Magic Kingdom's Broken Fantasyland
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- When most out-siders think of Disney parks, they probably likely think about the Magic Kingdom and Fantasyland. Yet, for being the most popular theme park in the world, their most iconic and marketable land is completely under-built. Today, I would like to break down why Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland is so underwhelming, especially in comparison to Disneyland and shine a spot-light on how useless the New Fantasyland project was in revitalizing this area. Furthermore, I also have a number of interesting ideas that I think would really help fix this land by using space in a creative manner.
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The problem with Disney's current leadership is that it is not customer centric. It is corporate centric with squeezing out as much money from as few people as possible. Overprice everything so fewer people can go, but make those that do pay disproportionately more than if there were more people at the parks. Lighting Lane is a perfect example of this thinking.
Agree that the current leadership is terrible (especially Chapek). But the parks (at least in Disney World) are always packed so they definitely do not need more people there.. They just need to stop being so greedy and squeezing every last cent out of guests. Like you said Lightning Lane and Genie+ are ridiculous.
That really isn't going to change anymore. Disney is now a run of the mill multinational. This is what they do.
Walts direct influence is now out of living memory within the company and is simply never comming back.
Better get used to it i guess.
100% the company is completely backward from back in the day. If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you and you will make money
@@jamesmoulliet5615 what a stupid idea.
You can simply not make ALL the money and even more of it every next quarter if you don't treat customers like walking atm machines.
@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 the fact you have been on this comment section for over 6hrs makes me think you have nothing else do to in life and have little brain activity. Just stop
Tangled bathrooms are probably the most disrespectful way to pay homage to their properties
"So we have this great Princess movie that started a new Renaissance! It's only 1/8 as popular as Frozen but we wanna give tribute to it"
"Let's give them an to POOP and PEE in!"
Yeah how I like them
Don’t agree personally, they could have not referenced it at all just like many other films. I think it’s actually pretty cool that instead of just having a basic themed bathroom, they could use it as an opportunity to get tangled in the parks somewhere
I think that Tangled would make for a great ride. Either having it be a boat ride like in that part in the movie with the lanterns or something else.
@@cadendicky1855it'd be cool if they made a huge winding slide dark ride where you see scenes from the movie as you go down!
The Beast’s Castle is the worst use of forced perspective I’ve ever seen. It’s 30 feet tall and, instead the FP making it look larger, they somehow managed to make it look even smaller than it really is.
I was surprised to find out how tall it was. It failed to achieve what it attempted to do, but in the strangest way possible.
New Fantasyland made us lose one of the most classic Disney dark rides in Snow White… for a meet and greet… that they could’ve built… I dunno… ANYWHERE else in the land?
I couldn’t agree more! Snow White’s Scary Adventures was an awesome ride!! The roller coaster severely under delivers. The classic ride was charming yet mildly frightening at the same time; the take on Disney’s original classic was awesome! I could have even overlooked that if they refurbished the ride, but to replace it with a meet and greet??? Why??? They had an entire Fantasyland build-out for that!
@BK Beatty the Mine Ride is weak. It’s a low intensity kiddy coaster with minimal theming. The one part that’s in the mine is kind of cool, but take out that scene and it could be a ride straight out of Six Flags. It pales in comparison to Big Thunder, Everest, and Hagrid’s Motorbike, and I do not understand why it’s the most popular ride in the park.
The only positive thing I can really say about it is that it’s way better than Slinky Dog. Talk about a piece of crap that Disney just mailed in.
@@fstanley2328 I was just about to reply to that comment lol, you saved me a lotta time and I agree completely on your assessment of the ride. It should be torn down and replaced with something else imo.
I recall how that attraction was before it's 1994 redesign when it was called "Snow White's Adventures" which ironically was more scary then when it became "Snow White's Scary Adventures". In "Snow White's Adventures" Snow White isn't in the attraction herself as YOU was Snow White and seeing things from her perspective.
Now my own memory of that version of the ride is hazy but I can recall the attraction being scary with the trees more horrifying and the Witch chasing you down and crashing though a window. In the end the Witch crushes you to death with a giant diamond...ride over. That was a attraction that many didn't know how scary it was for the time riders and took many by shock. Wish it remained.
@@AngelJD I remember when it was previously more scary, but then they watered it down.
A boat ride themed after the River Styx from Hercules is a top tier idea, my dude.
Thinking the same thing!
Cool idea with a big animontric Cerberus
Kids don’t know who Hercules is, and if they do, they don’t really care about him. You guys seem to forget that Disney makes their most money off of families, so that’s who they’re mainly designing their parks for. Nobody cares if the 30 year old man doesn’t like Dwarves mine train, when their customer base thinks it’s amazing. There is criticism to give Disney, but “This family ride isn’t thrilling enough so it’s a waste of space” is something that has zero business thought behind it.
@@CollinMckenna he never said the problem is that it's not thrilling though. the problem is poor theming.
I never understood mine train. Like it’s so similar to big thunder that is in the same park and this version is shorter and worse. And tangled could be an epic ride but we get restrooms….
Tangled-themed bungie jump for an up charge?
Agree! It’s shockingly short and throws me off every time
coasters aside, a mine train through the dwarf’s mine was the original pitch from walt for what he wanted for his snow white attraction
As someone who just went to Fantasyland, I can confirm at least one thing: it’s a small world is in DESPERATE need of repairs!!
That costs money and doesn’t create an opportunity to nickel and dime people. So it’s a no go for Chapek.
I've heard that Disney refuses to pay their techs enough, so they're having issues retaining old talent and training new people. It would certainly make sense as to why things always seem to be falling apart.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I’m old enough to remember going to Disney World when they used to brag about their high level of maintenance including mentioning things like how every single burned out bulb on the decorative lighting on Main Street were changed nightly after the park closed.
I last went in 2019 and I was shocked at how dirty and broken down so many things have become. I can’t imagine it’s gotten better since the pandemic.
I went to Cedar Point a few weeks and it was much cleaner and better maintained than Disney World parks and it wasn’t even close.
The monorail system in particular is something I find utterly shameful how they’ve let fall into such disrepair. Rather than buy new ones, I truly believe Disney is going to just keep riding the current ones into the ground until a guest is seriously hurt or killed in an accident. Then, they’re just going to shut the whole thing down for good saying it’s too unsafe to run anymore.
You should do a video about the monorail’s current state.
I remember years ago when I was very young going to Disneyland in anaheim. All the kids were so excited especially looking for Mr. Walt Disney in the park who was in disguise. I knew Walt Disney arrived to monitor the operation of his park and its employees. His stay in the park was approximately 1 hour. I know this because the intercom came on with someone stating Mr. Walt Disney had left the park in that period of time. Entrance fees into the park were reasonable, we didn't pay for parking, merchandise was of the highest quality along with food within the park. Those were great memories.
Toad and Snow White also were probably taken out since nothing could be “scary” anymore for kids. They both had frightening elements for kids (I could attest). Instead of embracing the element of freights, different than coaster “thrills,” dark rides are veering away from what they were derived from at amusement parks. Little Mermaid is fine, but there is nothing on it that scares my kids like the Mr Toad train or Snow White Queen/hag scared me as a kid. Kids are still allowed to get scared!
I hate how Disney caves to complaining parents. If Universal did so, HHN wouldn't be as successful as it is. The scariness was so essential to the personality of those rides.
it's a weird phenomenon, especially considering that a lot of kids LIKE to be scared. Mascot horror has become more and more targeted towards children, and even if your kid is easily scared, being scared in a safe environment can help them learn how to healthily handle their fear. Part of being a kid is learning how to grow up and handle yourself, and coddling kids endlessly counteracts this. Kids can tell when they're being talked down to, and they hate it.
Tokyo disneyland still has the original scary snow white ride from 1971 with all the jumpscares and the witch dominating the ride. It seems to just be an america thing since the ride gets really long waits and is popular with kids. It gets longer lines than haunted mansion and pirates because some people just go right back to it after riding.
Disneyland still has both rides at least.
“Over where Mr Toad’s Wild used to be…” ooof that one still stings lol. I never got to ride it but it looked amazing, and certainly a better attraction than the Pooh ride I eventually did experience.
Not gonna lie, I love Mickey’s Philharmagic a LOT, but I’m also a sucker for music, especially Disney music. I agree with your assessment, though. Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom was so underwhelming. I didn’t find the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to be all that great. It felt like a milder version of Big Thunder Mountain and Expedition Everest, two vastly superior coasters.
Mr Toads was such a bizarre ride that felt so out of place but that’s honestly what made it special. The Pooh ride has a similar track concept but Mr Toads was waaay faster and jankier, it was def the better attraction ;0;
@@michikip45 Eh I think it's something that can only be loved by hardcore fans, but outside of that Pooh is definitely the better IP and fits way better into Fantasyland.
@@brandonhinete6508 I’d agree but the ride is still at Disneyland and considered a favorite lol so clearly it has it place and a good heap of fans.
I think both could exist, Pooh may be more relevant but Mr Toad is a classic and the under seen classics like him deserve way more love
I like PhilharMagic, but I also perceive it as very dated. I think it would be cool if they restored the theater to something in the spirit of the Mickey Mouse Revue though. PhilharMagic has always just struck me as a cheaper version of that.
I just have to say the Mr. Toad ride at Disney Land was a sleeper favorite. The Hell part out of nowhere was WILD hahaha
Honestly, I'd love if WDW add more Disneyland-style dark rides for animated classics they haven't done yet. Aladdin, Lion King, Fantasia, Robin Hood, Lady and the Tramp, ect.
It's so weird that we've never gotten a Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty ride. I feel like Disney World should get a Sleeping Beauty ride (since the castle is Cinderella) and replace the meet and greet and Disneyland should get a Cinderella ride (since the castle is sleeping beauty) and replace Pinocchio
Right! It’s wild that we still haven’t got an Aladdin Magic carpet dark ride, similar to Peter Pans. Not that boring magic carpet outside ride. Don’t even get me started on Lion King.
@@deepinthemoney Why The Lion King?
@@deepinthemoney An Aladdin Magic Carpet dark ride would be cool.
@@carminecdinoproductionsbecause it’s literally the best Disney movie ever, and still it hasn’t got any ride until these days.
Honestly, I’d be interested to see this kind of walkthrough/review/“fix-it” for the rest of the lands in Magic Kingdom.
same
It's Belle sweet❤️
This is a 🔔 ( bell)
Love your expansion ideas, but I seriously doubt Disney would get rid of Be Our Guest because it's such a cash cow. I really feel like Disney is afraid to take such big risks, but after Epic Universe opens, they are going to realize that small "updates" and adding random restaurants/m&g areas are not going to cut it anymore.
Ya know, I've been going to The Magic Kingdom at least once a year since 2016. I had kept up with news but I've felt since 2016 that Fantasy land is surprisingly my least favorite land to visit. Which is absolutely crazy since I love the idea of Fantasy land and Disney's animated films.
I just feel more immersed by every other land, even the incredibly dusty and dirty Tomorrowland (my god, so much dust on the peoplemover). I desperately want to visit Disneyland since it's Fantasyland feels way more fleshed out while Florida's feels like the bare minimum.
It honestly feels like a lot of the problems would be fixed if Disney wasn't so cheap and expanded the park. They might be limited by the railroad but it feels like there's a lot of empty land they could expand into.
In regards to Philharmagic, I think it should stay but should be updated way more than it has. It eats up crowds and gives people a centralized place to enjoy "Disney". I also agree in tearing down the Tomorrowland Speedway, it feels way more outdated and it literally stinks.
PhilharMagic is alright, just dated. I would be interested in seeing the space return to a large animatronic show like it was originally.
They are not limited by the railroad. At Disneyland the whole of Galaxies Edge and Toon Town was built outside of the railroad.
As a big fan of Hades as a character, and just the Villains in general, that River Styx ride sounds like an absolute gem of a ride. It would also be really unique compared to Pirates, so parents wouldn't think "oh, it's JUST another water ride."
Instead, Parents would complain "my kid got scaaaaaaarrreeeed!" 🤦♂They always miss the point and it rides the fine line between alarming and funny
Also, the river Styx could be amazing, I'm astounded that Disney hasn't tapped in to all of this potential yet
My issue is many Disney fans see Disney rides as museums. Parks should evolve and improve.
Last time I went to magic kingdom I couldn’t believe I was paying 100$ a day and every ride in fantasy land seemed sooooo outdated. the animatronics barely move. Small world has so much pontential with todays technology now it looks creepy.
Facts
Don’t you realize that maintaining and updating things costs money and Bob Chapek has made it crystal clear that is something he will not do unless he thinks he can squeeze more money out of people for it.
that's such an apt point. everyone i know who actually likes disney just goes there to spout trivia about every little furnishing on the wall. they never talk about how thrilling a ride is, it's just "walt disney likes this color of socks so all the cast members wear them on thursdays"
I have to partially disagree with you. I think some older rides are charming because they were purposely designed with a minimal asthetic. I mean, the Haunted Mansion wasn't doing anything new when it opened. It was using technology from 100 years prior. But you bring up an interesting point about small world. I think the ride is perfect as is, but it does have potential to be something more. Look at what Disney did with Sinbad in Tokyo DisneySea. The animatronics have the style of their small world counterparts, but they are much more sophisticated. We could have a very high tech small world here in the states if Disney wanted to. Again, I wouldn't personally touch the thing, but it's definitely an idea that could be explored more.
I think that Pirates in Disneyland is a great example of how to keep older experiences feeling "classic" but still contemporary and relevant.
Poseidon, you are spot on about getting rid of the Tommorowland Speedway which is basically a 1950's carnival ride attraction and has no place in a land that is heralding the future.
Great content! You mentioned that you didn’t know why Be Our Guest moved to a prix fixe menu. It was actually because people were making reservations to only get ‘the grey stuff’ since it was only available at dinner back then and for people to get photos, so the menu changed to fix that issue and the grey stuff was added to the lunch menu in a trio of desserts (and the lunch menu budget for ingredients was downgraded to stop the grey stuff issue from repeating itself at lunch)
Those Cinderella murals are quite beautiful!
I kind of agree with what you mean by the more upgraded animatronics taking up most of the money, making the rest of the ride look substandard in comparison. I would like to point out that some of the more upgraded rides with the more complicated animatronics tend to be the ones that break down more often than not. This is something I’ve been noticing in recent years.
As a Californian who grew up going to Disneyland, overall WDW appears built on the cheap in comparison. There are abandoned and neglected facilities all over WDW. It’s weird how Fantasyland in Florida has fewer rides when it’s the flagship land of the park. My theory is Disney does this on purpose, they don’t put enough attractions at all the other parks so people are forced to visit all 4. Whereas DLR you get a better value with more attractions per park.
Ding, ding. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Californian here, planning a trip to WDW…and I don’t even wanna go to Magic Kingdom. My list of must-rides are mostly Epcot and Animal Kingdom.
@@DavidBehlman Magic Kingdom is a glorified merch shop and day care. If you’re an adult going without small children it’s not worth more than a couple of hours for the 2-3 good rides. Go spend time at the other three.
@@DavidBehlman Lol I do exactly the same! Theres nothing that Magic Kingdom has that's better than Disneyland and, apart from the original Tower of Terror, there's no reason to visit Hollywood studios.
@@dannielz6 so totally agree with hollywood studios lol my parents and i visited it in 2017 and it was so very underwhelming in comparison to how it was even in like, 2014 when i last visited? i dont remember rlly but its so dumb lol its not even fun. epcot and animal kingdom are worth your time more than HS.
Wow I can't believe its been 10 years since New Fantasyland opened. The last time I went to Disney World it was still under construction, this video ended up being pretty nostalgic in that way. Great work as always.
I always wished that disney had made a Beauty and the Beast ride instead of just a restaurant! It doesn't have to be like the Tokyo Disney one, just something like the older dark rides or something! Also if their not going to get rid of PhilharMagic they could atleast make it like the newer Star Tours where it has a bunch of different segments it could mash up so it's a little different every time.
If they tore out Enchanted Tales, they could probably fit something like that in there. That's part of what I appreciate about those older style of rides; they use space efficiently.
I think all of your suggestions would work wonders for the land, though the only thing I'd do differently is I'd keep Pooh where it is, give it a refurb, and build Mr. Toad in the plot you laid out for Pooh. There's so much nice theming outside of Pooh right now that I'd hate to see destroyed, and it'd probably be overall more cost-effective to just build one new ride and refurb another rather than demolish one ride and build two new entire rides.
I may be biased because I really love the Pooh ride at MK, a lot of that being nostalgia, and I just find the style of it charming- it's very akin to the older dark rides in its simplicity, even if it's not as engaging as something like Pirates or the Haunted Mansion.
I love Mr. Toad. I've always wished Disney would update it with higher speeds and smoke effects and such. I think it would be so fun
I LOVE the idea of a sub-area in Fantasyland dedicated to the Villains a la Knockturn alley at Wizarding World! Could also be a repository for a lot of the more darker mature rides (more intense roller coasters, horror-esque walkthroughs, etc). It would not only add a significant boost in capacity, but would also add more to the Fantasyland experience and make Magic Kingdom one of the definitive Disney parks; more than just a Disneyland clone.
This all feels like when the parks fell into disrepair / had very budget additions under Michael Eisner. Very transparent money grubbing with no creative or long term direction. I feel bad for people experiencing the parks for the first time right now. :/
I see what you mean, but I would consider this to be different. Many of Eisner's projects were opening, flagrantly cheap, but at least there were other genuine artistic efforts in conjunction with them. Animal Kingdom and later Everest is really a testament to this. Instead, I feel that Iger and Chapek's projects have instead shot for "good enough", coming off as sterile, corporate products designed by committee and built only to provoke merchandise sales. For as many issues as Eisner had, it seemed like things were picking back up again, at least outside of WDSP and Hong Kong.
Speaking of disrepair, it seems that recently a lot of the animatronics are losing functionality without being properly repaired. In Wisconsin Dells, near where I live, they have a habit of building an attraction and letting it decline year upon year until the whole thing gets torn down and a new attraction is built in its place. It's depressing to watch this happen. I'm interested to know if people who go to the Disney theme parks frequently are observing a similar process.
I think you have your eras wrong. Under Eisner, the parks experienced massive growth and sprucing up. The Imagineers had free reign to do pretty much anything they wanted. Eisner opened both MGM and Animal Kingdom. It was an incredible time to be at a Disney park during his leadership.
@@RobCartwright That may have been true about the early Eisner years, however after the financial debacle of EuroDisneyland (which is truly a fantastic park) Eisner changed his view on shooting for the stars as well as a ‘spare no expense’ mantra for projects after that. That’s how you get things like the original incarnation of California Adventure.
@@bailantilles77 I'm not sure I'd attribute that change in demeanor to Eisner, I'd more pin it on the board whose goal is to make money for shareholders. I think some of the change in Eisner's leadership style probably had to do with the passing of Frank Wells also.
The concepts for the big Expansion plot interest me a lot. Obviously sometime in the future, near or far, they're gonna want to use that and more Fantasyland is a reasonably likely candidate. Your idea of Arendelle on one side and a Villain area on the other is neat, but it got me thinking what one would put in the middle. Both Arendelle and villains land would probably be mountainous and feature some kind of castle-ey focal point (will Belle's Castle also adjacent), so naturally in the middle you've got a sort of a valley. Embracing the idea there's sort of a melting pot in this magical valley stuck in the middle would help root a mishmash of attractions in the themeing and not overshadow the two big draws on either side. Maybe there's a lot of different cultures converging in this valley -- insert some combination of Pocahontas, Mulan, Jasmine/Aladdin, and maybe even Encanto. Would make for a natural place for a replacement princess meet and greet hall too. Then as you get closer to the villain side it gets a bit more rogueish and seedier - Pinocchio, Robin Hood, and Tangled's settings might fit over here. Obviously you can't fit all of these IPs but the idea there's everything and anything converging in this valley between two opposing ideals of good and evil could thread them all together nicely.
Say we clone Pinnochio's dark ride near the entrance to the villains area; its urban setting could transition towards the good side with Encanto's Casita, probably some kind of restaurant. Likewise, Robin Hood or Tangled forest would probably fit next to Mulan's home or Pocahontas nicely. Say we give Mulan the dark ride and put a medieval restaurant/tavern in the Robin Hood/Tangled spot. Maybe you can even shove the themeing kicking and screaming into cohesiveness with the Hades ride and run it by the restaurant, Disneyland PotC style. And then we've got enough room to shove the princess area adjacent to Frozen's entrance with shops interspersed throughout. Theme the whole thing, villains, arendelle, and center as "Fantasy Valley".
I like your retheme of Fantasyland, but I think some people might miss Philharmagic, so might I suggest moving that show to Studios? I mean, it would fit great in a new animation building that replaces the outdated Launch Bay.
Now that would be a real Fantasyland. I agree that, as it is, it's very underwhelming; worse, perhaps, that what there was before.
I wished that they added a Cinderella Castle Mystery tour. You can have the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and the Horned King but you could add Jafar, Ursula and Cherberbog into the mix.
It would work since the castle is pretty much just there and you can't go inside. There's also a demand for villain attractions and florida isn't prone to earthquakes, so it will definitely be an ideal attraction to add
WOW, you actually followed up on that video covering Fantasyland that I asked about on an earlier video, you are the greatest! This is such a cool topic and I'm glad that you are covering it in your own way.
I honestly don't remember being asked, but I started off with the idea of doing a 10 year retrospective for New Fantasyland and the script evolved into this. I apologize because I didn't actually remember, but I suppose it worked out.
@@PoseidonEntertainment That's ok, I only remembered because you replied to my original comment asking about it and you expressed interest in the concept.
Fun fact: back when the Magic Kingdom was still in development, there were plans to give its Fantasyland a totally different slate of dark rides! At Disneyland the three main original dark rides (Mr Toad, Peter Pan, and Snow White) each embodied a certain emotion that determined the tone of the ride; zany, chaotic fun in the case of Toad, beauty and wonder for Peter Pan, and dark fright for Snow White. At Magic Kingdom, Mr. Toad would've been replaced with a ride based on the Wizards Duel from Sword in the Stone, Peter Pan would've been replaced with a Mary Poppins ride that used flying umbrellas as the ride vehicle, and finally Snow White would've been replaced with a scary Sleeping Beauty ride including an encounter with the Maleficent dragon! Obviously this never happened but I think the Sleeping Beauty ride idea would've been the perfect replacement for Snow White's Scary Adventures when it closed. Imagine how cool a Sleeping Beauty dark ride could be!
I'm glad you brought up the Little Mermaid ride, since as a big fan of the movie I've always felt the ride has missed potential. I've only been on the California Adventure version, but I've heard that they are pretty much identical and suffer a lot of the same issues. I feel like one of the biggest problems is that there are massive, long stretches between the scenes (particularly at the beginning of the ride and after the Ursual scene) that are practically empty except for some rockwork. IMO they need to focus on these spaces a bit more if the ride is ever going to improve. Doubt that'll happen under current Disney leadership though.
At least the queue in Magic Kingdom is interesting. On the flip-side though, I suppose the queue at DCA doesn't raise your expectations as high.
@@PoseidonEntertainment That is very true unfortunately. The queue takes up an honestly ridiculous amount of space for a ride that never has a wait time longer than 10 minutes. I swear 90% of the queue is ropes off/empty every time I’m there
Poseidon, your ideas are great. I'm not sure why Disney Corp never thinks to put someone who loves the IPs and history of the company in charge. They always find a suit with no real love for Walt's vision who promises to squeeze more money out of what they believe to be a bottomless well of customers. I've spent a lifetime loving Disney theme parks and Disney animation, but I'm not optimistic about the company's future. My wife and I and our 11 year-old son are planning a two week trip to Orlando this Christmas/New Year's, and we're going to Universal. Even one year ago we would have chosen Disney World or a Disney cruise.
Imagine if Seven Dwarves Mine Train had been themed, instead, to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. All those charming British cars galloping over those grass covered hills, and really done it up right for the final trip through hell, Disneyland style
That is a really good idea!
I'm glad I went to be our guest before it declined...
Here is my opinion on Magic Kingdom. They don't make any improvements because they don't have to. It has and still is the most visited theme park in the world. People are visiting no matter what the state of the park is. Magic Kingdom is the supposed crown jewel of the Disney parks. I've always thought of it as an afterthought.
There used to be a shop inside Cinderella's Castle called The King's Gallery, and it sold real medieval arms and armor, and other medieval goods, but then it was replaced by Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique in 2007.
Ah the good old days. Bring back classic Mainstreet too
I was recently in Disneyland after decades and it was a revelation how much more it offers than magic kingdom or certainly any other disneyworld park. I loved your expansion ideas, especially the ones that involved new ground rather than tear downs and rebuilds. I feel like at disneyworld originally the focus was on interesting amusement parks to bring people to Orlando but at some point the capital focus shifted to the hotels and later time shares and less investment was focused on the parks themselves.
In contrast, since Disneyland doesn’t have the land to focus on hotels, they spend more time and money maintaining and improving the parks themselves.
I mean, the Tony Baxter Mernaid ride was exactly the remedy you were looking for, faster paced. not to mention with a novelty dry-for-wet technology that would've made it feel like you were actually underwater.
I didn't get the impression that the ride improved on this much. Judging from the video, I don't really understand the praise it gets.
@@PoseidonEntertainment to be fair the video isn't the actual ride, and i'm sure like Peter Pan's flight, they had the ability to speed it up or slow it down as needed. Plus i"m sure the bubble with water in the ride vehicle would've really rounded out the experience. (Think of what the 20k Ride in Tokyo looks like)
How dare you propose that the new Disney corporation actually -- gasp! -- *spend* money on improvements when they can simply keep squeezing wallets until people wise up and they fall apart?
Following the fantasea expansion coming to Tokyo Disney Sea in 2023, Magic Kingdom could import the new Peter Pan and Tangled rides. It's a small world could become the Tangled boat ride. The peter pan ride could replace the area big top souvenirs. The current Peter pan dark ride could become something new.
You didn't mention that Mickey's Philharmagic was actually updated last year, which basically replaced the Peter Pan scene with Coco and that's it. You also didn't mention that Under The Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid ride portion was just a clone of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure at Disney's California Adventure, which opened only a year before the Magic Kingdom version.
As always, reasoned, well-thought-out critiques of what they do right and, unfortunately, what they too often do wrong. All of the problems highlighted reflect the poor quality of upper management with repeated failures in caring or understanding the problems the parks face. Poor management down to the lowest level at the parks has been running the experience and park quality into the ground for years. Disney management seems to be incapable of proactive action to fix problems. Probably by design since they don't have to do anything or fix anything if management doesn't care
I remember attending the pass holder preview for New Fantasyland and being completely underwhelmed. Then we still had to wait for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and that was underwhelming too. There was so much anticipation for this expansion and we rarely rode anything aside from Seven Dwarfs and Dumbo.
I do give them credit for the Dumbo playground and queue. It’s comfortable and well-themed. That was a lifesaver when my boys were little.
To be honest with you the entire Walt Disney World resort is broken and has been broken since the late 90s. Disneyland has received these incredible renovations to their marquee attractions for example but Magic Kingdom feels like it is frozen in the 90s. Hollywood Studios is of course beyond repair and desperately needs a complete overhaul. Walt wanted this space in Florida just so he could expand the Magic Kingdom, what's the point of this massive footprint if you refuse to use it
What I find weird, is the fact they built the Haunted Mansion right on the river's edge. Completely closing off access to Park expansion up and around the rivers of America. Where they put the new bathrooms, they could have made a path back that way. They also landlocked themselves on the other side of the river with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It seems future planning did not go into consideration when building the Magic Kingdom
I feel Big Thunder Mountain would have been salvagable if Thunder Mesa became a reality. Like the idea of an "underground" tunnel crossing through the mountain to the other side to continue on around the river would have helped a ton. The Haunted Mansion is completely on them however.
@@TheOnlyBongo it’s a shame thunder Mesa never got built. An entire big thunder mining town theme sounds truly awesome!
I see what you mean, but I actually don't find it to be that necessary. Magic Kingdom still had the Tomorrowland expansion space where Tron is now going and they could expand south beyond the backstage parade route to expand Adventureland. I know the northern area I proposed isn't designated for park expansion, but I think that with enough creative thinking, that space could be used up without moving past the Haunted Mansion.
You also wonder how much space we would have had in Adventureland if they never built Pirates and went with Thunder Mesa.
Excellent video as always! It’s crazy that you seem to know more about the Disney parks than Disney itself. They need to make you president of Disney parks.
My theory on why they don’t update Peter Pan is due to its abysmal hourly ride capacity. If they redid the ride to make it a must-do, they would need a full blown vehicle and track overhaul to increase rider capacity to acceptable levels to ensure enough people could actually ride it.
personally which might be a hot take, without the nostalgia glasses it feels way too underwhelming for it's average wait times it ends up getting as a ride more then the mine train, i know why it does due to it's history but it does feel a bit dated
This summer, I went to Magic Kingdom during a busy day. At about 12 Pm, which was rush hour, me and my family went to the New Fantasy Land. Surprisingly it was empty, even the Little Mermaid dark ride had a 5 minute wait time. It was very unusual to us due to the fact the park was filled to the brim.
So much for expanding pathway capacity if no one goes to the area
Someone at Disney either needs to give this man a well paid job, or at the very least steal all of his ideas he's given you so far for free. But for christ's sake, don't waste this man's talent.
Love the changes. When we first visited MK we were so excited but then quickly became underwhelmed. The best way to describe it is the Magic Kingdom has no Magic. Growing up in socal, Disneyland was a staple. It wasn’t until we visited mk that we realized how perfectly placed Disneyland is with attractions. Now as a resident, we’ve had more time to explore and ponder what we don’t like. It seems to us that MK and Hollywood studios are missing at minimum an entire land each. With all of the space available, it’s a shame that of all places MK falls flat. We have family visiting soon and we are taking them to the 3 other parks, skipping mk. Told them to stick with Disneyland for that. Tron alone won’t save mk either. They are missing out on huge opportunities. If they did half of what you suggested it would bring the magic to magic kingdom.
I went to WDW last in 2017. Definitely felt let down on the MK day and half the Epcot day. Weather was dreary and park felt dated and stale. And “new” Fantasyland felt like a medieval-themed flea market. Lines were long which limited how many rides I could do, but it was Thanksgiving week which is best avoided. On a bad day the MK is really bad and doesn’t rise above its weaknesses.
I feel like an Encanto dark ride would be a really smart idea. The entire thing is set in a house for the most part, making it the perfect fit for a very compact dark ride that sends you careening from one room to another with lots of old-school effects. Given all the unique sets in the movie, it could be a good fit for the area and pay tribute to the movie without a huge cost.
@@devonalomar9012 Which wouldn't make sense, since the setting of the movie seems to be Columbia. But then they stuck Frozen in Norway.. so.. yeah, I could see them doing that.
@@Spiff99 frozen is supposed to be based in a fictional Norway though? Even Arendelle gets its name from a similarly named town in Norway
Just returning from a vacation to Disneyland Paris and was so happy to see this episode come through. It really put into perspective just how terrible of a park Magic Kingdom is (it consumed MUCH of the conversation with our group). Fantasyland in Paris is breathtaking, with a clever mix of dark rides, flat rides, and merch/dining. Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is a hodge-podge of attractions that tries to leverage a single bit of new tech (e.g. new animatronics on Seven Dwarves) into a cheap creation.
Oh, and the Beauty and the Beast restaurant is hot garbage.
you went to disnelyand Paris with a bunch of other adults and spent "MUCH" of the time discussing how much you hate the park in Florida in comparison? that's one of the most depressing things I've ever read
I'm going to do sorta a reverse on this depression vacation and take my kids to Orlando and spend the whole time complaining that the other parks in France and Japan are sooooooo much better and make sure I ruin their good time while spreading your important message
@@afewsghca and your kids will grow up to be “intellectuals” just like you.
I’ll enjoy having them take my order at McDonald’s 🥰
@@afewsghca and let’s be real… we both know you can’t afford a Disney vacation. Maybe I suggest your community pool? Maybe that won’t break the bank 😂
Meanwhile I live a short drive away from the original park in California. With all of the videos I've seen about Walt Disney World showing how spread out the rides are across the four parks when most of them are heavily concentrated just within Disneyland alone (with more in California Adventure), not to mention how Disneyland often has the superior versions of those same rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, I haven't felt much desire to visit Florida's Disney parks honestly. It seems like I have a good (or even better) thing going right where I'm at.
Disney should update their Snow White dark ride at all their parks with improved audio-animatronics so the ride should be called “Snow White’s Enchanted Fairytale Adventure”!
Dude, your content is fantastic!
you have became my favorite theme park channel thank you so much for the though and effort you put in your videos!!
Same. But out of curiosity which others do you like on YT?
@@aayotechnology Offhand Disney, Defunctland, Yesterworld, WDWNT, TPMvids, Disney Dan, Amusement Labs. I'm sure there are tons others but those are the ones on the top of my head
Mine as well!
@@DylanRyan8 those channels are great, and tend to be a little less biased to Disney which is always great!
If they update Orlando’s Peter Pan, not only projections and new effects, but also new animatronics as well.
I really liked your expansion ideas. I'm 1,000% in support of removing the Tomorrowland speedway ride and replacing it with multiple, more interesting, attractions. That ride is a waste of space, and the concept of reimagining it with a truly "Tomorrowland" theme indoors would be perfect!
I love these long video essays at work 😊
Everything you've described in your armchair imagineering sounds good. My only suggestion would be to either enclose a duplicate of Alice In Wonderland dark with a glass house (running evening in incliment weather.) Or with a glass roof similar to the Mad Tea Party flat ride. That way, you can do thematic transitions between tomorrowland and fantasyland.
Oooooh! I have suggestion you can do for your next video for next time. Thematic transitions between lands and conflicting sightlines.
(Like why the building of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout makes sense from Disneyland's Tomorrowland.)
That might be interesting to discuss, but not enough to really make a whole video on. Maybe the discussion could be fit into a more broad video in the future though.
@@PoseidonEntertainment
True. It probably would be a good topic to cover in a wider video. Though, I still think of there's a missed thematic transition between DHS' Galaxy's edge and Toy Story Land (A kerner inspired exterior that says Star Wars Galaxy's Edge playset on the Toy Story Land side.)
Well, you could include that topic, along with another topic that most recent imagineering projects have been thought about and designed for California weather and not taking into guest consideration for weather (like raining in Florida.) Or lack of shade structures in big open spaces (like in Toy Story Land.)
One of my new favorite channels, I like that you don't just state boring facts, but you actually present your own ideas alongside the hard facts.
I think the solve for the meet and greet should have been to layer attractions into the Seven Dwarf Mine Train space. Tomorrowland in Shanghai Disney does a great job layering the space as does Mysterious Mountain at DisneySea. This would have much better utilized the prime, center-of-Fantasyland space and provided more kinetic energy while preserving a classic attraction. It is just a matter $ which the current and previous heads have been reluctant to spend to improve experiences.
Also, glad to see it called out that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is not good. While significantly better in the dark than the day, this is a short ride with a huge line featuring little theming and the tilting cars remove any element of thrill.
Also my two cents, the biggest issue with Little Mermaid is that is that only about 20% of the ride is dedicated to 70% of the movie. It literally jumps from Ariel giving up her voice to the finale in 2 scenes. And that Ariel in the final scene is as bad the that Lucille Ball statue….ugggg.
Great ideas as always, makes us see how much space really is squandered!
I love how blunt and introspective your videos are 💙
I was wondering if there could be an elevated building of sorts to capture “up” space without taking away other visuals. Something along the lines of an elevated flat ride with shaded areas, concessions or restrooms.
The old style dark rides are great and all, but the problem is capacity. We were there on a random Monday and all of the "classic" rides in Fantasy Land were 2+ hour waits. We wanted to take our kid on these classic rides but not at the expense of 1/4 of our day in the park.
I’ve heard that a land like Fantasyland or Tomorrowland at Disneyland specifically would never be made today. The reason being that the rides overlap and create a maintenance headache. This is most evident with Tomorrowland and the People Mover. They can’t remove the ride despite it being unsafe/unusable because of how intertwined it is and now it’s there to rot.
Disney doesn’t want to have an issue like this again, so they won’t make overlapping attractions equaling to less rides.
I see other, smaller parks do it, so I'm sure that Disney could figure it out. They could spend the money if they cared about anything other than every marginal increase for shareholder reports.
I agree that mine cart ride did need more elements from the movie, maybe passing through of the scary forest or an occasional glimpse of the crone on her way to the cottage.
The Little mermaid, did imagineers not watch the action sequences of that movie? The audience could be at Ariel’s side exploring Eric’s kingdom. She was a little speedester with a that carriage. It should’ve been like Pinocchio you enter in dark side Ursula’s Grotto divided with a on the beach side exit.
Be our guest just needs to be a ride, there doesn’t need to be a Blue Bayou lagoon/pirates ride.
From what I’ve studied Mr Toad would have to take back the space of princess meet and greet and whatever is to it’s side (that’s how bad it is the layout is.)
Also Bumper cars, why is bumper carts such a fail experience at Disney parks. (For the kids only)
OR another walk through attraction like that Castle dungeon in Tokyo Disneyland. That might solve that small area.
What it definitely needs is a Matterhorn type of ride (it’ll has to be natured themed cause nature is a wonderland of its own)
I also agree that the transition between lands is lazily done as well. Fantasyland to Liberty Square is awkward
But we must remember Florida isn’t an ideal place for a theme park, unlike California. Hurricane, random rainfall, the humidity etc.. slows building production down and raises labor cost. I remember hearing how the Guardians ride was due to open in 2021 but delayed for 2 years for roller coasters with screens and projections. Screens and projections are fine but there’s a charm to led light flying on a black wire.
The plus side to this rushed watered down version is that one can finish the park in a day, so the family, friends or whoever can enjoy the other theme parks.
I think Fantasyland's biggest issue is that the current layout holds back its potential. The Tangled restrooms are nice, and a well-done Tangled attraction next door could really tie that little area together and help alleviate crowds from that bottleneck. However, Small World is blocking any chance of that happening. Similarly, you could have a really nice BATB area with Be Our Guest, Gaston's Tavern and a ride like the one in Tokyo, but the current Enchanted Tales with Belle space isn't big enough, and 7DMT prevents any further expansion on that space. If Fantasyland was laid out just a little bit differently, it could really be an incredible land. I have no idea why they limited themselves by putting BOG and TLM where they are with an access road behind them because it makes it difficult to utilize the expansion space behind them.
Ideally, I'd have a Tangled attraction and the snugly duckling where small world currently is, and I'd push back small world to the traintracks in the back so that the train runs through it like at Disneyland. I'd create a whole BATB mini-area by Rivers of America with BOG, the ride from Tokyo (or something similar), the village area with gaston's tavern, and you might even be able to put Enchanted Tales with Belle there too. Just by doing that, you'd open up a ton of space in the middle and top of Fantasyland that could be used for any number of attractions/dining/shops. Depending on how other things are laid out, you might even have room for a fully realized Toon Town where the carnival is. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the land's current layout really limits itself and while it would be quite the expensive undertaking, it might be worth it in the long run to just scrap the land, start fresh, and rebuild everything (or do it in chunks).
Ahh! A new Poseidon Entertainment drop! Does anyone else fan boy out for his amazing videos? Every single video ia super well thought out and explained in simple but meaningful detail. My hat is off to you for your hard work! Keep it up!
If they made the food better at Beauty and Beast restaurant, it would be perfect! That is a FABULOUS ambiance.
What I think Disneylands Park has over MK is that you see movement in the various lands. Likely due to their limited space and less rain, Disneyland utilizes their space with multiple overlapping attractions (i.e., Casey Junior/Storybook Canals, Submarines/Monorail/Autopia/former Peoplemover) and the ride vehicles load or pass in front of you on the attractions' exteriors. I just makes it more visually appealing and makes you want to rides these smaller rides more.
I’ve always had the idea for a speedway replacement using trackless ride vehicles to make a more realistic race, with cars overtaking eachother and maneuvering.
This is why I always thought Disneyland just has a more organized park. I live in Florida btw but I felt I had more fun at Disneyland than wdw.
This is your best work so far!
I hope somebody at Disney sees this!
Why is Disneyland's fantasyland better than Disney worlds - short answer - Walt Disney actually helped design it. Magic Kingdom wasn't even Walt's dream park for Disney World, EPCOT was, and the EPCOT Disney world got wasn't even the EPCOT Walt dreamed of. So to recap, Disneyland has a Disney charm no other park has been able to replicate because it is the only park where Walt Disney was personally involved in.
The original Fantasyland also had its own "New Fantasyland" upgrade in 1983 just before Michael Eisner joined the company, that's what gave Disneyland's Fantasyland its current appearance. I think what helped that renovation succeed was that it continued Walt's vision for the land since the circus tent look in his day was always meant to be temporary, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for example was always planned from the start to be in Toad Hall but it was the 1983 upgrade that finally made it happen.
I think even adding some giant light up crystals in the outdoor portions of Seven Dwarves could transform the ride, especially at night. And making crystaline magic sounds as you rush past! And couldn’t hurt to add some gold flecks to the stone! And some steam/smoke that shoots out at you from places. Like work and mining was done there recently and the dust is just settling! Which allows the effect of all lights to be amplified as it bounces off the atmosphere.
Absolutely spot on about Little Mermaid--I get why they used an Omnimover but it really doesn't work in this style of dark ride.
I'm consistently amazed that we don't have an Emperor's New Groove coaster. I get that it's not a mainstream fan favorite, but they literally have "Pull the lever, Kronk" to pull from.
*”WRONG LEVER!!!”*
I thought the tangled bathrooms were really cute! The stroller situation was terrible, though. Especially in the direct heat of the sun, only seating near the foliage, and moms waiting to go to the bathroom with their kids? Not a good spot to walk in to on the wrong day. The only way you're getting into the bathrooms is if you come in through the west side (near the water) and not the bottleneck of the east side.
I also felt that besides the rides themselves, the theming was sub-par and wanted to go back to universal studios.
Being an ex-cast member I agree with you. To me it seems like they just through fantasyland together and that was it. Back when I worked their we all took pride in what we did, now a days the company does not care, as long as they keep making the money and keep the share holders happy that's all that matters to them. What a shame, it used to be a great company to work for, but now I am ashamed to even tell people I used to work their.
Disney cares more about its shareholders than guests that fork over the cash. They are now budget parks offering a sub par experience…unless you pay more. I threw my last dollars at them in March and will not go back or support them any longer. It feels good to be done.
Agreed.
Be Our Guest restaurant being compared to Beauty and the Beast ride in JP
I live in Japan and experienced the ride multiple times. The ride feels utterly underwhelming, having the same problem as other Disney parks with only one or two novelty anamatronics and relying too much on projections. It is not something I’d ride more than once.
I’d love to hear your take on the updates and extensions in Japan as well if you have any insights. A lot of local Disney fans see that it is becoming quite disappointing and only trying to incorporate IPs
I’d like to see Tokyo’s version of Winnie the Pooh attraction replacing the MK one tho
I remember being SO excited for the BATB ride but watching even a single ride video I was very underwhelmed... yeah, the effects are AMAZING and a few animatronics are top-tier, but it was more than a little obvious that the figures only have a single "loop" to roll through so you see them do it repeatedly as you twirl around the show scenes. It's basically "HEY LOOK AT THE ROBOTS WE BUILT: The Ride".
@@Jabroniville Exactly! All the scenes were too long with too little to see, just a couple of great animatronics and you’re left spinning in circles in a room for a whole minute… I remember wanting to get off the ride after a while coz I’ve already seen all the movements the animatronics can do… The storytelling and pace of the ride was done very poorly as well, and the scale of animatronics somehow feels small on the ride, like watching a child-sized Belle… (Maybe they wanted to build the ride with max capacity making larger ride vehicles with larger spaces, but doesnt want to add extra budget to make larger animatronics?) That was the moment I felt like Disney has completely lost their touch in building good rides
This may be one of my, if not my absolute, favorite videos that you’ve ever created. Many of your past Disney theme park videos have a lot of criticism (that I agree with) but they don’t always have ideas on how to improve upon the weaknesses you addressed. Also, using maps to show where you would add in future attractions and how much space they would realistically take up.
That plot of land behind Enchanted Tales with Belle is a decent plot of land that could fit an attraction or two (or three). I love the suggestions on how to plus up the 7DMT theming. Whereas the the other mountain roller coasters have an iconic shape to them, this ride just seems like a mound covered in trees without any thought about “silhouette” that the attraction creates. If Storybook Circus were to get an additional flat ride, perhaps a simple Ferris wheel would help add some kinetic energy.
The one idea you didn’t bring up that I’ve heard mentioned elsewhere is repurposing the Tangled bathrooms as a queue entrance to a Tangled boat ride. Utilizing that long backstage road (which can be relocated), it can be a tunnel that takes you to the show building behind IASM and Haunted Mansion.
Seven Dwarves Mine Train is one of the biggest disappointments in Disney park history. Had so much potential to be a new classic, only to turn into a super short and boring experience
It’s without a doubt one of my least favorite Disney rides to have opened in the last few years.
As always I agree with you 100%. I stood on line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice for 2 hours and 2 1/2 hours with a posted wait time of 60 minutes. I was totally unimpressed. I hate the interactive queues because families with kids use them to cut in line and they slow down the lines because people want to play. I have always felt that the Winnie the Pooh ride was a total disappointment. We loved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and although we love the Pooh characters this ride is a bust for us. To close down Snow White (which was changed to the happier ride in WDW) for a meet and greet was a HUGE mistake like losing Mr. Toad. Even if they built the Mine Train they should have kept the dark ride. Between the noise and the gas fumes that give me an asthma attack, the Speedway is such a waste of space. Give us a good dark ride or 2 instead. I think that Fantasyland was the dark rides, and in getting rid of the good ones and giving us a poor one and a meet and greet instead they utterly destroyed that land for me. Peter Pan is usually a miss for me because of the HUGE wait times (unless I do it first thing). Seven Dwarfs is a miss for me because I can never get a FastPass (I haven't been there since Genie +) as I don't stay on property since we bought a timeshare in Orlando long before Disney did Vacation Club, and I will NEVER wait 2 plus hours for that ride again. It's such a short ride, and it just doesn't thrill me. I've been there, done that. I don't do meet and greets at all (I'm 64 years old and haven't done them since my kids were little) and just don't feel like there's much to do in Fantasyland. I do enjoy Mickey's Philharmagic though. I was in the park the first year it opened as a 14-year-old and remember The Mickey Mouse Revue (I think that's the name), and thought that was really cute. I spend very little time in Fantasyland now. With the crowds being massive these days in the Magic Kingdom I spend most of my days in the other parks. Give me more dark rides like Snow White, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland and you may win me back.
Don't forget universal
Magic Kingdom needs more rides period so when they close stuff it baffles me, Disney doesn’t want to pump the money into the parks that they need in order to maintain market leadership
They could do projection mapping as well there a software now where you could project multiple images from one projector and have them all animated and it would probably look great. Obviously they do the entire castle but would be good to see you in a smaller level as well
Agree magic kingdoms fantasy land is extremely inferior to Disneyland’s which is truly magical.
They're not even really comparable at this point. Fantasyland is a huge reason I still like Disneyland so much.
Great video and I really liked all your planned expansion ideas. I especially want to see Disney do something with the Tomorrowland Speedway, with the addition of Tron the speedway will look even more outdated than it already does.
I went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time in 20 years. I was amazed. When I was younger it was my least favorite park. Now, I find it to be amazing. I absolutely loved it.
the Tangled bathrooms still make me giggle like a child when I remember them. It's like the only thing in fantasyland with Tangled theming. The entire section just feels incomplete, it kinda makes me sad.
Thanks again for a great video! You ending piece holds Disney to higher standard I don't think they'll currently achieve.
Well well well if it’s isn’t our overlord Poseidon himself blessing us with yet another masterpiece of a video. You truly expand my mind mr poseidon
Snow White's Scary Adventure was SO much better than Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. That's really embarrassing. A themed coaster shouldn't be a step down from a dark ride meant for little children. Don't get me wrong. Fantasyland dark rides are actually really quite impressive and I personally love them (just think about Alice In Wonderland and Mr Toad's Wild Ride.) But one would assume Disney was going to put quite a bit more effort into the supposed signature new attraction when they added New Fantasyland. It doesn't deserve more than a 20 minute wait.
Peter Pan is so popular, I've never understood why its ride system wasnt used for an Aladdin or UP ride. Seems like a no brainer.
Those sound like great ideas actually! I think a magic carpet ride for Aladdin or a balloon ride for UP would do quite well!
I thought New Fantasyland was pretty interesting back when it first debuted, but mostly because I thought it would be the first step in a bigger followup with plus-sizing the area and potentially giving the rest of the park a facelift. As big as the Magic Kingdom is, there are still a lot of unused and underutilized spaces that could be going to attractions that could eat up capacity and wait times.
Also while we're talking fixes, I've also had my own ideas for fixing Fantasyland, and the Magic Kingdom as a whole that most people balk at: turn the Magic Kingdom itself into one big Fantasyland. Hear me out in this one! The entire Disney world property takes up the literal acreage of a city the size of San Francisco, there are three other main parks and dozens of other smaller attractions. Why keep the Magic Kingdom as a bloated clone of Disneyland when you could go all in on the themes of the original Disneyland, but plus them into their own parks? How crazy would it really be to retheme MK into a park dedicated to bringing Disney's animated fantasy worlds to life? You could rework Main Street into a Storybook village, or retheme the Streets of America into a Georgian or Victorian era township. Adventureland could mostly stay as it is, it could possibly even absorb parts of Frontierland with the right retheming. As for the parts that wouldn't jive, what would be the big deal with punting them off to other parks? Why not just incorporate Tomorrowland into Epcot and plus it, or rework Frontierland into a Western-themed expansion of Hollywood studios, or dedicate a section of Animal Kingdom to the American Southwest? The biggest thing holding them back creatively at the Magic Kingdom (besides the higher-ups needing to monetize everything in the park!) is the gut instinct to stay beholden to the Disneyland blueprint . They've had to tweak that blueprint whenever they've built a new Disney park overseas, why not here? If the goal these days is to turn WDW into a multi-day experience, why not give your guests a totally unique experience for every day of their visit?
Totally agree
I went to “Be Our Guest” A LOT when I was a Cast Member in 2013 and it was fantastic, food and atmosphere where great. I went in 2018 or 2019 and was INCREDIBLY disappointed with how shitty it had become. What a waste.
According to Martin from MartinsVidsDotNet, the area to the north of Be Our Guest isn't an official expansion plot and would need major work to use (swampland reclamation, rerouting of the service road etc), but throw enough money at a problem and i'm sure it would work. The entire chunk of land (and retention pond) to the east of the Fantasyland train station IS a designated expansion pad however (Tron is using about half of it).
I had ideas for the northern areas past Fantasyland too, though kept inside the train track. Tokyo's Beauty and the Beast ride is massive and wouldn't fit within the current park boundaries, but can fit in the lower half of that green expansion you marked (which is what I would propose). I used that lower half of the blue space to extend Little Mermaid's building size (freeing up some space for the ending scenes) and the rest for a Hercules dark ride. The Hercules ride would stretch into the pink and yellow tents, with the aqua colored tent being replaced by the Pinocchio dark ride (plenty of restaurant and retail space left over too). Most circus elements would be gone.
The Speedway I would have moved over to a reworked EPCOT (perhaps a couple other MK attractions as well). I'd also remove the Barnstormer and use the space around Dumbo for the Canal Boats and Casey. Alice could also go in this space (my concept was a bit further south than yours). The idea (before Tron) was to make the Speedway space into a sort of old English countryside of sorts with several relevant attractions. I favored putting Mr Toad here instead of back in its original show building. With not only the Toad Hall facade, but the surrounding natural countryside scenery (stone bridge, creek, willows etc). The train in the background would also be a nice touch. Robin Hood could also fit (I want a Black Cauldron ride myself, but i'm trying to stick with ideas that there's at least some alternate reality where they could actually be possible).
I had originally envisioned putting Frozen where Tron is going, the larger and sure to be superior version that Tokyo is getting along with the (possibly scrapped) 7DMT-like Oaken Sleds family coaster that was planned for Paris. Then north of that, a version of Peter Pan similar to Shanghai's (with nearby Pixie Hollow/Neverland mini land, allowing a new dark ride to move into the old Pan building). And north of THAT, a suspended Aladdin dark ride. Tron however has cut that available space in half.
I had other non-Fantasyland ideas for the "villains" area you marked in purple, including a Sleepy Hollow land and even a New Orleans Square outside the train track (a place for PATF back when I hoped the Splash plans would be scrapped). Also opening up northern pathways and expansions for Frontierland. But I digress.