Which Attraction Is Better Where? Fantasyland Edition, Part I

Now that I’ve examined Tomorrowland, I figured I’d discuss its adjacent land: Fantasyland.

It may seem that the two Fantasylands are similar, but that’s not the case. It’s my opinion that the duplicate lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are more different than any other twin lands. This will be even more apparent when the new Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland Expansion opens in 2012, and the Florida version will almost stand a chance against it’s Anaheim counterpart.

I’ll start from East to West, which means:

Disneyland's Mad Tea Party 

The Mad Tea Party: The attractions themselves are similar. There are few ways you can vary on the concept of spinning tea cups. Where the rides differ, as with most other things in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, is the theming. And as is common, it’s weaker theming in the World. Over in Disneyland, the Mad Tea Party has it’s own little Alice in Wonderland area, with it’s sister dark ride sitting next to it. It also sits uncovered, with sightly vines and lanterns that hang overhead to form a canopy. At the World, the old bricks and Alice topiaries are a nice touch, but as it's under an unattractive old roof (which I know is necessary due to Florida weather) takes away the appeal. Also, the sort of island it creates makes it feel it’s obligated to be at Walt Disney World because of its popular counterpart at Disneyland, not because they had a place that it fit right into.

Walt Disney World's Mad Tea Party

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The attractions themselves are almost identical, although in different areas of the parks, Disneyland’s in Critter Country and Walt Disney World’s in Fantasyland. What separates these two dark rides is the queue. At Disneyland, it’s just a queue, and one that is rarely full, while in Florida, it’s a new, revamped interactive queue, complete with Winnie the Pooh’s house (or Mr. Sanderz), touch-screen honey ooze, playground, and a number of other fun, interactive elements. It even has a Fastpass... on the opposite side of Fantasyland. It needs it, as the line often reaches 40 minutes to an hour, which could in part be because of the Fastpass.

Snow White’s Scary Adventure: These two dark rides also share very little variation, for now at least. Once the new Fantasyland expansion happens at The Magic Kingdom, they will share one huge difference: one will exist and the other will be but a memory, replaced with a hall to visit the princesses. In its place will be the thrilling Seven Dwarves Mine Train, a new age roller coaster experience. But it will still hurt; a classic attraction axed so a litter of princesses can be meet and greet with a specific audience, one much less general than the audience the classic dark ride appeals to. So I guess that makes the one at Disneyland the superior of the two, since it will exist next year.

Part II, with the rest of the Fantasyland attractions compared and contrasted, is coming soon! I didn't want to shock everyone out of reading the article with it's 1000+ word count, so I split it up. Yay!