Disneyland Opens ‘Fantasy Faire’ as New Home for Princesses

Guests no longer have to worry about tracking down their favorite royalty at Disneyland. In response to the increasingly high demand for princess character meet & greets, the Anaheim park created Fantasy Faire, an extension of Fantasyland. Here, the princesses of Walt Disney Animation Studios can be found all day long in one convenient location. It will officially open on March 12, though soft openings are already in progress.

While one could call the project an expansion, it is completely unrelated and nothing like Florida’s recently opened New Fantasyland. Instead, Fantasy Faire continues the same quaint aesthetic that gives Disneyland its vintage charm as opposed Orlando’s grandeur. It is essentially a small village square, catered to provide an interactive princess experience. The Royal Hall offers character greetings while the Royal Theatre has Belle and Rapunzel retelling their films’ stories with help from the audience.

The area is obviously princess-heavy, though there are small touches of other Disney Animation favorites old and new. One rooftop sports an Audio-Animatronics figure of Figaro, the cat from Pinocchio, trying to pounce a bird house. Elsewhere, a music box featuring Clopin from The Hunchback of Notre Dame invites guests to turn its crank and listen to its melodies.

Fantasy Faire was first announced at August 2011’s D23 Expo. It rests just southwest of Sleeping Beauty Castle on the property formerly occupied by Carnation Plaza Gardens, an area particularly beloved for its swing dancing.

(Via Disney Parks and Inside the Magic.)