Fantasy Faire Experience

[Ghoulish Delight]

My sister just alerted me to this D23 announcement.

New Fantasy Faire Experience Coming to Disneyland Park (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/08/new-fantasy-faire-experience-coming-to-disneyland-park/)

The boundaries of Fantasyland (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/fantasyland/?int_cmp=SOC-intDPFY11Q3newfantasyfaireexperience19-08-11@0003) are expanding with a brand new experience called Fantasy Faire (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/disney-princess-fantasy-faire/?int_cmp=SOC-intDPFY11Q3NewFantasyFaireExperienceComingtoDisney landPark19-08-11@0001). For this project, Carnations Plaza Gardens Stage is being reimagined into an enchanting village square that will immerse guests in the stories of their favorite princesses in exciting new ways.

Guests will travel through a village square surrounded by fairytale cottages and pavilions to the heart of the square – Tangled Tower, inspired by the film. The village square will come alive with activities and entertainment, including a Royal Ribbon Parade where guests can dance and interact with Belle or Rapunzel. Guests can visit the their favorite Disney royalty from such films as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Tangled” and the upcoming Disney•Pixar film, “Brave

I'm definitely skeptical of the horrid princess fetish orgy migrating from its sequestered Fantasyland Theater corner up to the front of the park. Yuck. But my skepticism is tempered slightly by the run of positive changes that have happened at the resort. I at least have some faith in the creative output of the company of late.

Now that I think about it, I think I must have either read about this from Al, or CP read about it from Al and mentioned it to me, because I recall wondering what will happen to all the school groups (and Lindy Hoppers!) that get to perform at the stage. Will that end?

[Chernabog]

I think it is a terrible idea for that location. It gets rid of a quiet area of the park during the day and will cause a crazy cluster of people where there needs to be a walkway. The build-a-disney-whore area is always jammed, and that's in a bigger area! Why are they moving it to a smaller area?

(Digression, which should probably be in the vent thread: Of course, when I posted that I disliked it on the board-that-is-not-to-be-named, ridiculing the "it isn't even built yet, just give it a chance!" point-of-view, I was immediately shot down, chastised by moderators and given oodles of negative reputation. Which is why I left in the first place.... I love certain people in it but I hate hate hate that group as a whole.... but I digress.)

[Melonballer]

I am not a fan of it, but I am willing to wait too. Really it is a shame they are not putting it back in the fantasyland theater area and then maybe putting a ride back in the festival arena and connecting the 2 sections. oh well.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, there are a whole lot of trees tucked up between the disused seating area (Mouse Adventure Central) and the castle. Theoretically they could use that to expand the area. But yeah, it would still be a fraction of the size of Fantasy Land Theater.

[Gn2Dlnd]

There's a lot of backstage area behind Zocalo going all the way back to Village Haus. Maybe they're relocating the custodial offices and taking up some of this space. As for Fantasyland encroaching onto Main Street? I don't think I like it. Right up there with the Astro Orbitor being where it oughtn't. I haven't ever been happy with this area, though, since they removed the food service and remodeled. It really used to be one of the busiest restaurants/ice cream fountains in the Park. The stage was always busy with either visiting school bands or Disneyland musicians, and at night, of course, swing dancing. Usually with bands whose names you'd recognize if you went and looked at your grandparent's (or my) record collection. I like the romance of looking back out at Main Street from Plaza Gardens, at once a part of Main Street, but separated by a reflective body of water.

[~MS~]

According to the Disney blog report on the situation the plan will be that the swing dancers will continue to have access in the evenings. FF currently closes around 5 or 6 every day so I would anticipate that being the case with the new location. I'm one of those that feels that 'someone' is NOT thinking the traffic issue thru here...the ONLY family bathroom in the park is right there and might well be gone with the refurb...access to the bathrooms in the tunnel to Rancho will be unbelievably clogged and let's not forget that those particular bathrooms are some of the smaller ones IN the park in general.

[lashbear]

.the ONLY family bathroom in the park is right there and might well be gone with the refurb...

You mean the Secret Toilet that you showed me?

...and are the swing dancers going to have to dance around a tower?

I wonder if there's a plan / concept drawing?

[~MS~]

That would be the one Lash...I saw some artwork over on the Disney blog...

[lindyhop]

Ah, yes, this has been in the rumor mill for months. Cast members have been fueling the fire by telling dancers on Saturday nights all sorts of scary stories. Disney seems to be willing to support the continuation of dancing on Saturday nights and that's the most important thing for me. The posts on the Facebook group since the plans were officially announced have been about as indignant and hysterical as what I'd imagine I'd find on that unnamed website.

[Morrigoon]

This just seems like a bad, bad, no good idea.

Of course, I still think it's insane they didn't put a food location back in there. Place is ripe for a soda fountain kind of thing.

[Chernabog]

I think maybe I'd be less dead set against it if they also announced something like.... "Oh, and we're moving it to make room for the ____________ theatre spectacular show!"

... but alas, there was no such announcement.

(Of course, I would be interested in a Prince Fantasy Faire, but my version might be inappropriate at a Disneyland venue)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'm one of those that feels that 'someone' is NOT thinking the traffic issue thru here...I visited DL on a weekday recently and noticed the new snack bar is open next to the Twain dock, across from the Big Thunder entrance. Then I noticed that that it was complete gridlock there. People were stopping to decide what to snack on, people were stopping to decide whether to ride Big Thunder, people were stopping to decide whether to get a Big Thunder fastpass, people were getting off the Twain and getting off Big Thunder and standing in line for snacks....it was about as bad as Adventureland by Indy, just on a smaller scale. The snack bar juts out too far into the walkway, and they've moved the pretzel cart that used to be at the entrance of Frontierland down to the area by the Twain dock with all the other ODV that's already there. So completely stupid. I mean, it was a weekday! I could not believe what a huge mistake they had made.

So, yeah, that doesn't bode well for crowd control.