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More news about Fantasmic!
- Thread starter drew81
- Start date
Personally, I don't care if Fantasmic is every night or not, especially during slow periods. But, I have to say this, this is entirely Disney's fault it got to this. Why? They conditioned people to think this way. First, you come out with a spectacular show (great idea), then they market the daylights out of it, and make it a selling point. (Also, not a bad idea.) Then they say it's every night for what, ten years? They conditioned the public to expect it every night by their actions. Then suddenly they decide they want to save some money. This is almost as bad as how they conditioned guests to go to the parks through the yearly celebration/campaigns they have offered. (No, Fantasmic! is not bad, just the way they went about things.)
$30,000 is nothing, especially to a park that has 10,000 people in it. I would think that the number of meals sold and drinks to people staying later would at least equal that in the earned income. (And if the park has more than that, all the better.) And that doesn't include any other purchases people make.
DisneyParksFan1
Active Member
Yes indeed. Ugh... This whole conversation is tempting me to begin one of my rants...
DisneyNut2007
Active Member
Enough with the American Idol hatred already, Drew. Drop it!
To quote Jiminy Cricket, "After all, enough's enough".
JEANYLASER
Well-Known Member
I'm glad Fantasmic is my favorite nightime entertaiment!
Am I the only one bothered by the fact that WDW is supposedly conducting this research now, during some of the slowest weeks of the year? Personally, I could see this leading to fewer showings of Fantasmic, save for the very busiest of weeks, to save money.
But, that's what Disney wants. They spin their surveys to get the answers/data they want.
Then people will come on here and defend Disney for having good reasons and backup for their decision.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
And think about how quickly $30,000 could be recovered from Fantasmic! Dinner Package sales. It's not like it costs them more to operate the restaurants when the show is begin done.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
As a West Coaster, the topic of Fantasmic! at Walt Disney World is cringe inducing.
Compared to the superior and sparkling new Disneyland version, the public would best be served by having WDW's Fantasmic! in its current form shut down and put out of its misery. Update the WDW show using the technology and upgrades that Disneyland has received from 2006-09, and then reopen it with a reformatted middle section that gets rid of the plodding Pocohontas segment and a much more impressive finale'.
For those of us who are used to Fantasmic! at Disneyland, seeing Fantasmic! at WDW is like riding the 7 minute long Pirates of the Caribbean at WDW and thinking of how it compares to the 15 minute long Disneyland original... You just end up feeling very badly for all the people who have only experienced the WDW versions and think that's as good as it gets. :lol:
Compared to the superior and sparkling new Disneyland version, the public would best be served by having WDW's Fantasmic! in its current form shut down and put out of its misery. Update the WDW show using the technology and upgrades that Disneyland has received from 2006-09, and then reopen it with a reformatted middle section that gets rid of the plodding Pocohontas segment and a much more impressive finale'.
For those of us who are used to Fantasmic! at Disneyland, seeing Fantasmic! at WDW is like riding the 7 minute long Pirates of the Caribbean at WDW and thinking of how it compares to the 15 minute long Disneyland original... You just end up feeling very badly for all the people who have only experienced the WDW versions and think that's as good as it gets. :lol:
_Scar
Active Member
Why so snobbish? We get DL's is better.... oh yeah... it just got massively updated. :brick:
When our update comes one day I'm sure DHS will be far above DL's and if DL got another update then DHS' will be behind and so on and so on. That's how things work.
Sorry, but I mean come on. It's common sense. DHS' is not all that different from DL's preupdated F!
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
Not to mention I'd much rather sit in an amphitheater than have to stake out a spot in Frontierland/New Orleans Square 2 hours+ before showtime.
_Scar
Active Member
Yes, there's also a massive crowd control situation at DL. I can't even imagine all those people exiting while another show is about to start.
Talk about a nightmare. :lol:
DisneyParksFan1
Active Member
Yes that's how it all works. I think this will happen as well.
steve2wdw
WDW Fan Since 1973
While I do feel the DL F! is superior to the DHS version, especially since the upgrades, I hate what F! does to the whole west side of DL when it's run. It's impossible to enjoy any of the attractions in Frontierland and NOS in their "natural" setting. As I recall, the frontier didn't have thousands camped out on blankets waiting for a show. It totally ruins the whole night time experience in those lands. The DHS version makes far more sense and it's far superior in comfort and viewing. Throw us a bone, give us some upgrades, resume a nightly schedule and we'll be happy.
Biff215
Well-Known Member
You can have your "superior and sparkling" Fantasmic out there. I'll take the whole WDW resort any day of the week! :wave:
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
I like Fantasmic nightly b/c I'm the minority who do not like the show one bit!!
If the show is nightly, any night of the week the park will be virtually empty for multiple rides on Tower and RnRC right before closing, as they used to be.
If the show is nightly, any night of the week the park will be virtually empty for multiple rides on Tower and RnRC right before closing, as they used to be.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I think it would help if you experienced the Disneyland version with your own eyes.
This latest update in Spring '09 is about the third annual update they've done to Fantasmic!. It also received tech updates in '07 and '08 to lighting, audio, floats, digital projections, effects, etc. It's really quite a technological tour de force at Disneyland.
But aside from the technical quality of the show at Disneyland pre '07-'09 rehabs versus the DHS version, again, you really need to experience it with your own eyes. Particularly the segments that are completely different between the DHS and Disneyland versions.
It's a fascinating thing really, to see how the two shows are paced and presented differently.
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
I think it would help if you experienced the Disneyland version with your own eyes.
This latest update in Spring '09 is about the third annual update they've done to Fantasmic!. It also received tech updates in '07 and '08 to lighting, audio, floats, digital projections, effects, etc. It's really quite a technological tour de force at Disneyland.
But aside from the technical quality of the show at Disneyland pre '07-'09 rehabs versus the DHS version, again, you really need to experience it with your own eyes. Particularly the segments that are completely different between the DHS and Disneyland versions.
It's a fascinating thing really, to see how the two shows are paced and presented differently.
Having seen both multiple times (not to mention doing crowd control for Fantasmic numerous times at DHS) I can honestly say the changes and differences are not as substantial as you make them out to be. Grant it, I only worked there in summer of '08 but I saw it enough times to note that, while some areas differed largely in content, the show itself was not that dissimilar.
Let's take a look at some of the core differences:
Run Time: DLR is 21 minutes, DHS is 27 minutes
Seating: DLR forces you to camp out hours before the show. God help you if you're in those areas and DON'T want to see Fantasmic. You'll likely end up watching it in its entirety anyway in a trek as simple as going from Pirates to Haunted Mansion thanks to the obscenely huge crowds.
DHS has an amphitheater that seats approximately 2 - 1.5 hours before showtime. But guess what? I've gone back when they had a nightly schedule and I was almost every time capable of getting front row center seating 45 minutes before showtime despite the fact that the center section looked completely full from the top.
Setting: At DLR it's Tom Sawyer Island. At DHS it's a faux mountain. Um sorry, but the show seems SO out of place on Tom Sawyer Island. It's almost as if they didn't have a good place to put it so they just wedged it in there. The show is much better suited to a custom-designed stage like the one at DHS.
Content Differences: DLR uses a Jungle Book themed sequence with a giant Kaa (snake) followed by a strange Pink Elephants on Parade sequence followed by a Pinocchio sequence which is really just a cardboard cutout moving back and forth. At DHS this segment is replaced by a Lion King segment which segues into a bubble sequence showcasing different Disney films while blending the music together. To be honest neither of these sequences really stuck out to me as very entertaining and screamed filler.
They then do a Peter Pan sequence utilizing the Sailing Ship Columbia. While cool because the ship DOES look like a pirate ship here's the main problem: the ship is constantly in motion during the entire sequence. If you're seated closer to Frontierland, you spend a good five minutes of the sequence staring at the stern of the ship and listening to the soundtrack because its too far away to see what's going on. It's passed you long before anything good has happened. At DHS the Pocahontas segment, although not the best choice, takes place on the main stage, thereby giving all guests a good viewing angle of the entire sequence which I might also add segues MUCH better into the princess sequence than just randomly ending and moving on as DLR's does.
Villains: DLR doesn't overdo it here at least. Keeping it simple with just Snow Queen, Ursula (with the recently added Flotsam and Jetsam floats), Chernabog and Maleficent isn't overly distracting. On the flipside, the Jafar sequence at DHS is cool and the giant snake works better in that scene. DLR wins hands down with the new dragon. I remember seeing Fantasmic for the first time and being so disappointed by that excuse for a dragon. The new one at DLR is much truer to the original advertisements and DHS needs it desperately.
Finale: The Mark Twain at DLR is much better as it's larger and able to hold more characters. The Steamboat Willie replica is too boxy and fake looking. However, on the overall finale, I believe DHS wins and here's why: Mickey emerging from the very top of the mountain gets me EVERY time. Random Mickey on top of some pre-existing cabin? Not so much. Oh wow Mickey, look at you stand on that roof. SO dramatic! Not to mention another key point. Between '07 and '08 DLR dramatically cut the amount of pyro in the finale. DLR has to always be careful about that stuff because of the close proximity of a freeway and houses to the park. So their finale is more 'laser-centric'. DHS on the other hand doesn't have to give a flip about pyro and goes all out, making the finale much more exciting.
So, pretty much they both have their pros and cons but I think despite the recent enhancements that DHS has a version that's still better due to fixes they made to the flow of the show (Pocahontas) as well as aesthetic and comfort (stage, finale, amphitheater) that DLR lacks.