Fantasia Carousel
| Fantasia Carousel | |
|---|---|
| Park | Shanghai Disneyland |
| Land / area | Gardens of Imagination |
| Type | Carousel |
| Opened | June 16, 2016 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Height req. | None |
| Status | Operating |
Fantasia Carousel is a carousel in Gardens of Imagination at Shanghai Disneyland, themed to Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Fantasia. Rather than the medieval tournament styling of the carousels at the other Disney castle parks, it is populated by winged horses drawn from the film's "Pastoral Symphony" sequence and decorated with characters and music from across the film. It opened with the park on June 16, 2016.[1]
History
Every earlier Disney castle park had placed its carousel in Fantasyland and themed it to a single story — Cinderella, King Arthur or Lancelot. Shanghai Disneyland broke with that pattern twice over. Its hub land, Gardens of Imagination, was a new concept created for the park, a set of gardens in front of the Enchanted Storybook Castle rather than a conventional central plaza, and the carousel was placed there, in the Fantasia Garden, instead of in Fantasyland. Its theme was also new: no previous Disney carousel had been devoted to Fantasia, a film whose mixture of classical music and largely wordless imagery suited an attraction with no story of its own to tell.[2]
The ride was created especially for Shanghai Disneyland, and its horses were made by Chinese artists, a point Disney emphasised in its opening descriptions of the park. It opened on June 16, 2016, as one of the two rides in Gardens of Imagination, alongside Dumbo the Flying Elephant, which was likewise moved out of Fantasyland to the hub for this park.[3]
Experience
The carousel carries 62 flying horses and two chariots. The horses represent the pegasus family of the "Pastoral Symphony" — fathers, mothers and foals — and depart from carousel tradition in being painted in many colours: 72 colours are used across the ride, making it the first carousel in a Disney park with multicoloured horses, where the older parks use white or heraldic medieval-style mounts. D23's official encyclopedia likewise describes the 62 multicolour, Pegasus-like horses, with fairies and chariots, carrying guests around scenes from the film.[4][5]
The Fantasia theming extends beyond the mounts. Mickey Mouse appears in his Sorcerer's Apprentice role, the best-known image from the film, and figures from other segments decorate the structure and its surroundings, including the dancing animals of "Dance of the Hours" and cherubs framing the carousel's mirrors, while symphonic music from the film accompanies the ride.[6] Painted panels inside the canopy show further scenes from the film, so that a circuit of the ride passes a compressed tour of its segments.
Fantasia Carousel has no height requirement and turns at the gentle pace expected of a carousel, which makes it one of the park's standard first rides for families with very young children, as well as a prominent photo stop in front of the castle.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Fantasia Carousel. D23. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Shanghai Disneyland In Depth: Gardens of Imagination. MouseInfo. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Gardens of Imagination. DisneyGeek. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Fantasia Carousel. D23. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Gardens of Imagination. DisneyGeek. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Fantasia Carousel. Disney Wiki. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
- ↑ Shanghai Disneyland Rides & Attractions. Shanghai Park Guide. Retrieved 2026-11-14.
