Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Because there's far too much to see and do. We're here to help guide you through. We are a married couple with two boys age 9 and 6 talking all things Disney World. This podcast will cover the tips and tricks we've learned along our journey, history of the parks and attractions, and most importantly why and how Disney makes us feel how we do while in the parks and that it's ok to feel that way.
Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Episode #177: Our Top 5 Reasons To Love Fantasyland
Have you ever wondered what makes Fantasyland the heart and soul of Walt Disney World? Join us as we unlock the enchanting secrets and timeless attractions that have captured our hearts and imaginations. From the whimsical charm of Storybook Circus to the immersive magic of Enchanted Tales with Belle, we share personal stories and reflections that celebrate the essence of Walt Disney's vision. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned Disney fan, discover the reasons why Fantasyland remains a cherished destination for dreamers of all ages.
Relive the nostalgic wonder of Disney classics as we journey through Fantasyland's best attractions. We reminisce about the impact of "Fantasia" on younger generations and the spellbinding experience of Mickey's PhilharMagic. Explore the depths of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, where we delve into its impressive design and nostalgic allure. Our debate over the iconic Cinderella's Castle and its rightful place in Fantasyland or as part of the hub adds an intriguing layer to our discussion of architectural beauty and magical experiences from various vantage points.
Peek behind the curtain as we reveal hidden gems and historical nods nestled within Fantasyland's enchanting corners. From subtle tributes to Disney's rich history, such as Nautilus outlines for "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, we uncover details that enrich your park experience. Dive into the immersive theming of Liberty Square and the contrasting allure of the Be Our Guest Restaurant. With a sprinkle of Disney trivia and a soundscape tour of the park, this journey promises an auditory adventure filled with joy, nostalgia, and a touch of magic.
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Hello and welcome to Circle of Parks podcast episode number 177. Today we are talking about five reasons we love Fantasyland. There is far too much to see and do. We are here to help guide you through, but before we do that we must talk Disney merch. So this week on DisneyStorecom there are some really cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse holiday family matching sleep sets and they are just adorable, especially if you are a family that likes to match at Christmas time, so it says perfect for snuggle weather. This Mickey and Minnie Mouse holiday sleep set features a festive all over print that stars, the sweethearts, plus snowflakes, mickey icons and more. So soft and comfy, the all cotton set includes a long sleeve top and jogger pants Part of the Mickey and Minnie Mouse holidays family matching sleepwear collection. Pants, part of the mickey and minnie mouse holidays family matching sleepwear collection. And, uh, if you get, the women's sizes is what I have pulled up looking at, they are priced at $49.99. So please go check that out at disneystorecom thank you everybody for joining us.
Speaker 2:Episode number 177, talking five reasons that we love fantasy land. I've got five, britney's got five. They're not going to be the same.
Speaker 1:I can guarantee you that yeah, probably not and I probably honestly could have added other stuff.
Speaker 2:But I struggled to find five okay I start, mine are going to be very obscure reasons all right but I was in walt dis Disney World last week and doing research on Fantasyland and in Storybook Circus. And let me tell you Storybook Circus has a lot of theming and detail to it, more than I thought and for someone who's not the biggest fan of Storybook Circus having to be in there for a long time. So the book I'm writing it's not just a must do disney book, right it's just not right if you've been listening to the episodes shows for a while, you know that's not who I am.
Speaker 2:It is a very in-depth detail walking tour, slash history slash trivia book, and so I'm taking you around the parks and like tour guiding it right.
Speaker 2:Like this is the history of this. Now go write it. Have a good time as you exit. Look at this or look at that, or look on the ground. There's peanuts on the ground at you know Storybook Circus in front of Dumbo stuff like that, right? You know storybook circus in front of Dumbo stuff like that, right? So there's a lot of this seal is on here for this and the Casey jr Uh splash pad has these numbers like got number. You know 55 on them. What does 55 version? You know Disneyland and then 73. And there's Walt Disney. You know stuff like that. So a lot of that stuff is going to be in the book. Okay, but it's important.
Speaker 1:It is important, but man Storybook Circus is just not my vibe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, but if you're new to the show, I'm sorry. I'm Zach.
Speaker 1:I'm Brittany.
Speaker 2:And our goal here with this podcast is one help you have a better Walt Disney World vacation and two, to kind of just break your week up and take you to Walt Disney World helps us, even though I just went last week. But virtually go to Walt Disney World and just just talk about the things we love and maybe give you a different opinion or something you didn't think about. Everybody has different opinions on Walt Disney World and we can all agree that you you know, not everybody's going to agree, but we can all agree that we all do love going to Walt Disney.
Speaker 1:World Right, and I know, like Storybook Circus is hard for you. It's not one of my favorite places, honestly, either, but it's a great way to get out of the heat sometimes too.
Speaker 2:Well at Dumbo.
Speaker 1:At Dumbo, but also the shops over there.
Speaker 2:Oh, and the tent.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, I was like it's outside. How are you getting out of the heat?
Speaker 2:The big souvenir tent.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Okay, I know what you're talking, yeah.
Speaker 2:So five reasons we love Fantasyland. Mine are going to be different and you may have to think about them for a minute, but there are reasons why I love Fantasyland and when you think of walt disney world, fantasyland is the first thing that comes to your mind. In my opinion, anyway, everybody knows of fantasyland, if they don't know anything else about walt disney world. So this is walt's favorite land. He loved fantasyland, so let's just get right into it. Britney, what is?
Speaker 1:and these are in no particular order- no, and you threw me off with the big tent. It's called big top big top souvenirs sorry, I was like hold on. What's the name?
Speaker 2:I was just there, you think I would know.
Speaker 1:Huh yeah, it's right next to Pete's silly sideshow yeah, and so yeah, mine, though, aren't going to be in any particular order.
Speaker 2:Uh, we will start off with enchanted tales with Bill that is on my list, for not the reason you probably think, though.
Speaker 1:So Enchanted Tales with Bill. For those of you that have been listening for a while, beauty and the Beast is like one of my favorites. I think I was in first grade when it came out, growing up and I love books and all of that stuff so I can relate to Belle with that, and so in Chain of Tales with Belle it kind of takes you inside the story a little bit. There's some special effects, which is probably what Zach will talk about soon, and just getting to be there with Belle and seeing kids and even adults act out certain parts and all of that, it's just it was a really cool experience yeah, so uh, for enchanted tells us bell.
Speaker 2:It is a great show if you have little kids, especially little girls that love bell. Right, it's very interactive, the kids, they really get involved. Now our boys, when we did it, did not want to get involved because they just don't really care for this. But the reason I like it, like Zach, why does a 40-year-old man like in Chinatown with Belle? I'm going to tell you, yes, the mirror in the opening scene, I guess you could say, is maybe the most. What's the word I'm looking for here the most? What's the word I'm looking for here? Amazing piece of engineering, imagineering that is in the magic kingdom.
Speaker 2:I can see that it is a mirror, that it's just a normal size mirror, and then it becomes the door that you walk through to go to the next scene and it's just this amazing opening scene and I really am big into like figuring out how Disney does this stuff right, how does it work yeah? I can't figure this out. I have not seen any videos, no YouTubers, no blogs, no, nothing. Nobody knows how this works, nobody.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It is really impressive. Even if you're not an enchant, a beating the beast fan and could care less about Bill, go, go check this out. It is amazing that mirror turns into the door.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then it's immersive. I guess is what we're trying to say, Kind of very immersive yes. Yes, so yeah, I would agree. That's why I didn't go into too much detail. I had a feeling that's what you were going to talk about, but you're I don't know like you're going into scenes of the of what you've seen in the movie. You know, and it's just again, you know, if you're a big fan, whether you have a little girl or you're an adult like me, I think it is something to see yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:So first on my list, again in no particular order, I put the queue for peter pan's flight okay I think this is one of the best cues in walt disney world.
Speaker 2:We've talked about this a long time ago when we talked about the cues, but I think this may be the best cue in walt disney world next to space mountain. I'm sorry, in magic kingdom, I apologize. Oh, one of the best queue in Walt Disney World next to Space Mountain. I'm sorry, in Magic Kingdom, I apologize. Oh, okay, one of the best queues in the Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 1:In what.
Speaker 2:It is very interactive. You're walking through what's their names? Bedroom, the house in the queue for Peter Pan. Like Wendy's, wendy's, you're walking through Wendy's room and the bells, you get to touch the shadows and you see Peter Pan flying around. It really immerses you in the Peter Pan experience.
Speaker 1:It does, and if you don't do the cue and just do the attraction.
Speaker 2:it's like 55 seconds and I don't think you fully get, you don't the experience? If you do not do the cue now, is it worth the 45, 50 minute wait? No, no, but if it's, if it's around 30 minutes, go do this. The queue is really, really cool.
Speaker 1:I would agree. You know, one of the times I think we had like a lightning lane or fast pass or something for it, so we missed the queue. Uh, on that, and I mean you, it's amazing how much of a difference it makes because, as Zach was saying, like it just helps tell the story, leads you into the story in the ride, just kind of builds it up, you know, and just being able to to see how they did the bedrooms and even some special effects with that too yeah, with the bells and the shadows and everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was just really cool yeah, I agree, and it's still going to feel short, but definitely a lot shorter when you don't experience that cue. So I would echo off of what zach said with you know, 30, 35 minute wait, an hour plus no no, I'm out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not at 40, 30, maybe 35. I'm in 40 40, I'm out.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. What's next on your?
Speaker 1:list. Again no particular order, but I will say PhilharMagic.
Speaker 2:I did not put this on my list because I knew you would have it on yours. Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:So PhilharMagic it's like a 4D.
Speaker 2:It's a 4D show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's a 4D show. It's kind of like Donald and Mickey and a bunch of other favorite movies of Disney are all involved in it, and it's like Mickey and his orchestra. However, Donald has what is the one thing that they call the like the director's stick, the orchestra. The orchestra directors.
Speaker 2:The maestros.
Speaker 1:Maestros Like how they.
Speaker 2:The maestros stick. That's what it's called the maestros. Maestros Like how they the maestro stick. That's what it's called the maestro stick. We're all like, uh, uh, uh, it's the maestro stick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so Donald takes over it and it kind of has like a mind on its own and it just kind of takes him through all of these movies from again Beauty and the Beast, aladdin, lion King, fantasia, coco recently got added like a year and a half or so ago, little Mermaid. Little Mermaid.
Speaker 2:Peter Pan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, peter Pan, I mean there's a lot, there's a lot, and so it that's all of them. I feel like I'm leaving one out, but-.
Speaker 1:I don't think so it took me back through some of the childhood movies that I really loved and just kind of brought out the kid in me. This was going back to our first trip there as a family and I think I bring this up a lot because this is what kind of got Zach with not a one and done Disney family like one trip, and that's it. With not a one and done Disney family like one trip, and that's it. He came out of this show I guess you could say this attraction and he was just like oh, wow, wow, like the emotions, and it just got him.
Speaker 2:I was in tears, yes.
Speaker 1:We'll just say that I didn't want to say that. I know, I'll admit it, I'm going to you know no.
Speaker 2:I'll admit it, I'm going to you know it's okay. I was in tears because during the show I was eight years old, in my grandmother's wood panel den. It immediately took me back, immediately. And the more I find out about the show, the more and more I love it, and this has been on like TripAdvisor and Yelp. I think this is like the best rated, the best show in the Magic Kingdom. I don't know if I would go that far. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think there's some more historically better shows, but this show is great. It'll take you back through the Disney decade of the 90s and a few others.
Speaker 2:Those were the movies of my childhood Right. And this is kind of like an ode to Waltalt, because the scene in fantasia right where the the brooms are marching and you get the water kind of splashing your face during fantasia, the more I learned about fantasia walt was so far ahead of his time in fantasia, fantasia. So Fantasia is what Walt thought sound would look like. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So he's animating what he thinks the sound looks like. Okay. That's the whole point of Fantasia, okay.
Speaker 1:A lot of people don't know that Right.
Speaker 2:And a lot of people didn't get it then. That's why it initially was a huge failure, because it cost a lot of money to make, but people didn't get it Right. So during if you went to go see it in the theaters when it came out, walt wanted like surround sound in the theater, which at the time theaters did not do in the theater, which at the time theaters did not do, and they wanted people walking up down the aisle like splashing you in the face with water in some of the scenes in Fantasia.
Speaker 2:So this is like an ode to what Walt really wanted in Fantasia. Okay. So I know, fantasia is a long movie.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:I haven't even finished it yet. It's long and it is boring at times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I need to try to re-watch it.
Speaker 2:Uh, I remember as a kid I was like 10-15 minutes and some of those scenes are scary for a kid or a young kid, yes, but yeah, this PhilharMagic is is so good is that you? Sorry.
Speaker 1:That's okay.
Speaker 2:PhilharMagic is. I'm sorry about that. Philharmagic is just. It's such a great show. I remember my sister was like, oh, let's go do the show. I'm like, what's it about? She's like, oh, it's just a 20-minute show. I was like really. Do we haunt?
Speaker 2:you and she was like, yeah, let's go do it be good. And I walked out of there and that was it. Yeah, that had gotten me just going through those movies and at the end, you know, with the mickey mouse march at the end, that's what got me, because we used to watch a mickey mouse clubhouse right as a kid and as a kid and that's what they sing at the end and that's still gets me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, through all this and all the scenes and stuff, you know donald and the maestro stick like they're in each scene. You know donald's still chasing after it and everything but um, and at the end make sure you look behind you, and that's all I'm gonna say get some duck butt so so yeah, so that was another one on my list, and again, these are not in a particular order. All right. Next one on my list we. And again these are not in a particular order All right.
Speaker 2:Next one on my list we already talked about Enchanted Tales with Belle. We're going to Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid. Yes, yeah, can you believe it? Okay, can you believe it? I'm shocked. So this is for several reasons, not just the attraction, except thesula audio animatronic. That is the scariest thing ever scares me he just really does not just scares me, but the queue we talked about, the queue for peter pan's flight, this, this is rival. This is up there with it too, the queue. It's. It's prince eric's castle, it's beautiful we're Castle.
Speaker 2:It's beautiful. We're going to be talking more about the queue later on in the show. Okay.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, but the queue, the rock work, the attention to detail, the nods to certain other attractions in here are just it's awesome. I remember when we went to go do it it's a 20-minute wait, let's go do it and we were waiting in that line in the queue. I was like man, this queue's awesome. They did such a great job with the theming of the queue. And now you know, we did it our first trip. I didn't want to, but it just it got. I really enjoyed it. And now I almost feel like we don't do it every time, but when we don't do it I'm like I kind of miss it.
Speaker 1:I kind of miss it yeah. You know, I can see that it made my list too, because Little Mermaid was. It wasn't the first Disney movie I ever saw, but it's the first one that I truly, truly remember and it was right before I started kindergarten and at the time time my best friend. Like that's how we became friends because we just loved Little Mermaid and so of course, childhood plays into it. But I agree with a lot of what Zach just said, like the queue.
Speaker 1:there's a lot more details that I guess you will talk about we're gonna talk about it in bit um, but there are a lot of details when you're in that queue that you you need to be looking around because you don't really realize how much is in it.
Speaker 2:There's Sebastian in the queue. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:I mean a lot of little things, and so you know that kind of immerses you before you even get on the ride. And you know we've been in and out of there, We've also spent a lot of time in there and uh, you know it's it, but it's a. It's a nice cool cue, kind of relaxing and stuff as well once you get inside that late.
Speaker 1:Yeah, once you're inside, when you're outside, and it's summertime and it's hot but there's a lot of details that zach will cover in a little bit. But the ride itself yes, it takes you through some of your favorite scenes of the movie. The animatronics like compared to some of the more up-to-date animatronics might not seem like oh wow, but you're the music's playing, it's taking you through the scenes. If you grew up with the little mermaid, like I did, you're going to enjoy it. Kids enjoy it still and it's nice and cool. It gets you out of the heat.
Speaker 2:And it's cold in there too.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:When you go backwards like you're going underwater, you get like a blast of cold air. Yeah so yeah.
Speaker 1:So that I was just surprised that it made your list. But okay, wow.
Speaker 2:Made my list.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so obviously that was on my list too. All right. So I just talked about that Now. Another one is Cinderella's Castle.
Speaker 2:See, I consider this more in the hub.
Speaker 1:So I struggled choosing this, because I was kind of thinking the hub too, but it is a part of Fantasyland.
Speaker 2:Okay, so let me rephrase this For my book. I'm considering it part of the hub. Okay, but continue. Sorry.
Speaker 1:Now, when I and even me when I focus on it, it is usually more when we're in the hub area, but you can see different sides of the castle and stuff from different locations, including Fantasyland, and it's like the entrance to Fantasyland sides of the castle and stuff from different locations, including fantasy land, you know and it's it's like the entrance to fantasy land.
Speaker 2:Except you can't really walk through it Like you can the one in Disneyland. You can walk through it, Just not all the time, Right? Yeah, Let me rephrase that you can just not always.
Speaker 1:You can, and underneath it, I guess you can walk, underneath it, I guess you can through it yeah, like when you can it. It serves as, like, the entrance to fantasy land, yes, but a lot of times you do have to go around it. They have it closed off for different reasons, or shows, or whatnot when the shows are going on.
Speaker 1:You can't go through it, yeah so but you know, again, I went ahead and included it on the list because it is, it is fantasy land, it's cinderella's castle, you know. On the other, because it is Fantasyland, it's Cinderella's Castle On the other side of it. When you can walk through it and stuff, there's a lot of detail right there that just kind of makes you realize, okay, we're in Fantasyland now and I just I don't know the castle.
Speaker 2:It's the castle, it's the castle, it's the castle. It is one of the most iconic things in the castle. It's the castle, it's the castle. It is the most, one of the most iconic things in the world. You see people there taking pictures in front of it. All like that, that is, to see that castle and be in front of it is a life accomplishment. It really truly is.
Speaker 1:And right there it's. Was it Cinderella's fountain, or?
Speaker 2:Cinderella's behind it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's what I meant, like as you go through it.
Speaker 2:Yes To the left of this to the left. And did you know it is supposed to appear differently to different people.
Speaker 1:The fountain? Yes, oh, I did not know that.
Speaker 2:So there's a crown behind it, right?
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:If you're a kid and you're looking up at it, looks like Cinderella has a crown on. Okay. If you're an adult looking down on it, it just looks like Cinderella.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'll have to pay attention to that next time. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:Also the mosaics in the walkway underneath when you're walking through the castle tells the story of Cinderella Very intricate mosaics.
Speaker 1:Okay, very intricate, I'll have to take my time a little more.
Speaker 2:There will be some time in the book written about that, all right, and also to check in, for the Cinderella's Royal Table is there as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, on the back side, yeah, so I don't know. Again, I usually do think of it as part of the hub as well, but at the same time it's fantasy land.
Speaker 2:Quick Disney trivia. How many stones did it take to build cinderella's castle?
Speaker 1:I have no idea zero, it's plaster oh, I know it's under that. What is it? 200 foot? It's 199 feet, or like 198, something like that yeah, because they didn't want to have their red blinking light on it. That would definitely distract from it, for sure. So, but yeah, so I had to do it. You know it's Cinderella, it's enchanting, it's the symbol of what you think of Magic Kingdom. You know, it's just that welcoming sight. And yeah, I don't know, I just I had to add it.
Speaker 2:Okay. My next one is the nod to the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction. A lot of people don't realize New Fantasyland was where 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the entire, the entire area, the entire area. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a huge attraction and it closed. I can't think of the date Like 2003. I don't know of the date like 2003? I don't know, don't?
Speaker 1:quote me on that. I don't know. Do you want me to look it up? No, don't look it up.
Speaker 2:It's okay, but it sat abandoned for quite a while and then they finally started redoing it and redoing the whole area to new fantasy land and there are still nods to it. One of them is in the queue to Little Mermaid and it is the Nautilus. Like the ship. In the stonework if you're in the queue and look back towards the park like you're looking back towards Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in the rockwork, you'll see an outline of a Nautilus, the ship that you went on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's in the rock. It's in the rock.
Speaker 2:It's in the rock.
Speaker 1:Huh, okay, that's not what I was picturing then.
Speaker 2:And you know that big tree in front of Pooh Winnie the Pooh yes. That's Mr Sanders' tree. If you look, if you go in the tree and turn around, you'll see another nautilus in there. In the tree there in the tree, in the tree, so that I think is some really cool details that are there for 20 000 leagues under the sea. I think it's really cool, right, they pay homage to it and they also at winnie the pooh. They pay homage to the attraction that was there before winnie the pooh. Mr toad's wild ride used to be there.
Speaker 2:Yes, and in the second scene for winnie the pooh.
Speaker 1:If you look to the left you'll see mr toad signing over the deed to winnie the pooh for the building okay so I like a lot of the nods that that they do that they have been there for still like acknowledging the past, yeah, okay all right, all right. What number are you at on that one?
Speaker 2:I got one more okay so I think this is my last one. Yes so how do you? Is it? How do you not know? It's not your last one. Do you have more? Honorable mentions probably okay, I did not know we were doing that I had to okay, all right so um.
Speaker 1:My next one is seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Speaker 2:Did not make my list.
Speaker 1:So Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, I just I don't know. It's a very short ride and the wait times a lot of times like we don't want to wait as long as the posted wait time for as short of a ride as it is, as long as the posted wait time for as short of a ride as it is. But when we have ridden it it has been a very pleasurable experience because, especially now that everything's up and running again with the queue so the description of the queue says Whistle while you wait. Before embarking on your mine train adventure, try your hand at jewel sorting, then wash them with water spigots that play tunes. You'll recognize when you come across a collection of wooden barrels overflowing with glowing stones. Turn each barrel and watch as the ceiling above you is transformed. Don't miss the notes that doc left for you.
Speaker 1:So I just think like that whole interactive experience while you wait it. I think it's pretty cool, especially for the kids. But I enjoy watching and even trying it too. And the ride itself is a very smooth roller coaster. It was one of the first um, what is it called? Like when it moves more freely?
Speaker 2:yes the uh the carts move yeah, they swing yes I don't know, yeah, I don't know if it's one of the first ones that did that well in in disney world, though okay, yeah, I thought you were gonna have more input on that.
Speaker 1:When I want you to, you don't I got nothing so, but it's just, I don't know, it's a fun ride. You know seven dwarfs. You go through their mining, you hear the hi-ho, hi-ho. It's off to work. We go. I don't know, it's just. Even though it's a short ride, I always find myself smiling on it it is a very fun roller coaster.
Speaker 2:This is part roller coaster, part dark ride and I think it does a really good job of of having blending the two yes and this is going to be your second roller coaster for the little ones. This is a step above barnstormer yes very smooth, a little bit faster, a little bit longer, more drops, but it's not overwhelming right, although barnstormer hurts my back yeah, I'm like that, one will just yeah, but if you're four, it's not going to hurt your back, it's not going to hurt your back, but it definitely jerks you around 40.
Speaker 1:It's going to hurt your back, yeah but you do, yeah, for this one you. The height requirement is 38 inches or taller, so it definitely is a nice another intro coaster.
Speaker 2:It is an intro coaster and it's a great coaster. It's a. I've always had fun when we're on it and when I was there thursday it was. I never saw it over like a 15 minute wait, so 50 is not bad for this. The queue is great. It's a fun queue and this was when we did our series of first-timer must-dos. This was like what got me thinking about it, because when you're in Disney and you're in your hotel and you have to put it on like the resort channel right, because you just have to have it playing in the background, yes, is it really a Disney trip if you don't have, like the resort channels playing in the background with the music?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:So one of the main things they always show is one the queue, where you spin the barrels and you get the images on the ceiling Right and then going down that drop right. That's one of the most iconic images you see and it is the middle of fantasyland. For a reason it's so it is a great attraction. The end with the snow white and the and uh, what is she? The evil queen?
Speaker 1:oh yeah, but she's like the evil witch, the witch knocking on the door and they're partying inside it's a, it's a great attraction.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a really good traction. I agree, I agree and that's why I mentioned it.
Speaker 1:You know, even's a great attraction. Yeah, it's a really good traction, I agree, I agree, and that's why I mentioned it. You know, even though we don't write it every single time, it is definitely worth the mention with.
Speaker 2:You know, you did a great job of explaining how they blended, like the two types of rides, yeah, so yeah, that's great my last one is and this is going to be the nerdiest nerdy part of me, and I really found more of this out when I was writing, writing the book the. So liberty square and frontier land go together right. Liberty square you're starting in the colonial northeast and going to frontier land represents america's push west into the gold rush. When you end up at Big Thunder Mountain, right? Yes, the story of this actually starts in Fantasyland. Did you know that?
Speaker 1:Now I do.
Speaker 2:Now you do. Do you know why, please?
Speaker 1:explain.
Speaker 2:How can Liberty Square in Frontierland tie into Fantasyland? How on earth can that happen?
Speaker 2:Yeah, hal explain please what is the last attraction before you get to Liberty Square Peter Pan's Flight. Where is that taking place? In? In England, in England. Where did all of the founders of America come from? England, england. There's a reason why Columbia Harbor House is the only restaurant to be in Fantasyland and Liberty Square. It's in both lands. Be in Fantasyland and Liberty Square. It's in both lands. It's to represent your journey across the ocean into a Northeastern colonial port town.
Speaker 1:And so is that why it's also seafood served there.
Speaker 2:Yes, and also, if you look carefully in Columbia Harbor House it is designed to look like you're in the hull of a ship Lots of nautical decorations in there. But if you go and look at some of the details it looks like you're in a hull of a ship. Okay, because you're traveling, because you're traveling across the ocean and when you get out you're in like a northeastern colonial port town. That is probably my favorite thing. Okay, there you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, and it makes sense, nobody really cares about that, but me, right.
Speaker 1:But I mean, it makes sense even you admitted it but you don't, you don't realize the amount of detail and thought and stuff that all these imagineers and stuff do for something like that now the story.
Speaker 2:Just it blends so well.
Speaker 1:It just transitions.
Speaker 2:so well yeah.
Speaker 1:And I'm not saying I don't completely care, but those that are more into history will. I'm not always into the history.
Speaker 2:You're not, no, and not a lot of people are, so we'll see how well my book actually does.
Speaker 3:You have a lot of history, but you have other current stuff in there too.
Speaker 2:I just think it's really cool how it just, it just blends in very subtly yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you wouldn't know that unless you're really looking and kind of have that backstory a little bit.
Speaker 2:Also. There are no public restrooms in liberty square because they didn't have them there. No, but there are restrooms in columbia harper house. You know how they get away with that they put it on the side, that's in. They're in the Fantasyland side.
Speaker 1:Because they didn't have plumbing, and all that at the time.
Speaker 2:That's why there's a river of waste going through Liberty Square Now just gross everybody out. I have no honorable mention, so this is all you.
Speaker 1:Well, so this is why Because there is so much detail in this next place, especially that I'm going to mention, it's just the food itself when we went wasn't great. Now I would like to go at a different time. When we went and ate breakfast, it wasn't worth the price?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's completely different now.
Speaker 1:But be our guest restaurant. You are entering the beast enchanted castle for an unforgettable experience. Bon appetit. And again, when we went, it was at breakfast we didn't sleep the night before yeah, it was just. It was just a lot now the decor, the theming, the rooms. I still thoroughly enjoyed that, even though at the time the food wasn't great, because these three dining areas are designed to just really immerse you.
Speaker 2:So the details in here are just absolutely amazing. Yes, the babies that are angels in the ceiling, those are cast like Imagineers kids. I didn't know that the amount of detail in this restaurant is truly astounding.
Speaker 1:It is. I mean, it takes you in the Grand Ballroom. It takes you to the West Wing, which was that mysterious study of the beast, where the enchanted rose stayed. It takes you to the Rose Gallery, which is Belle and Beast's. It's full of their like artwork and their romantic pictures, their favorite memories, including larger than life figures of Belle and Beast dancing, and it's just. You know, if you focus on all of that, it is truly something to see. And leading up to enter into this castle, I mean you see it from a distance. It's like you're walking, being immersed into that part of the movie when the castle is coming into view in certain scenes of the movie. So I had to mention that one and then a couple of others, so we did you mention the price?
Speaker 1:no, I'm not going to talk about that right now. Do you want to?
Speaker 2:I'm just saying the reason we haven't gone back is because it is well, yeah, when we went it was a quick service type of restaurant. It is not that anymore.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:It is a high-end sit-down restaurant where it is now $72 per adult, $43 per child.
Speaker 1:And they don't do breakfast anymore, they only do lunch and dinner.
Speaker 2:That's crazy, that is a lot.
Speaker 1:I mean that's a lot of money. It is. That is a lot, I mean that's a lot of money. It is. It is Now. You know. It includes things. You know it has appetizers. It's going to be, you know, like French onion soup and tuna tartare. The entrees are going to be things such as short rib beef, charred eggplant, pork, chop, filet, mignon.
Speaker 2:That better be the best dang filet mignon I've ever had.
Speaker 1:Trout chicken. It's just I don't know. That's part of why we haven't gone back, but it is definitely worth the mention for the theming.
Speaker 2:The theming is amazing.
Speaker 1:The theming for sure.
Speaker 2:I'm not done with $72. Good, but it's amazing.
Speaker 1:It is All right. Any other honorable mentions you got. Well, you're rushing me right now. So also just the outside of where the Beauty and the Beast stuff is, like the Enchanted Forest area. Again, just the details, and I'm not saying it just because I love Beauty and the Beast.
Speaker 2:But you do, I do.
Speaker 1:But when you're walking through there, I mean you're just like, oh my goodness, there's the cottage, there's this, there's that. I mean they did such a great job.
Speaker 2:Sometimes Belle is just hanging out in front of her cottage.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, she is, and that's also where we went at Christmas time, when she was dressed in her red gown and took pictures.
Speaker 2:You should post pictures of that.
Speaker 1:I might. I might do that later. You were like you were a you want to see five-year-old britney? Look at those pictures? Was not? Yes, you were very happy five-year-old, I was just anyway, uh, so again, though, I just felt like those were honorable mentions. You know now some people, they have different opinions me included yes, no. But I mean, like some people are gonna say they love the casey jr splash and soak station, you know hey, if your kid wants to cool off yeah that's a great spot for it yeah, because I was there on thursday.
Speaker 2:It was hot, it was packed oh, was it a lot of kids like I wanted to get pictures of the stuff and I was like man, that'd be creepy, some old guy taking pictures of right kids in a splash. So you didn't, I did not do it.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, not going anywhere near that. Yeah, and some people love Dumbo the Flying Elephant. They do. You know, that's just not on our list, so I don't want people to think that is all that is in Fantasyland.
Speaker 2:It's iconic. Right, yeah, it is iconic. Dumbo is an iconic attraction. That's what everybody sees, that's what you think of. So that's what I thought of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the first couple of times we went we wrote it you know, yeah, yeah. So yeah, that's all I really have, but I just wanted to mention those things because it is worth. They are worth mentioning just for the amount of detail and just the immersiveness and all of that.
Speaker 2:All right. So that brings us to Disney trivia. This week I did a live disney trivia from in the park in fantasyland last thursday. So I say we're going to talk more about the little mermaid queue and we are okay. So what are the two unique hidden mickeys found in dan and fantasyland? In the queue for the little mermaid there's two there's one that you rarely get to see yes, there's, one that depends on the time of day and the sun and all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll go into that one. Did you know of another one? No, we'll get to that. The first one is once a year, on November 18th. Okay, do you know what's significant about that date?
Speaker 1:The position of the sun I don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean it has to. Yes, I don't know, that is Mickey and Minnie's birthday. Oh, yeah, so in the queue. At noon the sun will hit part of the rock work just right and you'll see an outline of Mickey and Minnie in the rock work.
Speaker 1:Mickey and Minnie Mickey. And.
Speaker 2:Minnie, oh, now, if it's overcast, youcast not going to see it, but this is so popular that on the 18th, which is next week actually, as we record this, they will set a separate queue aside for people to see for people that just want to to get in the line to see that on november 18th it's about. It's visible for about 15 minutes. Oh wow, and that's it.
Speaker 2:I gotta remember that okay I don't think we'll ever be there on November 18th. Also, when you exit the attraction Little Mermaid, on the right-hand side, there is a hidden Steamboat Willie in the rock work. Have you actually seen it? I have. Okay, it's Mickey right, the first Mickey short. Yes, I know, steamboat Willie I have. Is Mickey right, the first Mickey short?
Speaker 1:Yes, I know, steamboat Willie, I'm not talking about that. I meant in the rock.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's in the rock to the right. You have to line it up, just right. Okay, then you'll see it. It's one of those side profile ones.
Speaker 1:Oh, so that makes it harder.
Speaker 2:So you have to know what you're looking for. Remember, like remember Splash Mountain. When you'd come up the lift you'd see the side profile of Mickey. It's like that, except Steamboat Willie. Okay, so yeah, those are the two hidden Mickeys in the queue for Little Mermaid.
Speaker 1:Did anyone get it right they?
Speaker 2:did, and I'm going to say thank you to Sweeney. First of all, congratulations, this week's Disney trivia winner. He pointed out there is a hidden Oswald in Fantasyland. That's all I'm going to say.
Speaker 1:A hidden.
Speaker 2:Oswald in Fantasyland. Just going to leave it there. Congratulations, sweeney. You're this week's winner and taught me something new last week. I appreciate it. Thank you everybody for listening. If you want to support the podcast, the best way to do that is to share the show and go leave us a five-star rating review on Apple Podcasts. It really helps us to grow. The show lets us know you're listening. We really do appreciate it. If you want to email us, circleofparks at gmailcom. Our website is wwwcircleofparkscom. We're on Facebook, instagram and X all at Circle of Parks. And again, thank you so much for listening. Next week, we're going to be taking you on an audio tour of Walt Disney World. I'm excited about this episode.
Speaker 1:It should be fun, it's going to be fun.
Speaker 2:These are going to be sounds.
Speaker 1:But you're going to know them because you're putting it on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the listeners can.
Speaker 1:Okay, but I have to be the one to guess, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we're going to go on a tour. We're going to take you to Walt Disney World. These are sounds that as soon as you hear them, you're going to go. You're immediately there. It's going to be a fun show. All right, so we'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 1:Talk to you soon. Thank you, bye.