Fantasmic 6/4

[tonypitt]

Let me preface this post by saying that I don't intend it to be critical of anyone--we all have bad days. It seems that tonight was one of those nights at Fantasmic where things were a bit off kilter.

First time I've ever experienced them having to start the show 3 times before it began successfully.

First time: show starts. Audio intro begins. White lights center stage come up. Almost immediately, the audio interrupts with "this show has been stopped. We hope to resume..." My guesses are either equipment malfunction (lights or hydraulics or a door) or someone (Mickey) wasn't in proper position.

Wait about 5 minutes. Start #2. This time I notice that the crowd lights are still on when the audio and white center lights come on. Once again the audio interrupts with "this show has been stopped." At this point the crowd--very rudely--starts booing. I'm guessing either the 1st problem recurred or the crowd lights being on triggered the abort.

3rd time, everything proceeds. However, perhaps due to the multiple restarts, a lot of things seem out of sync based on shows I've seen in the past. One glaring problem--or change in the show since I saw it 2 weeks ago--the dragon at the end was very hard to see. It didn't seem to be lit as normal and all you could see was a vague outline and some minimal backlighting. I also thought it was odd that when the snake appeared, he didn't move! The head shifted back and forth a bit, but the body remained totally stationary. Other elements seemed odd as well, as tonight is the only time I've seen the lights come back on full while the stage crew was still out positioning props.

The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the show. I thought that and Beauty and Beast, which I also saw today, was definitely a hit with the very full crowds.

 

[wdwcrazy]

Yeah, it's bound to happen when you're putting on as complex as a show as fantasmic 365 days a year. But at least they got the show off for the most part at least.

 

[b21nhl]

i noticed the snake and the dragon parts were off about a week ago. (got off early and went to go see it. )

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Thats unfortunate, because when Fantasmic plays without a hitch (and I've yet to see it play with a problem) it really is a briliant show. I'm a little discouraged with the crowds reaction by booing - ok problems will arise and the fact that they sit there showing their ignorance won't help any

 

[tonypitt]

I agree with the booing being very inappropriate. I was embarassed, but I wasn't sure for whom. Disney because of the way things were going, or the crowd for being such jerks about it.

Exactly two weeks before the mistake-prone show, my wife and 2 friends saw a show that was as perfect as I've ever seen. In particular the Mickey at the beginning was really exceptional. We were all very impressed with how exceptional the show can be when it runs without a hitch.

It's a credit to the show that it can be as good as it is even when things aren't at 100%.

One thing I had forgotten on my original post that my wife mentioned to me today. When John Smith swings across the mountain and lands on a ledge on the left side--last night he missed! He seemed to have grabbed the rope a bit too low and wound up with his waist where his feet should have been. He wound up having to pull himself up on the ledge (like someone getting out of a pool) and then standing for his mountain-top pose.

Last night I was struck with exactly how hard this show is in many places to coordinate all that is going on. Although this might sound odd, I left more impressed with Disney overall in light of this, in reflecting back on previous shows that were flawless.

 

[Tom]

I work in theater (on the side) as a Technical Director. I did up at Purdue University's theater and now for the local High School Performing Arts Center. There are SOOOO many things that can go wrong, many without much control, and as soon as the slightest thing screws up, the crowd instantly jumps on it and then you get the "boy the lighting sucked tonight" or "the sound was too loud" or "wow, the techies really botched this one" - even if just one tiny thing goes wrong.

If I were in the Fantasmic theater during this, I'd be breaking my neck to figure out what could have gone wrong - just because I like to see how things work. If I was around a bunch of people booing, I'd probalby just give them dirty looks, and keep my mouth shut just knowing myself how ignorant they are being. Everyone makes mistakes. Equipment breaks, even with preventative maintenance. Characters miss cues. Poopoo happens - silly people

 

[Coasterbp]

1) Humidity in the air causes fog/haze to hang longer than needed. It makes the dragon harder to see.

2) If the deck is wet, because of rain or mist screens, the cobra body won't move around on stage. Too dangerous. Too slick. Welcome to an outdoor stage.

 

[1disneydood]

I've always wondered if Mickey's fingers ever caught on fire from the fireworks they shoot out. Always wondered too, what happens after the sparks when he puts his hands behind him? Is there someone in black who replaces his gloves or puts a bucket of water there? Something goes on, I can tell. But what???

I'm sure the show has been stopped many times due to accidents from the pyrotechnics.

 

[MagliteL13]

I work in theater (on the side) as a Technical Director. I did up at Purdue University's theater and now for the local High School Performing Arts Center. There are SOOOO many things that can go wrong, many without much control, and as soon as the slightest thing screws up, the crowd instantly jumps on it and then you get the "boy the lighting sucked tonight" or "the sound was too loud" or "wow, the techies really botched this one" - even if just one tiny thing goes wrong.

If I were in the Fantasmic theater during this, I'd be breaking my neck to figure out what could have gone wrong - just because I like to see how things work. If I was around a bunch of people booing, I'd probalby just give them dirty looks, and keep my mouth shut just knowing myself how ignorant they are being. Everyone makes mistakes. Equipment breaks, even with preventative maintenance. Characters miss cues. Poopoo happens - silly people

Same here. When I'm not working at WDW, I work in a roadhouse (place where tours come through) as an audio engineer. One thing I learned early on was that there's no such thing as a perfect show.

Every time I've gone to see Fantasmic or Illuminations or Wishes or etc... there's always at least one thing that can be pointed out whether it be a misloaded shell, one that didn't go off, a wrong cue, a flub in smpte (the timecode that most of the shows run off of--what keeps audio/lighting/effects in sync with each other). It's not like I go to notice these things, it just happens because of the profession.

 

[xfkirsten]

Agreed. I'm doing tech for Cirque de la Mer right now here at SeaWorld, and in virtually any show I'm working, I can at least point out something small that went wrong. The crowd may not notice most of the time, but it's there.

 

[marni1971]

Picture this; I waited 9 years to see Fantasmic! since I saw the making of the Disneyland version on TV. Finally its June 2001. We fly in to MCO. Get to the CBR about 5pm. Jetlagged(ish). Unpack. Orientate. Shoot over to MGM to catch the show. 9 years in the making..... end up stood at the back (totally underestimated the crowds, plus we go there late) but never mind. Great show. Get to the dragon and... it does its `I`m not playing` routine. Only it was half out of the mountain when it jammed. Alternate ending rolls into action (seamlessley I might add) but Mickey and Maleficent fight it out with old dragon stuck there watching. Plus it was the early evening show, so it was only dusk, and the dragon was so visible.

The crowd still loved it - and we had perfect center seats for our next visit that went virtually perfectly.

 

[dxwwf3]

Fantasmic is truely a great show. I think the MGM show gets a bad rap for not being as good as Disneyland's, but it's still the best nightime show at WDW for my money. I get chillbumps when the finale kicks in every time. I have never had to see the alternate ending, but we have had a show cancel in the middle before because it came a down pour all of a sudden. No light rain to warn us. It was like buckets coming down from the sky. That's Central Florida for you.

 

[DLP Fan]

Fantasmic is a wonderful show. Worth the price of a days admision for that alone in my opinion. Once a few years ago after the opening with Mickey he didnt disappear. He remained there in his pose with the light stil on him. Eventually the stopped the show and a cast member appeared on stage and escorted him away! Had to wait about 25mins for it to start again because they couldnt stop the loop after starting or something.

Another time there was to much smoke for John Smith to swing across. He just disappeared back into the mountain but was on the otherside intime to look over at Pocahontas. Most people wouldnt notice anything but after seeing it 3 times already that vacation you kind of notice wee differences!

 

[marni1971]

There was a clip on the net a while back of the start where Mickey`s lift failed - big musical build, the Jumbotrons span round to spotlight... nothing. Fountains carried on, music stopped, house lights came up and the crowd cheered. Thats better. As was said earlier, its live, its technical, problems will happen.

 

[nickcarraway]

I don't think I've ever seen a perfect Fantasmic. Every time I've seen the show, the snake is horribly out of sync. Once, I wittnessed two parts of the snake actually fall over. The first time I saw it, John Smith did no swinging. Pochantas and John Smith just showed up on opposite sides of the mountain and stood there for several minutes. The crowd was very confused. I've seen the lagoon not completely light on the fire. I've seen the dragon only come out halfway. I once saw Mickey's head fall off into the lagoon. OK. I made that last one up. Seriously, I don't get the allure of this show. I think a big part of the problem is the actors are playing sixty roles each every show. OK. I made that up, too. But it's a lot.

 

[PrtyPlnnrJC101]

I happened to be at MGM seeing Fantasmic the night that the show restarted 3 times. It was actually my first time seeing the show, and I thought it was incredible even with the few flubs. The crowd booing was very disappointing to me. Booing the show isn't going to make it work or them start it sooner. Accidents happen and getting upset about them by booing did not in fact help the situation at all, in fact it made it even more uncomfortable. I really enjoyed the show though. It's a great show and I will definitely be back to see it again!

 

[JLTraveling]

Hi all...newbie here, jumping in. I also happened to catch Fantasmic on 6/4. According to the CM we were talking with, the DVD was skipping and they had to do multiple resets to straighten it out. It was the first time I had seen the show have major problems, and I'm there a lot. Of course, as others have mentioned, every performance of every show there is a minor flub. That's just the nature of live theatre. I've been in theatre for over 20 years both onstage and backstage, and I have yet to see or participate in a "flawless" show. I love being so familiar with Disney's shows that I notice all the imperfections. Just makes me love it that much more.

 

[marni1971]

Jl - welcome :wave:

Since you`re so close to the magic its good to have another set of eyes n ears!

 

[MagliteL13]

Hi all...newbie here, jumping in. I also happened to catch Fantasmic on 6/4. According to the CM we were talking with, the DVD was skipping and they had to do multiple resets to straighten it out. It was the first time I had seen the show have major problems, and I'm there a lot. Of course, as others have mentioned, every performance of every show there is a minor flub. That's just the nature of live theatre. I've been in theatre for over 20 years both onstage and backstage, and I have yet to see or participate in a "flawless" show. I love being so familiar with Disney's shows that I notice all the imperfections. Just makes me love it that much more.

You'd think a show of that size would at least have a back up deck that's synced to the number one deck though. This puzzles me now. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago tours through the place I work at a couple times a year and they bring two decks that are loaded with a copy of the same CD and play in sync with each other. If the first deck starts skipping or goes caput, ya simply fade the audio up on the second deck. Ok, definently time for a phone call...

 

[thimblekisses]

I love Fantasmic, and partly it's because of the Stage Manager in me. I, too, have done a lot of work in theatre, onstage and off, in many different technical roles, but mostly as a Stage Manager. I love to see Fantasmic not only because it's entertaining and a great show, but then I get to thinking about how it either has one spectacular SM or several spectacular SMs who are each in charge of one aspect, like a pyro SM and a character SM, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I've only worked on modest productions with very little special effects, and I don't know much about how Disney runs a show like Fantasmic, but it is still amazing to me. After having seen it so many times I get to the point where I say things to myself in my head like "Spot on Mickey. . . go!" and all the little cues of every little precise thing - all of which have to be PERFECTLY in sync with one another. . . it blows me away. I love it.
We've all had our nights where one or two things go wrong, and it starts a chain reaction, but what can you do? The thrill of live theatre!
The sick theatre person in me is actually a little interested in little mistakes, just to see how performers and technicians recover mid-show. I can always learn from that. I'd be very interested to see the "alternate ending" that was mentioned in the event that the dragon gets stuck and Mickey and Maleficent duke it out!