Truly enchanting "Tales with Belle"

The curtains were briefly raised this month on the New Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Gaston strutted his stuff in the town square; crowds strained to get a peek at the Be Our Guest Restaurant (no luck while we were there); and hungry guests chowed down on the pork shank at Gaston's Tavern.

                                                                          © Mary Liebman

Nearby, a 50-minute line snaked around Maurice's cabin for Enchanted Tales with Belle. We got in line mostly because we wanted to get inside the cabin; we're not exactly the target audience, as neither of us is a girl under the age of 10.

Billed as an "interactive storytelling experience," Enchanted Tales is a much more elaborate version of the old Storytime with Belle, in which Belle dressed up the kids in the audience and had them act out the parts in the stories she told. Storytime had plenty of fans, which explains why the attraction has grown up into Enchanted Tales, a lovely experience whether or not you're in the target audience.

The line for the attraction winds through Maurice's cabin, where you can see the remnants of Belle's youth growing up there: the books piled everywhere, including Belle's favorite ("Sleeping Beauty"), still open on the table; the portrait of a young Belle with her mother; and the marks on the wall indicating Belle's height as she grew up in the house (ending with "18 ans").

Then, you and about 40 other guests gather in Maurice's workshop for a few instructions before stepping through a magic mirror into the Beast's castle, where you meet Madame Wardrobe.

The castle setting feels significantly different from the cabin. It's rather flat and two-dimensional compared with the richly detailed cabin. My theory is that this is a way of focusing attention on the characters.

Madame Wardrobe explains that we are going to surprise Belle by putting on a show dramatizing how she fell in love with Beast. She gives the children -- and any adults who are game -- roles in the show before ushering us into the grand, two-story library. The roles are equal-opportunity: During the session we attended, a little girl played Beast (adorably, I might add).

What's that on the mantel over the fireplace? Everyone's favorite candelabra, Lumiere. The slickly animated Lumiere sets up the surprise before calling Belle into the room.

What follows is a truly enchanting -- and somewhat brief -- retelling of Belle and Beast's love story.

A PhotoPass photographer takes pictures throughout the show, and at the end of the experience, each of the children (and adults) who participates is introduced to Belle and has a portrait taken.

If there's a downside to this experience, this is it. If you don't have a child in the show, you still have to sit through the photo session. If you can suppress your inner ogre, though, you might enjoy the epic cuteness of all those wide-eyed children meeting Belle in person as their names are announced.