Author: Alexa Gibb
Feeling like a kid again when walking around Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, you think ‘it couldn’t get any better’. Then you discover that the Disney ‘imagineers’ have dreamed up yet another idea to add to the magic of Fantasyland.
And what better way to retain the enchanting ambience of Fantasyland – while engineers (sorry, ‘imagineers’) beaver away – than hiding the construction site behind a realistic full-scale printed wrap?
Upon first sight, and looking at it through the trees, you could well believe you were looking at a street straight out of your favourite fairy-tale….that is until you realise the blue sky comes to an abrupt stop! Regardless, the print sat perfectly in the background of the quaint Fantasyland setting without awaking visitors from their Disney daydream to see scaffolding, diggers and perspiring workmen.
Having taken pictures of the impressive print – and already planned this blog (!) – I had the pleasure of meeting one of the ‘imagineers’ themselves quite by chance. Not only did he explain how new rides come to fruition – through the concept, design and build stages – he also explained how the print was developed.
Essentially, during the concept and design phase, a drawing is made of how the area will look when the project is completed. This drawing is then enlarged to real-life dimensions and printed in full colour using a wide format printer. In this instance, when the wrap is removed and scaffolding dismantled, what lies behind will be an extension of the village scene you can see on either side of the wrap in the above image.
So the question you’re dying to ask…..
What is the new ride that is being concealed?
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – a family roller-coaster which takes riders on an adventure through the mine ‘where a million diamonds shine’. My inside source tells me that the carriages – or mine carts – rock gently from side to side on the tracks so riders get a real sense of what Happy, Dopey, Sleepy, Doc, Bashful, Grumpy and Sneezy experience while they work in the mine!
The ride is due to open sometime in 2014 and the Disney blog http://thedisneyblog.com/ is carrying regular updates on the progress of the construction.
If you haven’t been, you really must. I think I will need a trip back there in 2014 – just to try out the new ride of course!
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s back to work I go….