The New Fantasyland expansion is continuing, and work is about to begin on Princess Fairytale Hall, a royal meet-and-greet area that will replace the existing Snow White’s Scary Adventures attraction. Since our readers are some of the biggest Disney fans out there, we wanted to share that the attraction’s final day of operation will be May 31, to make way for this new character experience.
Located in the Castle Courtyard in the center of Fantasyland, Princess Fairytale Hall will be the new home for visiting royalty in the Magic Kingdom. The castle-like entrance will feature walls of stone and stained glass windows. The entrance will open into a large gallery – an airy space with a high ceiling and portraits of Disney Princesses. When it’s time for their audience with a princess, guests will proceed to an elegantly finished room to meet her. Princess Fairytale Hall is set to debut in late 2013.
Snow White’s story will play a big part in the area’s expansion with the debut of the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction in 2014. We previously shared details about this new attraction, in which guests can board mine train cars and take a sweeping voyage through the dwarfs’ glinting diamond mine. Walt Disney Imagineers are designing a unique ride system that allows each mine car to swing back and forth individually as the train twists and turns along the track. (Sneak peek below).
Until the mine train’s debut in 2014, fans can get their Snow White fix by meeting and greeting her (and other Disney princesses) in Town Square at the front of the park. She can also be seen in the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade in the afternoon, and in the Main Street Electrical Parade after dark. (As usual, entertainment is always subject to change).
In case you can’t make it out to the park for one last “adventure,” here’s a gallery of images of different scenes featured in the attraction.
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Want to read more about New Fantasyland? Start with these recent posts:
Comments
Natalie: Snow White’s Scary Adventures is going to be replaced by a princess meet-and-greet space.
Im slightly confused about this… Ive know that the dark ride is being removed to make way for the mine train, but I thought the mine train was being built in the new Fantasyland area? So whats going to happen to the area where this ride is currently situated? By the way, I rode this ride for the first and on time during Easter and as someone who has been to Disneyland Paris 14 times, it was alot better than the french version!
Bummer…I’m coming June 2….
Awww I’m sad to hear we may be saying goodbye to Snow White’s ride for a while but at least we’ll see her again even more magical in 2013!
I like that – “even more magical in 2013!”
Sadly none of the pictures seem to be working for me!
That’s odd. I’ll have our IT team take a look.
This makes me so sad! I remember going to Disney world as a child and being so afraid to get on & growing up eventually loving it! So very sad that it won’t be there anymore, it will live on in my Disney Memories!
I LOVE Drago’s idea of a high quality video to commemorate the SWSA ride – it would be a shame to lose it completely.
What I really hope is that the entrance mural will be photographed in detail and perhaps released as a print for fans to buy.
The Little Mermaid attraction mural was released as a deluxe print and we LOVE it!! There are so many wonderful pieces of art throughout the various parks (Peter Pan mural, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, etc ) – we would love to have these prints to display! Jennifer – any thoughts or insight into these ideas??
Will they be auctioning off pieces from the ride for the dedicated fans to cherish? Or will they go into the Disney Vault for safe keeping?
#20 – Drago
Disney Parks Blog author Nate Rasmussen is an archivist.
p.s.: “…….run away princess, run away…….”.
I am going to miss Snow White’s Scary Adventures but so looking forward to the new Seven Dwarf’s Mine Ride. I have a video on YouTube of the ride I took in March of 2012.
Oh noooo! I loved this ride as a little girl, and as a grownup too and was looking forward to taking my little princess there on her first Disney visit on June 25!!! One month too late!
I, too, am sad to see this ride go. I rode it twice in November 2011 since I knew it would be gone on my visit. I’m looking forward to seeing the new Fantasyland area this coming November.
There’s a lot to look forward to!
Will there be a height restriction on the new ride? My 2 year old is a huge Snow White fan. It would be really sad if some of the younger fans are not able to experience a princess ride, especially since the princesses are often young girls first introductions to Disney.
I don’t know any details on this yet. Keep checking back – don’t forget, he’ll be taller by the time it opens!
Jennifer —
Can you get someone at Disney to do a really great, official YouTube ride through of SWSA before it closes?
Wouldn’t it be great to have a really great quality, gorgeous video capturing this ride before it’s dismantled. What a way to preserve history and make it available for anyone to “ride” virtually at home via YouTube.
Can you suggest this to a Disney historian if there is such a person at WDW?
Thank you for all you do.
I’m sad to see this ride go–it’s a classic. On my last trip (in January), we knew it would probably close before our next trip (in October), so we said our goodbyes. Waving bye to Dopey at the end of the ride… 🙁 But, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next! In my experience, whenever Disney has closed a ride and replaced it with a new one, it’s always changed the park for the better! And the Fantasyland expansion sounds simply AMAZING!
I do have one request: do you know if the princes will be joining the princesses at their new location? Flynn Rider is one of my absolute favorite characters, but I can’t meet him anymore (outside of the Halloween party). I also love Prince Naveen… what’s going to happen to him if Tiana moves to the new location? PLEASE bring the princes back!
I am pretty excited about this. In Dec. 2011 we brought my nephew to the Magic Kingdom & did the meet & greet with the princesses in the back of the Toon Town shop where we entered the room with 3 princesses alone & had several minutes with them. It was so great! He really felt like it was all about him & we did not feel rushed. I assume that is what the new area will be like?
We’ll have to wait and see, Maggie. Please keep checking back!
This was the very first Disney attraction I ever went on, way back in ’72. I will be sad to see it go, but I will always remember it as the first of my many Disney memories!
That’s neat, Barbara. Wish I could remember my first attraction.
I will also miss Dopey waving goodbye when we visit this summer, but I cant wait to see the progress on the coaster and to see what the imagineers have in store for us. The landscaping of this part of the new FL on the display model looks spectacular!
So many great memories from riding Snow White’s Scary Adventures with my family. Sad to see it go, but It’s always nice to have a change and create new memories on a new ride. 🙂
New attractions are always exciting!
It’s sad to see the ride go, but the new Fantasy Land looks like it will be positively fantastic! I can’t wait to see it! Will this ride be getting a tombstone at the Haunted Mansion like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride?
So sad to see it go. The new ride sounds fantastic but I will miss the old ride, and won’t have a chance to take one last ride. 🙁
I will miss this ride, as it has a special place in my heart. Our daughter was and still is a big Snow White fan (her favorite). When we took her at age 3,this was awesome and brought great memories. We have a picture of her outside of the ride, and she is waving to us.
Now 14 yrs old she was very sad to her this ride closing, as was I. It was a great ride and we look forward to the new changes.
Snow White the 1st Disney princess.
I won’t lie that I am sad about this ride leaving, but I understand that in order for the park to grow, we need to have change. I hope that the Evil Queen will play somewhat of a role in the new ride. It would be a shame to have the Snow White story without her. After all she is the catalyst for the story itself.
What a pity. Luckily I had the opportunity to ride it last March for the last time.
Looking foward to visit the new Fantasyland in 2013
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the Disney movie that changed it all for me as a little girl. I truly loved the ride and enjoyed it as often as I could over the many years I have been going to Walt Disney World. While I am very sad to see the ride leave, I am also excited to see that a new and bigger/better ride dedicated to one of the original Disney classics will be added to the Fantasyland expansion.
I think our “first” Disney Princess will always play a part in our parks. 🙂
My favorite parts of the ride are the scary trees with eyes and the logs that look like alligators. Another bit of trivia, in the original ride, Snow White did not appear in the attraction, because the ride was designed as though you were living Snow White’s experience thru her eyes. She was added in 1994 I think. I think the cars were expanded from two seating rows to three to increase capacity sometime ago? Peter Pan will now be the only original “black light” ride left of the original three. Fond farewells. Any other trivia on this? Does Disney know how many guests have ridden it since 1971?
Since the princesses are moving here, who will be in the Town Square Theater where they currently are, along with Mickey and Minnie?
Nobody is moving yet, Marissa. We’ll let you know when we have details to share.
Also, to clarify – the princesses actually do meet-and-greets in Town Square (outside), not Town Square Theater.
It´s understandable that people will be sad to see Snow White’s Scary Adventures go, but the new attraction looks so wonderful and is such a huge tribute to the original movie that I think they will soon make new memories with the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction. I hope little kids will still be able to go on that mine train and experience it and that the coaster part won´t be too rough.
It´s also great to know all princesses will get a proper space to meet and greet their guests. I also hope their friends and husbands will be there to because I know some little girls who like to meet a prince.
That’s a great attitude, Otto. I think the renderings of what’s coming look lovely.
So, so sad. I will be there on May 31 to ride SWSA as many times as possible!
What will become of all of the “debris” that is left from tearing down the older attractions to make way for the new ones? Will the pieces of the old attractions be auctioned off? Stored somewhere? Displayed in a Disney executive room or Imagineering “think-tank”? I bet all of these items would do wonderfully in an auction! …and maybe even raise enough money to build a new Fantasyland-themed resort: Woodcutter’s Cottage Bed n’ Breakfast! 🙂
I said my goodbyes to Snow White this past Sunday. I do hope they make some sort of homage to the original ride in the meet-and-greet area. Maybe keep the wishing well or have Dopey still waving to people as they exit?
We’ll see. I’m happy you got a chance to visit recently.
You are talking about Disney World Florida not Disneyland CA correct?
Yes, Florida.
While I am excited about the upcoming new ride, it is still sad that we are losing an original attraction. I rode Snow White last weekend and gave Dopey one last wave goodbye.
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