A Fantastic new expansion! (Thoughts on Fantasy Springs update for Tokyo DisneySea!)

     Hey friends, it has been a long time since I've been able to talk about Disney Parks, so I was very excited the other day that lots of new information was given about the new expansion to Tokyo DisneySea, "Fantasy Springs," which is apparently opening on June 6, 2024. I'd like to take some time today to just go over some of this information and hopefully get you as excited as I am for it. I will say, I've never been to Japan, much less Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea, but I would love to visit sometime, as these parks have always looked to be some of the most interesting in the world. Without further ado, let's take a quick sprinkle of fairy dust and head over to this new area. Just for reference, check out this page for more information, since I'm getting all of my information today from there!

Sometimes, Fantasy Springs upon us!

    I should begin by explaining exactly what the idea behind Fantasy Springs is, and exactly why I'm so excited for it. Instead of more conventional IP (intellectual Property) based areas that we've gotten in Disney Parks recently, such as "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge",  "Pandora: The world of Avatar," etc., "Fantasy Springs" is looking to weave together three different movies in this area, while giving them all a place to breathe. The three movies in question are Peter Pan, Tangled. and Frozen. On top of just being about these three IPs, they're adding a hotel in the park as part of this expansion. Obviously, the three movies that I listed are fairly different, but the one that excites me the most is definitely Tangled, if for no other reason than just that there are no attractions based on that movie in any Disney Park. Sure, we have the Tangled themed bathrooms down at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and while I love them and that whole area to death, bathrooms do not constitute a ride.

At Last, We See the Light!

    The Tangled themed area is called Rapunzel's Forest, and it looks to feature a new ride and a fine eating establishment that I'll get into in a moment. The ride (which looks to be called "Rapunzel's Lantern Festival") will take guests through the events of the film, beginning with Rapunzel singing "When Will My Life Begin," and going through the movie until the ending at the Lantern Festival (where I will probably cry, if I'm being honest). The official page that Disney put out is pretty cagey on details, but I would love to see an animatronic of Maximus swordfighting with an animatronic of Flynn Rider holding a frying pan, but we'll just have to see. Also I'm curious to see if this will be a fairly standard boat ride or what route they'll take with the attraction, since the lantern festival would be perfect for a boat ride. It may be something like "Under The Sea with The Little Mermaid," at Magic Kingdom, but judging from the ride vehicle in the concept art, I'm almost somewhat expecting a drop, which could take place in the scene where the canyon floods perhaps? This is all speculation, but I am so excited to finally have a chance to "see the floating lanterns gleam" for myself. It would also be nice to ride through the Snuggly Duckling to hear some showtunes played by Hook Hand. Speaking of the Snuggly Duckling, they're bringing the pub from the film to real life! Just that is enough information for me to be excited about it, but they're also serving a dessert called the "Sweet Ever After Dessert" which is served in a frying pan! A perfect touch, if you ask me! Even though I'm not really one for sweets, if I'm ever lucky enough to go to this park, I'll absolutely have to order it.

Sometimes, You Have to Let it Go!

    Frozen Kingdom is the title of the Frozen themed area in Fantasy Springs, and it also has a ride and two restaurants! The ride, "Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey," is going to be another boat ride, it seems, and it will follow the events of the original movie. I like the description of this land itself, apparently taking place after the events of the original movie, and the ride is merely Grand Pabbie's retelling of what happened. Similarly to "Frozen Ever After," the ride at Epcot, there will be songs from the movie, though it doesn't seem like this ride itself is pushing the story forward in the same way that the older one did. The two dining options are, "The Royal Banquet of Arendelle" and "Oaken's OK Foods." The former appears to be like a Beast's Castle type restaurant at Magic Kingdom, where it's pretty fancy and you can potentially meet characters at certain times, even citing Elsa's coronation site as one of the dining rooms that you can eat in! The latter of the two options sounds more akin to Gaston's Tavern at Magic Kingdom where it's more of a counter-service location. The site says Oaken's will be featuring a "...cardamom bread filled with Scandinavian-style sliced meat and lingonberry jam." It doesn't sound like anything that I would enjoy, but hopefully someone will like it!

Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'till Morning!

    There are actually going to be two attractions in the Peter Pan themed area, appropriately titled, "Peter Pan's Neverland!" The first attraction is called, even more appropriately, "Peter Pan's Neverland Adventure," and looks to be a 4D movie/ride hybrid, where you ride in a ship that has been sprinkled with Fairy Dust and flies through the skies of Neverland. Yes, this sounds similar to "Peter Pan's Flight" at Magic Kingdom or Disneyland Park, but the concept art for this ride shows a bunch of riders wearing sunglasses or 3D glasses, which will allow for a much more immersive experience than the older rides, and hopefully it'll go well! The other attraction is "Tinker Bell's Busy Buggies," actually located in the Pixie Hollow area. Judging from the concept art, it looks to be a trackless ride which goes through the different seasons of Pixie Hollow, and giving a little change in perspective of what the fairies that live there must see in their normal lives, considering they're much smaller than humans! Along with these two attractions, there will be a restaurant in the form of Lookout Cookout, which looks to offer more nautical themed foods such as seaweed fritters and shrimp chips along with the more standard chicken tenders. The restaurant itself looks like it has been made up of pieces of a shipwrecked boat, and recommissioned into a fort for the Lost Boys, complete with different objects owned by different members of the group.

Need a nap after the time spent in Fantasy Springs?

    The Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel is going to be located right next to this new "port" in the park, allowing guests to feel immersed into the theme of Disney Fantasy even in their rooms. The rooms shown on the website look really cool, and inspired by Disney Princesses as well as just the theme of the enchanted springs, giving a nice and ornate flower pattern to the proceedings. I'm not going to lie, this hotel looks extremely fancy, which unfortunately also means that it's going to be expensive, then you add on the proximity to the park, and it's only going to get more expensive. Along with the really cool theming and beautiful room design, there are three restaurants, or "Dining Experiences" as they call them, in this hotel called: Fantasy Springs Restaurant, Grand Paradis Lounge, and La Libeulle. Not a lot for me to say about the hotel, to be perfectly honest, but it looks really cool, none the less!

    It's always an exciting time to get so much news about a park, even when I'm likely never going to be able to visit this place. I'm excited for the people who will be able to, and more than that, I'm happy that Rapunzel is finally getting some of the due respect that she is owed, especially given how popular Tangled is! The IP saturation of Disney Parks is still continuing to happen, sadly not giving us many original attractions in the vein of what the parks used to be, but even still, I hope these attractions will be good, and that the response will be positive once the land opens in June of this year. Fantasy Springs has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see the results of this development!

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends! I hope you like reading about Disney parks as much as I enjoy writing about them. It has been a long time since I've gone to any parks, but writing about them does give some feeling of the magic, and I don't even need to wait in lines or anything for that! I hope there was something in this post that makes you excited for the future of parks, whether here or abroad, even if you don't intend on going to this park anytime soon. Thanks again for all of your support, friends, and I hope you have a great week! Until next time, I'm Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed Disney Enthusiast, and I'll see ya real soon!