Pap the
Disney Gamer's Highlights:
Finding Fantasyland
Today, we are
going to do something different
here on Gamer Tuesday. Instead
of talking about a Disney
console game or video game
experience, we will be taking a
look at a Disney website game.
Oh no, it isn't a simple flash
game like you would expect out
of a Flash-powered website. This
game happens to be tied to one
of the most highly anticipated
Disney Parks projects of the
year: New Fantasyland.

Before we dive
into the game portion, let me
elaborate on what New
Fantasyland is all about. The
project was originally announced
in 2009 as the biggest expansion
in Magic Kingdom history by
doubling the size of one of the
Magic Kingdom's most popular
lands: Fantasyland. In the
original concept, it was to
include three Disney Princess
homes that housed special meet
and greet experiences (one for
Belle, one for Cinderella and
one for Aurora), a Beauty and
the Beast restaurant, Prince
Eric's castle that featured a
Little Mermaid ride, Pixie
Hollow for Tinker Bell and
friends and a brand new circus
setting for Dumbo the Flying
Elephant.
As promising as
the new land sounded, though,
people were concerned that it
was too princess heavy and felt
the new land needed more
attractions that were gender
neutral. The plans were revised
and instead of three princess
experiences and Pixie Hollow,
the Dumbo area became Storybook
Circus, while the area that
would have been home to the
princesses now became a Snow
White and the Seven
Dwarfs-themed rollercoaster.
Construction began in 2010 with
the removal of Mickey's ToonTown
Fair, Pooh's Playful Spot and
Snow White's Scary Adventures in
Fantasyland. Despite these
losses, the buzz has been
phenomenal, and when they
started hosting dress rehearsal
a few weeks ago along with
annual passholder previews the
critical reception from fans was
great.
The full opening
occurs next week, December 6.
You can read more about this new
land and its attractions, shows,
shops, and restaurants by
checking out
'A Closer Look' by Brent
Dodge here on the site. Now you
might be wondering 'but what
does any of this have to do with
games?' Patience, my friends.
All shall be explained... now.
New Fantasyland
has been abuzz all over the
internet. Disney knows that this
is no mere side project but a
very important land that many
hope will revitalize the 41 year
old theme park. So when it came
time to advertise the opening
Disney went all out. It all
started with a teaser site that
talked about how this new land
always existed, but a curse was
keeping it from our view, and
that all of us had the power to
free the land. No one knew what
to expect out of it as the
cryptic message didn't hint at
what kind of story New
Fantasyland would be telling.
Last week,
though, the full website has
been unveiled, and with it an
interactive experience that goes
beyond the standard official
website experience. As you first
enter the website, you are
greeted by the opening page:

The page
features an image of New
Fantasyland, the one that Disney
has been showing off in the last
couple of years (sans a few
revisions here and there. If you
wish to have the regular page
experience, each of the
character banners take you to
different pages that give you a
brief explanation of the
attractions and well as pictures
and artwork. But we are not here
for that. For the enchanting
story, we are going to click
'reveal the story'...
As soon as we do
that, a very familiar voice
begins to narrate the story of
New Fantasyland. Because many of
us were too quick to grow up, we
began to forget our beloved
childhood stories. This gave the
Disney Villains the chance to
put a curse over the land so it
would forever be hidden from us,
meaning that we will never
remember our childhood
fantasies. There is a solution
to this, though. If you find the
items that symbolize the stories
(an antler for Gaston, a rose
for the Beast, a trident for
Ariel, and a feather for Dumbo),
the spell will be lifted from
the land, and our memories of
childhood will be restored in a
stunning new world.

Once the story
is done, we see the map, where
the land has been completely
covered in purple smoke (very
reminiscent of ABC's 'Once Upon
a Time' I might add). Much like
in the simpler opening page, in
order to explore the various
segments of New Fantasyland you
click on the different character
banners. The game starts when
you begin to travel through the
thick purple fog. While
traveling through it you see
dots of light flying around.
Using the cursor to grab it,
letting you see a small clip of
the movie this attraction was
based on. To complete the
challenge you grab three dots of
light. Once you do, you are
treated to a stunning CG
flythrough of the land, and you
have unlocked a symbol on the
shield.
Afterwards, you
get to explore parts of the
land, giving you details about
what you can expect in the land.
In order to fully complete the
game, you must go through all
the land and finding the
symbols. When the task has been
completed, a new scene shows
that the curse has been
destroyed, welcoming one and all
to what is sure to be one of the
most talked about lands at the
Magic Kingdom: New Fantasyland!
Interactivity
and game wise, it is very simple
and straight forward. Story
wise, however, the site does an
amazing job. One of the reasons
Disney has been world renowned
for so many years is because
they take their stories
seriously on all assets of the
company. Whether it is an
animated film or a theme park
attraction, no stone is left
unturned. New Fantasyland and
its website are no exceptions to
the rule. The beautifully
animated scenes in between the
game, the new music, the booming
narration provided by David
Odgen Stiers and the atmosphere
of it elevate the New
Fantasyland hype to a new level
of both interactivity and Disney
promotion. And if you stick with
it till the end, you will
receive a special token that
captures your victory in saving
this land!

If you want to
fully see the site for yourself,
visit
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/new-fantasyland/.
To get the most out of the site,
make sure that your browser has
all its components like Flash up
to date. The site can also be
played on full screen mode so
you can get a better view of the
action. Oh and don't forget to
turn the speakers up and enjoy
the original music!

Oh yes, you may
have noticed that the site
forgets about the apple symbol.
That represents the Snow White
mine coaster... that won't open
till 2014. Guess that part of
the land will be under the wrath
of the curse. Come back in 2014
when the Mine Coaster, and the
next chapter of the story, will
finally be revealed to the
public!
And with that,
this ends my 100th Gamer Tuesday
article! I want to thank you
dear readers for supporting both
Gamer Tuesday and the entire
Days of the Week concept along
with its authors. My wish is to
continue offering the best in
terms of Disney gaming and more.
Here's to 100 articles and to
100 more! - Pedro "Pap"
Hernandez