Tangled Themed Walkway and Restrooms Help Tie Old and New Fantasyland Together
Every taste we get of New Fantasyland (we’ll have tons of coverage of our experience of Be Our Guest Restaurant soon) seems to make the experience of New Fantasyland all the more grand. But there is another feeling that is quite apparent when you experience New Fantasyland and one that will become immediately noticeable to many guests who enjoy New Fantasyland on their upcoming visits. The feeling is that the traditional areas of Fantasyland, especially “it’s a small world” and Peter Pan’s Flight are showing their age and not in the nostalgic sense that existed prior to New Fantasyland. There is no doubting the timelessness of both attractions, that provide tons of joy to guests with their simple classic fun. But after experiencing New Fantasyland you can’t help but imagine a world where those attractions were built with today’s technology. And while we may have to wait considerably longer for these attractions to receive the updates they need, it is apparent Disney was always aware of the need to “plus” the existing Fantasyland areas before New Fantasyland opens officially in early December.
To this end Disney has worked feverishly to paint buildings, replace theming elements and even add new ones. The first of these examples came with the re-imagineering of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh queue and now the last comes in the form of the rising Tangled themed walkway and restrooms. If you have been following along in our updates you will know that we have been watching this space closely for months now but without question this is one of the most colossal updates since we began covering this construction project because for the first time we truly have a more complete sense of what this area is going to look like when complete. With thatched roofing, chimney stacks in place and countryside buildings all getting their thematic touches we can easily see that New Fantasyland’s attention to detail is expanding beyond the castle courtyard walls that contain the new mini-land.
Though it may seem like a small project in scope it actually aims to accomplish several important things…
Also for the first time we are seeing the bridge that will serve as the continuous walkway and at least double the area that guests will be able to flow into and out of Fantasyland from. Of course the bridge will have water flowing under it provided by the cascading waterfall that is now visibly outlined in the rock-work that sits just beneath the hill where we should see Rapunzel’s Tower put into place rather soon. Though it may seem like a small project in scope it actually aims to accomplish several important things and not least of which is provide a visual anchor that will blend new and old Fantasyland together all the more.
I just hope they retain the thematic connection to Liberty Square. Previously, that part of Fantasyland flowed seamlessly into Liberty Square. Especially on the Peter Pan side, the buildings were themed to something from Elizabethan England, placing them around 1600. Then go through the breezeway, and you’re now in 1700s New England. The Skyway building and It’s a Small World castle facade was always hidden from Liberty Square. Now the area is much more open, potentially ruining the thematic continuity.
Hopefully they paint those rocks to look like the huge pieces of glacial bedrock (think Manhattan schist) that commonly puncture the surface in areas of the northeast (such as in the Hudson Valley, to fit in with the Haunted Mansion).
I’m not worried about the thematic transition between Fantasyland and Liberty Square, I’m sure it will still work. I’m more concerned about the Fantasyland/Tomorrowland transition that has always been awful and New Fantasyland unfortunately did nothing to help that.
Considering the film Tangled was heavily influenced by the architecture of Disneyland’s Fantasyland, I think this will be quite a beautiful addition and transition to the Magic Kingdom. Can’t wait to see Rapunzel’s tower go up!
It’s looking great but do u think it will be done by Christmas?
It looks to be completed by then…