In our third post about Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida, we’re taking a look at the Fantasyland section of the park.

Fantasyland - Cinderella Castle and Rides

Fantasyland is particularly suitable for young children, as many of its rides are gentle and based on characters from popular fairy tales. The best-known attraction in Fantasyland is Cinderella Castle. The second floor of the castle is home to Cinderella’s Royal Table restaurant, one of the Disney venues which operates character dining (i.e. Disney characters are present in the restaurant during the meal).

There are a number of rides in Fantasyland: “it’s a small world”; Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Scary Adventures; Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel; Dumbo the Flying Elephant; The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; and the Mad Tea Party.

“it’s a small world” is best-known for featuring one of the most irritating songs ever written. Once you’ve been on the ride, you won’t be able to get it out of your head. The ride takes you on a boat ride around the world, past animatronic dolls dressed in various national costumes. It lasts for about 10 minutes and is particularly suitable for families with young children.

Peter Pan’s Flight is one of the most popular rides in the Fantasyland section of the park. It’s one of Disney’s older rides and is less high-tech than many of the rides in the park, but it still has a magical feel to it. Guests travel in  “pirate ships”, which fly through the Darling’s nursey, over the city of London and into Neverland. Queues tend to be long for this ride, so take advanage of Disney’s Fastpass system.

Snow White’s Scary Adventures is another of the park’s older rides. On this ride, you’ll travel through scenes from Disney’s animated movie in a mine car. It’s a great family ride, but some very young children may find this ride a bit too frightening. They will, however, enjoy Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, where they can ride on one of 90 beautifully decorated horses.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant is similar in style to Adventureland’s  Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride, and will take you up above the park in a gondola designed to look like Disney’s famous elephant, whilst The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride takes you on a journey through 100 Acre Wood in a “hunny pot” car to see all your favourite characters from A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books (watch out for Woozles and Heffalumps!).

Finally, no trip to the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is complete without a ride in one of the Mad Tea Party’s spinning tea cups. The ride itself spins, but you can also make your own tea cup spin by using the controls inside of it.

Fantasyland - Other Attractions and Shows

Fantasyland’s other attractions are: Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Storytime with Belle, Ariel’s Grotto and Pooh’s Playful Spot.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic is a 3D movie featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” and many other Disney characters. Storytime with Belle is a small show, in which Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” tells a story. Children can dress up and play an active part in this show, which is held in Fairy Tale Garden, close to Cinderella Castle. The area outside of the castle is also the venue for the Dream-Along with Mickey show, which is performed several times each day.

You can meet Ariel, star of “The Little Mermaid”, in Ariel’s Grotto, which is decorated with an under-the-sea theme, and toddlers can let off some steam in Pooh’s Playful Spot, a themed playground area.

Fantasyland - Restaurants and Shops

The main restaurant in Fantasyland is the Cinderella Royal Table restaurant, but there is also a counter-service restaurant, Pinnochio Village Haus, which serves pizzas, chicken strips, fries, salads and a range of desserts and drinks.

You can also buy cookies, ice creams and drinks at Mrs Potts’ Cupboard and drinks at The Enchanted Grove.

Shops in Fantasyland include Pooh’s Thotful Shop, where you can buy a range of Winnie-the-Pooh themed gifts, and Seven Dwarfs Mine, which sells Snow White-themed merchandise. Children can also get a Disney-style make-over in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella Castle.

Fantasyland - New Developments

Disney is planning to redevlop and expand the Fantasyland area of the Magic Kindom during the next few years. According to wdwinfo.com, Disney has announced that a new ride based on “The Little Mermaid” will be constructed and other attractions which enable children to interact with their favourite Disney princesses and villains will be added.

In the next post in this series, we will be looking the other two areas of the park that you can explore before heading back to your hotel or hire car - Mickey’s Toontown Fair and Tomorrowland.

Image: Simsim2009