News Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2019

brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
I'll get to see it in person soon, but here are my hot takes:

Better than Holiday Wishes, but significantly not as good as HEA.

"Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" has got to be one of the most uninspired Christmas songs ever, both melodically and lyrically. Actually, it's more than uninspiring, its dispiriting. The saving grace is that it wasn't used a lot and it wasn't the horribly orchestrated or horribly sung McCartney version.

And that brings me to the other musical choices: One, they were all orchestrated in too high of a register. C'mon Disney. Buy a bassoon or two. It was just constant shrillness of instruments being played near the top of their registers where the sound is thin and strained. The Frozen song at the end was a nice change from that barrage of "play it higher!"

And two, it was all over the place. If you had Santa Claus songs, then put them together in a Santa section with appropriate visuals and fireworks. If Minnie is going to introduce a section on being with friends, then there should have been all the togetherness-for-the-holidays songs in one section. For HEA, the spoken word introductions properly introduced distinct sections with coherent themes. This was all over the place.

Speaking of all over the place, the mapped projections had some spectacular moments... and then ruined it with old-school Flash-type animation. Same with the fireworks... some spectacular moments, and then a lot of haphazard shots not matching the music or the projections.

This had the workings of being top notch, but, I fear that now that it's done, WDW will just let it sit in mediocrity and do nothing to punch up its shortcomings.
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But I love the Paul McCartney song :(
 
tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
I'll get to see it in person soon, but here are my hot takes:

Better than Holiday Wishes, but significantly not as good as HEA.

"Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" has got to be one of the most uninspired Christmas songs ever, both melodically and lyrically. Actually, it's more than uninspiring, its dispiriting. The saving grace is that it wasn't used a lot and it wasn't the horribly orchestrated or horribly sung McCartney version.

And that brings me to the other musical choices: One, they were all orchestrated in too high of a register. C'mon Disney. Buy a bassoon or two. It was just constant shrillness of instruments being played near the top of their registers where the sound is thin and strained. The Frozen song at the end was a nice change from that barrage of "play it higher!"

And two, it was all over the place. If you had Santa Claus songs, then put them together in a Santa section with appropriate visuals and fireworks. If Minnie is going to introduce a section on being with friends, then there should have been all the togetherness-for-the-holidays songs in one section. For HEA, the spoken word introductions properly introduced distinct sections with coherent themes. This was all over the place.

Speaking of all over the place, the mapped projections had some spectacular moments... and then ruined it with old-school Flash-type animation. Same with the fireworks... some spectacular moments, and then a lot of haphazard shots not matching the music or the projections.

This had the workings of being top notch, but, I fear that now that it's done, WDW will just let it sit in mediocrity and do nothing to punch up its shortcomings.
Click to expand...
Wow, your analysis is spot-on!

I’m only judging by the new video (thanks, @wdwmagic), but the shrill musical choices remind me of when a mediocre DJ plays top 10 dance hits back-to-back without using deeper cuts and variety to let the music breathe.

The art of pacing has been perfected through hundreds of years of classical music, radio DJs, old-school MTV VJs, and top EDM artists. I don’t understand why Disney has suddenly forgotten how to do it in their night shows. They used to be better than anyone else!

I’ve been disappointed in every recent Disney fireworks show, including HEA, and you put words to my vague feelings of disappointment. The hyper soundtracks and rushed pacing feel like too much sweet and not enough savory.

In this case, I miss the Holiday Wishes soundtrack even though the new show has superior pyro.
 
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Katie G

Katie G

Well-Known Member
Going for the first time this year and I am curious for those who have been in past years what the switchover time is like? If I get into the park around 4, and day guests are not starting to be pushed out till 6 and the event starts at 7... is there anything from the event before 7? Treats? Characters?
 
TTA94

TTA94

Well-Known Member
Anyone know why they didn’t use the song in the preview video? Which was said to be “Oh What A Merry Christmas Day but a new version? Some may argue it would have been to popish for a firework show... but it also sounded fun, upbeat and catchy. I wonder if it was going to be used but they cut it? Or if it was used in some other show of holiday dance party somewhere?
 
gerarar

gerarar

Premium Member
Honestly, I was pretty bummed a few months ago when I found out that HEA wouldn't be shown during Christmas week, which is when I (finally) get to go to WDW again since June '17, since it would probably be the last time I would ever get to see it if it does end up getting replaced for the 50th.

But after seeing multiple videos of the new show, I'm not so sad anymore!! This show is full of joy, fun, and brings a smile to my face! It has a HEA-vibe to it, which definitely helps.

The fireworks and pyro all look spectacular, and imo seems pretty synced up to the music/soundtrack. The finale gave me chills everytime I would play it on a video.

So if this does end up being the nighttime spectacular show shown nightly during Christmas, I can't freakin wait to share the memories with my family!! :D
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
MisterPenguin said:
"Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" has got to be one of the most uninspired Christmas songs ever, both melodically and lyrically. Actually, it's more than uninspiring, its dispiriting. The saving grace is that it wasn't used a lot and it wasn't the horribly orchestrated or horribly sung McCartney version.
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What else would you expect from Fauxl McCartney?
 
TK294

TK294

Member
Thank you for the videos. We were there Friday night for the event, but had trouble seeing the fireworks and parade due to the lousy weather. It was still a really nice time... and your videos let me see what I missed!
I also want to say that I was pleasantly surprised that the opening day show wasn't as crowded as I expected, being that it was sold out. Was that due to the weather, or does Disney really ration how many tickets are available?
 
TK294

TK294

Member
WondersOfLife said:
Wow thats tacky
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Considering that Space Mountain isn't my favorite roller coaster, I enjoyed the holiday overlay. We first saw it on the Alpha track. We did it again later on Omega track and it wasn't as enjoyable... but part of that might be due to the track itself.
 
WondersOfLife

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
TK294 said:
Considering that Space Mountain isn't my favorite roller coaster, I enjoyed the holiday overlay. We first saw it on the Alpha track. We did it again later on Omega track and it wasn't as enjoyable... but part of that might be due to the track itself.
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Have you ever experienced the overlays at Disneyland’s space mountain?
 
TK294

TK294

Member
WondersOfLife said:
Have you ever experienced the overlays at Disneyland’s space mountain?
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No I have not been to Disneyland yet. My daughter flew out with her DCP roommate last year. We are hoping to check it out for ourselves in a year or so.
I just hope their Space Mountain is easier on my spine!
 

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