Disney Lets the Princesses Outta The Bag

So it turns out that leaked blueprint of the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland redo was true after all! At the D23 Parks presentation that just took place they made some major announcements, one of which is the almost doubling of the land at Florida's Magic Kingdom.

The concept art released for the land looks really promising (click the one above for a big version), and there are many additions to be found in the new area.

The major new ride of sorts is a copy of the E Ticket going into California Adventure, Aerial's Adventure. The massive dark ride themed to the Little Mermaid will firmly reside in one corner of the new area, the facade of the building a massive rock structure with plenty of waterfalls coming off of it.

Princesses are the focus of the new section to be sure. There will be multiple princess meet-and-greets, but each will take place in it's own themed area and structure, and all will contain small interactive elements and show aspects. So it's by no means just a walk up and snap a photo and you're done type of thing. Cinderella's area especially seems rather large and involved.

Sleeping Beauty will also have an area in which a sweet 16 birthday party will be being thrown by the fairies, and the Beauty and the Beast section is also quite elaborate. It not only has a large walk through area but also a large Be Our Guest restaurant and a smaller food location, Gaston's Tavern.

On top of that the famous Dumbo ride will be moving and be doubled! Yes there will now be two Dumbo rides with an interactive queue in between that will make waiting in line part of the attraction.

All of that is set to open in 2012, but then another section Pixie Hollow, filled to the brim with tink and her friends, will open in 2013. The current Toontown will be removed as part of the transformation.

For video of the announcement and great shots of the concept art, head (again, great coverage guys!) over to the Orlando Attractions Magazine blog.

But wait there's more!

Disney Parks also announced the "we've been waiting for it for 10 years" Star Tour II to debut at both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011. Full details were not released, but the new pod-racing version will require riders to wear 3-D glasses, so that's always interesting.

Disney's press unit has uploaded a preview video of the new Star Tour II to YouTube, available here.

Take that Harry Potter!