It is not know by many that when Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, Mickey's Toontown Fair did not exist. In fact, the area was undeveloped until 1988. Mickey's Birthdayland opened to celebrate Mickey's 60th birthday. The land was not intended to be permanent but when Imagineers realized that the area was wildly popular, they kept it and renamed it Mickey's Starland. It would keep this name up until 1996 when it would become Mickey's Toontown fair.
Mickey's Birthdayland:
Mickey's Starland:
Mickey's Toontown Fair:
We, as hardcore Disney fans, are on the cusp of another fantastic change to this land. Announced at the D23 exposition in September of 2009, the Fantasyland expansion will soon be taking over this area.
The several phases to this massive expansion are planned to be completed in 2013. This construction project is the largest expansion of any area of the Magic Kingdom. Guests will finally have the chance to enter into the world of the Disney Fairies and be able to have immersive encounters with the Disney Princesses. Each of the Disney Princesses will have their own village deep inside the woods of Pixie Hollow. You will be able to dance with Cinderella, go to Snow White's birthday party, dine in Gaston's Tavern and go on an undersea adventure with Ariel in a brand new attraction. Dumbo's flying circus will be moved, and a second set of elephants opened doubling its capacity.
While this is an extremely exciting project, it does mean that we will be saying goodbye to Mickey's house, Minnie's house, and Donald's boat. These character meet-and-greets will be moved to a new location on Main Street. What does this mean for us? Nothing really. Construction has only just started and it is rumored that they will be working back to front minimizing the guest impact. The latest reports show construction walls far beyond the tree line and out of guest view. What does this mean for me? Well, this will be the last time that I will be able to visit Mickey's house. It will be sad, but the idea of what may come is far more exciting that hanging on to Mickey's house for posterity's sake.
The concept art that has been released is very exciting. Fans have been waiting for a very long time for a project like this to come along. This also comes at a time when Disneyland's California Adventure is receiving a massive overhaul. This may mean that the cap on spending has been removed, at least on a temporary basis.
The new Dumbo:
Ariel's Adventures, a new dark ride:
Pixie Hollow:
This area has gone through many changes in the past. It started as almost an after thought and a way to get more guests into the park. In three years it will be one of the main draws for fans to come to that area of the park. This is an exciting project and many fans are just waiting for the construction pictures to start pouring in.
THIS DAY IN WDW HISTORY:
Mickey's Birthdayland:
Mickey's Starland:
Mickey's Toontown Fair:
We, as hardcore Disney fans, are on the cusp of another fantastic change to this land. Announced at the D23 exposition in September of 2009, the Fantasyland expansion will soon be taking over this area.
The several phases to this massive expansion are planned to be completed in 2013. This construction project is the largest expansion of any area of the Magic Kingdom. Guests will finally have the chance to enter into the world of the Disney Fairies and be able to have immersive encounters with the Disney Princesses. Each of the Disney Princesses will have their own village deep inside the woods of Pixie Hollow. You will be able to dance with Cinderella, go to Snow White's birthday party, dine in Gaston's Tavern and go on an undersea adventure with Ariel in a brand new attraction. Dumbo's flying circus will be moved, and a second set of elephants opened doubling its capacity.
While this is an extremely exciting project, it does mean that we will be saying goodbye to Mickey's house, Minnie's house, and Donald's boat. These character meet-and-greets will be moved to a new location on Main Street. What does this mean for us? Nothing really. Construction has only just started and it is rumored that they will be working back to front minimizing the guest impact. The latest reports show construction walls far beyond the tree line and out of guest view. What does this mean for me? Well, this will be the last time that I will be able to visit Mickey's house. It will be sad, but the idea of what may come is far more exciting that hanging on to Mickey's house for posterity's sake.
The concept art that has been released is very exciting. Fans have been waiting for a very long time for a project like this to come along. This also comes at a time when Disneyland's California Adventure is receiving a massive overhaul. This may mean that the cap on spending has been removed, at least on a temporary basis.
The new Dumbo:
Ariel's Adventures, a new dark ride:
Pixie Hollow:
This area has gone through many changes in the past. It started as almost an after thought and a way to get more guests into the park. In three years it will be one of the main draws for fans to come to that area of the park. This is an exciting project and many fans are just waiting for the construction pictures to start pouring in.
THIS DAY IN WDW HISTORY:
1901 - Ub Iwerks is born in Kansas City, Missouri. A Disney Legend and Pioneer, he worked on many of the first Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts.
1905 - Writer Jules Verne dies at 77 in France. Many of his books inspired Walt's movies and park attractions.
1909 - Milt Kahl is born in San Fransisco, California. Milt is one of Walt's Nine Old Men and was with the company for 42 years working on classics such as Pinocchio, Bambi, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, and the Rescuers.
1975 - The Lake Buena Vista Village opens at Walt Disney World. It will eventually be named Disney Village Marketplace, and now Downtown Disney.
1985 - Bob Hope is on hand for Disney-MGM Studios' official groundbreaking on a 135-acre plot one mile southwest of Epcot Center. (The park opens 4 years later)
1986 - Don McGrath is the 500 millionth guest to enter a Disney park.
1989 - The Walt Disney World Casting Building opens in Florida.
1994 - At Disney's Epcot, Food Rocks replaces Kitchen Kabaret (closed since January).
1996 - The Walt Disney Company and McDonald's Corporation sign a 10 year multi-national alliance to start in January 1997. This was why McDonald's fry carts were all over WDW.
2010 - Waking Sleeping Beauty runs with limited release in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. The film chronicles the years 1984 - 1994, the golden age of animation.
2010 - (last week) Fess Parker also known as Davy Crockett dies.
DAYS UNTIL OUR VACATION: 37
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