Alright today was day one of the full or almost full version of soft openings. The Be our Guest Restaurant wasn't open today but everything else was fair game. We arrived around 3PM to find softs still well underway. We entered in just to the left of the future Seven Dwarves Mine Train. Upon entry we were fully immersed in a quite beautiful addition to the Magic Kingdoms Fantasyland. The overall theming is second to none and is an addition you expect to see come from Disney. No Bugs Land here folks
But we already knew that didn't we.
Our first stop was Ariels Undersea Adventure which has been my most anticipated attraction of the entire FLE since the announcement. This was going to be interesting I knew since I was literally just on the Disney's California Adventures version just 4 days ago. Obviously the biggest difference was the queue and it was an awesome one at that. The Cali version is just a few switchbacks through a canopy and into the ride platform. I mean their is nothing to it. This version however has a beautiful facade that continues into great theming through rock work, ship wrecks, and finally into groves of treasures. I especially liked the holographic crabs hidden within the treasure. Our first true indoor room features a Scuttle AA that is almost like an icebreaker
. After that you enter into a few indoor rooms with more great theming and finally into the loading room that is quite large. Opposite of the loading side is a huge mural that stretches the length of the room. As for the actual ride their are very subtle differences like Tritons hair and a larger version of death to Ursula. Their are also some differences I noticed in other areas like the Kiss the Girl scene. Here the entire scene has been brought closer to the audience and the AA's of Ariel and Eric are much more fluent and get much closer to kissing. Add in some definite lighting changes all around as well. Overall the ride will be a huge hit for Disney families but I would't expect it to top a 45-60 min wait after about a year or so from now. I also want to note the last Scuttle AA was down and I've read some say this is the best queue ever. Thats a negative folks. Its a great immersive queue but I would still place ToT, RSR's, EE, and Indiana Jones ahead of it, and that just Disney queues.
Next up was the gift shop which sold some great souvenirs that fit well with the FLE and Beauty and the Beast. Mix in the typical crap that goes with it and you have the latest and greatest gift shop. I want to point out even though many won't want to hear it. Their were NUMEROUS people their today who were comparing this to Potter. Everything from the brew (get to that in a minute) to the shop sizes I overheard people making some pretty bold statements that I was not expecting from this type of crowd. 90% of which favored the boy wizard. The shop size was pretty compact by the way and everything from the moment you walk into New Fantasyland goes up about 20% in price. Its almost kind of silly, but hey I can't blame them for that. People will pay for it so why not.
After our detour at the shop we hit up Gastons. What the hell is this? This was a total let down for me and my wife. The Brew which mind you is a dollar more if your not getting souvenir steins than Butterbeer was crap. Please don't tell me I just paid 5 bucks for this frozen minute maid apple juice with mango cool whip on top. Please don't tell me this is Disney's answer to Butterbeer as a unique beverage for your 450 Million dollar land. I know its the same as Carsland but I didn't have a chance to try it their so this sucked. Also the inside, again more Potter references from the way they handled the lines to the decor within all just screamed Three Broomsticks and Hogshead but on a MUCH smaller scale. My wife and I gave Gastons two huge thumbs down! Thankfully it was really the only thing that let us down.
We will be back in the next month or two for the Be Our Guest Restaurant and I wasn't waiting 45 minutes for the Tales with Bell deal either. But then again no kids here so I have business doing it anyways. :look: Overall Disney has done a great job creating another story driven themed area that will appeal to families. Its not an area I will frequent much because well its just not my thing but again most of us know that already as well. This is an amazing area that will give people without kids something to check out once and maybe grab a 5 dollar frozen apple juice. But those with kids will be spending much more time in Fantasyland and will not be able to protect their wallets. The FLE expansion while limited to its audience is a fantastic addition to the park and hopefully cure some capacity issues as well.
Onto the pictures, enjoy!