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Pinocchio's Daring Journey, the first attraction encountered in traveling from Frontierland, was added during Fantasyland's remodeling in 1983. This attraction features the first use of a hologram in a Disney attraction, seen when Lampwick turns into a donkey. The Blue Fairy's disappearance is accomplished using a plate glass effect known as Pepper's Ghost, which has been used in several other attractions. Its most notable use is in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom, which always leaves guests wondering how the dancing ghosts appear and disappear. The weathervane on the building is in the shape of a whale in honor of Monstro, the whale that swallows Pinocchio. Snow White's Scary Adventures was one of Fantasyland's original attractions; guests board "wooden" cars named after the Seven Dwarfs to view scenes story of Snow White. Enhanced special effects such as fiber optics were added during the 1983 renovation. Fiber optics are thin strands of glass which have revolutionized the communication industry; at Disneyland, however, they have also been used in attractions to represent stars and other points of light. These small light points can change colors, and they can be put together to form an animated sign or display. This technique is now used in several Fantasyland attractions, as well as for a sign at the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance. Dumbo, The Flying Elephant was one of the original Fantasyland attractions, although it was moved to its current location, the former home of Captain Hook's pirate ship, during the 1983 Fantasyland renovation. The ride originally had 10 elephants for guests to sit in. When Disneyland Paris was under construction, its Dumbo ride was to have 16 elephants; the ride was finished long before it was to be installed in France, so it was instead installed here at Disneyland and a new ride was built for Disneyland Paris. The band organ nearby plays classic Disney songs, which can be heard all through Fantasyland. Above the bar holding each elephant can be seen the stork who delivered Dumbo in the film, and Timothy Mouse, Dumbo's friend, is at the top of the ride. The ride resembles a huge wind-up toy with all of its gears and mechanisms visible.
Storybookland is an area that can be seen from two different attractions: the Casey Jr. Circus Train and the Storybookland Canal Boats. The Canal Boats have a guide to point out the various sights, which are extremely detailed miniatures of homes and villages featured in several Disney films. Some scenes have been replaced by scenes from newer movies, but this attraction still has its original charm. The buildings were constructed by the Disney model department, and many feature real wood, glass, and gold leaf. The trees are special varieties that do not grow tall so that they do not dwarf the buildings. The Casey Jr. Circus train features the train from "Dumbo", and guests ride in the different cars, such as the lion cage and the elephant car. Behind the Storybookland attractions is the Fantasyland Theater. Originally, this theater was known as Videopolis, which opened in 1986 as a high-tech dance facility; this was the first new addition to Disneyland after the new management team of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells started at Disney. Videopolis attracted large crowds for several years, but as the crowds diminished, Videopolis changed to a large-capacity outdoor theater. It has been home to such shows as "Dick Tracy Diamond Double Cross" in 1990; "Mickey's Nutcracker" for several Christmas seasons; "One Man's Dream", about the creation of Disneyland in 1989; and "Beauty and the Beast" from 1992 until 1995. With the opening of the "Pocahontas" show in 1995, the name was changed from Videopolis to the Fantasyland Theater. Peter Pan's Flight uses "flying" pirate ships to escort guests through the window of the Darlings' bedroom out to Neverland, telling the story of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Observant guests will notice the blocks in the children's bedroom that spell out "DISNEY". In the scene where the guests fly out over London, the city has several noticeable landmarks, including Big Ben, as well as moving cars on the streets. Outside, Peter and Wendy can be heard talking about their adventures from a window between the ride entrance and exit. The weathervane on the building is in the shape of the crocodile that ate Captain Hook's right hand and follows him trying to eat the rest of him.
During the Fantasyland renovation, a new themed area was created to house the two "Alice in Wonderland" attractions, as well as the Alice-themed shop, the Mad Hatter. While the Mad Tea Party was one of Disneyland's original attractions, Alice in Wonderland opened a few years later. The Mad Tea Party originally sat in the area where the King Arthur Carousel and Dumbo the Flying Elephant are now. Alice in Wonderland is another excellent example of efficient space utilization, as it is actually on top of the building housing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Guests looking in the huge mirror in the Mad Hatter shop will occasionally see the Cheshire Cat grinning back at them "through the looking glass"; also, guests will notice a shelf being held by the Hatter himself. One of the Mad Hatter's biggest selling items is Mickey Mouse ears with a name embroidered on the back.
At the end of the Matterhorn Bobsled ride, guests hear a familiar voice instructing them to remain in their vehicles until they reach the unloading area. This voice belongs to Jack Wagner, the former Voice of Disney who died in 1995. For many years, Jack Wagner performed all of the recorded dialogue for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He was the friendly, familiar voice guests would hear narrating the Monorail, welcoming them to the park at opening time, introducing live shows and performers, and giving them various instructions on many different rides. In addition to all of these duties, Wagner also produced the music for many of the live shows and parades at the parks, including the original Main Street Electrical Parade. Although he passed away, his voice can still be heard in several attractions at both parks. For several years, Jack Wagner also provided the voices for most of the characters in the live shows at the parks; Disney later created the Disney Character Voices department to ensure that the characters' voices were consistent, whether guests heard them in movies, on television, in the theme parks, or on recordings. Originally designed for the 1964 New York World's Fair, It's a Small World was moved to Disneyland in 1966. Walt Disney and the Imagineers had hoped to move the huge entrance tower from New York to Disneyland, but this could not be accomplished for several reasons. Instead, the Imagineers designed a new facade, complete with abstract representations of famous landmarks from around the world. At the center of this facade is a huge, constantly ticking clock tower that features a parade of international dolls every fifteen minutes. It's a Small World is another attraction that lies outside the railroad track boundary; this fact is extremely obvious as the train passes right in front of the facade, and the boats enter the building underneath the tracks. Most everything in this attraction was moved from New York, including the trough through which the boats travel; it is widely assumed that Walt Disney designed the attractions for the fair in the hopes that they could be moved to his park after the fair was over. For the opening of this attraction, Walt and several children poured bottles of water from all seven continents into the water, making it truly and international attraction. The facade at Disneyland, which was originally white, was repainted in pastel colors in 1993, enhancing the abstractness of the design. The facade was then returned to its original white with blue accents color scheme in 2002.  |
Fantasyland is probably the area most often associated
with Disneyland; because its attractions are aimed more
specifically at young children, it is often the most crowded
land at the park. At Disneyland's opening, Fantasyland featured
several attractions: King Arthur Carousel, Dumbo the Flying
Elephant, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride,
Peter Pan's Flight, and the Mad Tea Party all still exist today.
The Phantom Boats took guests on a motorboat cruise, but they
were removed because of unreliability and replaced by the Motor
Boat Cruise, which has also recently been removed; the area
is now known as Fantasia Gardens. During an extensive
renovation in 1983, Fantasyland's theme was changed from a
carnival atmosphere to a quaint European village. Pinocchio's
Daring Journey was added during this renovation, and other
attractions and shops were moved to other locations within
Fantasyland.
Sleeping Beauty Castle, which serves as both the entrance
to Fantasyland and the symbol of Disneyland, stands at the
north end of Main Street. This castle was based on several
different designs; however, it most closely resembles Neuchwenstein,
the castle of the Bavarian King Ludwig. One interesting fact
is that what is considered the front side of Neuchwenstein is
the back side of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. The drawbridge
over the moat actually works, and has been lowered twice: on
opening day and in 1983 when Fantasyland was redesigned. At
the entrance to the castle can be seen the Disney coat of arms.
In the castle courtyard is a huge directional marker showing
north, south, east, and west. To the south of this marker is
the location of the Time Castle, a time capsule buried on
Disneyland's 40th anniversary and to be opened on the 80th
anniversary. Just in front of the castle entrance is a golden
spike driven into the ground, which represents the geographical
center of Disneyland.
The King Arthur Carousel was also present at the opening of
the park. During the renovation, it was moved farther back from
the castle to relieve crowding from people rushing through the
castle when the park opens. Most people do not know that carousels
are different from merry-go-rounds. Merry-go-rounds travel
clockwise, and some horses are stationary. Carousels travel
counter-clockwise; also, all of the horses move, which is why
Walt Disney insisted his park should have a carousel. When he
took his daughters an amusement park, he always ended up riding
on one of the stationary animals on the merry-go-round, and he
did not want guests to have the same frustrating experience. In
front of the carousel is the Sword in the Stone, which the young
Wart pulled out to become England's King Arthur. This ceremony is
repeated each day with Merlin choosing a child to pull the sword
out of the stone; magically, guests cannot pull it out the rest
of the day.
Walt Disney originally envisioned Mr. Toad's Wild Ride as a
roller-coaster type ride, but he decided to tone it down because
he felt that guests would not want such a ride. Apparently, tastes
have changed since the mid 1950's, even as Walt realized by
installing the Matterhorn a few years later. Guests race through
an English village in "stolen" motorcars, just as J. Thaddeus Toad
did in "The Wind in the Willows". During the 1983 renovation, the
exterior of this attraction was remodeled to resemble Toad Hall;
the bust of Toad in the waiting area was found in the rafters of
the attraction during this renovation. While there is one track
for this attraction, Walt Disney World's version has two mirror-image
tracks to shorten the waiting time for guests.
The Matterhorn, which opened in 1959, was Disneyland's first
true thrill ride. Walt Disney had been to Switzerland for the filming
of "Third Man on the Mountain", and he became fascinated with the
famous mountain. He decided that a bobsled ride around and through
a replica of the mountain would be ideal for Disneyland's first major
expansion. The attraction is built to 1/100th scale of the real
mountain. Originally, the Disneyland Skyway traveled through holes
in the mountain, but when that attraction was removed in 1995, the
holes were filled in. For several years after the Matterhorn
opened, guests inside the mountain saw only the track and the
steel beams which support the mountain; however, a renovation
in the mid 1970's added ice passages and an Abominable Snowman
to the interior of the mountain. Inside the mountain is a basketball
court used for cast member break periods. In 1995 a crate was
added with the words "Wells Expedition" on the side; this crate
was a tribute to Frank Wells, the late president of Disney and
an avid mountain climber, who had reached the top of six of the
seven highest mountains in the world. The bobsleds currently in
use at the Matterhorn were originally used at Walt Disney World's
Space Mountain, then sent to Disneyland when that attraction
received new vehicles.