Fantasmic...not so great

[Gorjus]

One, you have to like characters, otherwise Fantasmic isn't for you.

Two, Fantasmic, Wishes, and Illuminations all tell a story. You really have to follow the story line. If you want fireworks, your order of preference would be Wishes, Illuminations, then Fantasmic.

Three, Fantasmic would be more wonderful if they skipped the water screens and the whole thing was the live action. Unfortunately, the water screens are used to change scenes in the live action. They are in effect the curtains of an indoor theater.

All the scenes on the globe in Illuminations don't serve the same purpose as the water scenes in Fantasmic. Illuminations would be improved if they they go rid of the globe in my opinion.

 

[drdoom1001]

The first 2 times I saw Fantasmic I found it incredibly boring,it was waterscreen video after waterscreen video,I was like finish already!! I've seen it several times after those, one time I sat front row center and definitely enjoyed it more.It's grown on me but it's not a show I can watch over and over like Wishes or Illuminations or even the SpectroMagic parade!!

 

[Spyne]

I've only seen Fantasmic once back in 2000 and I thought it was great. The only thing I didn't like were the HUGE crowds which blocked my view and it was pouring rain at the time.

But the actual show itself I do like a good deal, I would see it again next time I'm there. Though I will admit it's not the BEST nighttime spectacular I've seen at WDW, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is right up there as the best for me. I haven't seen Wishes yet but I've heard it's an impressive display. I also like Spectromagic a whole lot, it was truly awesome for a nighttime parade!

 

[Since1976]

I think it's definitely worth seeing at least once, but Fantasmic doesn't compare to Illuminations:ROE as nighttime spectacles go.

Ask my young daughter, however, and you're sure to get a different answer.

 

[raven]

I too thought that Fantasmic was horrible the first time I saw it. Maybe I was just in a bad mood or rushed for something and it just seemed bad to me.

The 2nd time was better and now I love it. Give it another try maybe?

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

I wish they would update both versions (Disneyland and the Studios.) MGM seems to be the place where shows never die.

 

[daliseurat]

I do agree that the WDW version is overrated. First time I saw it I was SO disappointed. Of course, that's because I do think the Disneyland Version is AWESOME. I figured the WDW version would be even better. They built a terrific amphetheatre. Technology improved so they could do it all better. Sadly, like most thing imported from Disneyland, they messed it up. There are MORE water screen scenes at WDW which does make it feel overused. They substituted a WEAK Pocahontas scene for the incredibly stong PETER PAN SEQUENCE. And then of course, there is the BOAT. What makes the boat bad isn't that it's a cheap version of the beautiful MARK TWAIN. Nope. What sucks is that the boat is supposed to be clever. It's actually the STEAMBOAT from STEAMBOAT BILL JR that the BLACK AND WHITE MICKEY is driving. Get it? Not so clever, because almost no one actually gets it. I didn't either the first time, but on a backstage tour I asked why WDW Fantasmic had so many poor elements. And I specifically asked about the boat. And there I had my answer. So I only go to WDW Fantasmic when my child wants to see it. She loves it. I just can't shake the original. But even that has lost a couple cool element ot three from budget cuts.

 

[LucyintheSky]

I was never impressed at all with WDW's Fantasmic. Too much animation projected on the water. It was a bit dull to me. Although there were parts I thought were very cool: Sorcerer Mickey up on top of the mountain at the end, disappearing then reappearing down on the bottom, and also the character boat.

I had always read how people from DL thought theirs was so much better. I'd heard about the pirate ship they had instead of WDW's Pocahontas thing, and that their character boat at the end was much better. I always thought, okay, so a couple boats, and the whole show is THAT much greater? Whatever.

Recently, I came across some videos on YouTube of DL's Fantasmic. At first I was like, OKay, it looks exactly the same. BUT THEN- Everything goes dark, there's a BOOM of a cannon, and around the bend in the river comes the Columbia (which I had never seen before). But it was huge! And it's covered in pirates and lost boys, and Hook and Pan, and they were just all over the place, fighting, jumping. Peter at one point "flys" up to the top of the ship... sorry I'm going on and on if you've seen it already, but I was really impressed.

Then at the end, their character boat is the Mark Twain. Which is, and please correct me if I'm wrong, similar in size to the MK's Liberty Belle. It was just so much more impressive then WDW's little boat. Seeing it coming around the bend was really cool. Even with just seeing it on video. I'm sure it is better in person.

The thing I thought was better in WDW's was the "mountain". At the end Mickey is up so high and it looks just great. At DL he is much lower, on what looks like the roof of a shack or something. If you could take the mountain from WDW and put it in DL, it would be incredible!

 

[Imaginationeer]

I think the problem is that Disneyland as a whole is overrated

 

[wdwmomof3]

We watched this show back in 1999 for the first time and I hated it, except for the end. We have been back a few times and I haven't even considered going back to see it again. I wish that they would do something else there and with Beauty & the Beast. I really love the show but don't you think that it has played long enough? I wish that they would bring something else in that is equally as good.

 

[aaron2525]

fantasmic

fatasmic is an incredible show and any TRUE disney fan would not disagree!

 

[jmvd20]

fatasmic is an incredible show and any TRUE disney fan would not disagree!

Me = Disney Fan

Me thinks Fantasmic = Bad

Therefore "any TRUE disney fan would not disagree!" = False

At least it does by my math...

 

[BSikor]

I saw it once and that was enough. Nothing to write home about.

The snake was cool though.

 

[Captain Hank]

To be honest, Fantasmic is my least favorite out of the three nighttime shows. That's not to say that I don't like it, I just like Illuminations and Wishes better (in that order). Part of my annoyance with it is the requirement of getting to the theater so early for a good seat, and the long, long stretches of water screens and nothing else. I'll go to see it, but not nearly as often as Illuminations or Wishes.

 

[clarkstallings]

Fantasmic! at the studios has never been magical because it makes no attempts to hide the fact taht it is just a multi-million dollar effects show. You come into the theatre, you see the stage, the lighting, the sound system. Now many will argue that presenting it as a show is conducive to the ideas celebrated at MGM. It loses its magic however, when presented as just a show. At Disneyland, it is a magical happening that appears seemingly from nowhere. Plus, the pyro and what not is much more spectacularly presented at Disneyland.

 

[CThaddeus]

We watched this show back in 1999 for the first time and I hated it, except for the end. We have been back a few times and I haven't even considered going back to see it again. I wish that they would do something else there and with Beauty & the Beast. I really love the show but don't you think that it has played long enough? I wish that they would bring something else in that is equally as good.

Personally, I'd wipe everything from Sunset Boulevard EXCEPT Beauty and the Beast and start over. I'll probably get flayed alive for this, but I've always thought the attractions on that street were the worst part of Disney-MGM (of course, that was before I saw LMA. Now that attraction wins the Hoover Award for S__________g Excellence...or to steal from another thread, it's the "The Nexus of Suck"). Disney-MGM's Fantasmic! is a pale shadow of it's SoCal mother. It's only plus is the stadium seating. Otherwise, I see no reason to watch it again (and haven't bothered to since I first saw it in 2000)as I can see the more impressive version here anytime I want to drive the 12 miles to get there. Both shows could use a better dragon for the climax, though. The Villain-on-a-Stick might have been okay for a rehab, but not as a permanent part of the show. Either find a way to hide the stick better, or better yet, have a decent-looking dragon built to rise up out of the ground during the mist screens.
But, as I said, I'd hack out Tower of Terror and Rock n' Rollercoaster, too. ToT has nice theming, but after the video portion, the rest is pretty dull to me, and the story is pretty much abandoned for cheap thrills. Still, it's slightly better than the junk version they put in California Adventure.
Actually, I'd probably keep Rock n' Rollercoaster...just get rid of Aerosmith, get a group who can sing and act, and add more theming.
As for the ROE/Wishes/Fantasmic! debate, hands down I'd get it to ROE. I didn't care much for the Illuminations I saw in 1996 and actually thought it was a bit on the boring side. Now, I think the show is amazing in every way. Would I like better viewing? Absolutely. But I think if you get there 45 minutes to an hour early (like you'd have to for Fantasmic!), you can get a great view. And I love the globe. I think that's a good part of why I like the show so much. Last time I was there I think I saw the show four times, Wishes twice, and Fantasmic! none. I think that pretty much summarizes my preferences.

 

[mraw]

Disneyland's version used to have an Ursula barge that was pretty cool. A short video is here

 

[Mikester71]

My first time seeing it 2 years ago, it poured rain through the whole show. Yet I still managed to enjoy it somehow.

This past March when we saw it, the weather was nice (a bit nippy though), but I have to say I enjoyed the pre-show activities maybe a little bit more than the actual show itself. You know that whole "We love Mickey, yes we do. We love Mickey more than you!" chanting between the two sides of the stadium. I can still hear and see it in my head as I type this. :ROFLOL:

 

[morgan22]

DLR's Fantasmic is better than MGM's (Peter Pan pirate ship section is just amazing to watch) but ... the music makes me have to go back each time we visit regardless .. i would never queue for hours before - I am quite happy to wait till show time and watch from the back or sides but it is a must see.

Don't know about anyone else but do you think frequent visitors get a little complacent? I think people in this day and age 'expect' to be wowed more and more ... everytime I watch Fantasmic I well up with tears, the music is so emotive to me and I love the rapturous (sp) applause it always recieves - it restores my faith in the 'average' WDW visitor.

Of course, I completely understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and respect that - I just think Fantasmic deserves it's compliments for being a spectacular nightime show that to me encapsulates all that is great about WDW.

 

[morgan22]

Disneyland's version used to have an Ursula barge that was pretty cool. A short video is here

Thanks for posting that - I thought I was going mad and was convinced I'd seen Ursula in Fantasmic .... but when we went to DLR in '04 she wasn't there.