In some ways, New Fantasyland is more than the sum of its parts. It’s the first real expansion of the Magic Kingdom since Mickey’s Toontown Fair, which was always meant to be temporary. There is a freshness to this new land, almost an urgency of theme, that will leave its mark on even the most jaded of returning Disney visitors. Frankly, the quality reeks of Tokyo DisneySea.
The new area in fact causes you to rethink Fantasyland at large. Fantasyland has always been about European stories and places (Peter Pan’s England, Snow White’s Germany), but the entire area from the castle back to these new rides now refers to a very specific region — France. And this is delightful, precisely because it provides a counterpoint to Disneyland’s Fantasyland, which is themed to look like Germany. France here and Germany there: it makes sense because these two countries provided the majority of inspiration for the fairytales that made the Walt Disney company famous.
Is the new land a challenge to Harry Potter and the Harry Potter expansion? Not really. But I have doubts that it was ever supposed to be. If and when Disney wants to get serious about challenging the Boy Wizard on his own terms (ie, young adults and teens), there will be other attractions announced. This expansion was more akin to “counter programming” you see other channels do when the Olympics are on; not an attempt to compete head to head so much as to offer something different. Something that plays to their strengths.
So yes, New Fantasyland is WDW’s counter-programming to Harry Potter and SeaWorld’s expansions. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Particularly when the results speak for themselves. Frankly, there is a REASON that Disney is the 800-pound gorilla in the industry, and when they put their minds to it, they accomplish a lot. Storybook Circus and New Fantasyland are dyed-in-the-wool Disney classics, and as one of the most vociferous Disney World critics, I’m not afraid to admit it.
More here: http://micechat.com/13957-new-fantasyland-what-to-expect/
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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.
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