When you think of castles in Walt Disney World ® there is probably only one that comes to mind, Cinderella Castle. But soon the Orlando theme park will be adding two new castles to marvel at as a part of the Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom ®. One of the castles is Beast’s Castle, which will house the new Be Our Guest Restaurant that will feature a captivating portrait of Beast that highlights his human eyes. The other castle is Prince Eric’s Castle, which sits above the Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid are currently under construction and promise to be excellent additions to the park.

Both new Disney ® castle’s use the forced perspective technique, which ultimately makes the structure look much larger than it actually is. Forced perspective, which has been used since Walt Disney oversaw the construction of Disneyland ® in the 1950s, uses an architectural scale to “trick” the eye into believing a building towers above you, when it’s really not as tall as you’d think. And while both Beast’s Castle and Prince Eric’s Castle may appear to be bigger in size, Cinderella Castle will still remain the largest Disney ® castle in any of the four Disney ® parks.

Photos recently released from Disney ® now show an elaborate façade of Prince Eric’s Castle that covers the entire entrance of The Little Mermaid attraction. There has also been an addition of palms trees outside of the castle. Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid and Prince Eric’s Castle is set to open by the end of this year.

In addition to the two new castles, the Fantasyland expansion will also include a new roller coaster ride, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster. Construction recently began on the new ride but there is currently not much to report other than construction walls and cranes in the area.

Stay tuned for more details on Magic Kingdom’s ® fantasyland expansion updates. The area is expected to be complete and open to the public by 2014. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of the already completed Fantasyland expansions on your next Disney ® visit. There are a few rides and attractions that have already undergone their updates and are now open for guests to experience including Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride and its new Big Top queue.

To experience the new Fantasyland and see updates on Prince Eric’s Castle, Beast Castle and the spot where Seven Dwarf Mine Coaster will thrill guests look for discounted Walt Disney World ® tickets right here on Best of Orlando.