim. We all … Continue reading →

Fantasyland Expansion Update

Since I first wrote about the 2012 Fantasyland expansion Disney World has released more information about the upcoming changes to the park. Construction has officially begun, but now that the expansion is becoming reality, we’re learning that not all of the original plans for the new Fantasyland will come to fruition. The Orlando Sentinel has the latest details about the transformation currently happening right now in the Magic Kingdom. While the expansion still revolves around the Disney Princess theme, their section won’t be as elaborate as originally planned. Instead of Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White, Belle, and Ariel each … Continue reading →

Potential Expansion for Disneyland Paris

After remaining quiet for half a decade or so, construction vehicles on Disney parks are really revving up again. We have the major Fantasyland expansion currently underway in Disney World, a new Disney park planned for Shanghai, and now, a potential new theme park for Disneyland Paris. The U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper reports that Euro Disney – the European corporate branch of the conglomerate – has reached a deal with the French government allowing it another 20 years during which to build on the lands surrounding the park. The government owns all of the land around Disneyland Paris and previously only … Continue reading →

Fantasyland Expansion in Progress

Recently Disney announced the largest expansion of Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland in the history of the Magic Kingdom. The new Fantasyland is expected to open in 2012, over 40 years after the debut of Disney World in Orlando. Included in the expansion is a realm for many of the famous Disney Princesses: Ariel, Belle, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Cinderella. I know that I’ve been down on the Disney Princess theme recently, but I do love the characters and the fantasy they imbue. If ever there were an appropriate time and place for reveling in fairy tales, Disney World is it. … Continue reading →

Downtown Disney to Expand into Disney Springs

A few years after it announced and then scrapped plans to reformat Pleasure Island, the official Disney Parks blog has revealed that Downtown Disney is getting an upgrade.  A years-long project will transform Downtown Disney into Disney Springs, an even larger shopping and entertainment district. Downtown Disney is so popular with Florida residents and Disney World guests alike that it was time to expand.  Don’t worry about suddenly needing a ticket to get into the area: just like before, Disney Springs will be open to the public (though individual entertainment venues still might require tickets for entrance). Tom Staggs, the … Continue reading →

Disneyland Developing New Fantasy Faire

I’ve come to a conclusion: the Disney parks are almost like a living organism. They’re constantly changing and evolving. Maybe equating them to something that’s alive is a bit of a stretch, but the idea that they never stay the same, that there’s always something different or new happening or in the process of doing so: that’s definitely accurate. When the famous founder of your illustrious company was known for his innovation, you don’t have much choice but to constantly do the same if you want to uphold his legacy. The latest update announced for Disneyland, not long after the … Continue reading →

Cars Land: Grand for “Cars” Fans

We all know how I feel about “Cars.” So I will force myself not to spend this article grinding my teeth over how, despite lackluster reviews, merchandising sales for “Cars 2” were so phenomenal, even before the film came out, that it was considered a success. Such a success (again, even before its release) that Disneyland’s California Adventure Park is adding a new attraction: Cars Land. The official Disney Parks blog has posted a series of articles lately on it, exploring what it will entail and highlighting its 2009 groundbreaking. “Cars” fans start your engines: the attraction dedicated to the … Continue reading →

Pleasure Island Converting to Hyperion Wharf

Many of Pleasure Island’s restaurants will likely remain Change abounds at Disney World. In addition to all the other construction happening around the park, plans are underway for Downtown Disney. Soon Pleasure Island will be replaced with Hyperion Wharf. Those who love Pleasure Island shouldn’t fret: the language used by the announcement post on the official Disney Parks blog says that Pleasure Island will “evolve.” That could just be fancy PR talk to soothe any upset over the change, or it could mean that elements of Pleasure Island will remain. The Disney Parks blog doesn’t have much information about the … Continue reading →

A Night at the Magic Kingdom

Many of us had the fantasy as children: we get to spend a night locked in the mall, or zoo, or our favorite amusement park. The details might have differed, but the overall wish remained the same. We wanted to live in whatever counted as our personal wonderland. Now Variety Magazine reports that the Disney Company is planning a film which would play on that very desire. Forget about rides like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion, it looks like the Magic Kingdom itself might be getting its very own movie. At this point the movie exists in … Continue reading →

Why Disney World?

I have talked for years about my eventual Disney park trip. I never got to go as a child, so it’s something I assume I definitely want to do in my adulthood. I figure that I’m an avid Disney fan, so of course I will want to go to a Disney park. When I mention this to my husband, his first question is “yeah, but what would you do there?” As an adult I might want very different things out of a Disney park trip, and my youthful enthusiasm is also tempered by a rational need for practicality and frugality. … Continue reading →