LP Lotion: Hong Kong Disneyland - Fantasyland
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Fantasylands seem to come in two different flavours namely the tournament tent look (prevalent at Magic Kingdom and its clone in Tokyo) and the European village and cottage look that is the template for both Anaheim and Paris. At the fifth Magic Kingdom in Hong Kong Fantasyland it is an amalgam of both.

Entering through the castle the initial courtyard is the same as the original park. However the stores flanking it are Pooh Corner on the right (as The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh sits on that side of the land) and the Storybook Shoppe on the left. Even the brass sculpture of Aurora and Prince Philip is tucked against the outer wall of the castle.

The Pooh attraction is identical in layout and story structure as its Floridian counterpart. Further around the same building guests will encounter Clopin’s Festival of Foods that utilises the tournament tent look. Even the floor has confetti embedded in it to emphasise the carnival feel.

A late addition to the land was the Storybook Theater that is home to the Golden Mickeys show that has been transferred from the Disney Cruise Line. Rehearsals were continuing and so it was not possible for us to enter the theatre last week. The attraction is the first to be built outside the train tracks. Internally the theatre is that of a traditional complex with a proscenium.

The center of the land is filled with the iron attractions that are so synonymous with Fantasyland such as Cinderella’s Carrousel (there is no reason why it is Cinderella’s rather than Sleeping Beauty’s or another character), the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups and Dumbo.

On the other wing extending from the castle in Mickey’s PhilharMagic (in the Fantasyland Concert Hall) which features considerably more theming both inside and out and the new Royal Banquet Hall where all of the princes and princesses go to dine. The exit to the 3D show takes you into Merlin’s Treasures.

The train station sits all alone at the back of the park. The station is sandwiched between a giant tract of land that is awaiting a future attraction (and will be landscaped extensively by opening) and the exclusive Hong Kong Disneyland location called Fantasy Gardens. Landscaped gardens feature Fantasia-themed topiaries and a brook running through it is constructed of flowers. Five themed pagodas are divided into three permanent character locations (one for Mickey/Minnie, another for Winnie the Pooh/Tigger and the final one for Mulan/Mushu) and two interchangeable ones. Unfortunately the entire area was being painted last week except for the Mouse pavilion’s roof. Laughingplace.com will feature more extensive photography from the area in mid-September.

Next time we will visit the largest land of all at Hong Kong (which incidentally is also the largest land ever built): Adventureland.

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