This Trick Is STILL Fooling People (Including Me) in Magic Kingdom After 13 Years

Disney Parks are full of technological marvels that practically bring the magic to life. In fact, one of Imagineering’s best tricks is central to a Magic Kingdom attraction you’d never expect.

Back in 2012, Disney opened the New Fantasyland expansion at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The area was headlined by the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, and the Beauty and the Beast-themed Be Our Guest Restaurant. However, one of the area’s — and the resort’s — best effects is located in a much more under-the-radar attraction.

Located next to the Be Our Guest restaurant, Enchanted Tales with Belle is a highly themed live show experience that takes guest into the world of Beauty and the Beast. According to Disney, the experience begins when guests step into a screen-accurate representation of Belle and Maurice’s “quaint country cottage and marvel at the charming decor.” The tour then moves on to Maurice’s workshop, where they see his “inventive gadgets” — and a special enchanted mirror the Beast gave to Belle which shows “the story of how Belle and the Beast met, and then behold the walls disappear before your eyes as you are magically transported to the Beast’s castle.”

The moment with the mirror is our focus today, as over a decade after its opening, the effect remains one of the most effective, impressive, and downright magical at Disney World.

So, how does it work?

The illusion of the mirror expanding from a typical wall-mounted mirror to a doorway large enough to fit groups of guests is achieved through a complex series of moving pieces. There’s the mirror’s frame, which is made up of telescoping pieces above a rack and pion system. As the portal “opens” it’s actually the telescoping segments moving across the wall, making the mirror itself appear to be getting larger.

Next, the lower wall section underneath the mirror actually lowers into a maintenance pit underneath the floors.

Finally, the two glass panels that make up the silvered reflective mirror/projection screen slide horizontally across a track (think a set of pocket doors). The panels slide apart, while a projection of doors on the mirror’s screen obscures the mechanics.

Guests are then able to walk straight “through” the mirror into the Beast’s Castle to meet Belle, Lumière, and other characters from the film.

The mirror trick in Enchanted Tales with Belle is one of Disney’s most effective visual tricks and still holds up over a decade after it opened. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Imagineering’s most impressive feats.

Disney Imagineer Reveals Secrets Behind a Classic Magic Kingdom Attraction

Have you experienced Enchanted Tales of Belle recently? Let us know in the comments below. 

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