A Look Back in Time
In just two short years, the Walt Disney World Resort will celebrate their 50th anniversary. Additions and renovations are already underway including the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction at Epcot, Tron inside the Magic Kingdom, and the Disney Skyliner connecting the parks through soaring gondolas in the sky.
Over the next two years, more details will be revealed detailing the Walt Disney Company's plans to celebrate the golden anniversary of the park. Given how extensive the Disney Company celebrated Disneyland's 60th anniversary recently, you can expect that Disney fans will be treated to plenty of surprises and overlays to ring in the 50th birthday of Disney's only "World.
No word yet on if Disney plans on overhauling Cinderella Castle as they did back in 1996.
Before we embark on the 50th anniversary celebration, we thought it would be fun to see just how much the Magic Kingdom has changed since 1996. While most of our favorite attractions have endured, others have been retired to make way for fresh looks.
Liberty Square has also undergone virtually no change in the last 23 years. The Liberty Square Riverboat continues to circle Tom Sawyer Island. The Hall of Presidents continues to welcome visitors to a show of America's 45 chiefs. And despite the small size of Liberty Square (it is the smallest of the themed lands), you can't help but feel transported to a different time when you are walking between Fantasyland and Adventureland. You would swear you were in colonial America. And for the last 23 years, Disney has done virtually nothing to change Liberty Square - and it continues to work. The timelessness of Liberty Square is its simplicity, and to that end, we hope that Disney does nothing to change the look and landscape of Liberty Square.
Of course the main attraction in Liberty Square remains The Haunted Mansion. Lines still stretch throughout Liberty Square to visit the 999 spirits that occupy the famed mansion.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has been replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (though the opening sequence of the new ride does pay homage to Mr. Toad who is seen handing the deed of the attraction to Owl).
There have also been changes to existing attractions inside Fantasyland. Dumbo, which was located directly behind Cinderella Castle, is now part of Storybook Circus.
It also features two ride systems (instead of just one) and an interactive queue which provides pagers while your child plays. For some kids, playing in the interactive play area under the "Big Top" is just as much fun as getting a chance to ride on Dumbo and soar over New Fantasyland. It would be great to see Disney install more queues like these in the future - particularly on attractions that are draws to younger children.
Over the next two years, more details will be revealed detailing the Walt Disney Company's plans to celebrate the golden anniversary of the park. Given how extensive the Disney Company celebrated Disneyland's 60th anniversary recently, you can expect that Disney fans will be treated to plenty of surprises and overlays to ring in the 50th birthday of Disney's only "World.No word yet on if Disney plans on overhauling Cinderella Castle as they did back in 1996.
Before we embark on the 50th anniversary celebration, we thought it would be fun to see just how much the Magic Kingdom has changed since 1996. While most of our favorite attractions have endured, others have been retired to make way for fresh looks.
Adventureland
Adventureland may be the themed land (containing multiple attractions) that has received the fewest changes since 1996. With the exception of the addition of the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Adventureland features of the exact same attractions it does today as it did back in 1996.
As we discussed in a previous post, Adventureland is in need of a makeover. A re-imagining of the Swiss Family Treehouse area (perhaps to a Moana themed attraction) would help. Of course, Adventureland will always be anchored by Pirates of the Caribbean (and the Dole Whip).
Frontierland
Like Adventureland, Frontierland also looks remarkably similar 23 years later. Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continue to dominate the landscape of this themed land.
While Tom Sawyer Island is still in operation, the Mike Fink Keelboats are no longer in operation. This stems from an accident at Disneyland which resulted in park guests being tipped out of the boat and into the water. Now, park guests at in Frontierland boat log raft boats near Splash Mountain and take a quick ride over to Tom Sawyer Island (which recently completed a 2 month refurbishment in December, 2018).
And while the Diamond Horeshoe continues to operate as a restaurant, the Jamboree closed in 2004.
Liberty Square
Liberty Square has also undergone virtually no change in the last 23 years. The Liberty Square Riverboat continues to circle Tom Sawyer Island. The Hall of Presidents continues to welcome visitors to a show of America's 45 chiefs. And despite the small size of Liberty Square (it is the smallest of the themed lands), you can't help but feel transported to a different time when you are walking between Fantasyland and Adventureland. You would swear you were in colonial America. And for the last 23 years, Disney has done virtually nothing to change Liberty Square - and it continues to work. The timelessness of Liberty Square is its simplicity, and to that end, we hope that Disney does nothing to change the look and landscape of Liberty Square. Of course the main attraction in Liberty Square remains The Haunted Mansion. Lines still stretch throughout Liberty Square to visit the 999 spirits that occupy the famed mansion.
Fantasyland
No themed land in the Magic Kingdom has undergone more of a transformation than Fantasyland. In fact, if you look at this section of the map from 1996, you probably don't immediately recognize this as the Fantasyland you know today. Not only have new attractions been added, and old attractions removed, but existing rides have been relocated to different areas of the park. So let's break it down.
What's Missing?
Lots of attractions that were part of Fantasyland during the 25th anniversary celebration will not be part of the 50th anniversary. Snow White's Adventures, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Mickey's Starland, and Ariel's Grotto are all gone. Some of these attractions opened with the park back in 1971 and were fan favorites (we are personally still bitter to see Mr. Toad's Wild Ride gone).
Additionally, an attraction that was not limited to Fantasyland but featured prominently there was the Skyway. The Skyway as a system of gondolas that would travel through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. They have also been taken down - much to the chagrin of WDW fans.
What's New?
Out with the old and in with the new - and Fantasyland has plenty that is new. Next to Peter Pan's Flight and directly south of Prince Charming Regal Carousel (previously called Cinderella's Golden Carousel) is Mickey's Philharmagic - a 3D show featuring Donald Duck and the music of beloved Disney animated films. Mickey's PhilharMagic replaced Legend of the Lion King. Where Snow White's Adventure was housed is now home to Fairytale Hall where you can meet Disney princesses such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana, and Elena.
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| via InsideTheMagic.com |
Ariel's Grotto (which replaced 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) has been replaced by Enchanted Tales with Belle, the Be Our Guest restaurant, Journey Under the Sea, and the highly popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (which also features a few animatronics from the original Snow White's Adventure attraction). The area previously known as "Mickey's Toon Town" is now home to Storybook Circus (which sits adjacent to The Barnstormer ride which also opened in 1996).
Same but New
There have also been changes to existing attractions inside Fantasyland. Dumbo, which was located directly behind Cinderella Castle, is now part of Storybook Circus. 
It also features two ride systems (instead of just one) and an interactive queue which provides pagers while your child plays. For some kids, playing in the interactive play area under the "Big Top" is just as much fun as getting a chance to ride on Dumbo and soar over New Fantasyland. It would be great to see Disney install more queues like these in the future - particularly on attractions that are draws to younger children. Tomorrowland
Next to Fantasyland, Tomorrowland's attractions have undergone an extensive overhaul. The Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and Space Mountain have remained in the park since 1996 - but everything else is gone - with more changes on the way.
The Galaxy Palace Theater - gone. The Skyway to Fantasyland - gone. The Tomorrowland Arcade - gone. The Timekeeper was replaced by the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Take Flight was been replaced by the highly popular Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was replaced by Stich's Great Escape (which is now itself defunct).
And before the 50th anniversary in 2021, Tomorrowland will be home to Tron.
So there you have it - the changes to the Magic Kingdom since the Walt Disney Company last celebrated a milestone anniversary. It will be exciting to see what Disney unveils as we lead up to the Golden Anniversary in 2021.
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