Fantasyland is really the only “land” in Walt Disney World wholly inspired by the world-renowned and forever-influential feature films from Disney’s animated canon (excepting a mere couple of attractions). Once you come from the opposite end of the castle tunnel, you are whisked from the realistic past to a medieval-influenced, European village (combining predominant elements of Britain, Germany, and France - an homage of sorts to the national origins of the fairy tales that inspired several of Disney's most famous films) that is host to some more shopping experiences (including one of my favorite small shops, Sir Mickey’s) and some sights that will make children giddy with excitement.
Directly ahead, in the middle of the path is Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, a true vintage carousel whose origins date back to 1917! While riding this 90-horse joy from yesteryear, your excursion is accentuated with calliope-styled organ music, spilling more classic Disney film music into the air. In any given ride, you may hear “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “When The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down,” “Belle,” “Gaston,” “Jolly Holiday,” “So This Is Love,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” and many, many others.
If you turn around, you will see Snow White's Scary Adventures, a quick and cool dark ride that unfortunately is closing soon to make way for the “plussed” Fantasyland expansion. The ride takes you through an abbreviation of the SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS movie and features some of those memorable songs by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey (like “Heigh-Ho,” “The Silly Song,” and “Some Day My Prince Will Come”), as well as score cuts by Paul J. Smith and Leigh Harline.
Continuing on to your right, you will come upon The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, a “bouncy” dark ride that send you through the Hundred Acre Wood and key moments from the eponymous film. Here, you are treated to narrative and songs from the film, including “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers,” “Heffalumps and Woozles,” “When The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down,” and “Winnie The Pooh” of course – all of which were composed by Richard and Robert Sherman, AKA ‘The Boys.’
And ever further around the bend, you will hear the raucous jauntiness of the Mad Tea Party ‘tea cups’ spin-fest, modeled after the 1951 film, ALICE IN WONDERLAND. And as you are spinning ‘madly,’ your accompaniment is a swill of songs like “I’m Late,” “March of the Cards,” “Off With Her Head,” and “The Caucus Race” (composed by Sammy Fain and Oliver Wallace).
As you wobbly leave Wonderland, don’t continue on too far, or you will venture into Tomorrowland, which we will visit later on. Instead backtrack the way you came, and to the left of Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, you can’t miss one of the jewels in the Magic Kingdom crown - Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Yes, it’s another ride that spins (carousel-like), but it also has the added element of ascending sky high, giving you the opportunity to rapidly get an aerial view of Fantasyland. While this ride is planned to be overhauled during the Fantasyland expansion, you can still take flight to the tunes of “Flight Test” and “Circus Parade,” composed by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace for the 1941 film.
You may be in the mood to sit still for a while in a seat that doesn’t go anywhere, so why not stroll right past Prince Charming Regal Carrousel and visit Mickey's PhilharMagic, a theater experience like no other. As you prepare to watch a 3D film, you quickly learn that Disney has planned a multi-sensory experience – which includes smell, sound, and yes, even touch! During the course of this 10-minute adventure, you will hear such cues as “The Mickey Mouse Club March,” “Be Our Guest” (from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (from FANTASIA), “Part of Your World” (from THE LITTLE MERMAID), ”I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” (from THE LION KING), “You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!” (from PETER PAN), and “A Whole New World” (from ALADDIN). Relaxing, isn’t it?
When you walk out of the theater, head to your left and across the walkway, pass the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant, and behold, you are entering the ride that houses the earworm of all earworms, It’s A Small World! An adaptation of the original Disneyland attraction (that was constructed for the 1964 New York World’s Fair) the ride contains one single song, sung in English, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, and Swedish. Although the song was written by the Sherman Brothers, UNICEF requested that the song never be copywrited, although Walt Disney insisted that the income the song would ultimately generate could put the Shermans’ children through college (according to an anecdote in THE BOYS documentary DVD).
After that 11-minute excursion around the globe, almost directly across the way is a ride that inexplicably always seems to have the longest waiting line to ride, Peter Pan's Flight. This ride is different from the other dark rides, because you are “flying” above all of the scenery! During the ride, you are comforted by Oliver Wallace’s score to the 1953 film, as well as instrumental versions of key songs like “You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!” and “Never Smile at a Crocodile.”
Around the bend from Peter Pan is what appears to be a small visage of an Alpine countryside and a den for strollers. This was originally one of the launch-points for the Skyway ride, which closed in 1999. As you pass by, you can hear the Germanic tunefulness of yodeling and cheery polkas. And this leads us to the gateway to Liberty Square.
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