New Fantasyland Theatre Show- Summer 2013

GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
Managed to get a last-second entry to the Magical Map Parks Blog Meet-Up last night. DPB treated everyone great - walking in we got to pick up a free 20 oz drink of our choice and a MMM popcorn bucket (with kettle corn!). After the show, they raffled off some prizes (no winners here!), including a 3D etched castle blueprint (WANT!), some watches and a bag of D-Tech items. Then the in-real-life-totally-charming Erin Glover took the stage with Tracy Halas (director and co-choreographer), and two guys whose names I didn't catch (one was the technical director) for Q&A. Erin asked some super softball questions and then opened it up to the audience.

This is when the evening went south.

The first question was the same one every single guest has - why aren't Lilo & Stitch onstage? Halas looked like she had answered this before (no doubt to an executive) and took a semi-defensive posture, saying that they wanted to showcase different elements throughout the show and this song was focused on acrobatics (of which there are few) and the hula ball things the girls spin. Laaaaaame

Then we had questions that were retreads of stuff press releases covered ("can you add new scenes for seasonal promotions or other movies, like Robin Hood?" I've sure got my fingers crossed for that new Robin Hood scene! I've heard Black Cauldron is coming first though!), repetitive (at least four people asked how they picked the movies/songs for the show - they got the same answer each time) or embarrassing ("I've seen World of Color 180 times and wanted to know if Spot was based on Little Squirt." o_O).

I packed it up and left as someone was asking why the show is so similar to "Disney Wishes on the Disney Fantasy, number four in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. It also has 'Wanna Be Like You', 'Reflection', a song from Tangled..." I left. Those poor people onstage - no wonder Disney thinks their fans are crazy/nuts/stupid.

Someone asked "what number this is for the Fantasyland Theater." As in how many shows have there been - hello, there was a DPB post on this last week! Do you even lift bro?

As we exited, we were handed a neatly wrapped Mickey-shaped rice crispy treat with the show logo inside. I thought it was a sticker, but lo and behold, it's a sturdy luggage tag! The reverse side even has the date and "Disney Parks Blog Meet Up" on it. Super cool!

The event was fun and well-organized, I'd definitely go again in the future - as long as I can skip any fan Q&As.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic said:
Managed to get a last-second entry to the Magical Map Parks Blog Meet-Up last night. DPB treated everyone great - walking in we got to pick up a free 20 oz drink of our choice and a MMM popcorn bucket (with kettle corn!). After the show, they raffled off some prizes (no winners here!), including a 3D etched castle blueprint (WANT!), some watches and a bag of D-Tech items. Then the in-real-life-totally-charming Erin Glover took the stage with Tracy Halas (director and co-choreographer), and two guys whose names I didn't catch (one was the technical director) for Q&A. Erin asked some super softball questions and then opened it up to the audience.

This is when the evening went south.

The first question was the same one every single guest has - why aren't Lilo & Stitch onstage? Halas looked like she had answered this before (no doubt to an executive) and took a semi-defensive posture, saying that they wanted to showcase different elements throughout the show and this song was focused on acrobatics (of which there are few) and the hula ball things the girls spin. Laaaaaame

Then we had questions that were retreads of stuff press releases covered ("can you add new scenes for seasonal promotions or other movies, like Robin Hood?" I've sure got my fingers crossed for that new Robin Hood scene! I've heard Black Cauldron is coming first though!), repetitive (at least four people asked how they picked the movies/songs for the show - they got the same answer each time) or embarrassing ("I've seen World of Color 180 times and wanted to know if Spot was based on Little Squirt." o_O).

I packed it up and left as someone was asking why the show is so similar to "Disney Wishes on the Disney Fantasy, number four in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. It also has 'Wanna Be Like You', 'Reflection', a song from Tangled..." I left. Those poor people onstage - no wonder Disney thinks their fans are crazy/nuts/stupid.

Someone asked "what number this is for the Fantasyland Theater." As in how many shows have there been - hello, there was a DPB post on this last week! Do you even lift bro?

As we exited, we were handed a neatly wrapped Mickey-shaped rice crispy treat with the show logo inside. I thought it was a sticker, but lo and behold, it's a sturdy luggage tag! The reverse side even has the date and "Disney Parks Blog Meet Up" on it. Super cool!

The event was fun and well-organized, I'd definitely go again in the future - as long as I can skip any fan Q&As.
Click to expand...


Those are the kinds of questions that get me irritated and just annoyed. I definitely would have left with questions like those. SMH.

Sounds like you had a great time!
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
Went to the parks yesterday and caught a showing of Mickey and the Magical Map. I don't know where all the hate comes from for this show because it's great.

I loved every second of it. The King Louie segment was one of my favorites. It was so fun and entertaining; everyone clapped when he came out. My other favorite segment was the princess section. When Pocahontas and Mulan popped up, again, everyone clapped... And I cried. These two princesses are Disney's most underrated. They are a big part of my childhood, so I was very happy and grateful to see them being appreciated in the show. Fantastic. BTW, their singing voices were top notch. They sounded exactly like the characters!

I understand that The Little Mermaid is starting to become tiring but I couldn't help but enjoy the Under the Sea segment. The Sebastian puppet is so cool. I loved the bubbles. I'll admit I missed Lilo and Stitch but I still enjoyed the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride segment as well. Of course, the finale was spectacular. Tiana is one of my favorite princesses and her voice was magnificent yesterday.

The show is great. The choreography was so good and it wasn't cheesy at all, which can sometimes be the norm for a Disney park, unfortunately. BTW, for the people complaining about the lack of costume changes... When would the dancers have time to change their costumes? This is a 25 minute theme park show, not a theatrical play. Mickey was awesome, as usual, as well as Yensid. I just loved everything about the show.

For those judging the show from watching it on YouTube, don't make any final judgments until you've seen the show in person.
 
MichWolv

MichWolv

Born Modest. Wore Off.
Premium Member
raven24 said:
Went to the parks yesterday and caught a showing of Mickey and the Magical Map. I don't know where all the hate comes from for this show because it's great.

I loved every second of it. The King Louie segment was one of my favorites. It was so fun and entertaining; everyone clapped when he came out. My other favorite segment was the princess section. When Pocahontas and Mulan popped up, again, everyone clapped... And I cried. These two princesses are Disney's most underrated. They are a big part of my childhood, so I was very happy and grateful to see them being appreciated in the show. Fantastic. BTW, their singing voices were top notch. They sounded exactly like the characters!

I understand that The Little Mermaid is starting to become tiring but I couldn't help but enjoy the Under the Sea segment. The Sebastian puppet is so cool. I loved the bubbles. I'll admit I missed Lilo and Stitch but I still enjoyed the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride segment as well. Of course, the finale was spectacular. Tiana is one of my favorite princesses and her voice was magnificent yesterday.

The show is great. The choreography was so good and it wasn't cheesy at all, which can sometimes be the norm for a Disney park, unfortunately. BTW, for the people complaining about the lack of costume changes... When would the dancers have time to change their costumes? This is a 25 minute theme park show, not a theatrical play. Mickey was awesome, as usual, as well as Yensid. I just loved everything about the show.

For those judging the show from watching it on YouTube, don't make any final judgments until you've seen the show in person.
Click to expand...


Saw it last week. Hated nothing. Loved nothing except for the Limited Time Magic map quest game that my kids did after the show. As a theme park show goes, it was fine. But it's no Festival of the Lion King, Aladdin, Nemo Musical, Animagique, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, or even Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, all of which are singing/dancing live shows that I prefer to this one.

It is certainly better than the castle forecourt shows they typically have at MK, and much better than the shows I've seen at the MK Tomorrowland stage (Stitch's Supersonic calamity and the confusing as heck Tomorrowland Xmas show). I also liked Magical Map better than the Disney Junior show, although my kids, predictably, did not.
Overall, I give it a solid 6 of 10, and I don't believe they were shooting for much more than that. Choice of songs was good, as far as I'm concerned, and the quality of the singers was also good, although the qualify of the acoustics in that theater is bad. The horn player was a nice touch that added a good twist to a couple of songs. The acrobatics in HRC were disappointing to me -- looked like they were ready to do some really cool stuff, but they never did. The set was neat, but, I thought, not used in a particularly interesting way except for a couple of brief moments. It's certainly a show I'll plan to see again the next time I'm at Disneyland, but if I miss it, I won't be too disappointed.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic said:
.... Erin asked some super softball questions and then opened it up to the audience.

This is when the evening went south.
Click to expand...

Great review!

And a great reminder of why I stay away from organized fan events, official or unofficial, at Disney theme parks. :D

Lots of nice and normal folks in attendance, I'm sure. But in any group of "fans" you also have more than a handful of people who are just so painfully nerdy and socially awkward and trying to influence senior executive decisions with their little manifestos that it's just too much to bear. I feel sorry for the Disney folks who do these events and then get stuck talking to the crazies at the end of the night.
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
Went to the parks yesterday and caught a showing of Mickey and the Magical Map. I don't know where all the hate comes from for this show because it's great.

I loved every second of it. The King Louie segment was one of my favorites. It was so fun and entertaining; everyone clapped when he came out. My other favorite segment was the princess section. When Pocahontas and Mulan popped up, again, everyone clapped... And I cried. These two princesses are Disney's most underrated. They are a big part of my childhood, so I was very happy and grateful to see them being appreciated in the show. Fantastic. BTW, their singing voices were top notch. They sounded exactly like the characters!

I understand that The Little Mermaid is starting to become tiring but I couldn't help but enjoy the Under the Sea segment. The Sebastian puppet is so cool. I loved the bubbles. I'll admit I missed Lilo and Stitch but I still enjoyed the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride segment as well. Of course, the finale was spectacular. Tiana is one of my favorite princesses and her voice was magnificent yesterday.

The show is great. The choreography was so good and it wasn't cheesy at all, which can sometimes be the norm for a Disney park, unfortunately. BTW, for the people complaining about the lack of costume changes... When would the dancers have time to change their costumes? This is a 25 minute theme park show, not a theatrical play. Mickey was awesome, as usual, as well as Yensid. I just loved everything about the show.

For those judging the show from watching it on YouTube, don't make any final judgments until you've seen the show in person.
Click to expand...

Wait, I can't tell... so are you saying it's better or worse than a meet-n-greet? :D
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
HAHAHA, it's definitely better!
Click to expand...

Good. I still haven't seen it, maybe this weekend.

But the fun thing to think about is how the rich fabric of Disneyland experiences has been made richer by this little Fantasyland Theater switcheroo of the last few months.

They booted the meet n' greet out of here and gave it its own fabulous looking custom home in the shadow of the Castle. The new Princess Fantasy Faire is a wonderful new home for the girls, with top-notch Imagineering and an obviously healthy budget. With new stage shows and some nice food and merchandise offerings as icing on the cake.

And then they went in and plussed up the old Fantasyland Theater and brought back a classic musical stage show to Disneyland, an entertainment offering that had been missing from Disneyland for too many years. Mickey & The Magical Map looks like toe-tapping fun, with some impressive technology and top talent to keep things looking and feeling like the day was worth that recently increased ticket price.

Disneyland's already great overall experience just took another step upward in polish and atmosphere and offerings. And the park's tapestry of offerings was noticeably improved and previously underused or dead spaces were brought to life and allowed the park to soak up just a bit more of those famous crowds.

How can that not be a great thing for Disneyland USA? Bravo! :)
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
What @TP2000 said, although "Lamp" should be replaced with "Map".:D

Speaking of Princess Fantasy Faire, I definitely saw Imagineer Michel den Dulk in Disneyland the other day, with some other execs. He was heading towards Pirates. Walked right past him.
 
Disneyfanman

Disneyfanman

Well-Known Member
Finally saw it! We all loved it, particularly the princess section and The finale with Tiana. Hopefully the show stays awhile. We also saw the Billy's act. Billy Elvis looked exhausted, but the show was terrific. A full 30 minutes, which was a nice change from the recent shorter sets. I'm going to miss them.

DLR was a blast. The only thing we all noticed was that the CMs didn't seem to be as friendly as in recent visits. No rudeness but no over the top friendliness either. Maybe everyone is tired. It was a clear change from recent visits. People were just kind of doing their job.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
I enjoyed this production too when i saw it this past September.
I enjoyed the big reaction Pocahontas received from the audience when she took the stage, and King Louie absolutely steals the show.

I am happy to hear that Stitch now appears in the show during 'Hawaiian Roller Coaster'.
I had seen the original, previous incarnation where the song was only performed by dancers with no characters onstage.

I like the routine and the song a lot, but a character ( or two..like Lilo...) really needed to be there.
 

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