Mickey and the gang will remain in the park for meet and greets after Feb. 11, of course, eventually settling into a new location on Main Street. And the roller coaster will return as part of the new circus-themed Dumbo mini-land within the Magic Kingdom's new Fantasyland, which is scheduled to debut in 2013.
(Of course, if you're in the Orlando area and simply must have a Vekoma Junior Coaster to ride before then, there's always the Flight of the Hippogriff over at Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.)
On the west coast, Disney's making construction changes, too. The giant CALIFORNIA letters in front of Disney California Adventure go away on January 4, 2011, so get there before then if you want a photo.
The next day, Disney begins construction on the front plaza of that park, which will ultimately result in a new front gate that will look very much like the front of Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.
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So the younger child goes on Dumbo, and the older sibling to the Barnstormer (or whatever it ends up getting called). Parents are happy 'cause neither child has to go on anything too "baby" or "scary." Brilliant, I say.
Bring on the Dueling Dumbos!
As for Toontown, I said my farewells during my May visit, and I am looking forward to the changes. I always thought the area was a bit of a sore thumb, despite having many nice little touches. For some reason it never seemed to rise above the feeling that it was just an afterthought.
The "land" was built with temporary structures - glorified tents, really - at the nadir of Walt Disney Imagineering's influence within the company. But people liked it, and when the year-long 60th birthday celebration ended, Disney renamed the place "Mickey's Starland" and scripted a series of live-action shows for it featuring characters from the Disney Afternoon cartoon series of the 1990s.
(TV toons rapping - yes, we're all ashamed that any of us thought that clever back then. But no one will fess us to being one of ones who did.)
Anyway, in 1996, with an eye toward the success of Toontown at Disneyland, Disney World renamed the land Mickey's Toontown Fair, and we ended up with what we have today.
I say, good riddance, and I eagerly await seeing what a resurgent Imagineering team can do with some time and a decent budget in reimagining this section of the park.
As for the letters leaving DCA, it makes me sad because I enjoy their Iconic status. Maybe move them somewhere else....
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However, why bring back the Barnstormer? Did kids really enjoy it that much, or does Disney just not want to fork out the dough for a new design?