Disney Provides a Detailed Look at the Storybook Circus!

WDWNT on June 14, 2011

From Jennifer Fickley-Baker on the Disney Parks Blog:

I know it’s going to be a great week on the Disney Parks Blog when I get to start by posting a new Fantasyland update. Today I’m happy to share new details on the Storybook Circus area that’s planned as part of the new Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom Park.

With all the updates we’ve done on the “royal” side of the Fantasyland expansion – Beast’s Castle, Maurice’s Cottage and Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – the plans for Storybook Circus seemed to be a bit more mysterious. Until now.

Storybook Circus will be based on our animated film, “Dumbo.” Here, Casey Jr., the famous locomotive from the movie, has rolled into town and brought the grand Storybook Circus with him. The area will be filled with colorful circus tents and nods to the famous film. For example, guests – especially little ones – are welcome to cool down with Casey Jr., who can be found near the train station, getting splashed by playful circus animals.

Just past Casey Jr., guests will encounter big-top circus tents that lead to a “double” version of Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Also, in the tradition of classic air shows, Barnstormer will take on a new look and theme, becoming a spiraling stunt plane built by The Great Goofini.

What do you think? Will you be there when the circus comes to town?

UPDATE – Some quick observations about the concept art that we posted on Twitter:

-The large tent is Big Top Souvenirs, we’re not sure what the red Hall of Fame tent in the background is being kept for, maybe Pete’s Silly Sideshow?

-The new yellow tent in the back may be a counter service location, meet and greets, or even something else at this point…

-The Fantasyland Train Station is part of the Casey Jr. Roundhouse building, GREAT THEME!

-A new structure is visible out in the middle of the Barnstormer area, looks like a themed tower of some sort…

-With Timothy not on top of either Dumbo ride, we expect him to show up in audio-animatronics form somewhere in the interactive queue area

-Dumbo will finally have the water feature that is featured at the Disneyland and Disneyland Paris versions of the attraction!

Overall, it looks great! What do you think of the Storybook Circus?

When I See an Elephant Fly

WDWNT on April 13, 2011

This September at The Florida Project event, a 3″ Dumbo Vinylmation designed by Thomas Scott will be released in a 9/3 combo with a 9″ Retro Mickey.

 If there were a poll of the most iconic rides at the Magic Kingdom, Dumbo would surely be toward the top of the list. In the shadow of Cinderella’s castle, kids and adults alike hapily take flight high above Fantasyland in one of 16 Dumbo-shaped ride vehicles. 
In truth, this is no more than an aerial carousel ride you may find at a local carnival, but the location and theming make it a classic. This ride, with minor differences, appears in all 5 Disney parks world-wide. At Magic Kingdom, Dumbo was an opening day attraction in 1971. And this figure perfectly captures both the style of the ride vehicle and era in which it opened.
The overall design, with the selected color palette and flowers, really place this figure into the early 70’s. 

The face of Dumbo well represents the front of the ride vehicle with the animated look and the eyes peeking upward at the rider. The main discrepancy is the trunk… upward facing on all the ride vehicles, but downward on the figure. The hat is also a great touch. Well done, and just like the Hong Kong 5th Anniversary Dumbo.

But that is where the similarities end, this new Dumbo has a much different design scheme. The obvious difference is in the colors that are used. Also, check out the trunk. The HK figure has the upward facing trunk that this Dumbo should have. The back of the HK figure continues with the magical sparkles that surround the figure and features a HK 5th Anniversary Logo. The back of The Florida Project figure however shows off the brilliant details that tie it more closely to the attraction ride vehicle.

The “rug” on the back perfectly represents the area where the rider sits… right down to the curled up corners. This Dumbo figure also features his signiture ruffle collar.

Originally, Disney was going to package a Polynesian Hula Girl figure with Retro Mickey. They pulled it in favor of Dumbo. The Hula figure looked great in concept art and as a Disney history fan will be a welcomed addition to my collection someday, but in the end, i’m glad Dumbo stepped in to take her place.

What are your thoughts on Dumbo and The Florida Project?

Episode 011 Yeti Mouse

WDWNT on February 20, 2011

Ep. 011 Yeti Mouse
On this episode, Nick and MC review the recently released series, Nerds Rock! They also review the Park 5 9″s and the 3″ exclusive figures from Hong Kong’s 5th Anniversary. This week they added a regular Online Disney Store section, to keep listeners not in either Orange County up to date on what they can buy. We also answer a special question in the Mystery Mailbag section.
Listen Now:
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Farther around the world to “keep collecting” (Hong Kong Vinylmation)

WDWNT on January 6, 2011

The latest rumor (unconfirmed, but the flyer looks like it’s from Disney) is that Hong Kong is getting it’s own exclusive Vinylmations. They will be part of the 5th Anniversary Celebration called, “Celebration in the Air”.

The 9″ Castle Mickey is a Hong Kong exclusive. It will be a Limited Edition of 1000 and only available in the stores in Hong Kong Disney. The price will be HK$500 (~64 US$) and will be released on Jan. 21st.

The Sorcerer Mickey is similar to the one that came with our Combo Park 5s, except he isn’t winking, but his face seems to be the only change. The flyer claims this is out yesterday (Jan. 6th International Date Line thing!) and will cost HK$135 (~17 US$).


The most interesting, to me, is Dumbo! He comes with a cute little hat, and this is the first time we’ve seen Dumbo in Vinylmation form. Dumbo will also be released on Jan. 21st and will cost HK$135 (~16 US$).

If anyone is over in Hong Kong, we’d love some of these!

Here is the flyer we got the info from. Click to enlarge.

10/26/10 Fantasyland Expansion Video Update

WDWNT on October 28, 2010

WDWNT Reporter Banks Lee brings us his second Fantasyland video update he recorded at the Magic Kingdom on October 26th. The video includes progress at the Mad Tea Party, Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, “Be Our Guest” Restaurant, and a first look at what the new facade and queue for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will look like when the attraction re-opens in November: