This week on WDW ESCAPE, we’re walking through a favorite land in the Magic Kingdom. Join us as we imagine Fantasyland!

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For more info on WDW Escape, click here—or listen to all our episodes. Listen to today’s Imagine Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom episode while following along with the transcript and photos below!

Imagine Fantasyland

Ride Prince Charming’s Royal Carrousel round and round! Photo by Judd Helms

“Here is a land of imagination, hopes, and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic, and make-believe are reborn and fairy tales come true. Fantasyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart, to those who believe that when you wish upon a star your dreams do come true.”

That was the original dedication for the Fantasyland in California, but it might be even more true in Florida.

Because, if Walt Disney World is the Most Magical Place on Earth, surely that wonder flows out from the Magic Kingdom itself, and from its heart in Fantasyland.

We would wake up there every day if we could. Waiting is not easy, but a daydream is a wish that your heart makes, and that can make things easier.

Let’s wish upon a star together, and dream about a magical escape to this marvelous, magical place.

Where shall we begin our adventure? Shall we imagine strolling up from Liberty Square, past the world’s most enchanted rest area?

On this journey of Escape, there are no lines, no crowds. It is always sunny but never too hot.

It is the perfect day in this perfect place, and you are here with all of those friends and family members that would wish the most to share such a day with. It can happen here. That’s what Fantasy is for.

Peter Pan’s Flight

Are you still a grown-up, or has your dream made you more than merely young at heart? Photo by Cliff Wang

Where shall we stop first? Peter Pan’s Flight?

Are you still a grown-up, or has your dream made you more than merely young at heart?  Who are you riding with? Who will you climb on board your flying pirate ship with? Will you hold their hand as you rise into the sky, high above London with Peter, Wendy, John and Michael?

Racing over rooftops, soaring past Big Ben… chasing that second star on the right and all the wonders of Neverland – the Pirates, the Lost Boys, the Mermaids in the Lagoon.

Do you dare to walk the plank; to trust that Peter and Tinkerbell will be there to save you and sail off into the night sky? If you can dream it, in your heart it will be true.

it’s a small world

It’s a small world after all! Photo by Mike Billick

Our next stop is not a stop at all, but a magical journey around the Earth as we learn once again that It’s a Small World after all.

Board that boat, and wave to the operator as you set sail to visit all of your favorites again. Which one is closest to your heart? The tiny Don Quixote, tilting at windmills? The smiling panda bear? The drumming zebra? Perhaps the Hula dancers?

If you rode it a hundred times you could never see everything, but in your imagination you can do exactly that. Pure Disney Magic.

Are you hungry yet? Shall we stop for delicious flatbread at Pinocchio Village Haus, or are you holding out for the wonder that is Be Our Guest? Or a quick stop at The Friar’s Nook where even the macaroni and cheese comes with a side of macaroni and cheese?

Mickey’s Philharmagic

There are lots of sights and smells to experience in Fantasyland! Photo by Cliff Wang

Or shall we be swept away by Mickey’s Philhar-Magic? Carried away like poor Donald, trying to capture a little magic and make it his own, just as we are?

How many times have you taken that trip? Has it ever failed to startle, to surprise, to delight?

True Royalty

Can there be a finer way to view the castle than from the back of an enchanted horse?

Can you step into a fairy-tale and meet a royal princess or two… or four? You can here.

There is so much to do, so much to imagine, so many dreams to share. Here everything is possible.

Here we can climb onto a clamshell and step right into one of our favorite stories as we adventure under the sea again and again, or be told an enchanted tale by the princess who lived it herself.

In Fantasyland, everything you wish for can come true.

The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh! Photo By Cliff Wang

What if you had a chance to surround yourself with Honey Pots, as you wait out a very blustery day?

Whose hand would you hold to stay safe from the Heffalumps? If you feel it in your heart, it is already true, and you can share that moment again and again.

You can soar through the sky, unfettered and free, propelled by the love of a baby elephant for his mama (and by his gigantic ears).

Or you can spin until you can spin no more, in a mad tea party full of delights! Keep your arms inside the ride at all times, and here we go!

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

All the fun of a roller coaster and all of the magic of a story ride, all for you. Photo by Laurie Sapp

And because this is a beautiful dream, you can visit the mine of the Seven Dwarfs as often as you wish.

No queue, no waiting… only a wish that your heart makes.

Up… up… and off into the bright sunshine, racing along, clinging to the handrail, trying to be brave, and singing along in the mine, at the cabin… watch out for the witch at the door!

All the fun of a roller coaster and all of the magic of a story ride, all for you.

There is so much to do here, so much to wish for. So many happy days to remember and so many yet to come that can be planned and imagined and planned again. Such a wondrous, wonderful place to escape.

And even when things become complicated, there is too much magic here to be bottled up for long.

Keep Wishing

Happily Ever After! Photo by Cliff Wang

One day before you know it, once again the power of Fantasyland will spill out over the entire park in a giddy, thrilling spectacle; a parade of beloved characters, of laughter and excitement.

A Festival of Fantasy that will return, and until it does, will always live in our hearts.

And when that day comes, we will gather together again, and look to the night sky in wonder, and thrill to the awesome display of music and lights, fire and majesty.

We will share the moment together with thousands of friends who have longed for it as much as we have. It will happen because we believe in it, and in each other. We will look at the sky above Fantasyland and know that we have earned our Happily Ever After.

Because that is the power of light; it chases away the darkness, it shows us wonder and joy; the enchantment, in our imaginations, in our memories, and in our own real lives.

That is the true magic of Fantasyland. It is magic that cannot be denied or destroyed because it lives forever in all of our hearts.

Keep wishing. Keep sharing. Keep dreaming. And remember to let those dreams carry you away from time to time, because  “In this timeless land of enchantment, magic and make-believe are reborn, and fairy tales do come true.”