New Fanatasyland not so Fantastic

[MichaelMouse]

Was in WDW last week and the NEW Fantasyland was a HUGE disappointment. It has been overhyped for the last few years and for what???

One new ride (Ariel's underwater adventure), another eatery (gastons), and another useless gift shop dedicated to Belle.

All in all it a lot of fluf. Wasted land except when the new mine roller coaster opens.

They used way too much land for a "no frills" ariel ride..Everytime we tried to get on Ariel's ride, there was no wait or it was closed for malfunctions. It took a half hour just to get to the **** ride. I think the imagineers expected this one to be a hit......NOT!!!!! With all the zig zags to the actual ride.

Not another story with Ariel or meet and greet designated area......

Imagineers.....use your imagination!!!!!

[Reedy Creek Buccaneer]

I totally agree on the Ariel ride. It could have been a show stopper, but it is just another ho hum dark ride. We ate at both Gaston's and Be Our Guest. Both were very good, so no complaints there.

[chefmickey3]

I disagree. We loved New Fantasyland. We saw it in preview phase in October and then again two weeks ago. I thought LM was very well done and Enchanted Tales with Belle was amazing and brought me to tears. Eating at Be Our Guest was by far the best dining experience on Disney property. I completely forgot where I was for an hour. I like where Storybook Circus located. The mine ride will be icing on the cake. I just wish it were open now.

[Tekneek]

They chose to go with a classic dark ride made with all the advanced modern technology. I wished they had done more with it than they did, but I understand what they were going for.

[Carol]

Love it so far. The theming is fantastic. You also have to remember it's not finished.

[Pirate Granny]

I agree about the ride. I expected to be blown away, and it was just so,so. They copies the plans identically fromDL and I felt they could've improved on some things. Oh yea, the meet and greet Ariel is top notch....

[lindique]

The Disneyland version is pretty identical, except that it doesn't have the elaborate queue. And it was always a walk-on when I was there.

[MichaelMouse]

The ride itself wasn't that bad but the footprint is way too big.....they could've tried being more efficient with how they used the space and added another indoor ride similar to Peter pan, buzz.

I like the interactive rides like buzz. Hoping for something on that line.

I can't speak for be our guest restaurant, didn't get to go but I'm expecting it to be good.

The circus area is a plus.......

[Dulcee]

I liked the Ariel ride, it fits with who fantasyland targets, families with young kids.

And we thought belle was fantastic!

[We LOVE Disney]

I disagree. We loved New Fantasyland. We saw it in preview phase in October and then again two weeks ago. I thought LM was very well done and Enchanted Tales with Belle was amazing and brought me to tears. Eating at Be Our Guest was by far the best dining experience on Disney property. I completely forgot where I was for an hour. I like where Storybook Circus located. The mine ride will be icing on the cake. I just wish it were open now.

When is the new mine ride supposed to open? Is that the last thing to open then it will be complete?

[TheVBs]

We only got a little sneak peek on a Nov. trip last year, but we were enchanted by it!

[Opus X]

We LOVED the new Fantasyland....Cant wait for the Mine Ride to open!!

[Terra]

We must not be at the same Disney World
I love the Imagineering. Just to stand and look at Belle's castle, or Ariel's Grotto. When they open the Mine attraction it will feel a lot more open as well.
My children adore the new Fantasyland. And I do as well.
Sometimes I think we look to hard and set ourselves up for disappointment instead of just enjoying the moment there.

[WDWgoofy]

I totally agree the new Fantasyland is a complete waste.

It is so disappointing to see what Disney puts forward as new compared to Universal Studios.

[lightyearfan]

WOW SO MUCH NEGATIVITY! i guess you can't please everyone hey?? here's an option.... you can walk right past it if it bothers you so much, go wait an 1hr to ride a 45 sec ride in Peter Pan's Flight(darkride), or another 45 to an 1hr at The Haunted Mansion(darkride), or better yet, go on It's A Small World to hear that song played over and over oh ya.

i'm obviously trying to be funny as me and dw ENJOY ALL OF WDW, like i said can't please everyone.


VIctor

We'll be back in September oh and yes we'll be going to the New Fantasyland.

[k10]

We must not be at the same Disney World
I love the Imagineering. Just to stand and look at Belle's castle, or Ariel's Grotto. When they open the Mine attraction it will feel a lot more open as well.
My children adore the new Fantasyland. And I do as well.
Sometimes I think we look to hard and set ourselves up for disappointment instead of just enjoying the moment there.

ditto ^

i thought the Enchanted Tales with Belle was adorable, I like the Ariel ride for it's songs and life like models. I like sitting in the dark taking a ride through one of the great movies. i cannot wait for the Seven Dwarves rollercoaster!!! and that will open up the walkway from NF to Storybook Circus, which I adore.

while most of Magic Kingdom is really for the youngsters, i find i really enjoy it.

[Dulcee]

I totally agree the new Fantasyland is a complete waste.

It is so disappointing to see what Disney puts forward as new compared to Universal Studios.

Its hard to compare the two when they appeal to totally different demographics. New Fantasyland made no qualms about admitting its targeting young kids, families and those who really enjoy the "charm" of classic disney theme parks. I'd say they hit that head on.

Universal's new rides have all been targeted at the thrill ride seeker. While its great for older kids and families who enjoy thrill rides my nephews (3 & 11 and scared of large or intense rides) could find very little to get excited about there.

[azcavalier]

Its hard to compare the two when they appeal to totally different demographics. New Fantasyland made no qualms about admitting its targeting young kids, families and those who really enjoy the "charm" of classic disney theme parks. I'd say they hit that head on.

Universal's new rides have all been targeted at the thrill ride seeker. While its great for older kids and families who enjoy thrill rides my nephews (3 & 11 and scared of large or intense rides) could find very little to get excited about there.

Bingo. It's all about the target market. Disney is for families of all ages. Universal, I would dare say, is not. New Fantasyland, by its definition, is for younger kids and their parents. I was not impressed with the Little Mermaid ride either, and haven't had a chance to do Storytime with Belle. Be Our Guest i've eaten at for both lunch and dinner, and it was fantastic. And the theming for the area is amazing. I can't wait to see what happens with the Mine Cart ride. I'm picturing it being kind of like Big Thunder Mountain, with newer ride technology. Not super fast, no real thrills, but still a pretty cool ride.

[ANG]

I totally disagree.

Be Our Guest is stunning and we loved the food.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is sweet and my kids love it as well.

Stopping for a brew and a pork shank at Gaston's is a must for us now.

And Ariel's ride, sorry you've had bad luck. We've been to new FL multiple times and never had an issue with this ride.

You really can't please all guests.

[Ian]

I talked about this on one of our podcasts, but I have somewhat mixed feelings about it so far.

Does it look good? Yes. The attention to detail was pretty exceptional. And I personally really loved the Little Mermaid attraction, as did my kids (who are really the target audience here). I'll never criticize them for building classic-style dark rides. I don't think they do enough of them, actually.

I was pretty disappointed by Story Time with Belle. It looked okay, but the experience was pretty cheap overall. I felt like a lot more could have been done with it. The portal door is the peak of the experience, which is cool but not enough to sustain an entire attraction.

And at the end of the day, if you really look with a critical eye, you're net neutral in terms of new rides at this point. You lost Snow White and gained Little Mermaid. The biggest new "attraction" is a restaurant which admittedly is cool but come on ... it's a restaurant.

I'm reserving final judgement until I see 7DMT. It looks like it's going to be pretty epic, so that might be enough to push it over the top.