Fantasyland has doubled in size, fun and thrills
At age 10, my daughter is more of a roller-coaster aficionado, but she’s still willing to do classic Disney for old time’s sake.
Grace and I are at the opening of the New Fantasyland at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., which has doubled in size, and the rides there are tame by her tween sensibilities.
So we ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the Mad Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and even the ‘baby’ roller coaster, The Barnstormer.
In some cases we ride repeatedly using Disney’s Fast Pass system of bypassing line ups by getting a ticket to come back at a later time.
“I remember when I was a kid and these were my favourite rides,” Grace tells me with the kind of aplomb that only a 10-year-old can muster.
No matter your age, a visit to the Magic Kingdom isn’t complete without Fantasyland.
“Fantasyland is the heart of Disney theme parks behind iconic Cinderella’s castle,” said Disney Parks & Resorts president Tom Staggs at the grand-opening ceremonies in early December, which featured song and dance numbers by season six American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and Disney’s cast of characters, including, of course, Mickey Mouse.
“It stays true to our legacy of helping families make memories that will last a lifetime.”
Yes, Staggs laid it on a little thick, but Grace and I do take his cue and make our trip down memory lane.
It’s definitely different than last time we were there two years ago.
Half of the rides are new, the others expanded on and improved and there’s the new Beauty-and-the-Beast-themed Be Our Guest restaurant that’s fast service by day and oh-so-French fine dining by night.
And in a Magic Kingdom first, the restaurant serves beer and wine.
Serving booze at this family-oriented park is a big deal considering it’s been dry since inception in 1971.
Another first at the park is a pager system at the twice-the-size Dumbo ride that’s wildly popular with the preschooler demographic and their parents.
If there’s a line up you are handed a pager as you enter so you can frolic at the indoor playground and not lose your place.
Still, there’s a lot more to the Magic Kingdom than the New Fantasyland, as Grace points out.
“Time for roller-coaster mania,” she says with a big smirk.
So it’s over to Frontierland for the adrenalin rides Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.
Then Tomorrowland for backto-back-to-back screams on Space Mountain courtesy of the shrewd use of the Fast Pass.
Thanks to our handy-dandy Park Hopper multi-day, multi-theme park admission tickets we also take in the most exhilarating rides at Animal Kingdom (Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids); Hollywood Studios (Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Star Tours); and Epcot (the updated Test Track Powered by Chevrolet and Mission Space).
Now an authority on all things coaster, Grace’s current top three ranking is Expedition Everest, Rock n Roller Coaster and a tie for Space Mountain and Tower of Terror.
All the Disney biggies tend to have one thing in common: Fright and delight is achieved by hurling yourself forward at least part of the time through the pitch black, then backward, up, down and sideways.
This tended to give us both what we called the 4-o’clock roller-coaster headache.
A nip back to our hotel — the new Art of Animation Resort, where rooms resemble kitsch 1960s-era motel rooms à la the Disney movie Cars — for a dip in the pool lifted the malaise.
A light dinner to follow (you don’t want too much in your stomach) and more coasters and then we enjoyed a night-capping fireworks show in one of the parks.