Reimagining Magic Kingdom: An Armchair-Imagineered Blue Sky Build-Out of Walt Disney World’s Iconic Theme Park

FANTASYLAND

Background

Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is an unusual place. First of all, it’s huge. Especially after you’ve navigated the very “cute” (read: cramped) Fantasyland in California, it’s almost shocking how much of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is just circulation space. It seems like all of Anaheim’s Fantasyland could fit within the concrete expanse surrounding Magic Kingdom’s Carousel.

Whether that’s an asset or a drawback is yours to consider. After all, Magic Kingdom’s very big Fantasyland contains four dark rides – two fewer than the diminutive Disneyland, proving that even among theme parks, it’s not about size, it’s about what you do with it.

By nature of reading this, you likely already know that both Fantasylands (1955 and 1971, respectively) originally opened with minimal decoration. Mostly just pastel “tournament tent” facades barely disguising very simply-adorned showbuilding walls and simple towers and turrets for adornments. It took Disneyland nearly 30 years to get around to re-wrapping the land, but 1983’s New Fantasyland did wonders, creating an adorable little European village where Peter Pan is found beyond a Tudor clocktower; Mr. Toad in his full-scale Toad Hall; Snow White in a German castle; Pinocchio in an Italian marionette theater… It’s warm and quaint and charming and – if we’re being honest – wouldn’t work at Magic Kingdom.

In that way, we should be glad that Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland didn’t get its re-wrap until post-Wizarding World, when it could take the shape of something more fitting for Magic Kingdom’s scale and spirit: cinematic, immersive “neighborhoods” dedicated to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It’s a uniquely good fit for the Magic Kingdom. And just as Disneyland’s little storybook hamlet wouldn’t make sense in Orlando, this kind of Fantasyland would not make sense at Disneyland (which is why I hope we never get a “World of Frozen” in California. It’s just… not the vibe.)

So my mission was to maximize that Fantasyland’s effectiveness, spread that design ethos to the rest of the land, up the ride count, and of course, reconnect Fantasyland with our new “outer loop” (since Haunted Mansion makes it impossible to reconnect it to Liberty Square). Here’s how I did it…

Build-Out

First, let’s start with the most notable omission. I have axed “it’s a small world” from the land. By just removing it (and the attached Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant) we open a prime expansion pad right in the center of the park, and perfectly positioned to connect back up with Grizzly Valley at Geyser Mountain. So, it’s gone.

Jolly London

Now, as guests enter from Liberty Square, let’s say, they enter into a sub-section of the land I’m calling Jolly London. This, I think, is a space where we can clean up the remaining simple, tournament tent style facades that mark the land’s west side and create a London streetscape – new facades, gardens to break up the land’s bulk, and a clocktower. The idea of a British town square being here actually makes sense as a transition out of or into Liberty Square, and also gives us the right context for PETER PAN’S FLIGHT.

But now, using just part of the “small world” footprint, we can also include a new block of buildings recreating Cherry Tree Lane from Mary Poppins. Though it’s a small space, it’s enough room for a nice atmospheric park with a snack stand, as well as the JOLLY HOLIDAY WITH MARY meet and greet space, accessed via number 17.

Finally, this London sub-section contains MR TOAD’S WILD RIDE. As at Disneyland, guests would queue in a lovely little herb garden alongside Toad Hall. This single-tracked version of the ride is no where near as elaborate as the dual-tracked classic that once called the park home, but it would get the job done in both restoring the spirit of a long-lost favorite and building out our Jolly London sub-section.

Royal Courtyard

For the section of Fantasyland surrounding CINDERELLA CASTLE, I’ve kept the very simple designation of the “Royal Courtyard” – sort of the dedicated space for the Disney Princess franchise. That said, this area is one of the biggest offenders to me in Magic Kingdom’s way of feeling so broad, and so sun-drenched, and so concrete. So while wanting to maximize its capacity, I also wanted to make sure that this space felt like a garden that would actually exist in the forecourt of a castle. Planters! Trees! Imagine it!

Anyway, this small sub-section would contain the park’s grand, historic ROYAL CAROUSEL (now inset in a planter compass rose) as well as the FANTASYLAND THEATER. This space – currently home to Mickey’s Philharmagic – has less than 500 seats. Efficiency-wise, that makes it difficult to use it for a real, live show, because the capacity is so small that entertainment wouldn’t get much “bang for its buck.” A cast and crew of 25 would effectively be a 1:20 ratio, which isn’t great when a 3D movie takes like, 5 people and far fewer unions. But let’s be imaginative and pretend that we could reconfigure this theater to seat even 700 or 800, approaching an okay amount to have a show like “Mickey & the Magician” from Walt Disney Studios.

Finally, you may be surprised to hear that instead of restoring the Lost Legend: Snow White’s Scary Adventures, I’ve kept the PRINCESS FAIRYTALE HALL. Call me a shill, but like I said, I want this reimagining to at least be reasonable, and reasonably, there is zero chance that Disney would convert this very, very popular space – a real flagship of the multi-billion dollar Disney Princess franchise – back into a ride.

Those Princesses need a space to meet-and-greet, and as we saw from the cancelled New Fantasyland 1.0 plans, if it isn’t this kind of condensed, shared space, it’s gonna be a lot of other spaces instead.

Last but not least, I set out with this build-out to make use of the chunks of land on either side of the castle’s south end. When Disneyland did this (placing the “Fantasy Faire” expansion there), great consternation suggested that Fantasyland was overreaching and spilling out into Main Street. As always, it looked great once it was finished and makes total sense. Same here, I think. So the WISH GARDEN serves as a nice A-Ticket – a walkthrough hedge-maze through the gardens of Cinderella’s chateau, with photo ops, magic fountains, musical interactive props, and – at the end – the royal carriage itself. A low lift, but something to add to the park’s capacity and another “hidden gem.”

Enchanted Forest

We now find ourselves at the “New Fantasyland” of 2011 and 2012. I did a lot of debating about what (if anything) to rewrap here, but decided to keep the first phase of it in fact. So we still have SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN as the centerpiece. (I won’t lie – I did consider making this a junior Matterhorn before convincing myself, as a I have several times in this build-out, that Magic Kingdom shouldn’t try to be Disneyland.)

Likewise, we still have our Beauty and the Beast area with ENCHANTED TALES WITH BELLE and BE OUR GUEST RESTAURANT, as well as the Little Mermaid area with VOYAGE OF THE LITTLE MERMAID (which I’ve renamed. It’s currently called “Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid” probably because of some corporate mandate that every ride have a colon and be SEO optimized. But stealing the name of the now-closed show at Hollywood Studios brings this in line with other Fantasyland ride names).

If there are any changes you’ll notice, it’s that Gaston’s Tavern has lost its indoor seating (it’s needed for a portal to a new land) and the “Storybook Circus” area is gone. I actually really like the Storybook Circus area and think it’s incredibly well done. However, I wanted that space for something else. As a result, the park loses Dumbo (but, you’ll remember, gains an equivalent in the Hundred Acre Wood), relocates the Barnstormer (which you’ll see momentarily), and – because it’s in a no man’s land contributing to an odd transition from Tomorrowland – says goodbye to the Teacups.

A last change to the existing Enchanted Forest – the Winnie the Pooh dark ride here (which is now redundant) has become SLEEPING BEAUTY’S DREAM. Allegedly, somewhere in the multiverse there’s a Magic Kingdom that opened with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty dark rides. But here in the Enchanted Forest, entering through Aurora’s woodland cottage among Earle-esque cubed trees is just a really compelling image, so I’ve decided to give this princess her due. Plus, the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough at Disneyland (above) is really a proof of concept for how beautifully this film translates to the stylized, blacklight treatment we’d expect of a classic dark ride.

Okay, so now we can move into a new section of the Enchanted Forest, located on and past the space where “it’s a small world” once resided. Now, guests would pass MERIDA’S FOREST FLING – a relocation of the teacups. I loved the idea that this classic ride could be redressed as wooden tubs, swirling beneath tartan banners and glowing wisps, all set to the film’s very good, adventurous, energetic score. A Merida-themed meet & greet archery range resides just beyond.

From there, a new path would curve north through the woods, emerging in a waterfall-fed glen. This space would finally award Rapunzel her own section of the land, right alongside Ariel, Belle, and Snow White. (Frankly, the Disney Revival needs more presence in this park, and even though I personally prefer Frozen to Tangled by a wide margin, I think we’ve seen enough Frozen lands for the time being and I know thirst is high to see Tangled in particular come to the Magic Kingdom. I get it. It feels like a great fit.)

This new area would contain THE SNUGGLY DUCKLING TAVERN, a quick service eatery really taking the place of Pinocchio’s Village Haus in the park’s dining capacity. And of course, beneath the iconic tower, boats would slowly churn through the water and into caves in the nearby cliffs – the entrance to RAPUNZEL’S TANGLED TALE. This slow-moving family boat ride would carry guests through the trails of the Kingdom of Corona on a voyage to see the floating lights of the Lantern Festival up close.

Just past the entrance to Rapunzel’s Tangled Tale, we’d find ourselves back at the eastern entrance to Grizzly Valley. But what we missed earlier was a fork in the path, leading deep into the dark, foreboding, misty woods… something new lurks here, north of the Fantasyland we know…

LAND OF SHADOWS

Any Disney fan will tell you that the only characters on Earth as beloved, iconic, and recognizable as the company’s fabled heroes… are its villains. Though the Disney Villains haven’t yet been made a formal franchise like the Disney Princesses, the set of baddies that includes the Wicked Queen, Ursula, Scar, Jafar, Gaston, Cruella, Hades, Dr. Facilier, Captain Hook, and their de facto leader Maleficent certainly give the princesses a run for their money, with merchandise, signature songs, and more.

Especially since the ’90s – when the Disney Renaissance introduced particularly theatrical villains as part of its Broadway-style storytelling spree – rumors have swirled of Imagineering projects built around the villains. “Villain Mountain,” for example, was allegedly drafted for Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland; a Villain overlay of Disney California Adventure’s Paradise Pier was an original idea for “DCA 2.0.” There are even stories of WDI sketching out a Villain themed park for its often-rumored boutique, after-dark, low-capacity theme park concept.

The most recent is less a rumor and more a really-for-real possibility. As part of the 2022 D23 Expo, a crowd of ravenous Disney Parks fans gathered to hear news of what new rides and attractions would be announced for the theme parks’ next decade. Of course, none were. But Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro did lead the assembled group through a painfully awkward exercise that’s now become the norm for Disney: showing concept art for things that, very explicitly, ‘are not happening. Like, seriously, this is not an announcement. Just an idea to kind of show you what we’re thinking. It’s just an example, people.’

Yeah, it’s weird. In any case, 2022’s “what could be” was to imagine what awaits “Beyond Big Thunder” – basically, teasing doing something north of the Rivers of America. D’Amaro’s example indicated that Coco and Encanto could take the expansion pad that I’ve used for Grizzly Valley. But, as D’Amaro was sure to point out, what’s that in the far distance? Could it be a land themed to Disney Villains?

By 2023, another not-quite-an-announcement had moved Encanto to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But insiders allege that Disney is really serious about a Villains-themed land, and is beginning to zero in on that as the “Beyond Big Thunder” centerpiece. It’s not at all a bad idea to build a land of villains at Magic Kingdom. (Though, I will say, it’s another thing that’s a uniquely good fit for the branded, over-scaled Magic Kingdom, but would not make sense and should not come to Disneyland! Folks at WDI, if you’re reading this! Hint!)

So using the space made available, I’ve created a Land of Shadows accessed from either side of Fantasyland like its dark reflection…

I’ve envisioned this Land of Shadows incarnate as a Medieval town square deep in a dark wood… The fire-lit interiors glowing like eyes at night; cawing ravens high up in the distant trees; a low level of mist descending through the land at night… This eerie, dismal town is one worth exploring. As you might be able to tell from the map, I wanted this area to be a sort of demented equivalent of New Orleans Square; a land you can get lost in, filled with bauble shops and little hidden storefronts.

For example, I love the idea of the OOGIE BOOGIE BOUTIQUE as a Villain-ready equivalent of the Bibbidi Bobbidi version in Fantasyland; of a tiny tarot card shop where shadows occasionally creep by on the walls; the window of a potion shop might be filled with ingredients Ursula uses in her spells, or a card shop stylized after the Queen of Hearts.

Here in town, you’ll find THE RAVEN’S NOOK. This haunted equivalent of Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar would come alive with ghostly effects. But given that this is the bar that serves the bad guys’ henchman after a long day of being battered by their bosses, don’t be surprised to find some humor – signed headshots of Pain, Panic, Flotsam, Jetsam, Iago, Le Fou, and other animated sidekicks who made it big adorn the walls. But be careful who you bad mouth… Maleficent’s raven, Diablo, is ever present, quietly listening from his perch over the bar.

Next door is the OOGIE BOOGIE’S CONTRAPTION COASTER. “Come one, come all” to this relocated Barnstormer now made over into this Villain’s harebrained torture device. Seemingly made of springs, bolts, racks, wire, and other flimsy materials, this family ride adds some humor and screams to the land.

The land’s main eatery is the DARK WOOD TAVERN – a Quick Service restaurant serving villainous delights. I picture the Wizarding World’s Three Broomsticks, but with its dark wood crossbeams littered with thousands of melting, flickering candles; whispers from all around; and of course, food stylized in wickedly funny ways.

Obviously, there’s no one environment that all of the Disney Villains could realistically inhabit together. But a space like this reads like the right kind of location for them to gather, and the right kind of village to exist in the umbra of the land’s centerpiece and weenie: Maleficent’s Fortress. This cold, stone castle would rise up over the land, (serving as a perfect weenie, you’ll notice, from the land’s secondary entrance by Gaston’s Tavern).

Having passed through the Dark Forest and village, guests would at last arrive at the foot of the bridge leading across a pit of brambles and thorns, arriving at an entrance embedded in the rocky base that the fortress stands atop…

This is the entrance to VILLAINOUS – the land’s larger-than-life E-Ticket. I envisioned this ride as a trackless dark ride (the first I’ve put in the park!). Balancing the sincere frights of this set of characters with their inherent humor and music is a tough act. So I thought that an interesting entry point might be that we are henchman-for-hire, and that this ride would see us enter the hallowed halls of Maleficent’s kingdom to choose which of these baddies we’ll commit to work with.

I envision that once guests board, they immediately enter a darkened stone chamber with all of Disney’s most sinister villains (as animatronics) seated at a long table, Last Supper style. It’s there that the villains would begin to battle over our allegiance (to the tune of a new original song written by Danny Elfman, of course) before turning to us and insisting that we will decide who is the most villainous. Just like that, we’d take off into a room-by-room musical showcase of their talents and skills.

Like Runaway Railway, this fast-paced ride would see us yanked to and fro. We’d travel through the Evil Queen’s dungeons, seeing her transformation into the Old Hag; into a fortune teller’s “mad house” that rotates around us as Dr. Facilier showcases his skills to “Friends on the Other Side”; we’d pass through a portal, ending up in Scar’s domain as steam vents, marching hyenas, and “Be Prepared” signals the command he has over his followers; we’d get caught in the swirling water’s of a giant Ursula as she commands the oceans… Who’s the most villainous?

I love the idea that the ride’s grand finale would see Maleficent reveal her dragon form via a giant Audio-Animatronic; the lumbering, hissing beast backing us up to the edge of a cliff… where a short vertical fall would see us plunge into darkness. There, Maleficent’s normal form would stand before us. “Who’s the most villainous? Well… I think that’s settled.” With a smile, our vehicles would reverse away and pull up to the unload. A ride like this feels like a real cornerstone, and – along with Fire Mountain and Geyser Mountain – gives Magic Kingdom E-Tickets all its own!

Which brings us at last to the east side of the park, where we have a good amount of work to do. After all, we’ve wiped Storybook Circus off the map, giving us a small but useful expansion pad for something new… and then, of course, stands Tomorrowland. What will we do? Read on…