Disneyland Fantasmic Dragon Engulfed in Flames

[Disney Analyst]

General thoughts and differences I noticed on my first watch!:

• Tuxedo Mickey now appears later, where the original cue was before 2.0 update.
• Less projections and lasers used leading up to Mickey’s new appearance. Guess they didn’t want to redo them.
• The flowers now stay on stage during Jungle Book segment. Exit about halfway through to audience left side instead of right.
• The transition from Peter Pan to Aladdin is ehh…needs work.
• Projections after Columbia changed to feature various princesses and princes. No more Agrabah montage.
• Aladdin and Jasmine now do a “dance” on stage instead of a magic carpet ride.
• Old Hag got some new pyro and comets.
• Mickey now appears on lower edge of stage, as if hiding from Malificient on lift. Runs on stage and gets caught in between Malificient’s blasts of green pyro.
• The music transition is very noticeable to the distinct dragon music.
• New fire effects on lower half of stage. Bunch of torches that light up in sync.
• Malificient’s defeat has some new pyro, comets and mimes.
• Large decrease in characters on Mark Twain. Down to 24 characters from 30-33.
• The finale got toned way down.
• The spotlights on the tower don’t do the 360 spins anymore. Less lasers. Less color overall.
• The second half of the finale pyro was redone to be similar to the pre-2.0. More in time with the music beats. The first half is still same.
• Tuxedo Mickey did his laugh at the end, thank goodness! Don’t know why B-roll was showed differently.

Overall, I’m super happy Fantasmic! is back on the west coast! B-mode fight scene with Malificient was pretty cool with Mickey running around avoiding the explosions.

Now some tech issues for the first show.

• Columbia boat broken. Needed to be pushed by a smaller tug boat in the rear. Due to this they couldn’t do the stunts behind the boat.
• Mickey’s hand pyro didn’t go off when defeating Malificient.
• The fountains are now synced at all. Could barely do a sorcerer hat at the end…

I do think they added more fountains throughout, and new choreography. Also nice to finally see all sides working (we’ve been tracking that for years now )

 

[wdrive]

The lack of characters on the Mark Twain is interesting to me. I didn’t notice fewer performers in any other scene, granted I haven’t yet sat down and watched the show fully through, just quickly skipped through a YouTube video. But nonetheless I did not notice a cut to the number of performers anywhere else other than the Mark Twain which makes little sense to me. They still have the performers there but for whatever reason not all of them were on the Mark Twain last night?

 

[SuddenStorm]

Okay, I've watched a couple other videos of tonight's debut now, and made one (1) more French 75, and I now realize...

This isn't good enough. This show does not meet, much less even begin to exceed, longtime Disney standards for major theme park entertainment. It's too sparsely populated. Too much screens, not enough action. Not enough boats and interactivity happening on the river. Not even an attempt to tap into new technology like aerial drones, robotics, laser imaging, etc.

Just because Disney's recent water spectaculars have been mediocre at best, to hilariously awful at worst; KiteTails, Rivers of Light, Harmonious, etc. does NOT mean that they can keep getting away with this crap level of performance and showmanship.

If anything, the recent failures at nighttime entertainment (aside from just abandoning it entirely like MSEP, Paint The Night, etc.) should have guided them to expect more and deliver more for Disneyland's Fantasmic!.

They failed at their jobs here. And it took them over a year to reach that level of failure? This isn't good enough.

Have you read Jack Lindquist's In Service to the Mouse? If you haven't, it's full of great stories that any modern exec would never share.

There's a chapter where the talks about the original Fantasmic!. And what an incredible accomplishment it was. It's insane the impact the original show had on the park, and that seems all but forgotten now but the current entertainment team.

 

[MagicWDI]

It seems obvious to me this is a stop-gap iteration of the show, just a way to bring the show back with what they have available at the moment. It appears all pit infrastructure has been removed, including Aladdin's magic carpet. I would be incredibly disappointed if they abandoned utilizing the pit and this was the final replacement to last year's show.

We can only hope they are currently budgeting, designing, and engineering a new climax, as the current show is clearly a b-mode iteration. But while Disney and their partners think up what they want to do, at least we have a version of Fantasmic playing. I can at least be thankful for that.

On the other side of the coin, I do have to give credit to the production crew to make the changes they did without any noticable, additional budget to work with or major infrastructure additions. They at least got the show up and running again and decent enough without it's most noticable character second to Mickey, an evil dragon.

And just to give some perspective, this was a major fire event to a very large show element. Regardless of how much actual structural damage occurred, a thorough investigation had to be conducted before moving forward. That took time. And it will take more time to fully design anything new with new safety elements put in place to best prevent similar malfunctions like this from happening again. Disney could have Fantasmic go dark until a permanent replacement is produced, or they can have this b-mode until something is created. If I had to choose, I'd choose a b-mode than nothing at all. At least the guests can have something, and from the cheers after the show, a smaller Fantasmic still knows how to do the job.

 

[mickEblu]

I was at the park today. I was in Tomorrowland riding Autopia when Fantasmic was playing. Had no interest paying $200 for a good spot or camping out hours before hand for a B (or maybe C mode from what I’m reading here) version of the show.

On a semi related note, It took me long enough but I’ve finally gone full AP mode and pretty much don’t go out of my way for anything. It’s all about going with the flow, smelling the roses and convenience now. Also, empty park benches have never looked so good.

 

[CaptinEO]

I was there in the Blue Bayou zone and the show was incredible. They really upped the ante, the pyro and color was much better.

I get some are judging off video but having seen fantasmic 2015, 2017, and now this version is the best in terms of pyro and lighting. There were some really cool effects I've never seen before like giant flames coming out when malificient appears.

The Peter Pan revert really helps the flow.

Again I encourage people judging on video (especially live video) to be there and make their own determination.

The Malificient Mickey fight had a massive number of top notch pyro. And maleficient had a giant vine she rises on now and not a black tarp like before. Again, a detail you won't notice in a live stream. You see her rise and it's no longer obscured by a water screen.

The color fountains I have never seen look so colorful. The color searchlights are either new or significantly improved.

Had an amazing time! Can't wait to have this improved version of the show but with the dragon back one day.

This really is a perfect show Disney made more than 30 years ago and so glad it continues on. The exit music is back to the original. I think if they changed the vocals of the main singer back to the original it would be even better.

 

[wtyy21]

Evil Queen was removed in 2017 with the 2.0 update. Sorcerer Mickey now talks directly to Magic Mirror. After that it transitions to Old Hag.

Seven years after that, it was still as it, even when no dragon has present this year. Hopeful, in the future when the new dragon was announced, DL could bring back its monumental transformation sequence, since it was a favorite segment for many in west coast prior to 2017 revamp.

At least DHS keep the spirits of DL's original Fantasmic alive (despite its own 2022 revamp), including Maleficent in dragon form that make the DHS version more superior at this time giving of DL's Murphy demise. It may still like this until the new dragon was rebuilt at Disneyland with better fire-proof technologies.

 

[Sthebest]

Overall, I think DHS has the better version right now.

 

[gerarar]

Also didn’t noticed it at first, but only 24 characters on the Mark Twain?! It should be around 30-33 if we’re going by 2017/2022 standards.

Top deck was missing Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and Alice.
Lower deck was missing Pluto, Chip and Dale, Pooh.
Rear was missing toy soldiers and Jessie.

Very sad if this is a permanent reduction.

Update on this.

According to Reddit, CMs were stuck on the Columbia and hence couldn't transfer to their roles on the Mark Twain for the finale, thus reducing the number of characters on the boat.

Hope these issues are resolved tomorrow and future shows!

 

[jrhwdw]

Update on this.

According to Reddit, CMs were stuck on the Columbia and hence couldn't transfer to their roles on the Mark Twain for the finale, thus reducing the number of characters on the boat.

Hope these issues are resolved tomorrow and future shows!
View attachment 787478

We should be thankful that DL figured out how to push the Columbia! If memory serves me, anytime Columbia was in Referb, that ment Automatic Referb for F! Why DL never transferred Peter, Wendy and Hook to the TSI Stage for Their B Mode, IDK.

As for the rest of F! ....not a complaint but you sure can notice the 1.0 to 2.0 Transition in the Beginning!


Also they fixed Maleficent's Rising! Ever since 2.0 opened, She was Rising before She blasted Mickey! It looked rushed! Hopefully DL keeps the 1.0 Rising if a Dragon comes back!

Other than that, SO GREAT to have DL'S F! Back!!!!

 

[Epcot81Fan]

I rather excited to see whether Disney Experiences management will announce the return of the dragon at two big D23 events: in Anaheim this August, and in Brazil this November. These big D23 events i think would be served as opportunity to announce the new dragon replacement of Murphy at either one of two big D23 events.

This is where we are now.

The fans are so conditioned to have impossibly low expectations that now announcing a repair job on a 30+ year old show is major news!!!

Like and subscribe for more exciting info!!!

 

[VJ]

honestly, as a lifelong fan of fantasmic, i'd rather have the show not running at all than... whatever that was.

really hoping that this is indeed a stopgap measure, and that an improved version of the show is coming, but as it stands right now with the official information we have, this is the worst the disneyland show has ever looked.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Again I encourage people judging on video (especially live video) to be there and make their own determination.

This. Judging by video, you are forming an impression based on someone else's impression. There's a huge difference between experiencing something in person and experiencing something through at least two layers of impression.

Opening nights have hiccups, even opening nights put on by billion dollar companies, even opening nights for shows that have run before (similarly, the first few days every seasonal park opens for a new season, even one open for 50 years? Guranteed to have hiccups!) Things happen. Sounds like that was the case here too. Perhaps they'll be better in a week. If they're not, THAT'S when the judgment can start in earnest IMO.

Haven't watched the show in any capacity yet (and won't for awhile), but sounds like a lot of people are running in eager to confirm their preconceived notions of the new show (or Disney in general) based on someone else's video, as usual.

 

[jrhwdw]

honestly, as a lifelong fan of fantasmic, i'd rather have the show not running at all than... whatever that was.

really hoping that this is indeed a stopgap measure, and that an improved version of the show is coming, but as it stands right now with the official information we have, this is the worst the disneyland show has ever looked.

IDK...it sure looks better than No F!, Mix Magic or the fact that DLR has 2 Night Parades they won't use.........


We all knew we were getting, B Mode Maleficent for now...what happens next year, who knows... .....

I'm at least Grateful!

 

[Starship824]

I don't understand why they re-orchestrated peter pan but didn't make the music transition good. I understand there's no dragon, but the musical build up to the fire is just gone. I'm sure it'll be fixed when the dragon returns but tight now it doesn't look great.

 

[CaptinEO]

Update on this.

According to Reddit, CMs were stuck on the Columbia and hence couldn't transfer to their roles on the Mark Twain for the finale, thus reducing the number of characters on the boat.

Hope these issues are resolved tomorrow and future shows!
View attachment 787478

So yesterday around 2 my wife and I were stuck on the columbia for 20 minutes so I'd definitely believe this source. At one point we saw the Mark Twain stuck in the ROA too.

 

[CaptinEO]

This. Judging by video, you are forming an impression based on someone else's impression. There's a huge difference between experiencing something in person and experiencing something through at least two layers of impression.

Opening nights have hiccups, even opening nights put on by billion dollar companies, even opening nights for shows that have run before (similarly, the first few days every seasonal park opens for a new season, even one open for 50 years? Guranteed to have hiccups!) Things happen. Sounds like that was the case here too. Perhaps they'll be better in a week. If they're not, THAT'S when the judgment can start in earnest IMO.

Haven't watched the show in any capacity yet (and won't for awhile), but sounds like a lot of people are running in eager to confirm their preconceived notions of the new show (or Disney in general) based on someone else's video, as usual.

Thank you: I've seen pre GE Fantasmic and 2017 Fantasmic 3 times each. The pyro, colors, and lasers in the 2024 show are a SIGNIFICANT improvement in size, quality, and quantity.

It was a great experience. Live streamed video certainly doesn't show what the event is like. Even simple effects like sparks when Mickey vanishes looked dazzling.

The color searchlights going through the water made the colored water look so vibrant and saturated.

I'm not saying I don't miss the Dragon but this is a really great show. I'm no Disney defender but they really made effort to improve this show in many ways, even in some cases backpedaling to revert to an older version.

Maybe also when nice 4k rendered and edited versions appear online in the next few days that weren't live people can have a somewhat better idea.

Seeing fantasmic on a computer is like watching fireworks on your computer vs being there, it's not even a close comparison.

I'll say this much too, that crowd was the biggest crowd of Fantasmic fans and die hards and they were applauding and cheering at all the new great effects. It was the most enthusiastic audience I've seen for the show.

Do you think if the diehard Fantasmic fans were let down they'd be reacting that way?

 

[TTA94]

Okay, I've watched a couple other videos of tonight's debut now, and made one (1) more French 75, and I now realize...

This isn't good enough. This show does not meet, much less even begin to exceed, longtime Disney standards for major theme park entertainment. It's too sparsely populated. Too much screens, not enough action. Not enough boats and interactivity happening on the river. Not even an attempt to tap into new technology like aerial drones, robotics, laser imaging, etc.

Just because Disney's recent water spectaculars have been mediocre at best, to hilariously awful at worst; KiteTails, Rivers of Light, Harmonious, etc. does NOT mean that they can keep getting away with this crap level of performance and showmanship.

If anything, the recent failures at nighttime entertainment (aside from just abandoning it entirely like MSEP, Paint The Night, etc.) should have guided them to expect more and deliver more for Disneyland's Fantasmic!.

They failed at their jobs here. And it took them over a year to reach that level of failure? This isn't good enough.

I agree the quality of entertainment for both coasts has gotten very poor. Soundtrack wise as well. The quality of Better Together IMO is a joke. Even Paint The Nights quality is questionable, but many seem to love it at least.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

FYI, the dragon is getting a new AA built right now in London. Expecting it to return for the 70th, but I do know they're building a new one for sure

why do people feel the need to laugh react to serious posts

 

[Mikomike12]

My biggest gripe, is they changed most of the awesome colorful lighting throughout the show, it really sucked the color right out. Lots of segments that were once colorful are just white lights now, or significantly less colorful