Fantasyland Expansion

[Esmeralda]

I think the reason why they have never done more w/ Mary Poppins is that they had a heck of a time making the movie b/c the author was not very flexible.

I've heard this too. Perhaps now that she's no longer with us (wow, old tyme Carousel of Progress moment) Disney will start thinking about a Mary Poppins ride for Fantasyland (or MGM?). Keeping my fingers crossed!

[theBIGyowski]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

[Amy]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yup, at least it was the last time I was there. There was quite a big section toward the beginning of the ride. I think Mary Poppins was the stage show out in Cali before Aladdin as well.

[MadEye]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yes. And there is an attraction dedicated to Star Wars yet lots of guests want to gut Alien and put a Star Wars scene in its place...

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yes. And there is an attraction dedicated to Star Wars yet lots of guests want to gut Alien and put a Star Wars scene in its place...

I'm really glad they have Alien in there, even though their Ripley doesn't really look Sigorney which I always thought was strange since she's actually still alive and they get deceased actors pretty darn well. Though I feel like the section has deterriorated- it always seems like the Alien is way less animated and poorly timed than it used to be. The only section I have a real issue w/ in TGMR is the mummies. They're grouping horror into one scene and it's just a bunch of skeletons with glowing red eyes which aren't even really related to any actual movie. I realize Disney probably doesn't want to a) make the ride too scary (which I think is the main reason people push to re-do Alien a la Alien Encounter) and b) They don't really have the rights to any of the great classic horrors because those were all Universal.

[mindflipper]

I think it's not so much as to represent the "horror" films as just to have a scary transition between Raiders and Tarzan. There were old adventure films about the lost tombs hidden in Africa (like Alan Quartermain or even some of the Tarzan films) that would have had the skeletal tombs.

You're correct that Universal has all the old classic horror films - but they don't even have a ride for it! Instead, they stick them all in a campy musical revue with Betelguese/Bettlejuice. It's a shame that Universal couldn't have come up with a dark ride that could have mildly scarey to deal with these classic horror films.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

I think it's not so much as to represent the "horror" films as just to have a scary transition between Raiders and Tarzan. There were old adventure films about the lost tombs hidden in Africa (like Alan Quartermain or even some of the Tarzan films) that would have had the skeletal tombs.

You're correct that Universal has all the old classic horror films - but they don't even have a ride for it! Instead, they stick them all in a campy musical revue with Betelguese/Bettlejuice. It's a shame that Universal couldn't have come up with a dark ride that could have mildly scarey to deal with these classic horror films.

Well if it's not supposed to represent horror I think they should re-work the script because it's always that corny line "And now my personal favorite genre, horror movies!" Maybe MadEye can clarify from his experience?

And I couldn't agree more about UO missing a great place to capitilize on some of their most historic franchises. They've got the Graveyard Revue and some stupid little counter service. But then again, with the absolute disaster that was Van Helsing maybe they already figure they tried to go that route and got burned. Though they still love talking about Van Helsing at the Horror Makeup Show (still a personal fave in the park). I always thought they should focus more on Lon Chaney than they do and add Boris Karloff and perhaps to a lesser extent Bela Lugosi in that show. I don't really think CGI should qualify as "Makeup."

Anyhoo, I'm sure it's already been answered but is Be Our Guest a sitdown? I hope so because I really dislike the options at MK for food. Liberty Tree Tavern's not bad, but I'm not a huge fan- but I found Tony's to be absolutely gross when we went a few years ago- right down to the water which tasted like maybe they'd scooped it out of the defunct River Country Pool to save a few bucks. And what type of food is Be Our Guest scheduled to be?

[MadEye]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yes. And there is an attraction dedicated to Star Wars yet lots of guests want to gut Alien and put a Star Wars scene in its place...

I'm really glad they have Alien in there, even though their Ripley doesn't really look Sigorney which I always thought was strange since she's actually still alive and they get deceased actors pretty darn well.

The funniest part about it not looking like Ripley is that Sigourney Weaver herself approved of the AA's (and I use that term very loosely) appearance.

[MadEye]

I think it's not so much as to represent the "horror" films as just to have a scary transition between Raiders and Tarzan.

And you would think wrong. It is the "horror" section of GMR. Hence the script saying "The Horror genre" or something similar when you travel through that part of the ride.

[MadEye]

And I couldn't agree more about UO missing a great place to capitilize on some of their most historic franchises. They've got the Graveyard Revue and some stupid little counter service. But then again, with the absolute disaster that was Van Helsing maybe they already figure they tried to go that route and got burned. Though they still love talking about Van Helsing at the Horror Makeup Show (still a personal fave in the park). I always thought they should focus more on Lon Chaney than they do and add Boris Karloff and perhaps to a lesser extent Bela Lugosi in that show. I don't really think CGI should qualify as "Makeup."

They've updated with the most recent Wolfman movie that came out in February. And they do mention that CGI shouldn't be considered/qualify (whichever) as Makup. Saw it today and it's the same exact show but instead of Van Helsing, it's the Wolfman they talk about.

[elizabethswann]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yup, at least it was the last time I was there. There was quite a big section toward the beginning of the ride. I think Mary Poppins was the stage show out in Cali before Aladdin as well.

No, it was always Aladdin. Mary Poppins was only a musical for Broadway.

[Future Guy]

Anyhoo, I'm sure it's already been answered but is Be Our Guest a sitdown? I hope so because I really dislike the options at MK for food. Liberty Tree Tavern's not bad, but I'm not a huge fan- but I found Tony's to be absolutely gross when we went a few years ago- right down to the water which tasted like maybe they'd scooped it out of the defunct River Country Pool to save a few bucks. And what type of food is Be Our Guest scheduled to be?

From what I've read, Be Our Guest will be counter service at lunch, then change to table service for dinner. Of course, that was the plan for Via Napoli, too, and it ended up being table service only. So you never know.

Oh, I read an interesting, semi-confirmed rumor about the changes to the Fantasyland expansion: supposedly, FLE East, where Toontown Fair is now, will be entirely Dumbo's Circus-themed. It'll have the two Dumbo spinners, Barnstormer and the train station will be re-themed, and there will be a "fairly major" gift shop. Pixie Hollow is not happening.

There's an even bigger change, though, and it might upset some people. Allegedly, the Cinderella-Aurora meet-and-greet complex will be replaced by a Seven Dwarves Mine-themed coaster. Where will the princess meet-and-greets be? Well, either the princesses will get some space near the new Mickey and Minnie location on Main Street OR Snow White's Scary Adventures will be replaced by a princess meet-and-greet. Supposedly, this would be temporary until a permanent location for the princesses is built, maybe in the old Skyway station, and then Snow White's ride would be converted into another attraction of some kind.

Is this all true? I honestly don't know. However, the new Parks and Resorts exec Tom Staggs did say that he wanted more "thrills" in the new Fantasyland. The Seven Dwarves Mine coaster is an old idea from an earlier proposal to remake Fantasyland, and it's easy to imagine WDI putting it forward when Staggs asked for some kind of a thrill ride. The conflicting reports on the final location of the Princess meet-and-greet really illustrate that the plan is still in a state of flux. The only part of the expansion that seems set in stone at this point is the Little Mermaid ride and the Be Our Guest restaurant.

I wish I could fast-forward to 2013 to see exactly what the new Fantasyland will look like!

[Amy]

Isn't Mary Poppins a part of TGMR?

Yup, at least it was the last time I was there. There was quite a big section toward the beginning of the ride. I think Mary Poppins was the stage show out in Cali before Aladdin as well.

No, it was always Aladdin. Mary Poppins was only a musical for Broadway.

I did some searching this morning to see what I could find and put together this timeline...

Disney's Steps in Time - ran from near opening day in Fall 2001
Power of Blast replaced Steps in Time - sometime very late in 2001, early 2002
Aladdin replaced Power of Blast sometime in 2003, I think December

So it wasn't a Mary Poppins musical per say but it had a lot of the songs and performers in it. The original DCA soundtrack has a few songs from the show on it, including Steps in Time Finale.

[elizabethswann]

I did some searching this morning to see what I could find and put together this timeline...

Disney's Steps in Time - ran from near opening day in Fall 2001
Power of Blast replaced Steps in Time - sometime very late in 2001, early 2002
Aladdin replaced Power of Blast sometime in 2003, I think December

So it wasn't a Mary Poppins musical per say but it had a lot of the songs and performers in it. The original DCA soundtrack has a few songs from the show on it, including Steps in Time Finale.

I thought those were only parades? Then again, I didn't start visiting DCA until at least 2007 so I didn't know everything.

[Amy]

I did some searching this morning to see what I could find and put together this timeline...
Disney's Steps in Time - ran from near opening day in Fall 2001
Power of Blast replaced Steps in Time - sometime very late in 2001, early 2002
Aladdin replaced Power of Blast sometime in 2003, I think December
So it wasn't a Mary Poppins musical per say but it had a lot of the songs and performers in it. The original DCA soundtrack has a few songs from the show on it, including Steps in Time Finale.

I thought those were only parades? Then again, I didn't start visiting DCA until at least 2007 so I didn't know everything.

They might have had some parade time too but these were all shows in the Hyperion Theater...Aladdin has definitely run the longest though and has been the only show there since you started going to DCA...