A magical plan

Over the past couple of weeks the speculation surrounding the “leaked” Fantasyland plans has reached a fevered pitch. With nothing official to report, the Main Street Gazette has kept its distance from entering the rumor arena. But one piece of this plan appears to have slipped through a lot of radars, perhaps intentionally, which causes me a great deal of strife: The cannibalization of Mickey’s Toontown Fair.According to the plans circulating through the online community, the Toontown Fair Train Station will indeed become the Fantasyland Station, complete with restrooms. Where the restrooms are now, also known as Pete’s Garage, along with Mickey and Minnie’s Country Houses, the Judge’s Tent, and County Bounty will now become Pixie Hollow, complete with a playzone and a meet and greet area, and the dueling Dumbos. The Fantasyland Railroad Station, also a part of the expanded Dumbo area, would also occupy the space currently home to Donald’s Boat, otherwise known as the Miss Daisy.

Without hypothesizing about the whats and ifs too much, I can say that any and all of the planned additions to Fantasyland would have my stamp of approval. I love Snow White, Dumbo, The Little Mermaid, Winnie-the-Pooh, and especially Peter Pan as much as anyone, but the Walt Disney Animation canon is so large and there are so many stories without a home in Fantasyland that I would adore seeing the love spread around to more films and features.That said, I would hate to see Mickey’s Toontown Fair disappear almost entirely. It is true that Walt Disney World’s Toontown has never been as animated as the Toontown of Disneyland, but the charm presented, and character details provided, by the various areas of the land have always made it a place deep in the history of Disney and a must visit. If the current plans are true, then only Goofy’s Barnstormer would survive the axe, which makes sense as it is the only actual ride in the area, but I can only imagine the sting that seeing this reminder could bring to guests who have fond memories, and a lot of joy, of Mickey’s Toontown Fair.

I suppose it is worth noting that of the seven lands in the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Toontown Fair, previously known as Mickey’s Starland and Mickey’s Birthdayland, is the only land that was not a part of the original Magic Kingdom. This has made it malleable to redesigns and the most likely candidate for removal. In fact, Mickey’s Toontown Fair Train Station doesn’t even garner mention on the Walt Disney World Railroad poster near the tunnels of the Main Street Station.Going forward, I would love to see Mickey’s Toontown Fair plussed, bring more animation and stories to life. It is, after all, the home of Mickey Mouse. However, if it must become an extinct land, then I shall cherish the grand times I had there, and embrace the regal and royal residence that move in from Fantasyland.