Disney has announced an adorable Shetland pony named “Patches” has joined the Walt Disney World family!
As shared via Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment Facebook page: “We can hardly rein in our excitement as we introduce our new male Shetland pony Patches to the Tri-Circle D Ranch family! Born to mom Fancy, Patches loves to horse around in the sunshine with her. Patches will start spending more time near Guests at the Ranch in the days ahead, so keep your eyes peeled on your next visit to see if you can spot him!
A new baby has arrived at Walt Disney World! Celebrate with us the arrival of a Shetland pony born on January 7 at Disney’s Tri-Circle-D Ranch located in Disney’s Fort Wilderness.
As shared via Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment Facebook page: “Here’s a first look at the newest baby at Walt Disney World, courtesy of our ranch hand friends at Tri-Circle-D Ranch. Meet Obie, a Shetland pony born to mom Lady on Jan. 7. He’s less than a week old, but the ranch team said he’s already keeping pace with his mom and nearly ready to make his onstage debut.
Dr. Mark takes to Instagram to share more details at @DrMarkAtDisney: “Guess what new baby just galloped into the world? Wishing a warm welcome to our newest addition, Obie! Obie joins a herd of 28 other ponies @WaltDisneyWorld’s Tri-Circle D Ranch. This little guy is a quick learner – standing and nursing within just one hour of his birth! He loves chasing his mom, Lady, around the field, running circles around her while she grazes on the green grass. Did You Know? Obie is actually the brother of Lilly, who was our first Cinderella pony born at the ranch? In a few years, he will join his sister and father on Cinderella’s pumpkin coach in parades and @Disney’s Fairytale Weddings throughout the resort.”
Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is ready to welcome guests back as of June 22 for the reopening of select Disney Resorts. Today, Disney introduced the new barn at Tri-Circle-D Ranch. Check out the details, photos and video below from DisneyParksBlog:
With the phased reopening of our Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World Resort, we’re excited to welcome guests back to the campground with a fresh new barn at Tri-Circle-D Ranch. Our animal care team continues to take great care of our horses, and are thrilled to share this magnificent milestone at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
Tri-Circle-D Ranch has a long history of housing “The Happiest Horses on Earth,” as it was part of Walt’s vision to bring horses to Magic Kingdom Park much like he did in Disneyland. Tri-Circle-D Ranch was established before opening day of Walt Disney World Resort, making his wish come true.
Back in August, we shared that our horses and ranch team were receiving a beautifully enhanced new barn, with plenty of space for play time, pony rides and more. The new stable features larger stalls for the horses, including 10 additional stalls – all equipped with automatic water stations. The barn is more than twice the size of the original barn with two tack rooms, a wedding harness room showcasing tack for Cinderella’s ponies and the return of the museum dedicated to Walt’s love of horses.
Along with the museum, our horses themselves brought an iconic piece of Disney history back to the barn—the 1907 Dragon Calliope. Walt Disney purchased the horse-drawn musical wagon for Disneyland Park in the 1950s, and it is currently on display at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Watch the horse-powered move below:
ut that’s not all that’s new at Tri-Circle-D Ranch! Last week, we shared the newest addition to our animal collection, Violet, a pony foal born right here at the new stable. Violet is already finding her independence as she plays around in the pastures and enjoys running around with her mom, Elsa, for some quality bonding time.
The ranch is a quick trot away from its original location, just around the corner from the bus loop by Pioneer Hall. To learn more about horses and many of the other animals in our care, visit DisneyAnimals.com.
@bioreconstruct took to the sky to show the newly-completed Tri-Circle-D Ranch, which was rebuilt as an initial part of the expansion ongoing at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground for the upcoming Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge.
Imagineers have redesigned the Tri-Circle-D Ranch, which will offer a modern stable and updated outdoor spaces and facilities for “The Happiest Horses on Earth.” The new ranch will maintain the history and spirit of the original Tri-Circle-D, welcoming guests to explore exhibits of classic Disney equestrian artifacts, some of which date back to the 1950s!
There appears to be a completed walking path in front of the stables, and if you look closely, you can spot a few white horses, possibly ponies, near the stables.
The ranch houses nearly 100 horses in a wide range of breeds, including Appaloosas, Arabians, Belgians, Clydesdales, paint horses, Percherons, and quarter horses, as well as the aforementioned Shetland ponies. The horses are used for horse-drawn carriage rides, wagon rides, horseback riding lessons, pony rides, and during the holiday season, sleigh rides at the resort.
The new ranch is part of a major expansion plan of the area behind Disney’s Fort Wilderness Lodge & Campground, which was formerly a water park called River Country. Construction has continued on the site, despite most of the Walt Disney Resort remaining closed because of the novel coronavirus. While nothing has been confirmed, it can be ascertained that the new location of the Tri-Circle D Ranch will encourage guests of the both resorts to utilize this area for various activities.
Many guests may not be aware that there are many ponies that call Walt Disney World their home. Over a Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, guests can check out these beautiful animals. Disney Parks Blog shared that there will be a new, beautiful barn built for them! The Imagineers have redesigned Tri-Circle-D Ranch and will create a more modern stable as well as updated outdoor spaces and facilities.
For those of you who are big fans of Fort Wilderness, the new ranch will still maintain the history and spirit of the original Tri-Circle-D Ranch. There will be Disney equestrian artifacts on display, with some of them dating back to the 1950s.
The Draft Horse Barn and Pony Farm will be temporarily unavailable starting on August 19th, 2019 through Spring 2020 while the new barn is being constructed. Guests will still be able to enjoy pony rides in the meantime at Trail Blaze Corral, which is near the campground’s entrance. Trail rides and carriage rides will also have normal operation.
