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Travel

Disney World’s New Fantasyland, appealing to the royalty in everyone

By Becky Krystal,December 20, 2012

Fireworks punctuate the sky at the grand opening celebration at Cinderella… (Gene Duncan/AP )

We can’t put it off any longer. After hours of bypassing the Magic Kingdom’s new Enchanted Tales with Belle interactive storytelling experience, we know that it’s now or never. At least on this trip.

The sun has begun to set. My husband and I lapse into a silence that makes the nearly 45 minutes in line seem to pass even more slowly than they actually do. Only the antics of the family ahead of us — three mini Minnies among them — punctuate the monotony.

Details: Walt Disney World

We wind our way around the cottage of Belle, a.k.a. the Beauty in Disney’s animated classic “Beauty and the Beast,” and her father, Maurice. Surrounding us is a steady soundtrack of water tumbling in storybook falls and chirping (recorded) birds.

Eventually we make it into the cottage, where, of course, there’s more waiting. The room is done up like a cozy living room for the father-daughter pair. The Minnies rush to measure themselves against the height hash marks on the wall. Other tots attack the books on a table and chair, which are wisely not books at all but imitations anchored in place.

At last, a cast member — not employee, thank you very much — beckons us into yet another holding area, this one resembling Maurice’s workshop, where an “enchanted” mirror dramatically transforms into a door leading into another room.

“How does that work?” asks one child.

“It’s magic!” the cast member brightly replies, as if here, at Disney World, no other explanation is required.

Which it isn’t, really.

All about princesses

We start our day primed for princess-watching by waking up in our “royal guest room” at Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside. The recently renovated quarters feature pictures of Disney movie princesses and other fun-to-discover details, the story being that they’re mementos left for Tiana of “The Princess and the Frog” by her royal friends. So the faucets are magic lamps from “Aladdin,” the bench resembles the dog/footstool from “Beauty and the Beast,” and the shower curtain’s theme is, appropriately enough, “The Little Mermaid.” My favorite detail: The headboards that light up with a fiber-optic network to look like fireworks.

But our mission demands that we actually leave the room. It’s time to find some royalty, starting with Belle.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is part of an expansion — officially opened on Dec. 6 — that when completed will nearly double the size of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom, one of the four parks that make up Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. It’s called New Fantasyland, Fantasyland being one of the Magic Kingdom’s six themed areas. Fantasyland is the land of classic Disney and fairy tales. Think Peter Pan, Pinocchio and Cinderella. It’s also home to the ride — and unstoppable earworm — It’s a Small World.

New Fantasyland capitalizes on the princess phenomenon that girls and their mothers love — or loathe. The other princess getting top billing is Ariel of “The Little Mermaid,” who has both a grotto where princesses-in-waiting can meet the under-the-sea royalty and a slow-moving ride that takes visitors through a condensed version of the film. Coming in 2014 is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, based on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Not long after arriving at the Magic Kingdom, we head straight for Under the Sea — Journey of the Little Mermaid. I’m a Disney World veteran many times over, so I’m eager to see this new explosion of fantasy. But something appears to be amiss at the Ariel ride; the lack of a line certainly can’t be due to a dearth of demand. The cast members stationed at the entrance confirm my suspicion: The ride is closed, though they don’t say why.

“Maybe we should go to the grotto and complain to Ariel,” my husband says, with a spoonful of snark.

As we regroup, we take the time to drink in the details of the expansion. Atop Ariel’s real estate sits Prince Eric’s castle, a seal with an “E” adorning a turret. Belle’s Village has a French accent, with signs in French and flower-filled window boxes. There’s a souvenir shop, a tavern and the Beast’s castle, where we hope to eat a late lunch.

Although we’re standing amid a sea of frills and sequins, much of the activity centers on the fountain depicting Gaston, the macho villain of “Beauty and the Beast.” Here, in front of the waterworks, is the man himself, a bit of a black bouffant pulled into a ponytail, red shirt cinched in at the waist. Maybe he’s in a Disney villain recovery program, because this Gaston is quite friendly and charming. Perhaps hordes of tiara-wearing girls have that effect on everyone.

Moving it