An apple honors Snow White’s Scary Adventures, an extinct Fantasyland attraction.
Peanuts laying on a table honor Storybook Circus, which opened with the New Fantasyland expansion.
A map of the Magic Kingdom includes a designation for Mickey’s Toontown Fair, the area that New Fantasyland replaced.
A ring with a “40” stamped on it represents Holmes’ 40 years of service with Disney.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
A series of barrels in the Mine Train queue are filled with gems. When guests spin a barrel, an image of one of the seven dwarfs is projected onto the ceiling. If guests work together and spin all of the barrels at the same time, an image of Snow White appears with the seven dwarfs.
As the attraction begins, guests will see shadows of the seven dwarfs on a wall to the left of the ride vehicles marching into the mines.
The attraction features innovative ride vehicles that sway back and forth much like real mine carts. These carts travel at a maximum speed of approximately 34 mph.
Two vultures that stare down at guests from a lift hill have been peering at guests for many years. In fact, these are the same vultures that were utilized in the now extinct Fantasyland attraction Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
The Doc, Happy, Bashful, Grumpy, and Sleepy characters seen at the end of the attraction in the cottage were also formerly used on Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
“it’s a small world”
The attraction uses almost 300 audio-animatronic characters, the most of any Magic Kingdom attraction.
Walt Disney originally wanted all of the children in the attraction to sing their particular country’s national anthem. However, the disharmonious result pushed Walt to try something different. He tasked famed songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman to develop a simple song for the attraction that would be easily translatable into other languages. The result is a song that is one of the most widely recognized on Earth: “It’s a Small World (After All).”
The audio-animatronic dolls sing in English, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, and Japanese.
During its approx. 2 year run at the 1964-65 New York’s World Fair, over 10 million people visited the attraction.
In the Europe scene, a guard in front of the Tower of London wields a cork gun and a mischievous looking Don Quixote sits atop a horse pointing his spear at a windmill.
In the Asia scene, one of the flying carpets has a steering wheel.
As guests exit the attraction, they pass an area affectionately known as the “goodbye room,” where numerous signs painted on flowers say goodbye to guests in 22 different languages. A 2016 update to the attraction now provides guests with an interactive ending, as screens to the left-hand side of the ride vehicles say goodbye to guests by actual name using information from guests’ Magic Bands.
Under the Sea ~
Journey of the Little Mermaid
The balcony supports on Prince Eric’s Castle are themed to look like octopus tentacles.
Prince Eric’s boat sits on a beach to the right-hand side of the queue. Footprints, presumably Prince Eric’s, lead away from the boat.
A fantastic tribute to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, a now extinct Fantasyland attraction, can be found in the queue of Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid. An impression of the Nautilus submarine is embedded in the rocks near a pool on the right-hand side of the attraction queue.
Mousecellanious
Cinderella’s wishing well can be found along the walkway that connects Fantasyland to Tomorrowland.
La Fontaine de Cendrillon (“the Cinderella Fountain”) is located in the castle courtyard with a bronze statute of Cinderella sitting with her animal friends as its centerpiece. A crown was strategically painted on a wall behind the fountain, creating the illusion for children looking up at the statue that Cinderella is wearing a crown.
Castle Couture sits in the shadow of Cinderella Castle and specializes in princess attire and gifts. A banner for the shop reads “The Royal Dressmaker to the Kingdom.” A beautiful dress that hangs behind the guest checkout area magically transforms between pink and blue colors, replicating the final scene from the Cinderella film.
The dining rooms in the Pinocchio Village Haus are named for characters from the Pinocchio (1940) film: Geppetto, Stromboli (the largest dining room), Figaro, Jiminy Cricket, Blue Fairy, Cleo, and Monstro (which includes windows that look out upon the “it’s a small world” attraction). Each of the dining rooms includes beautiful paintings on the wall featuring the character for which the room is named and, in some cases, stained glass windows that include storytelling details from the Pinocchio film.
The Disney Vacation Club booth that stands across the walkway from Under the Sea—Journey of the Little Mermaid includes a sign that reads “H. Goff, Cartography.” This is a nod to Harper Goff who served as art director for the 1954 Disney live-action film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason. Goff later contributed many early sketches for what would become known as Disneyland, and in particular Main Street, U.S.A.
A wooden sign for the Friar’s Nook quick-service dining location indicates that the restaurant was established in “MLXXI.” This equates to 1071, which both ties in with the medieval time period of this section of Fantasyland, but also a subtle nod to the Magic Kingdom’s opening year, 1971.
In the queue for Mickey’s PhilharMagic, guests will find a tribute to the 1946 Disney package film Make Mine Music. A poster depicts Willie the Whale performing “I Pagliacci.” The 1946 film included a segment called “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met.”
Real History
On the Magic Kingdom’s opening day, October 1, 1971, Fantasyland included a wide range of attractions that the entire family could enjoy together: “it’s a small world,” Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White’s Adventures, Peter Pan’s Flight, the Skyway, the Mad Tea Party, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel (which was later renamed to Prince Charming Regal Carrousel), and the Mickey Mouse Revue.
As will be discussed in detail in Chapter 11, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride on June 4, 1999.
Snow White’s Adventures was a dark ride that transported guests through the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Most guests were unaware that they were playing the role of Snow White and, as such, did not actually see the starring character during the attraction. Snow White’s Adventures closed for a refurbishment in 1994, and got a name change: Snow White’s Scary Adventures, as well as an actual Snow White figure. The attraction closed for good in 2012. The area would later be renovated into a meet and great area called Princess Fairytale Hall.
The Skyway transported guests in gondola-style ride vehicles back and forth between stations in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The Skyway closed on November 10, 1999.
The Mickey Mouse Revue was an audio-animatronic theatre show that entertained guests in the Fantasyland Theatre. In this attraction, maestro Mickey Mouse conducted an orchestra of many Disney audio-animatronic characters. Magic Journeys replaced the Mickey Mouse Revue on December 15, 1987. Magic Journeys was notably an early 3D film that allowed guests to see “the world through the eyes of a child.” Magic Journeys closed on December 1, 1993 and was replaced by Legend of the Lion King on July 8, 1994. The new attraction utilized puppets to tell the story of Disney’s 1994 animated film The Lion King. Legend of the Lion King closed on February 23, 2002. Mickey’s Philharmagic, the 3D theatre shows that continues to entertain guests today, opened on October 8, 2003.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage opened on October 14, 1971, and was Fantasyland’s most ambitious attraction. Based on the classic 1954 Disney live-action film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring James Mason as the mysterious Captain Nemo and Kirk Douglas as the confident harpooner Ned Land, the 20,000 Leagues attraction offered guests the opportunity to board actual submarines and go on a captivating underwat
er adventure. In Walt Disney World, The First Decade (1982), the attraction was described as follows:
“Submarines styled after the ‘Nautilus’ sail from a peaceful tropical lagoon on a journey through coral reefs to a vast sunless cavern, descending into an ocean of untold mysteries.”
Set behind the majestic towers of Cinderella Castle, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea had an enormous footprint in Fantasyland covering nearly one-quarter of that land, including a man-made lagoon that held over 11 million gallons of water.
The attraction featured perhaps the most visually stunning ride vehicles ever created for a Disney attraction: large submarines that would hold approximately 40 passengers each. The submarines themselves were a sight to behold. With a distinct patina green color and a unique, breathtaking design, the vessels looked as though they had been pulled directly from the pages of Jules Verne’s classic novel. The fleet consisted of twelve submarines, with a thirteenth buried in the lagoon itself for visual effect.
Despite its immense popularity, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea eventually closed in September of 1994. Disney initially characterized this closure as temporary before finally admitting in 1996 that the attraction was indeed closed for good. So why was the attraction closed when it was still popular with park guests? Extremely high maintenance costs, lack of handicap accessibility, and frustration of cast members responsible for painstakingly maintaining the attraction are all rumored to have contributed to 20,000 Leagues’ closure.
Even though 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea occupied a valuable piece of real estate in Fantasyland, the area remained mostly dormant in the years that followed its closure.
On September 12, 2009, at the D23 Conference in Anaheim, California, Disney made a major announcement that would forever re-shape the Magic Kingdom: a large expansion of Fantasyland. As originally envisioned, the area would have included six different character meet and great areas, a dark ride known as Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, and the Be Our Guest Restaurant. However, Disney later determined that the original plans for New Fantasyland were too focused on little girls. As such, the plans for a “Pixie Hollow” meet and great area, as well as three other meet and great areas, where scrapped in favor of another attraction: a family style roller coaster themed to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
In 2012, Storybook Circus opened in three different phases in the area that was formerly home to Mickey’s Toon Town Fair. Phase one opened on March 12, 2012, and consisted of The Barnstormer and one of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant attractions. A few months later in July, the Casey Jr. Splash ‘n Soak Station and the second Dumbo attraction opened to guests. The remainder of Storybook Circus, consisting of Big Top Souvenirs and Pete’s Silly Sideshow, opened on October 4, 2012.
On December 6, 2012, the Enchanted Forest section of New Fantasyland opened to guests, with the exception of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This new area consisted of a dark ride based on the 1989 Disney animated The Little Mermaid called Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid, the Be Our Gest Restaurant, Gaston’s Tavern, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Ariel’s Grotto. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train finally opened on May 28, 2014.
More recently, Disney opened a new restroom area themed to the 2010 Disney animated film Tangled in March 2013. This intricately themed area is located on the border of Fantasyland and Liberty Square where the old Fantasyland Skyway station previously resided.
chapter nine
Peter Pan’s Flight
All this has happened before, and it will all happen again. But this time, it happened in London. It happened on a quiet street in Bloomsbury. That corner house over there is the home of the Darling family. And Peter Pan chose this particular house because there were people here who believed in him.
—Narrator, Peter Pan (1953)
Peter Pan’s Flight is a classic Disney dark ride that transports guests from the Darling family nursery in London to the colorful world of Peter Pan’s Never Land. Riding aboard miniature pirate ships, guests fly over London, the camp of the Lost Boys, Mermaid Lagoon, and a Native American village, meeting many familiar characters from the classic works of author James M. Barrie and the beloved 1953 Disney animated film Peter Pan along the way.
Even though Peter Pan’s Flight has barely changed since first opening on October 1, 1971, it remains one of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom. The attraction’s seemingly timeless popularity is due in large part to the overarching message of both the Peter Pan stories and Fantasyland as a whole: that people of all ages can remain children at heart. For guests visiting the Magic Kingdom, becoming a kid again is easy…all they have to do is head to Fantasyland and follow these simple directions: “Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.”
Backstory
James M. Barrie and the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up
The story behind Peter Pan’s Flight begins at the turn of the 20th century with author James M. Barrie. Barrie was born into poverty as the ninth of ten children in a remote village in Kirriemuir, Scotland. Much like the character he would become famous for, Barrie had a “boyish” appearance even in adulthood. He was just over five feet tall with a slight figure and a high-pitched voice. Barrie received his M.A. degree in 1882 from the University of Edinburgh and began his career as a journalist. After moving to London in 1885, Barrie became a bestselling author and playwright.
Barrie is most well known for creating the character of Peter Pan, who grew from stories Barrie told to the children of his family friends, Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Barrie was extremely close to the Davies family. Many experts have theorized that Barrie based many of the characters in Peter Pan on real people from his own life, including the Davies family:
Though its materials were part of the popular culture of the time, Peter Pan is also deeply connected to Barrie’s private life…the name “Wendy” was taken from the mispronunciation of another young friend of Barrie’s, Margaret Henley, who had died at the age of six; she had called herself Barrie’s “friendly” but had trouble with her consonants. Sylvia Davies, whom Barrie loved and admired as the perfect mother, is obviously Mrs. Darling; and Arthur Davies, who was often impatient with Barrie’s constant presence in the house, is gently mocked as Mr. Darling.
As for Peter Pan, many writers have seen him as a supernatural incarnation of Barrie himself: eternally young in spirit, the ideal companion and daring leader in childhood games. But he is also as Barrie could not be, a real child.
—Alison Lurie, Peter Pan Afterword (1987), p. 198-199.
The character of Peter Pan first appeared in the 1902 novel The Little White Bird, although that character has little in common with the Peter Pan that fans know today. The character next appeared in the play Peter Pan (also known as The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up), which debuted in London on December 27, 1904. Barrie then revised the play into the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy, which in later years was published simply as Peter Pan.
Barrie effectively described the character of Peter Pan in the opening line of his novel: “All children, except one, grow up.” Pan is equal parts innocent and mischievous, and lives in Never Land, a magical location that is home to pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and fairies. Both the play and the novel begin in the nursery of the Darling family, where Peter Pan visits via an open window to hear Mrs. Darling tell stories to her children Wendy, John and Michael. One night, Peter Pan is spotted and loses his shadow when trying to escape the nursery. When Peter later returns to retrieve his shadow, he asks Wendy if she will come back to Never Land to be the mother of the Lost Boys, a group of children who serve as Pan’s cohorts. After Wendy agrees, Pan takes all of the Darling children to Never Land.
While in Never Land, Pan and the Darlings take part in numerous adventures:
Peter and the Lost Boys save a Native American princess, Tiger Lilly, from the grips of a band of pirates, led by the notorious Captain Hook. The captain is so named because he lost a hand to a crocodile and thereafter replaced it with a
hook. The crocodile that ate Hook’s hand also swallowed a clock, with the resulting “tick tock” sound both alerting the captain of danger and terrifying him.
Tinker Bell, Pan’s fairy friend, is almost killed when she drinks poison from Captain Hook that was intended for Peter Pan. Tinker Bell believes that she can be saved if enough children actually believe in fairies. As a part of the performance of the Pan play, Peter would turn to the audience and ask if they believed in fairies, resulting in a huge applause.
A penultimate battle between Peter Pan and Captain Hook, in which Pan defeats Hook by pushing the pirate into the mouth of the crocodile. Yes…Hook actually dies.
Wendy ultimately decides that her home is in London with the Darling family. Upon meeting Peter, Mrs. Darling offers to adopt him and all of the Lost Boys. While Peter refuses, the story leads us to believe that Mrs. Darling knew Peter Pan when she was a girl.
In the decades that have followed, Barrie’s work has been adopted into numerous books, television series, comics, and films, the most famous of which is Disney’s 1953 animated film Peter Pan.
The Disney Connection: Peter Pan (1953)
In 1953, Disney released the timeless animated film Peter Pan. The film follows the same general storyline of the Barrie play and novel, with Peter Pan taking Wendy, John, and Michael Darling on an adventurous tour of Never Land. The Disney film, however, is more light-hearted and child-friendly than either the Barrie play or novel. Several notable differences include:
Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland Page 23
