As The Official Opening Of New Fantasyland Approaches, Sightings Of A Dragon Are Reported In WDW...

Thursday December 6th is going to be a big day for Walt Disney World. On a day which has certainly already cemented itself in WDW history, the resort will see not one, not two, but three major new Official Openings; with the Animal Kingdom the only theme park not to have an attraction making its debut. All three have been going through soft openings, or 'Dress Rehearsals', but are being officially opened on Thursday.

Firstly; The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow will be opening in Hollywood Studios' Soundstage 4 (where the Journey Into Narnia walkthrough attraction was housed). As with Narnia, the Captain Jack attraction will be a walkthrough, and Disney have promised that it will include content from every Pirates of the Caribbean movie. They are also claiming it to be 'a first of its kind sensory experience', and that, if you haven't experienced this attraction; 'you don't know Jack... Yet'. As always, the detail which has gone into both the concept art and the attraction itself are stunning, in a way that only Disney can pull off. If you want to see for yourself, WDW Magic have a great selection of photos.

Next, we head over to Epcot, where the long awaited and eagerly anticipated Test Track 2.0 will be starting its engine! Closed for refurbishment since spring this year, the re-imagined Test Track, now presented by Chevrolet is the second attraction to be premiering on Thursday. The old, moderately popular queue has been replaced with a futuristic queue, where you get the opportunity to design your own car, before boarding an equally futuristic 'SimCar', which will take you on a thrilling adventure around Test Track's amazing circuit. Upon exiting the ride, guests will have the opportunity to make a commercial for their car design, have their picture taken with it, and race it around a virtual track. It sounds like another awesome Disney attraction!

Last, but certainly not least, there is 'the big one'. The second, biggest phase of the Magic Kingdom's New Fantasyland will be opening, comprising of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast areas. The Storybook Circus area (first phase) opened last March, and the second phase has been doing Soft Openings, meaning that I was fortunate enough to get to experience both on my recent trip in October. Having actually been there, I can tell you that the New Fantasyland area is absolutely stunning- another spectacular feat of Disney Imagineering. The theming is superb, the attractions equally so, and from what I've seen, I wouldn't be surprised if Fantasyland knocks Frontierland off its perch as the Magic Kingdom's most popular land, especially after the third phase (Snow White) opens in 2014.
Thursday will see several additions to Fantasyland, the most notable of which being Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, and the Be Our Guest Restaurant. Gaston's Tavern, a counter service restaurant, will also be opening, alongside Enchanted Tales With Belle; an interactive storytelling experience, and several gift shops and snack carts.

Although all of these things are exciting additions to the Magic Kingdom, they have been overshadowed in recent weeks by rumours of a Dragon heading 'back home' to New Fantasyland. The Dragon rumours first surfaced back in June, when Imagineers were spotted testing an actual flying Dragon (which I believe they now have a patent for) at an airfield in California. At the time, it was speculated that the Dragon was for the upcoming Avatar Land at the Animal Kingdom, but ever since Disney have begun dropping hints through a blog post and a Tumblr Blog, people are certain the Dragon is headed to New Fantasyland. Lots of ideas are being bounced around- including the possibility of Epcot's Figment being somehow involved! Disney have, in their usual style, been feeding us little tidbits of info about this- and the links above are really worth a look, the story they've created for this is incredible, especially the interview with an 'anonyMOUSE' source. Sightings of the mysterious beast have begun appearing all over the place now- and I for one cannot wait for the reveal!

I'd love to hear your views on this! If you want to share your views, please feel free to leave a comment below! Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!