When Disneyland announced it was building it's new Fantasyland Expansion - Fantasy Faire - in front of the iconic Castle, I was one of the many who had reservations of the distinct Fantasyland archetcture intruding onto the charm of Dinseyland's Main St. Well, after seeing Fantasy Faire up close and personal, my reservations can be laid to rest (not that anyone really cares).
Waking down Main St. towards the Hub and looking off to the left towards Fantasy Faire Village, the area remains quite small. Sprawling it isn't and most of the buildings are recessed back as far they will go rather than pushed obtrusively forward. And from a distance, the trees around the village do provide some additional seclusion. It's rather nice actually and for Disney, probably a better use of the space rather than the old Carnation Plaza Gardens events.
Classic storytelling by castmember performers takes place in Royal Theater. Even on a slow day, every seat seems to get filled with additional standing room towards the back. But here's where it gets a little weird. When the Princess Meet & Greet was held at the Fantasyland Theater, lines to meet the Disney princesses were often 30, 60, 90 minutes long. With the princesses in their new home - Royal Hall, at least the times I looked in, the lines were always relatively short - 5 or 10 minutes. Could be just my timing or maybe Disney did too good of job secluding the place.
Fantasy Faire Village also contains a small gift shop aimed at little princesses and a food stand that didnt't appeal to me at the time. You are also prominently pointed to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland to keep the dollars rolling in.
Also in the back of Fantasy Faire Village is a dark covered walk way the dumps you right into the Rancho del Zocalo Restaurant in Frontierland. Talk about an abrupt tranisition. Now that I have seen Fantasy Faire Village, I have no reason to go back. But for little princesses, have fun....
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