New Fantasyland

A lot of hype has been put up about the New Fantasyland expansion in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and it deserves all that attention. It is the largest expansion ever at this park and while some sections are still under construction the Beauty and Beast and the Little Mermaid experiences are up and running. I had the privilege to eat at the new Be Our Guest restaurant for both lunch and dinner and I must say its the most beautifully designed restaurant at Disney I have been to. The ballroom is just how you see it in the movie and Beast's west wing as well! The study is a bit out of place because its not actually part of the movie but the center piece makes up for it.

 Food wise the restaurant is also outstanding. For lunch the offer a modified quick service so you can order your food in the queue then sit down and they bring your meal by the magic rose you are given as a position finder. The french onion soup is wonderful as are the desserts. For dinner the dinning style changes to a more sophisticated palate. Servers of the castle bring you to your table with rose napkins and delectable dinner options. When I was there for this meal we had enough people to each choose a different item and try every entree on the menu and they were all spectacular! What sets this restaurant apart from the rest of Magic Kingdom is their offering of wine and beer at dinner. If you happen to be celebrating anything make sure to let them know in your reservations or wear a birthday pin and try the "grey stuff" it really is delicious. 

Speaking of food Gaston's Tavern is right next door if you don't want to wait in line for Be Our Guest. There is not much on the menu but the cinnamon rolls are huge and the decor is truly Gaston's style. You might even spot the big guy strolling around in front by his fountain.

 Belle's Cottage was a nice experience but because I visited during soft opening (late November) and opening week (December 6th) the lines were long and the cast members didn't leave much time inside the rooms to really explore and see what was there. The new story time with Belle was refreshing and when the summer months come along will be a nice change from the once outdoor area where it was held. Over all its a cute thing for the little kids but if you want to look at things inside the cottage and Maurice's workshop you might be disappointed from being rushed on to the next room.

The Journey of the Little Mermaid ride is almost identical to its California counterpart but I'm so glad that Disney brought it to Florida. The wait line is filled with thingy-ma-bob's and whatcha-ma-call-its. It is interactive but when I got in line we just about walked onto the ride. Ariel's meet-and-greet has also been restored in her Grotto just next to the ride entrance.

The last area to be opened will be the 7 Dwarfs' Mine Train. Walking around the construction fences there are areas to peek in and see the progress. This ride is not supposed to open though until 2014! Also new over by Small World and Peter Pan. It will house a meet-and-greet as well as some new bathrooms.

Have a Magical Day!

Some New Magic

It's been since January that I made my last visit to Magic Kingdom. Far too long compared to my normal amount of visits. With our annual passes currently expired we used some of our 1 day/1 park from volunteering at the Disney Marathon in January. With all the construction going on in Fantasyland and one section of it open it was as good as time as any to spend a day.

First things first I had heard about the Sorcerers Card Game, a new interactive game which leads you around the park to help save the Magic Kingdom from the Villains of Disney. There are 70 cards total each with a different attack performed by a Disney character. 60 of the cards can be found in the packs given to you each day you go to the Sorcerer training centers. The last 10 cards are part of mystery packs that you can buy, 6 regular cards and 1 of the final ten. Once you get started with your first 5 cards you begin battling some villains at portal located around the park (marked on a special map). Using the Key Card you open the portal and follow the prompts to show either the back of your card for the Crest or the front of a card for an attack. I've only just started but its easy to see that this is a hit among those who know of it. Trading duplicates helps to build up your amount of cards and expands the visuals shown when attacking a villain.

The newly opened area of Fantasyland was next on my list of things to experience. Dumbo was moved and doubled in size. Not only does this make the wait time less Imagineers have also reconstructed the waiting experience. Instead of traditional queues they now offer a large indoor (and air-conditioned!) play area for kids and seating for adults. Before entering they give you a pager similar to one you would get waiting for a restaurant. The kids are free to explore and play and the pager will buzz when its time to join the line again. From this point it only takes a few minutes to actually board the flying elephants!

Along with the updated Dumbo a new water play area has taken over what was once Donald's boat in Toontown. The area features circus train cars filled with exotic animals spraying water at the kids running underneath. Look closely at the ground and you'll spot some of the foot/hoof prints along with some peanut shells that the elephants must have over looked!

As this is August the heat was mighty bad. The newly reopened Sunshine Tree Terrace was the perfect option to cool down. Part of the original Adventureland area Disney brought back some Orange Bird memorabilia recently to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Disney World (Oct. 2011). Now you can once again enjoy the citrus swirl (much like a creamsicle). The lines also seem less than the Dole Whip station. Personally I think Disney needs to bring back the Orange Bird so I can recreate a picture of my dad from back during the opening month.

Among the new things to be seen since my last visit was the Merida from Brave meet and greet area. Step through the gates and enter the Highlands with tapestries on the walls and even an archery lesson awaiting you its like being in the movie. Keep an eye on the little bears, they don't like sitting very still and make some funny noises.

I must say I can't wait to visit when the new princess castles will be open!
Until then, Have a Magical Day!

Disneyland Paris April 2012: 20th Anniversary

While studying in Europe I made a side trip to Paris with a classmate.We made our way over to Disneyland after a quick lunch at the Studios where we had spent our first couple of hours. 
My friend, his first visit to any Disney park, soon realized a few things. The first being my obsession over Disney, the second the amount of detail put into everything at the Disney parks, and third how magical these places truly are.
This being my 3rd Disney Resort visited this year I am no stranger to the classic Main Street entrance leading to the castle but here in Paris they were celebrating the 20th Anniversary and were wonderfully decorated and had all sorts of special parades and shows just for the occasion. I've read that Disneyland Paris was built to have the expanse of Magic Kingdom in Florida with the intimate atmosphere of Disneyland California and having read this after visiting I completely agree. We strolled through the shops discovering passages behind the stores with great detailing of artifacts displayed along the walls, even some of the bakeries had a back window to order at (would be great if there was bad lines in front)!
The castle is the most unique I've seen, still smaller than Magic Kingdom but larger than California. Past the shops of Main Street the park divides into the classic Hub and Spoke to the different lands: Discovery, Fantasy, Adventure, and Frontier.
Our first stop was Phantom Manor, the Paris version of Haunted Mansion. The area is amazingly detailed and the interior refreshingly different from the American counterparts. In the same area is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one of the many rides here that I found even better than back at the parks in Florida or California.
On our way to Discoveryland we crossed paths with a small character parade for the 20th Anniversary celebration. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip, Dale, and the rare Clarice stopped in front of the castle to meet with their fans. The only downfall I experienced was the lack of crowd control, no formal lines were made and the cast members had no initiative to make any. Anyone who managed to elbow their way to the front is who got their picture next.
We continued to Space Mountain: Mission 2, being used to the sharp turns of the original I was very surprised at its true roller coaster feel. It launches you from the outside into its futuristic housing where you will go upside down and much faster than the original. Continuing with our space exploration feel we went on Star Tours, this ride is the same as the non-updated ones back in the states. C-3P0 doesn't sound too bad in French.
On our way to Fantasyland we wandered through the castle interior with lovely stained glass portraits of the Sleeping Beauty story and a dragon guarding the dungeon. The Fantasyland attractions are the closest to the American originals but more than just the language can be spotted as a difference. It's a Small World was surprisingly in English but an area dedicated to the United States is featured at the end of this cruise complete with football and baseball players, and icon landmarks. One of the largest attractions in Fantasyland is Alice's Curious Labyrinth. A large maze which leads you through the movie scenes into the Red Queen's castle. 
Traversing our way to Adventureland my most important stop was Pirates of the Caribbean! A beautiful rendition where the entry way seems to be a fully functioning fort very similar to ones I have actually been to in the islands. They clearly expect large crowds as the queue is very long and has many pirate-y details to soak in even if there is no line. Also in this area is Adventure Isle which has many attractions for the younger children such as Captain Hook's ship and the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom rollercoaster. Indiana Jones is another attraction that is different at every park, in Florida it is a stunt show and in California a 4x4 experience through movie set style with special effects.
The afternoon parade was spectacular. Disney Magic on Parade! A special soundtrack was created for the Anniversary and some floats were specially decorated as well. As I turned to see my friend's reaction I could see the goosebumps and told him that the best was even later with the fireworks.
The fireworks were mostly done in the castle projection system that is used for Magic, Memories, and You show back in the states with only a small amount of explosions but it was still fantastic! With a combination of French and English Peter Pan leads you through the class movies as the other characters appear on the castle or water screens (similar to Fantasmic). Disney Dreams was as beautiful as any other fireworks show I've experienced at a Disney Resort.
We had time before closing for one more ride so we were off the Buzz Lightyear ( a tradition among my trips as the line is usually so long during the day). After we sadly made our way to the entrance wandering through the stores for last minute souvenirs before we made our way back to the city.
Yet another spectacular day at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Disneyland Paris April 2012: Studios

While studying abroad in Europe it was a must that I spend at least one day visiting a Disney location.  (disclosure: I do not speak nor understand French and most every ride has French soundtracks)
My friend and I arrived fairly early in the morning and had already decided to spend the first part of the day at Hollywood Studios so to avoid going back and forth across the parks. The first ride we hit was Tower of Terror, very similar to the ones back home but a thrilling experience as always.
Then Rock'n'Rollercoaster hit our radar. Knowing we did not have enough time to go on every ride in both parks we had to condense what we chose. Fortunately there were not too many lines during the day so we did get on all the ones I could not miss out on.
The day was on and off rainy so while walking through the Toy Story area we got rained on and quickly got in line for Crush's Coaster (Very Awesome!). I appreciated having a fun ride form of Finding Nemo much more than the "Turtle Talk with Crush" that is back home. In this same area they have little kid rides Cars themed and replicas of the buildings from Radiator Springs.
Back towards the entrance are several buildings for different sit down experiences and shows with specific start times. Some of these included musicals, the art of Disney animation, and Cine Magique. I wish we could have spent time at the different shows at here but we had too much ground to cover to stay in one park all day. I look forward to when I will be able to visit again and have more time to explore.

Enjoy the photos and have a Magical day!

Disneyland California Spring 2012

This was my first visit to the original park and I had the package deal! As a a special girls weekend my mother, grandmothers, and I spent a few nights at Paradise Pier. After checking in we went straight to Disneyland and went on Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean after the circle tour on the Disneyland Railroad. We also did the walk through of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Our room had a great view of California Adventure and the first night, too tired from flying, watched World of Color from our window.

Next morning we woke up early to get there in time for Magic Morning Hours at Disneyland and hit many of the popular rides with no wait times! These included for us: Casey Jr. Circus Train, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Alice in Wonderland, and It's a Small World. From there we crossed into Toon Town and went on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin and Gadget's Go Coaster. After having lunch at Cafe Orleans, and enjoying their Mardi Gras celebration with Princess Tiania.

Once the park started to get busy we went over to California Adventure caught part of Minnie's Fly Girls Show in front of Soarin' before using our instant Fast Passes from the hotel to walk right on. Continuing on we got in line for Monster's Inc. and then went back to the hotel for an hour to rest up before going back to Disneyland to see the Magic, Memories, and You! show on It's a Small World then Fireworks from in front of the castle.

The next day was breakfast at Plaza Inn near Sleeping Beauty Castle after Enchanted Tiki Room and Indian Jones' Adventure (to avoid the long waits later in the day). Afterwards we joined Nemo and friends on the Submarine Voyage and took off into outer space with both Space Mountain (instant fast pass again!) and Captain Eo.On our way out of the park we spent some time having Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. We made our way back to California adventure for a late lunch at the Golden Vine. We decided a little musical delight would be wonderful and caught Aladdin, spent some time in the Animation Studio, and even did some Wilderness Exploring at Redwood Creek.

 Later that night we went back for elecTRONica a special night time show based on Tron: Legacy including music, characters, and a laser show. We didn't spend too much time enjoying all the scenes brought to life as we had to catch World of Color (priority viewing from our lunch that day) but not before I used another instant Fast Pass and rode California Screamin'! The show was amazing and, as most Disney performances do, gave me goosebumps.

I know there were still many rides missed but for a first time visit in just a few short days but I had a truly magical weekend. Enjoy some pictures from my trip and I hope that you too have a Magical day!