More news about Fantasmic!

[disney4life2008]

I am planning on going to DLR in late 2010. I am prepared to write a full compative analysis of both resorts.

 

[_Scar]

That would be cool. Depends on how popular PatF ends up being though.

But they do need to trim down the villains who show up. Especially Cruella, Frollo, and Scar. They don't do anything. They basically just show up and say "yeah, let's take over Mickey's imagination" and don't show up again until the end.

I hate Scar's "Yes... purrrfect"

Seriously? 2 Words? Probably the most popular Disney villain and he gets 2 words? :fork: AND a bad voice over? :fork::fork:


Frollo and Cruella's sound spot on though IMO. Wouldn't mind keeping them and adding Facilier.

A lot could be done with the voodoo concept.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I hate Scar's "Yes... purrrfect"

Seriously? 2 Words? Probably the most popular Disney villain and he gets 2 words? :fork: AND a bad voice over? :fork::fork:


Frollo and Cruella's sound spot on though IMO. Wouldn't mind keeping them and adding Facilier.

A lot could be done with the voodoo concept.

Pretty sure Tony Jay actually did the Frollo line. His later years were full of prolific voice acting and his voice (in my mind) is somewhat hard to duplicate. Shame that he passed away. He had a very commanding voice that worked for a variety of characters.

 

[drew81]

Pretty sure Tony Jay actually did the Frollo line. His later years were full of prolific voice acting and his voice (in my mind) is somewhat hard to duplicate. Shame that he passed away. He had a very commanding voice that worked for a variety of characters.

Yes he did.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I'm just happy that there is a performance on the 20th.


Might be going to that.:lookaroun

 

[Studios Fan]

Fantasmic could be vastly improved if they got rid of Pocahontas already and trimmed down the villains and replaced that pre-Jafar villain cameos bit with Dr Facilier singing the last part of Friends on the Other Side. ARE YA REEAAADDDYYY would be a perfect way to kick off Mickey's nightmare.

Great idea.

 

[TP2000]

I enjoy the DHS Fantasmic, but then this past September, when I saw the DL version, with a working dragon, I was blown away. As enjoyable as the DHS version is, DL's is ten times better, dragon or not. The fact that the dragon is there now makes it even better.

I agree. The techical and showmanship award clearly goes to Disneyland. Last time I saw F! at WDW in '08 it looked noticeably tired and dated technically.

There are those that like the convenience of the bleacher seating of the aquacade setting in DHS (complete with hot dog vendors and tourists doing the wave for the pre-show), and then there are those that find the New Orleans Square/Frontierland setting of Disneyland (complete with a jazz band floating on a raft for the pre-show) to be charming and utterly magical.

Both shows have noticeable differences in their setting and presentation, and I think the differences really exemplify the bigger cultural differences between the Disneyland and WDW properties.

It's interesting to read the comments by the few folks here who have actually been to Disneyland in the last year or two. And then it's hilarious to read the comments by the folks who have never been to Southern California in their lives, much less visit Disneyland in the past year or two. :lol:

 

[_Scar]

I agree. The techical and showmanship award clearly goes to Disneyland. Last time I saw F! at WDW in '08 it looked noticeably tired and dated technically.

There are those that like the convenience of the bleacher seating of the aquacade setting in DHS (complete with hot dog vendors and tourists doing the wave for the pre-show), and then there are those that find the New Orleans Square/Frontierland setting of Disneyland (complete with a jazz band floating on a raft for the pre-show) to be charming and utterly magical.

Both shows have noticeable differences in their setting and presentation, and I think the differences really exemplify the bigger cultural differences between the Disneyland and WDW properties.

Our F! is dated.... and we obviously need a refurb like DL got... which also was dated.

And am I the only one who finds the wave (complete with reverse, slow, and fast styles ) as a nice way of the crowd coming together and having a bit of fun? It always gets me so pumped to see F!:sohappy:

Cultural differences? :lol:

It's interesting to read the comments by the few folks here who have actually been to Disneyland in the last year or two. And then it's hilarious to read the comments by the folks who have never been to Southern California in their lives, much less visit Disneyland in the past year or two.

:lol: common sense isn't for everyone I guess

 

[TP2000]

Maybe you should experience it in person and see for yourself that it is not as big a deal as you are making it. Even though DL is smaller than MK guest flow is much smoother in DL.

Life should not be experienced via blogs and YouTube. Sometimes these kids just need to get out in the world and live it, and then they can talk about it all they want.

I'm always amazed at how well they move people in and out of Frontierland/Adventureland/New Orleans Square during Fantasic!. After 15+ years they really have it down pat when it comes to getting folks where they want to go. And at the end of Fantasmic! in Disneyland, you can go on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion or go shopping in New Orleans Square or go wherever you want in Disneyland.

All of the times I've seen Fantasmic! at DHS over the past decade, they have literally forced the entire crowd down a back of house alley lit by industrial lighting and unceremoniously dumped us in the parking lot. Maybe I just visit on bad nights, over and over and over during the last decade, but it seems like DHS has no other traffic flow option after the show but to exit out a spectacularly unmagical back alley past cement buildings and glaring flourescent lights.

Do they ever let the post-show audience just flow back into the park and Sunset Blvd. at DHS?

 

[_Scar]

Do they ever let the post-show audience just flow back into the park and Sunset Blvd. at DHS?

Yes.

My last trip in August I walked straight from F! (which was packed) to Sunset, no problem. CMs, from what I saw, could handle 18,000 people trying to watch F! and I applaud them. I might pull my hair out if I had crowd control as a job.

So, the only thing I can say is :shrug:

 

[TP2000]

And am I the only one who finds the wave (complete with reverse, slow, and fast styles ) as a nice way of the crowd coming together and having a bit of fun? It always gets me so pumped to see F!:sohappy:

Cultural differences? :lol:

The Wave can be fun, (although I now find it mildly annoying if we have to do it more than twice per night 30 years after it was invented) but it's just one of those things that is different between Disneyland and WDW.

And much of those differences are truly cultural; in the types of people who visit each property, the level of ownership and emotional connection they have to the park, the overall vibe and style with which they expect the park to entertain them and host them, etc., etc.

It's really quite fascinating to notice as you visit each property. When you make your first visit to Disneyland, I'm sure as a Disney theme park fan you will pick up on it after a day or two.

Here's the pre-show vibe and entertainment at DHS Fantasmic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTH-q2ViHCY

Here's the pre-show vibe and entertainment at Disneyland Fantasmic! (the band floats along about a minute in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW6KHIpdEUE

Subtle and not so subtle Cultural Differences. :animwink:

 

[_Scar]

Yup...I should have looked at his profile before I continued and I would have seen he is in the "know it all teen years"...bad move on my part.



Exactly the point I was trying to make, It was actually a pleasure after viewing Fantasmic in DL...not like the crowd control chaos at WDW, but what do you expect from a bunch of PAC CPs & ICPs who have no clue what they are doing and just cant wait for their shift to be over so they can attend a party somewhere.

:lol:

Alrighty.

 

[Studios Fan]

Life should not be experienced via blogs and YouTube. Sometimes these kids just need to get out in the world and live it, and then they can talk about it all they want.

I'm always amazed at how well they move people in and out of Frontierland/Adventureland/New Orleans Square during Fantasic!. After 15+ years they really have it down pat when it comes to getting folks where they want to go. And at the end of Fantasmic! in Disneyland, you can go on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion or go shopping in New Orleans Square or go wherever you want in Disneyland.

All of the times I've seen Fantasmic! at DHS over the past decade, they have literally forced the entire crowd down a back of house alley lit by industrial lighting and unceremoniously dumped us in the parking lot. Maybe I just visit on bad nights, over and over and over during the last decade, but it seems like DHS has no other traffic flow option after the show but to exit out a spectacularly unmagical back alley past cement buildings and glaring flourescent lights.

Do they ever let the post-show audience just flow back into the park and Sunset Blvd. at DHS?

Great point on the first paragraph. When I saw Fantasmic back in April I saw the first show of the night (8:00) so I got to go back into the park normally and didn't have to deal with them "ushering" me out.

 

[TP2000]

Great point on the first paragraph. When I saw Fantasmic back in April I saw the first show of the night (8:00) so I got to go back into the park normally and didn't have to deal with them "ushering" me out.

I don't tend to go to Florida during the peak vacation times of summer, spring break, etc. Usually I'm there in late October for Food & Wine or some oddball trip in February or something, and Fantasmic! is only offered once per night on select nights now that I think about it.

I guess I get the Back Alley Exit treatment because I'm at DHS on a night where there is only one Fantasmic! performed?

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I guess I get the Back Alley Exit treatment because I'm at DHS on a night where there is only one Fantasmic! performed?

I think they use the Back Alley when the show is very full, to speed up the exit process. I've only ever been ushered out that way when the park was closed after Fantasmic. If the park was still open, you exited back out onto the street.

I do agree that being ushered out the back alley is most unmagical, but some people love a glimpse of the backstage area.

 

[TP2000]

I do agree that being ushered out the back alley is most unmagical, but some people love a glimpse of the backstage area.

I use Google Earth for those glimpses! :lol:

After Fantasmic! at DHS, I think it's just kind of, well, unmagical to be ushered out of the theme park that way. It's not exactly a gracious way to bid your guests good night, but I can see why they are forced to do it that way.

 

[TP2000]

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.

That's a sizeable piece of exaggeration you've just bit off there. Do you need some milk with that? :animwink:

First, because I'm a stickler for accurate timekeeping, the run time of the two Fantasmic! performances from the first "Imagination" lyric to Mickey's "Some imagination, huh?" line and ending pyro blast (chosen as easily identifiable markers) is actually as follows, give or take a second or two;

Disneyland Fantasmic! 22:40 minutes
DHS Fantasmic! 26:10 minutes

The additional time at DHS appears to be mostly taken up with mist screen segments, as most of the boats/barges/actors segments run nearly the same time in both parks.

As for the amount of time to walk around the area, Pirates to Mansion or back before or during Fantasmic is through dedicated one-way main walkways staffed by at least a dozen CM's dressed in yellow and waving flashlights. It's probably faster to get to Mansion from Pirates before or during Fantasmic! in that controlled environment than it is in the afternoon when there are no CM's directing traffic in that busy corner of the park. There's certainly a lot of people in that area during Fantasmic! time, but it's quite easy to move around as you go through the main walkways staffed with crowd control CM's. Your mileage may vary, but that's been my experience over the years.

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.[/PHP]

And for those who are wondering what the differences are in the stage setups between Disneyland and DHS...

Here's a picture of Disneyland's Fantasmic! stage on the end of Tom Sawyer Island at dusk, before the band raft comes out to entertain prior to the show. The traffic on the Rivers of America has stopped by this point as they prepare the show, and some evening mood lighting has been turned on around the stage and nearby trees. The black pyro boxes and fountain rigs have just been brought up from underwater, and can be seen floating in front of the stage.

http://www.merinospace.com/pics/albums/userpics/Fantasmic_Night_059.jpg

Here's the DHS Fantasmic! stage as seen from the amphitheater seating prior to showtime, with similar mood lighting turned on at dusk.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/348515212_81ab7b8193.jpg?v=0

 

[_Scar]

I think our stage is fine?

 

[TP2000]

I think our stage is fine?

It is fine. Nothing wrong with it, really. Just different.

A lot of folks find the Island stage setup at Disneyland to be more magical, because this huge, amazing show springs out of Tom Sawyer Island where you probably visited and walked around earlier that afternoon. And then the Columbia and Mark Twain make major appearances in the show, a few hours after you may have taken a ride around the Rivers of America on either of those boats.

It's just a different setup, and I find it to be more impressive what they accomplish with these working attractions at Disneyland. The stage and boats at DHS Fantasmic! are not available to anyone during the day; they only exist to present Fantasmic! at night.

 

[_Scar]

It is fine. Nothing wrong with it, really. Just different.

A lot of folks find the Island stage setup at Disneyland to be more magical, because this huge, amazing show springs out of Tom Sawyer Island where you probably visited and walked around earlier that afternoon. And then the Columbia and Mark Twain make major appearances in the show, a few hours after you may have taken a ride on either of those boats.

It's just a different setup, and I find it to be more impressive what they accomplish with these working attractions at Disneyland. The stage and boats at DHS Fantasmic! are not available to anyone during the day; they only exist to present Fantasmic! at night.

I do agree.

DL's def. seems more out of the blue and some "magic" is going on. Even though I may think DL's traffic may be unfortunate, I really want to set a goal in life to see this show at DL.