Disney offers new, magical experiences
As of late, the most magical place on Earth, Walt Disney World, has experienced a few changes. New and revised attractions have been popping up in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios theme parks. I had the opportunity to explore these places during my recent visit.
In the Magic Kingdom, Fantasyland is now split into multiple parts. One of the new areas is named Storybook Circus. This area encompasses all of the circus-themed rides that were in Disney. There are now two Dumbo rides. Both are FastPass compatible, a reservation system used to help reduce time spent waiting in line. They also have a kids’ playground where youngsters can play until a pager they receive buzzes, signifying that it’s their turn to ride a flying elephant. There’s a soak station based on the Casey Jr. train from Dumbo, where you can get wet and cool off.
Another part of Fantasyland is the Enchanted Forest, which is all about Beauty and the Beast. The attraction is called Enchanted Tales with Belle, and visitors can meet and interact with the characters from the movie.
There’s also a new Little Mermaid ride, and it’s pretty similar to the Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh rides also located in Fantasyland. Riders board a clamshell seat, go “underwater” and experience a very brief summary of the movie. The ride touches on all of the important parts in the movie – the songs. The animatronic Ursula is 7.5-feet tall and 12-feet wide. The ride is fine, but as someone who doesn’t really like “The Little Mermaid,” it didn’t really appeal to me. It is a FastPass ride as well.
The changes to Disney don’t just apply to the Magic Kingdom, however. At Hollywood Studios, there’s a new attraction based on “Pirates of the Caribbean” called The Legend of Jack Sparrow. After a long wait outside, visitors enter Capt. Jack Sparrow’s secret pirate cave to join his crew. Here, you see realistic projections of Sparrow as well as other Pirates characters. Unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom, this attraction only makes sense if you’ve seen the movies, and it recreates the tone of the movies: the attraction has threatening imagery, but is also self-aware. At one point Jack says, “Good job… and if you come back in eight minutes, you can do it all again.” The projections are very impressive, so it’s worth your time.
Test Track in Epcot has new features, too. In addition to a change in sponsorship from General Motors to Chevrolet, you can now design your own car model before the ride and see how it fares against the trials of the Test Track. It’s a neat idea, but at the end of the day, you’re getting into the same car that will perform exactly the same as a car from five months ago or five months in the future. After the ride, visitors can look at new Chevrolet cars and create a commercial for their design, which they can then email to themselves or their friends.
If you’ve been to Disney World before or are looking for a new place for a vacation, try these attractions for a magical new experience that’s always worth the trip.
Jeremy Farbman is an eighth-grader at Jefferson Middle School in Mt. Lebanon.