Festival of Fantasy Parade coming to Magic Kingdom in 2014

Rodneyt74

Rodneyt74

Member
The parade is awesome and great improvement for day parade. I had no idea some floats weren't new and never seen the dopey/sneezy costume before.. So everyone complaining about that needs to realize 99% of people seeing it in park doesn't realize that its not all new. Ive been to WDW over 30 times and annual passholder so not a once year visitor. Your average guest will love it. This board can get little to negative sometimes.. I stop reading boards a lot because of that. Sometimes Disney bashing needs to be cut back some here. Your average person that might find the boards and never been to Disney, wouldn't never go if read all complaining here. Give Disney props when they deserve it.. and this time they do.

FYI I was on backstage magic tour about 2 weeks ago and they were working on princess costumes for parade in costuming. Not sure if just same ole dresses and just making new one for just parade or something special for it. but just what we were told they were working on...
 
TTA94

TTA94

Well-Known Member
I hope that things only improve over time with FOF and not the opposite lol.

I do hope FOF eventually does have a evening or dusk performances. That doesn't mean it has to replace MSEP nor do I want to see that happen, however I'm usually one who likes to enjoy a evening at the MK rather than the daytime due to work and stuff. So with the 3pm time slot I will rarely get to enjoy FOF as much as I would if it were 6pm or later. I guess only time will tell. I don't know if the strobes on the floats indicate the possibility? or just a simple added sparkle? I heard maleficents eyes flash too..
Problem is I think the route would need extra lighting since the floats only seem to have the strobes from what I can tell, and I don't see them installing route lighting until at least the hub project is completed.
 
discos

discos

Well-Known Member
TubaGeek said:
There's quite a lot of that, too. Have Disney parades suffered before in cutting back in performers? I mean, it happens during rebrandings, but has it ever happened without changing the name of the parade?
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If you look at YouTube videos of the first couple months on CADCT to the last performance, there were quite a few cuts.

But I have to say FOF is pretty impressive. I'm not a huge fan of the music, felt like the unit's audio didn't flow and transition properly, but that could have just been the way the videos caught it.

IMO the music didn't have that "classic" Disney park sound that I would have expected. There's something about the harmonies and vocal quality in music from things in the park like CADCT, SPECTRO, even DAWM that when I hear it immediately reminds me of Disney. This doesn't have that same sound.
 
The Duck

The Duck

Well-Known Member
Regarding the complaints about the music/audio: My money is on the audio sounding much better in person than what we're hearing over the internet. I won't be able to see the parade until next January at the earliest but I have a feeling that the experience will be very satisfying.
 
tcsnwhite

tcsnwhite

Member
mm522 said:
From what I'm seeing so far I really do love the parade! The Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty unit is amazing and I can't wait to see it in person just for that unit itself. However, the best way I can describe this parade is TDO's version of a Steve Davison parade. The parade is amazing don't get me wrong, the floats, the costumes, the music, I'm really a huge fan of it all. However, just little things like most of the characters just wearing their meet and greet costumes rather than more elaborate parade specific costumes, or where a few extra dancers could have been used here and there.

Also this is just MK's parade operations in general, but I feel they just have all of the floats and dancers to close together. You don't get enough time to take each unit in, and with them being so close the music overlaps. DL really spaces out their parades, almost too much, but I really prefer their method of spacing it out and then having multiple cross walks along the parade route between units. However, I think MK's method is just keep the parade really close together and run it all through at once to clear the parade route as quickly as possible.
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As for the unit spacing...it depends on the parade. Some parades are meant to flow more as one, so the design team suggests there aren't a lot of breaks between the units (much to the scuttle of operations)... and then some parades are designed with at least two breaks in mind. If you notice, esp. at DL, they tend to roll down the street in 3 acts - usually 1 to 3 units, then crossing break, then another 2 to 3 units, then a crossing break, then the final 2 to 3 units.
A parade like Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams had show stops, so no breaks. I've heard that it just depends on the parade itself, and what the creative team wants...though operations prefers breaks for crowd crossing.

As for FOF...I actually really like how it's spaced and staged, and think it flows wonderfully without too many big gaps (I'm not a fan of huge gaps). They really staged this one right.
 
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tcsnwhite

tcsnwhite

Member
discos said:
IMO the music didn't have that "classic" Disney park sound that I would have expected. There's something about the harmonies and vocal quality in music from things in the park like CADCT, SPECTRO, even DAWM that when I hear it immediately reminds me of Disney. This doesn't have that same sound.
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Steven and the WDI-CE team are trying to move out of that one typical 'Disney parade' sound. They like to experiment with different sounds, tempos, vibes, and vocal sounds with parade music now. They've been leaning to a more pop-style with the vocals, on top of that classic Disney vocal feel... a bit more contemporary in sound lately.
 
dlpwishes

dlpwishes

Member
I hardly EVER post on here, but I feel like I need to here!

I understand that some people will have issues with certain parts/recycling/etc... But when CADCT got cut to about, oh, 7 minutes, did we ever think we'd see this day? No. To have floats that don't all look pretty much the same is a miracle. Some maybe are a little small, or don't fit into an overall 'theme' but maybe (big maybe I know) other units could be added eventually without looking weird. And I agree with what someone else said - hardly anyone complains about Soundsational's use of the Drum units. Maybe that parade's design isn't for everyone, but it does have a very set style.

With the music, maybe some bits are similar to other SD parades, but then what more can you do with very similar floats/character pairings from other parks? I think it's brilliant to have an orchestral yet punchy soundtrack again and it probably does sound better in person.

There's no use thinking 'it'll get cut' 'it'll fall apart' yet! Just ENJOY IT!
 
tcsnwhite

tcsnwhite

Member
As for the sound synching along the route...it may take a bit of calibration (maybe not) to get it right. I remember when Parade of Dreams at DL had big issues with that, and it took a bit of time after it opened to still get it just right. Though I think they got it pretty on point this time. It probably just depends on where you're watching/filming from, as every parade route in any Disney park has those few little spots along the route where the sound transitions always seems a bit jumbled.



And I highly doubt the Maleficent unit will get cut, as that is clearly one of the highlights from the crowd reaction... to how it has been, and will be, marketed. It's clearly that big highlight, the "climax" of the show, right before the finale, that is key to the concept, flow, and staging of this parade.
Kids get scarred from plenty of other things in the Disney parks... I mean, c'mon...then they'd be cutting signature Disney experiences left and right like HM, POTC, Fantasmic!, etc...I mean, that's what makes the Disney experience what is, and why it appeals to every age...that it doesn't pander to only toddlers (thankfully!).

Plus, I find it a bit funny that some WDW fans are concerned with that...as I never hear those concerns of "kids getting too scarred...it may get cut" when it comes to anything at DL, or the other overseas parks...and just as many little kids go to those parks as they do WDW, of course.
 
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Matt_Black

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
Alright, watched a little. The Sleeping Beauty/ Maleficent sequence, with Prince Phillip squaring off against the thorn demons and crow monsters. YES. YES YES YES.

And, they've got Dopey on top of Sneezy's shoulders, like in the movie! SQUEE.

And, this isn't Disney's doing, but the weather looked PERFECT. What a beautiful day for the parade to debut. Sunny and not a cloud in the sky that I could see. Just wow.
 
tcsnwhite

tcsnwhite

Member
Looking at Hi-Res pics on Flickr of the new parade really show the BEAUTIFUL detail that the videos can't capture.
Absolutely beautiful attention to detail in the production (float/costume) design.

... The characters (esp. Princesses) could really use custom outfits for this parade though. Would really give them an extra 'pop', and be another stand-out detail this parade could use!
 
Kevo

Kevo

Member
Really disappointed with the music score.
Everything else was fantastic, so confused as to how Disney could allow that to go out?
Surely they panel test options, so I can only assume that this was the best of a bad bunch!
 
SpectroMan93

SpectroMan93

Well-Known Member
Matt_Black said:
Not really. It's a stylized interpretation of Phillip's escape from Maleficent's castle, and the fairies were there for that.
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Exactly. It was like watching the scene from the movie play out in the streets, adding an extra dimension to the parade. Easily the most captivating part of the parade, and you could see everyone turn their heads/cameras even when the unit was past their viewing area.

If anything, the Brave and Little Mermaid units could use more supporting cast/props around their floats. The Little Mermaid especially, being the smallest float, it needs more on the ground to fill out the unit. Add several more dancers and some choreography with the upbeat, Caribbean-style music, and it could look/feel like the "Under The Sea" number from the movie out on the parade route. Brave has great choreography, but could use more material from the film. Things like, give Merida her longbow and arrows and maybe have Queen Elinor up there by her side. On the ground, have the tapestries from the 4 clans process down the route behind the dancers, and maybe even have a rolling menhir. Those extra things would help give these units the detail and substance to match the rest of the parade.
 
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BrightImagine

BrightImagine

Well-Known Member
Can anyone tell more about the "fairies on segways" that has been mentioned a few times in this thread? I didn't read anything about this. I was so glad the three fairies were faces and not big heads... however you want to put that. :happy:
 
GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
BrightImagine said:
Can anyone tell more about the "fairies on segways" that has been mentioned a few times in this thread? I didn't read anything about this. I was so glad the three fairies were faces and not big heads... however you want to put that. :happy:
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Was glad to see that too. DLR and DLRP moved to face fairies many many years ago, and it's much better than the bizarre rubber head versions WDW has used for so long.

The Segway effect is in use in DLRP's current parade. Not sure why it didn't make the cut here.
 

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