New Fantasyland Review

gaston tavern

We had the pleasure of visiting the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World resort on Sunday, December 2nd to get a look at New Fantasyland (not including Storybook Circus).

inside gastons tavern

The new area is very well done with lots of attention to detail. Gaston’s Tavern, while rather small, is choked full of props and other themed elements.

 under the sea little mermaid

The only new ride currently open is Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. The highlight of the attraction is the amazing Ursula animatronic.

the little mermaid pictures

We used Fastpasses so we missed out on seeing the interactive queue elements which I’ve heard is called Scuttle’s Scavenger Hunt.

 enchanted tales with belle

Next, we did the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction. While this is more of an interactive show designed for young children, older guests will still be amazed by some of the effects and fluid animatronic figures within. The magic mirror effect in which a small mirror on the wall magically transforms into a doorway you walk through is very impressive (even if you know how it works).

 gaston

Surprisingly, one of the highlights of the new area for me was meeting Gaston. The actor played the role to perfection and was hilarious! When a guest asked him to sign her autograph book he said, “Earlier, I snuck into Belle’s library and signed all of her books!”  When asked how he was today he responded, “Perfect, but you already knew that!” Guests couldn’t get enough of him and a large crowd quickly gathered.

new fantasyland gifts

My only complaint with the new area is that you can’t go inside the Be Our Guest Restaurant after 10:30 AM if you’re not planning on buying anything to eat. Is it too much to ask to be able to go inside for a quick peek?

 beasts castle

Check out some video we took on our trip to Disney World last weekend, including scenes from Celebrate the Magic, Fantasmic, and Enchanted Tales with Belle!

We’re very much looking forward to the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to complete the area in 2014. New Fantasyland “officially” opens this week. Stay tuned for more updates from our trip to Walt Disney World.

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