First of all, apologies for the lack of updates over the last month or so, work has been hectic and then I went on 1 of 2 trips to Disney World this year!

Quick update really to say that Snow White’s Scary Adventures has been confirmed to close on May 31st of this year so you only have a couple of weeks left to ride it!

The good thing is that the construction for the new Snow White attraction is coming along very nicely indeed and it is looking to be one of the most exciting attractions not just in the new Fantasyland, but in the whole of the Magic Kingdom!

So as one ride closes another will open (hopefully this year) but that’s not to say we all won’t miss the original ride!

Take a look at this amazing time lapse video of the new Fantasyland in the making over the past 18 months.

As you can see, the imagineers have come a long way in the past 18 months and with just a few more months to go before the rest of the new area is due to open, lets hope that everything else goes to plan!

The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor finally opened it’s doors yesterday after having internal refurbishments for over 3 months! Whilst the overall look and feel of the restaurant hasn’t changed it seems to have had a very good clean-up ready for what will be years of more service! Disney haven’t simply opened the Plaza without first saying “sorry” to fans for its 3 month closure, a new product has launched!

<h2>The Gourmet Hot Cocoa</h2>

This brand new drink is being offered out exclusively at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and comes at a rather reasonable price of $5.99. It contains over 70% Valrhona cocoa and is served with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. All of this comes in a souvenir mug that you can take home with you!

If anyone has a picture of the new cocoa or wants to send me details on what you think of the drink you can message me @TopFloridaGuide.

It looks like the construction of the “Be Our Guest” Restaurant is coming along very nicely indeed! In the video the imgaineers go into detail on how the great mural was created.

As you can see by the video, the restaurant is still a very long way from being completed and you can expect to be dining in this fantastic restaurant in late 2012/early 2013!

New updates on this as soon as I hear them!

Disney have released another video that goes behind the scenes of the Fantasyland Expansion project at the Magic Kingdom. This its all about costumes and just how a decision was made on what cast members were going to be wearing when the section of the park opens.

The costumes really look awesome but it is also interesting how the imagineers go into more detail about the land itself. In the video they call the new section “rustic, rural, woody and overgrown”. Sounds like they are talking about a lot of focus on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!

They also reveal the costumes that will be around the circus tent, both male and female costumes have ringmaster look and feel to them

What do you think of the costumes for the new Fantasyland?

President Obama took to the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World to tackle some of the changes that American tourism is facing. In the speech he encourages people to visit places such as Disney World as they are all part of what has become an American Institution!

See below for the video of his speech where I am sure you will agree on some of the things he is saying about tourism, specifically in Walt Disney World.

There have been a lot of rumours circulating the web over the last couple of weeks to suggest that the first section of the new Fantasyland will be opening on March 12th of 2012. How true are these rumours and just what can be expect to see open in this very first phase?

New Dumbo Pushed Back

The biggest reason why a lot of people assume that part of the new Fantasyland will be open on March 12th is simply because the new Dumbo ride has had it’s opening date pushed back to the same date. If Disney physically want to let guests on the attraction then they are going to have to open up a walkway to the new attraction at the very least!

What Will Be Open?

Disney are very unlikely to open very much in the first half of 2012 and if they open anything at all it is expected to be Storybook Circus as this is where the new Dumbo attraction is housed. It is also the area that is looking the most complete at this point in time. Do not expect to be dining with Beauty and the Beast just yet.

So are any of these rumours true? Only time will tell!

It’s exciting times for everyone that is awaiting the opening of at least some of the new attractions in the new areas of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom as one of the new Dumbo attractions has had its very first test flight, so what does this mean?

New Dumbo Opens Soon!

According to Disney the old Dumbo ride is closing on January 9th and the new attraction will be open on February 18th! This means that not only will guests get to ride a brand new attraction but it also means that storybook circus will be open to the public, at lease part of it anyway!

There is still no word on when the rest of Fantasyland will be opening but rumors are that there will be more openings before the end of 2012!

Happy New Year everyone! As I mentioned in a post the other day, Disney had something big to announce last night and although it wasn’t as big as I had hoped, it is still a fairly decent announcement.

24 Hour Opening

This year both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park will be open for a full 24 hours! On 6 a.m., February 29 to 6 a.m., March 1, 2012 (local times) both of the parks will be open for everyone to enjoy!

This is a very clever way for Disney to help make extra money this year, incredible marketing!

More Giveaways

On top of this Disney have revealed that they will be giving away vacations, gifts and all kinds of other things to guests running up to this event. Although details have yet to be revealed fully on this, I am guessing it is going to be similar to the Year of a million dreams but on a smaller basis.

I would love to hear if you are going to be there for a full 24 hours on these dates!

The Main Street Bakery is a place that I often visit first thing in the morning or some point during the afternoon after the parade has finished it’s run (partly because these are the points where I am in Main Street). I still speak to a lot of people that have been to Disney World several times and never visited the bakery, reasons for this include not knowing it was there, having too many other places to go and (my personal favourite) “oh it’s just a bakery”. The Main Street Bakery is far more than a simple bakery and with this in mind, here are the three favourite items on sale in the bakery!

Cookie and Ice-Cream Sandwich

Ice-Cream Sandwich

When the girlfriend and I were getting a bit peckish around mid-afternoon earlier this year we thought a trip to the bakery was in order, what I didn’t realise is that we would be eating an item that would have us full long into the night.

This amazing product is essentially two massive fresh baked cookies with a centre of ice cold vanilla ice-cream. The mistake might have been that we had one each but hey, you are in Disney right?

Gourmet Sandwiches

There aren’t many locations in Disney World (certainly within the Magic Kingdom) where you can sit down and not find a burger on the menu. The bakery may have some pretty big cakes and treats but they also offer out some wonderfully put together sandwiches with all kinds of fillings. In typical Disney fashion they are big sandwiches but they would certainly cover off dinner for most people on a vacation that are not used to big food all of the time!

Cinnamon Roll

Baring in mind that all baked goods are made freshly onsite, it is safe to say that anyone that enjoys a classic cinnamon whirl in the UK will be surprised on just how much better these are. Sure you are going to find it packed with a lot more sugar and cinnamon but you will also find it to be soft, warm and drizzling with cinnamon goodness!