First Look at Storybook Circus Without Construction Walls!

WDWNT reader Jessica Walker was nice enough to provide us with some photos she took at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. Just wait until you see these…

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The Fantasyland Station looks just about finished

Some final painting and it should be ready to open!

Men at work

So the walls start coming down around this end of the Station… by the way, those are copper gutters… expensive stuff!

Imagineering gets ready to hand operations over to the Magic Kingdom

We can kind of see The Barnstormer from here…

OK! WALLS ARE DOWN! The Barnstormer queue is now located on this side of the building

The queue looks to have some great props of various Goofy stunts

A small poster next to the prop better explains the stunt

You can see a smoking rocket and other props strewn about

It looks like Goofy splattered paint all over the wood railings…

The back of the tower/lift hill

We can somewhat see something Goofy crashed through off to the left side of the building

I think they’re saying “We’re done!”

Construction walls already up near the tents which will open later this year

You can now see lights and canvas hung from the Dumbo queue which will open with Storybook Circus!

It’s almost time!

While a little further down the road, Belle’s Village is looking better and better every day

Prince Eric’s castle looks great too! Thanks for the photos Jessica!

More Photos of Storybook Circus with Construction Walls Down!

Well, everyone enjoyed the photos we shared yesterday so much that WDWNT reader Jessica Walker decided to take another pass at Storybook Circus from the Walt Disney World Railroad, and there was plenty more to see:

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Most of the Fantasyland Station is now visible

Plenty of construction going on inside the building though

Still a little more work to be done

But the workers are excited to near completion!

Cool vest!

Even cooler vest!

Oh Goofy!

If you like behind the props in the queue, you can see the red Barnstormer plane vehicle

This queue is much improved

They were fixing the smoking rocket

Some final touches being added

We can see the front of the train!

From the other side, the detail on Dumbo is slowly appearing

I love the lighting fixtures in Storybook Circus

Well, this is what we get for making fun of DCA…

Work continues on Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

“Be Our Guest” Restaurant

Enchanted Tales with Belle

So, the Skyway is gone, clock-tower and all… Thanks again for the photos Jessica!

New Cast Costumes Send Guests Further into the Fantasy of New Fantasyland

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Some of the first areas of our New Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom Park will be opening by late March, featuring a re-imagined version of The Barnstormer and a relocated Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction. When they debut, cast members working in these areas will be wearing new costumes inspired by the “Big Top” setting of Storybook Circus.

The Creative Entertainment Costuming team worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to develop these designs to bring the environment of Storybook Circus to life. The bold colors evoke the spirit of the ringmaster or sideshow barker, while the tails and detailing provide a period look of the 1930s.

In this video, you’ll see how the partnership between Walt Disney Imagineering and Creative Entertainment has produced an entire collection of unique costumes to be worn by cast members in each area of New Fantasyland, creating a rich sense of place and community.

VIDEO: The Barnstormer starring the Great Goofini

WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth brings us the first on-ride video of The Barnstormer starring the Great Goofini. The track is still the same, but there are two new props for guests to “crash” though and a very different atmosphere with the Storybook Circus all around:

Even More Photos of the Opening of Storybook Circus

WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth took a ton of photos of today’s opening of Storybook Circus at the Magic Kingdom. As if we didn’t have enough coverage today, here’s a whole lot more:

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The entrance to Circus is still a mess of walls

Fantastic artwork up on the walls

Humphrey the Bear with a candy apple… I smell a new counter service loaction

Temporary carts from Main Street fill the walkway

There’s something weird about these outside of the area

Extended queue out for Dumbo

The Dumbo building is pretty awesome

Walls where the Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak is going soon

The tents are far from finished

The Barnstormer queue uses targets to cover guests

A Rocketeer reference? Or just a coincidence?

I see Imagineer hats…

Hidden Wiseacre Farm reference

Lit fuse

A lot of extended queue

WORLD’S COOLEST RESTROOMS

They look happy in their new costumes 🙂

Peanuts in the pavement…

Walls still up along the Speedway

Taking some publicity shots

A lot of work left to go on the tents

Dumbo is on the map now

Not only is Storybook Circus on the map, but the Castle Wall and the new Pooh facade made it as well

Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station is coming soon

Josh Siegel’s 1/12/12 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel visited the Magic Kingdom on Thursday and has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom was testing

There is a window at the head of the queue area to give guests more info

It is still a fire station, just with three added Sorcerers stations

WDWFD used instead of the customary MKFD

Package Pick-up/Chamber of Commerce behind tarps

Pooh and Tigger now greeting guests in the garden

New flowers planted for the season

Roy and Minnie await the move back to Town Square

Some of the Confectionary and The Chapeau facades behind tarps

Sign pointing guests to character FASTPASS

Waits are short

This will soon be a Sorcerers window

A well hidden window

I can’t wait for someone to ask a price on it…

Another window

Yet another… they probably should move that bench…

The WDW/DLR trains merchandise in the window

Center Street behind tarps

The Bakery as well

This will complete the multi-year Main Street facade clean-up

I want ice cream… sniff…

I want soft serve ice cream… sniff…

The Main Street bridge is being repaired

Way too many in the treehouse for a not-so-busy day…

The Sunshine Tree Terrace is still behind tarps

The restaurant is closed, but the Sorcerers window inside is still available

Pecos Bill’s behind tarps

I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am about the Golden Oak Outpost menu returning

Big Thunder Mountain is closed for refurbishment through late-May

Cool pin trading idea

Looks like they are already rebuilding this lift hill

Frontierland Trading Post behind tarps as well

Madame Leota’s cart is now close to the Liberty Belle dock

LOVE this shirt!

From far away, we can see the roof of a tunnel being replaced

Workers out on the track as well

all of the railroad ties were removed to be replaced as well

Work continues on the new Fantasyland/Liberty Square path

The pet cemetery is being moved, it should return later

Walls in Fantasyland

Some trees being removed

Peter Pan’s Flight is being painted before the interactive queue installation begins this week

This will soon be a restroom

Dumbo removal

The beginning of the new Castle Wall

This should begin to grow shortly

A look over the walls

The old gives way to the new

The circus tent top is starting to appear

Another look at the new Dumbo queue, now set to open in March

Less and less scaffolding visible on the Be Our Guest Restaurant

Some final touches of snow being added to the Beast’s Castle

Belle’s Village

Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

Storybook Circus tents

Fantasyland Station

Back to Dumbo

You can see some of the Storybook Circus pavement already

The brick facade is starting to appear and it looks spectacular!

Back to Mermaid

Back to Belle’s Village

Enchanted Tales with Belle

Wide shot

Circus tent covering should go up on these queues soon

Timothy is expected to return as an audio-animatronic living character since he won’t be on the spinner anymore

All of the racks in the Seven Dwarfs Mine store are gone

The store will either be removed or replaced during the Castle Wall construction

Say goodbye to the diamond mine theme

This stroller parking is getting out of hand

The Sorcerers window in Frotnierland has a lighted element

It’s pretty cool

1/13/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT Reporter visited the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday the 13th, so get ready for a not-so-spooky look at what’s new in the parks:

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A new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom window has appeared under the Main Street train station

Some new wall art was added to the Town Square Theater queue

Very creative

I think we’re going to see an elephant fly!

There he goes

He seems happy about it

Moving on to Studios

A look at the wait times

The stage is still up in front of the Sorcerers Hat

A pretty long wait for Star Tours

Most of the Muppetvision posters were replaced with posters for  The Muppets

The lenticular Muppets poster was also replaced inside the pre-show area

Osborne Lights are being taken down

Some Narnia props were moved to the Backlot Tour

The Block Party Bash cones are still sitting back here

The old fire truck that used to be located near the exit of Muppetvision 3-D was restored and is now along the Backlot tour route

Some minor changes over at the Magic of Disney Animation

The animation studio theme is being embraced with new signage

There is a campus map as if it were a real studio

Josh Siegel’s 1/15/12 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel visited the Magic Kingdom on Sunday to complete his Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom quest and he took some newsworthy photos from his trip to share with us:

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Pain and Panic disguised as happy woodland creatures

DEFEATED!

Merlin has statues of all of the villains

Hades has another challenge for us…

Chernabog!

Time to rest after defeating all of the villains

Ooooooo, a badge!

Hades isn’t happy

He’s trapped…

All of the Villains are stuck in a snowglobe

Progress on the old Dumbo

Mostly intact still

The Castle Wall waits to grow over this plot

The construction site is still a bit messy

The stroller parking situation is getting bad

Work ont turning the Skyway into a new path and restrooms continues

PLEASE… there will be nowhere to walk…

Land clearing for the new path

Most of the pet cemetery has been moved to accommodate the work

New Details on the Casey Jr. Roundhouse in Storybook Circus

While the new Disney Vacation Planning DVD didn’t offer much new information on New Fantasyland, there was one interesting piece of concept art and a new description for one of the smaller additions:

“The Casey Jr. water play area will feature water squirting from playful monkeys, elephants, and camels as Casey lets off billows of nice, cool steam.”

From the look of the concept art provided, guests will get to pose for photos with Casey Jr. in the midst of a wild water play area. While it may not be an E-ticket, the attention to character detail shown in the concept art has us pretty excited for this little corner of Storybook Circus.

 

 

 

Adam Roth’s 1/6/12 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited the Magic Kingdom yesterday and has a TON of newsworthy photos to share with us (including a lot of New Fantasyland), so let’s take a look:

Work has begun on the new path into Liberty Square from Fantasyland

The path will cut around the Yankee Trader

Walls still up at the Skyway station, soon to be restrooms

Dumbo closes in the original location on January 9th

Plenty of trees planted in New Fantasyland now, these will be staying

The pavement is a bit messy still

Castle wall construction

PROGRESS!

Prince Eric’s castle is coming along nicely

Awww…

Not too bad…

Another look at the Castle Walls

The first interactive queue

A look at Maurice’s Cottage

Work on the new Dumbo queue

The tower that Goofini will crash through is coming along as well

Belle’s Village

Mermaid rock-work

Bonjour Village Gifts

Goodbye old Dumbo…

Although we will see this one again, slightly remodeled for Storybook Circus

The Barnstormer building looks great off in the distance

If you look in the bottom right, you can see the Dumbo title “D” clearly on the new spinner

What a mess!

Hopefully this will be cleaned up and ready to open next month

This area will take a little longer…

More of Belle’s Village

A better look at barnstormer and the top of the new Dumbo

They have practically rebuilt these tents from scratch at this point

The Be Our Guest restaurant building

Work continues on the facade of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

A lot of construction workers out and about

That’s still one long wall…

Work has shifted into high-speed on Dumbo

Some Storybook Circus pavement is now visible

Back to Under the Sea

Back to Dumbo and Storybook Circus

Maurice’s Cottage, home to Enchanted Tales with Belle

The Castle Wall again

Cement, FINALLY!

Some Haunted Mansion 40th anniversary shirts have been released

Big Thunder Mountain is closing for a 4.5 month refurbishment on Monday


Rumors are that an interactive queue, some new show elements, and a general fix-up will happen over this period

Work pretty much started months ago when the railroad ties were removed

More Main Street facades are being worked on and these will be like this until May. Here is the Bakery

Work continues on the new semi-announced Disney Vacation Club wing at the Grand Floridian

Ads for a special Florida resident pass up outside of the TTC

Go wild today!