FANTASYLAND

Here in Possibilityland, the hamlet of Fantasyland stands in the courtyard beyond Snow White’s Castle. Walt’s original, classic dark rides still exist here, but there’s more than ever to see.

Dumbo’s Circusland

Opened: 1979 
Status: A mini-land within Fantasyland

Soaring high above the dense pine forests of Frontierland in a hot air balloon, you may wonder where on Earth your journey could end. The answer becomes clear as the trees give way to a bright plaza nestled up against the Disneyland Railroad just north of Fantasyland. This is Dumbo’s Circusland, an entirely new, miniature themed land of striped awnings, circus posters with classic Disney animated characters, festive banners, popcorn lighting, and more. Located on 5-acres, Circusland is like a mini-land within Fantasyland, even if it’s set aside from the European village proper. 

Designed by Tony Baxter as a balance to Discovery Bay, Dumbo’s Circusland is provides a home for the Disney characters who are a little too whacky to fit into Fantasyland. At the land’s center is none other than Dumbo the Flying Elephant; the iconic aerial carousel ride now propped up high above the land on a platform, not unlike the Rocket Jets in Tomorrowland. The Casey Jr. Circus Train would also be relocated to Dumbo’s Circusland as a much more natural fit.

But that’s not all! Circusland would contain three original dark rides all on its own, giving a home to the Disney characters who fit better in this timeless trolley park than in the more romantic, elegant, and fairytale-oriented Fantasyland. First, there’s Mickey’s Mad House, seemingly contained within a festive cartoon theatre. In fact, this dark ride propels guests into classic black-and-white Mickey Mouse shorts from the 1930s to the sounds of ragtime music – its an old-fashioned Fantasyland style dark ride, but with light, sound, projection, and more to bring the world to life.

Here you’d also find Pinocchio’s Daring Journey housed in Stromboli’s Puppet Theater where queuing guests can watch real marionette shows. The final and most unique of the land’s three dark rides would be Circus Disney, sending guests careening through scenes populated by Audio Animatronics as they encounter the circus’ wild animal menagerie (featuring King Louie and Shere Khan from The Jungle Book), through a circus midway (past The Amazing Flying Dumbo, a six-bear pyramid [made of Winnie the Pooh, Little John, Br’er Bear, Baloo, Lululbelle, and Bongo Bear] and Clown Alley) and finally into the Big Top where guests find themselves on-stage with characters’ daredevil acts like The Flying Goofys! If it sounds like a frantic and wild dark ride through a cartoon world, then it sounds accurate – a stunning reminder of classic Disney characters and a rare bit of nonsense thrown in to boot!

Rock Candy Mountain

Opened: 1975 
Status: A ride within Fantasyland

Could this be the sweetest ride Disney ever designed? Almost certainly. Looming over the Storybookland portion of Fantasyland stands Candy Mountain – made up of gum drop hills, taffy valleys, chocolate rivers, marshmallow puffs, and licorice ribbon waterfalls – would be an icon of the park’s most fanciful elements.

Guests looking for an up-close view are in luck. A ride on Casey Jr. Circus Train brings guests up close and personal with the sugary peak, chugging along the peppermint ridges and around the sweet gumdrop acres. For an even closer look, Storybookland Canal Boats make a special trip into the mountain as the ride’s grand finale. After drifting past storybook miniatures, it makes sense that the interior of Candy Mountain should provide for a phenomenal finale, and it does! Inside of the mountain are a dozen scale models based on the Wizard of Oz books and stories.

The Enchanted Snow Palace

Opened: 1975 
Status: A ride within Fantasyland

Marc Davis – Disney Legend – might be most well known for his magna opera: Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion. Indeed, it seems Davis specialized in character-driven, detail-packed dark rides of unmatchable caliber. The fourth of Davis’ legendary dark rides resides in Fantasyland. While it shares some of its DNA with his earlier works, The Enchanted Snow Palace is its own creature entirely.

Disguised behind a massive, glacial wall of ice effortlessly carved into an elegant fortress, the massive ride places us into Pirates-style boats and set adrift into a gorgeous Arctic world to the tune of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. Past polar bears, frolicking penguins, graceful timberwolves, and playful walruses, the boats float on. There are seagulls, jumping fish, and ice-skating deer; tumbling snowmen skidding and sliding down hills; orchestras of Arctic wildlife… 

The musical, hypnotic, relaxing ride is a thing of beauty; a living painting. Under the aurora borealis, a cavern appears ahead. Inside, you float beneath massive, gargantuan snow giants all distracted by icy frost fairies. As the boats draw closer and closer to a looming ice palace, you see the hand maidens of the Icicle Princess, each dressed in an icy crown and accompanied by pure white rabbits, foxes, and owls. 

Finally, we drift past the Icicle Princess herself, who gracefully welcomes you and – with a snap of her fingers – creates real snow for the boat to drift through. While it may not feature the astounding, active storytelling of Pirates or the transportive properties of Haunted Mansion, this gorgeous ride is without-a-doubt one of the most beautiful experiences Disney has ever created, and a thoughtful reprieve from the summer sun.

That’s why it earned its own in-depth feature, too: Possibilitylands: Enchanted Snow Palace, diving into the frosty history of Disney’s relationship with the Snow Queen and the ride’s details.

Possibilities are endless, especially in the worlds of fantasy and future. Read on…