Fantasyland expansion's first phase now open

The multimillion-dollar expansion, the largest in the Magic Kingdom's 40-year history, will open in stages as new sections are ready, said Chris Beatty, creative director of the expansion. But Disney has not set time frames or the order the attractions will appear, he said. It is expected to be complete sometime in 2013.

Disney World opened the first phase of its Fantasyland expansion on Monday. Part of the Magic Kingdom's Storybook Circus area, featuring new takes on the Dumbo ride and a roller coaster, greeted a throng of spring-break tourists.

Disney doesn't want its customers to feel disappointed by unavailable attractions, so it's smart to open them as soon as possible, said Scott Smith, an instructor with UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

"Everyone who goes there thinks that everything should be open all the time," he said.

Visitors on Monday saw a new version of the popular Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride and the Barnstormer roller coaster, revamped to fit a circus theme.

Dumbo is "near and dear to everyone out there, so you would want to get it open as quickly as possible," Smith said.

The Dumbo ride has a new decor and color palette, inspired by vibrant tin toys and carousels of the early 1920s, Beatty said. Golden storks top the ride, followed by a ring of elephants representing Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's mother in the 1941 movie.

The ride is ornate, designed for repeated viewing while waiting to board. Some of the look subtly incorporates elephants' trunks and shelled peanuts, said Beatty.

"We had a lot of fun hiding the little moments," he said.

Eventually, the ride will have an indoor, interactive queue and be joined by a duplicate Dumbo. The original ride is being refurbished to match the new one, and it will fly side-by-side with it, Beatty said.

The ride vehicles also have a new look — the flying elephants are a lighter gray and, for the first time, they have pink accents on the underside of their ears and feet.

"Dumbo will be the star of the circus when we're done," Beatty said.

Storybook Circus comes with a back story: A circus has pulled into the new train station. From there, animal footprints will lead to other attractions. Guests can follow two sets of elephant tracks — as in mother and baby — to the entrance of the Dumbo ride. There are also peanuts embedded into the walkways.

The Barnstormer roller coaster now features Goofy as the Great Goofini, a stuntman for the circus. The coaster has been re-themed to reflect the character's many circus talents. Props such as a cannon, a smoking rocket and the "wheel of peril" are found along the coaster's queue. These elements were inspired by the short films of the 1950s that starred Goofy in many roles, Beatty said.

The coaster's rail has not been altered, but its ride vehicles now race through a couple of new elements, a billboard and a tower.