Just What is the Argument?
Let's examine the contention that animation content belongs in Fantasyland.

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If content from animated films was supposed to be limited to Fantasyland only, then it will not have manifested elsewhere in the park under Walt's watch. While the absence of it in the rest of the park doesn't necessarily indicate Walt thought it should only be in Fantasyland, the presence of it elsewhere in the park does indicate Walt did accept it elsewhere. Agreed? I hope so.

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Taking a Closer Look at What Walt Did
It is clear that Fantasyland wasn't limited to content from animated films. The Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Motorboat Cruise, and forms of the Autopia indicate that, although they were positioned in a cluster separate from what I'd call European Fantasyland. It's a Small World is international, of course, and was also removed from the rest of Fantasyland, and was likely placed where it was for practical considerations. Snow White, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Alice, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Pinocchio are European, lending support to my contention that it isn’t “animation goes in Fantasyland�?, but rather “European goes in Fantasyland�?. The Matterhorn is not from animation, but is European. “Dumbo�? is set in Florida, clearly not Europe, but was set in a traveling circus that could have conceivably gone to Europe (Dumbo could fly, after all). Besides, what other area of the park would accommodate that better than Fantasyland?

Before you say "Precisely the point Ken - all animated content belongs in Fantasyland", let's examine things further.

Let's start with something weak. Something long forgotten by most.

The Frito Bandito.

He wasn't from an animated film, but he was clearly a cartoon character, and he was located in Frontierland at Casa de Fritos, roughly where Rancho Del Zocalo is now. That's where he belonged. Maybe I'm wrong, but I also thought The Golden Horseshoe Saloon had a tie-in to Slue Foot Sue at one time, too. The singing, talking birds in the Enchanted Tiki Room looked fairly "live-action", but throw in the singing plants and the rest of the elements and it is arguably a cartoon.

Hmmmm. Not a lot of clear, strong examples of Walt using animated content outside of Fantasyland, but like I said, that doesn’t necessarily indicate Walt would have kept it that way, or was consciously keeping it that way.

Let's run down the animation list.

Snow White, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty were all used in Fantasyland, but since they are all European, that fits my contention that “European goes into Fantasyland�?.

“The Sword in the Stone�? and “101 Dalmatians�? were both European, but weren’t added to Fantasyland under Walt’s watch. The Sword and the Stone is a natural for a European Fantasyland, however, this film was released in 1963, when Walt had a very full plate. I don’t know what to make of Dalmatians - perhaps the most obvious idea, a car chase, was too much like Mr. Toad. Mary Poppins could have also gone into Fantasyland and is adaptable to theme park expression, but again, it is possible that it was simply a matter of Walt Disney passing away before he could oversee such a project.

“Fantasia�? and “Bambi�? lend themselves to the Fantasyland setting, but they weren’t as adaptable to theme park expression.

“Saludos Amigos�? and “The Three Caballeros�?, by my reasoning, could have been used in Adventureland, but weren’t. At first consideration, that tends to support the “animation goes in Fantasyland�? contention. However, they weren’t used in Fantasyland, either, so they do not provide clear evidence of a rule. The same goes for Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill from “Melody Time�? not being prominently featured in Frontierland.

Neither “Song of the South�? nor the hillbillies from “Make Mine Music�? (old South), nor “Lady and Tramp�? (New England, dawn of the twentieth century), nor Ichabod Crane (early New England) were used in Fantasyland. Since the other areas of the park did not have the time/location appropriate to these properties, they tend to support my contention that Fantasyland is primarily a European setting, not the home of all animated characters. I contend that such characters would have been out of place in Fantasyland, along with Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill.

Likewise, when I consider the animated films released since Walt passed away, I find more that I think would not fit well into “European�? Fantasyland, but could provide some great theme park elements, which leads me to…