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News Happily Ever After fireworks show returning to Magic Kingdom in 2023
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Wondrous Journeys.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
While Wondrous Journeys is great, it’s 4 minutes shorter than HEA, doesn’t have a villains segment and has WAY less pyro. I will agree that the projection mapping in Wondrous Journeys is incredible but I still feel HEA is overall the better show.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Were the projections dim or fuzzy/out of focus. The other night they didn’t look bright. Something seemed off from the past. Maybe the projectors need new bulbs or something I don’t know
SaucyBoy
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
They were not fuzzy/out of focus. My friend commented that they must have been recently adjusted/cleaned(?) because the last time he saw it you could hardly make out what was playing.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Ok good seeing it again tomorrow night so hopefully that’s the case
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
For me personally, wondrous is way better. I don’t care about shell count, I care about how it feels and delivers.
Disone
Well-Known Member
Agree. And slight disagreement on the projections. Wondrous journeys projection mapping on the main street buildings is better. But on the castle, HEA wins. And that maybe because of surface size but nonetheless it still wins.
Disone
Well-Known Member
Fair enough. But I'm the same way. I don't really care about shell count. For example, believe in holiday magic at Disneyland is a very short show with not too big of a shell count at all, and it definitely ranks as my favorite Christmas firework show that Disney has done. Having said all that, I'm not reading HEA better because of its longer run time and larger shell count.... I rate it better because for me, it hits the emotions stronger. Wondrous gets close but doesn't get there. I don't get the same lump in my throat and the same chills in my spine in the same tears of my eyes that HEA gives me.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Oh interesting… I feel the exact opposite. The only time HEA gives me the feels at all is when tinkerbell flies (and I’m not a big tink fan… but that moment is so well done). Wondrous is start to finish for me even though it seems a little too focused on Moana.
Elizabeth Swann
Premium Member
- In the Parks
- No
Do you know if there is a video of this somewhere on YouTube? I was talking about it with friends and wanted to show them.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
That’s fair, but to me the emotional moments in HEA hit way harder than in WJ. Go the distance, Tink and the entire love segment are very good.
DisQuick
Member
Projections on Sunday were working for just the front half of Main Street.
wtyy21
Well-Known Member
While WJ lacks villain segment, i believe that before Fantasmic massive dragon fire, Wondrous Journeys were incredible show with flame effects (like another park) attached in the show that HEA doesn't have, although the quality of WJ's projection mapping cannot rival HEA. After F! fire, this DL show feel like lacklustre/average show (along with many nighttime shows with flame effects).
Hopeful fire effect returns at WJ and another Disney parks nighttime shows, sad to see fire effects temporarily gone.
JediMasterMatt
Well-Known Member
It's hard to the top of the castle in Cliff's excellent video; but, it does show a good job of her entering frame off of Pan's shoulder and then flying across to the castle and then upwards.
This video shows her in more of a close up climbing higher and then reaching the window at the climax.
It's details like these that make HEA so special and much more than just the sum of its parts. It is the summation of all the years of MK nighttime spectaculars over the years. It checks all the boxes and then some - great fireworks choreography, outstanding musical selections with fantastic orchestrations, the wonderful intro and outro song, superb usage of the projections that repaint the castle and allow little things like Tink's flight to be noticed instead of being lost in the noise like so many other projection shows do with small details, fantastic use of spot lights (just get the big ones working again please) and lasers.
I loved Wishes, loved Magic, Music, and Mayhem, really like the 2 new seasonal party shows, liked Holiday Wishes and Hallowishes at MK. Adored Remember Dreams Come True, loved Disneyland Forever (although it wasn't as good minus the Kiss Goodnight outro), really liked Magical, didn't care for the Pixar show and the less said about Mickey's Mix Magic the better and haven't seen Wonderous Journey's yet at Disneyland.
As much as I loved the other shows, HEA is better than them all for castle park fireworks. The only thing that would make it better is perimeter shell usage... and to fix the big spot lights.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
HEA better than Remember!?!?
Disone
Well-Known Member
It's close. I could see there being a debate. For me.....
I think initially Remember was better. However Remember was also very specific to Disneyland, and that's where its strength was. But if you really didn't know Disneyland that well, you might not connect with that show as well as someone who does know Disneyland that well. (looking at you too EF)
Happily Ever After does not require any particular knowledge of the theme park its playing in or any other part of Disney History for that matter. It is able to connect to it's audience simply on its own merit.
So while earlier I said initially Remember Dreams Come True was better, for me anyway, I think with the passing of time.... Happily Ever After ages better and is able to more easily emotionally connect to the more casual Disney Guest.
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TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
The casual Disney guest that is watching a fireworks show has just spent an entire day in the theme park and will have knowledge of the theme park and attractions.
Disone
Well-Known Member
Of course. But not their history. They don't necessarily know that Peter Pan was an opening day attraction. They don't know that Walt Disney Love trains and that's why there's one that goes around the park. The Disney foamer does. And so while watching remember dreams come true they connect to these things stronger because it's more than just, I rode Peter Pan today or I took a ride on the railroad.