Walt Disney World updates New Fantasyland opening timeline with Storybook Circus opening in March, Snow White closing in May

in Disney, Entertainment, Walt Disney World

Snow White holding an apple and old lady in the background

Credit: DIsney

Fans excited about the New Fantasyland expansion of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World have wondered just when its many elements will open and today Disney has offered an update as to which attractions will be opening – and closing – soon.

Back in Aug. 2011, we shared a New Fantasyland opening timeline provided by a Disney Imagineer at the D23 Expo and today’s announcements further elaborate on that information.

The most important detail is that Snow White’s Scary Adventures will be permanently closing on June 1, 2012 to make way for Princess Fairytale Hall, a new home for the Disney Princesses to meet and greet with guests.

Guests wanting to say goodbye to the classic dark ride will have their last chance on Thursday, May 31, 2012, the attraction’s last day of operation.

Disney has also revealed that before that, Storybook Circus will open its first areas by the end of March, as the first of many phases of New Fantasyland to debut. Included in that opening will be one half of the “double” Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the Fantasyland Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad, and the reopening of the Barnstormer, now featuring the Great Goofini. Nearby, a Casey Jr. Roundhouse water play area will be opening later in the year, along with Pete’s Silly Sideshow and colorful circus tents.

Though not specifically mentioned in today’s announcement, the rest of New Fantasyland should be opening on schedule with the timeline we previously posted. Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid ride, Be Our Guest restaurant, Beauty and the Beast village, and Belle meet-and-greet are due to open some time later this year, with the rest to follow in 2013 and 2014.


UPDATE (8/7/12:: Disney has announced the majority of New Fantasyland will open on December 6, 2012, with previews beginning November 19. More details here.


And while it will be exciting to watch the Magic Kingdom’s biggest ever expansion finally begin to be unveiled piece by piece, it will be bittersweet as a classic Fantasyland attraction is shuttered for good, with May 31 offering guests one last chance to give it a goodbye kiss.



Learn more about the New Fantasyland expansion in the video recap below featuring Imagineer Eric Jacobson’s presentation at the Magic Kingdom from January 2011:

And stay on top of the latest openings and closings in our New Fantasyland section.

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