The cast members running "The Hall of Presidents" said that it should be up and running again in about twenty minutes. We decided to make due with that time to stroll through Fantasyland and get a Fastpass for "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh". While the Disneyland counterpart of that ride never really has a wait, we weren't going to take any chances in Florida.
Like Frontierland the night before, we really didn't get to see as much of Fantasyland because it was dark and we were just too excited to notice many of the details. As we made our into Fantasyland we noticed the old building that used to house one end of the Skyway. It's interesting that the Fantasyland stations at both Disneyland and the Magic Kindgom are still standing - over a decade after the closure of the ride. Ana has always had a fascination with the Skyway buildings since she never had the chance to ride it - thus, she wanted a picture with it behind her. Seeing remnants of past attractions always strikes me with a weird feeling of nostalgia, intrigue, and a little bit of frustration. Despite the building still sitting out, it blends into this area better than the Disneyland version (which is starting to look like some forgotten project hidden behind an overgrowth of trees).
I knew what to expect of Fantasyland long before we embarked on our trip. I knew that it would have more of a medieval renaissance faire feel (reminiscent of the architecture throughout the film "Sleeping Beauty"), and less detailed buildings than Disneyland's Fantasyland. (Note: What I'll eventually delve into in a later post is that this is actually very similar to how Disneyland's Fantasyland looked prior to a major facelift it received in 1983.)
What surprised me though is that there WERE fully themed Bavarian/Swiss styled buildings, and the entire land wasn't a bunch of tents (which is how I had always pictured it). These buildings were beautiful, and gave us an early indication of how the theming around Epcot was going to be.
Somehow it was all less tacky than what I had expected going in, and again, the fact that it wasn't 100% Tentland really helped. If anything, it really had me excited for the upcoming Fantasyland expansion that's in the works.
A major disappointment I experienced was with the facade of "it's a small world". As we walked by it, we were really underwhelmed by the entrance, as well as the fact that the huge loading area was actually on the inside of the building. I've always seen "it's a small world" as a main attraction within the parks, and Disneyland does a much better job of showcasing it.
One aspect the Magic Kingdom DOES emphasize well is it's castle. As we continued our way through Fantasyland it was if we could turn around at any given point and see Cinderella's castle looming in the sky.
The thing I really loved about this Fantasyland was the size of it. There was plenty of space to walk around, and while there were a lot of other guests in this area, it never felt crammed.
Ana and I made our way over to Winnie the Pooh and got our Fast Passes. There was a printer error though, and only her pass printed. A nearby Cast Member signed it for us and said it would still be ok to use. It had been a few minutes, so it was time to head back over to Liberty Square for a second attempt at "The Hall of Presidents".
Like Frontierland the night before, we really didn't get to see as much of Fantasyland because it was dark and we were just too excited to notice many of the details. As we made our into Fantasyland we noticed the old building that used to house one end of the Skyway. It's interesting that the Fantasyland stations at both Disneyland and the Magic Kindgom are still standing - over a decade after the closure of the ride. Ana has always had a fascination with the Skyway buildings since she never had the chance to ride it - thus, she wanted a picture with it behind her. Seeing remnants of past attractions always strikes me with a weird feeling of nostalgia, intrigue, and a little bit of frustration. Despite the building still sitting out, it blends into this area better than the Disneyland version (which is starting to look like some forgotten project hidden behind an overgrowth of trees).
I knew what to expect of Fantasyland long before we embarked on our trip. I knew that it would have more of a medieval renaissance faire feel (reminiscent of the architecture throughout the film "Sleeping Beauty"), and less detailed buildings than Disneyland's Fantasyland. (Note: What I'll eventually delve into in a later post is that this is actually very similar to how Disneyland's Fantasyland looked prior to a major facelift it received in 1983.)
What surprised me though is that there WERE fully themed Bavarian/Swiss styled buildings, and the entire land wasn't a bunch of tents (which is how I had always pictured it). These buildings were beautiful, and gave us an early indication of how the theming around Epcot was going to be.
Somehow it was all less tacky than what I had expected going in, and again, the fact that it wasn't 100% Tentland really helped. If anything, it really had me excited for the upcoming Fantasyland expansion that's in the works.
A major disappointment I experienced was with the facade of "it's a small world". As we walked by it, we were really underwhelmed by the entrance, as well as the fact that the huge loading area was actually on the inside of the building. I've always seen "it's a small world" as a main attraction within the parks, and Disneyland does a much better job of showcasing it.
One aspect the Magic Kingdom DOES emphasize well is it's castle. As we continued our way through Fantasyland it was if we could turn around at any given point and see Cinderella's castle looming in the sky.
The thing I really loved about this Fantasyland was the size of it. There was plenty of space to walk around, and while there were a lot of other guests in this area, it never felt crammed.
Ana and I made our way over to Winnie the Pooh and got our Fast Passes. There was a printer error though, and only her pass printed. A nearby Cast Member signed it for us and said it would still be ok to use. It had been a few minutes, so it was time to head back over to Liberty Square for a second attempt at "The Hall of Presidents".
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