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Beast’s Castle, still under construction
The official Disney Parks blog has posted a ton of videos lately about the Enchanted Forest section of the new Fantasyland expansion. Given that that’s the area that will feature “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast,” I can’t resist highlighting them. Most of the recent sneak peeks have all been about the latter.
The earliest videos all previewed the Be Our Guest restaurant. If you’d like to have a meal in the world of “Beauty and the Beast,” this restaurant will be for you. It’ll open with three dining rooms in the middle of Beast’s Castle. The Imagineers are being mum on the exact details of each room, but we have some hints.
The Parks blog has a few videos giving us glimpses of what two of the dining rooms will look like. One, as many can guess, emulates the fantastic ballroom where Belle and the Beast shared their dance to their eponymous song. The video focuses on how the Imagineers tried to recreate the look of the ballroom in the movie: the sky-high ceilings, with a cherubic painting looking down on fabulous golden chandeliers.
The other dining room doesn’t take after one specific room seen in the castle, but rather tries to give its guests the sense that they’ve been transported somewhere far away, a place that could be just like the forest in which the Beast’s castle is found. Once again the room has a tall, tall ceiling, and a giant mural adorns one of the walls. The mural is of a dark forest at nighttime; it’s all distant trees and mountains. There haven’t been any visual previews of the last dining room, but we’ve been given a hint: it’s inspired by the mysterious west wing of Beast’s castle.
Promos for the other components of the “Beauty and the Beast” section of the Enchanted Forest are even more exciting. The best is Maurice’s cottage: the Imagineers have recreated it down to every detail. Usually the character houses in the Magic Kingdom are so cartoony: it makes sense, because they’re the purported residences of colorful characters like Mickey Mouse or Goofy.
Maurice’s Cottage looks just like it did in the film, like something out of an incredibly well-detailed Renaissance Faire. It’s filled with Maurice’s kooky inventions, but it still has that homey, cozy cottage feel. It’s capped off by a Magic Mirror that gives guests a glimpse of Beast’s Castle, and of the first friend Belle made there: the wardrobe.
The last video posted (so far) by the Imagineers takes guests to the central square of Belle’s village. Yet again that looks like it did in the film (though that’s not that hard, it’s just a village square). But one thing was changed: the fountain in the middle. It’s just a regular small fountain in the film, but for the Fantasyland version the Imagineers have topped it with a bronze statue of Gaston and his lackey Lefou.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t like the statue. It wasn’t in the movie, so it ruins what is for me the all-important effect of feeling like I’ve stepped into “Beauty and the Beast.” Gaston’s Tavern will be a part of the Enchanted Forest, so if one must have such a statue, it would make sense there. But on the other hand, it’s a fun addition to the park, and I like the Imagineers’ creativity.
I’m hooked on these Imagineering videos of the Enchanted Forest, so keep your eyes on this spot as more are released.
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*(The above image by jared422_80 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)