SpectroMagic: The short term and long term future

[brb1006]

The SpectroMagic floats were moved to the outdoor backstage storage area and sat in the blazing Florida sun(Heat, Humidity, and DailyThunderstorms) and were infested with termites. Unfortunately, SpectroMagic didn't receive the same TLC that the Electric Light Parade continues to garner. You are correct, there has been some smaller float unit out for marathons in the past. You can actually still find the Sebastian SpectroMagic animatronic prominently featured on the Ariel float of the Festival of Fantasy Parade. One of the all time favorites...sadly vanished.

Besides the opening section, I always loved the fish that winked at you and Ursula.

 

[TTA94]

I was too young to mourn the original losses of EPCOT Center, but SpectroMagic is one of those losses that stings. RoE and the Great Movie Ride are two others. These three experiences collectively embodied the soul of their parks during their respective eras, and their relacements (or lack thereof) feel hollow in comparison.

Didn't even stop to watch it that often, but the elegant waltz soundtrack was so uniquely fitting to MK. It screamed, "this is a special night" no matter how frequently it played. While MK's fireworks shows have consistently stepped it up, I don't think a single parade has suited the park like SpectroMagic, and I hope if the park ever receives a nighttime parade again, the soundtrack will pay homage to and sample it somehow. As much as it works for Paint the Night or MSEP, not every parade needs a modern, high-energy, electric feel.

Unfortunately it seems like US Disney is all about high energy dance part type things now a days. And the majority of guests eat that stuff up to. Tokyo on the other hand is capable of modern yet elegant parades like Electrical Parade Dreamlights. That’s the type of parade WDW needs. Luckily it’s not impossible in the future that WDW could buy some of the Dreamlights floats, the same way they did with some of the Jubilation! floats for Festival of Fantasy.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Unfortunately it seems like US Disney is all about high energy dance part type things now a days. And the majority of guests eat that stuff up to. Tokyo on the other hand is capable of modern yet elegant parades like Electrical Parade Dreamlights. That’s the type of parade WDW needs. Luckily it’s not impossible in the future that WDW could buy some of the Dreamlights floats, the same way they did with some of the Jubilation! floats for Festival of Fantasy.

Yep, while it’s within the realm of possibilities, it doesn’t seem likely we’ll ever experience the tone that SpectroMagic, RoE, or GMR’s final montage conjured up. Such a shame.

It’s also hard to know which came first: Disney phoning it in or the lowest common denominator they’re catering to stooping lower. I wonder about this a lot, as we can’t be unique in appreciating the tonal variety these experiences brought.

 

[brb1006]

Unfortunately it seems like US Disney is all about high energy dance part type things now a days. And the majority of guests eat that stuff up to. Tokyo on the other hand is capable of modern yet elegant parades like Electrical Parade Dreamlights. That’s the type of parade WDW needs. Luckily it’s not impossible in the future that WDW could buy some of the Dreamlights floats, the same way they did with some of the Jubilation! floats for Festival of Fantasy.

I doubt the Dreamlights floats would even fit at WDW considering how massive and tall some of the floats are.

 

[TTA94]

I doubt the Dreamlights floats would even fit at WDW considering how massive and tall some of the floats are.

Thought that to except the few floats from Jubilation fit fine at MK. Unless the Dreamlights floats are a lot larger. I certainly wouldn’t except that entire Dreamlights parade to ever come to WDW , but some of the floats maybe to be used in a “brand new parade”. The good part of that would be WDW would have to design new floats the same way and style. Well, maybe, depending on which floats from Dreamlights. If only this was actually the plan lol.

 

[Touchdown]

Well, DL didn’t get a new night parade for its 50th, it had to wait 10 years. Here’s hoping Spectro 2 comes then.

 

[doctornick]

I like the MSEP soundtrack much better than Spectro. I know this is an unpopular opinion on these boards. But I would rather see any future parades at WDW be based on MSEP music like Dreamlights or PTN than Spectro.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I don't think there's any incentive for WDW to put on night time parades anymore. The fireworks are enough to keep people at MK until late at night.

Of course the park is a worse experience for not having one, but the paying customers keep coming...

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I don't think there's any incentive for WDW to put on night time parades anymore. The fireworks are enough to keep people at MK until late at night.

Of course the park is a worse experience for not having one, but the paying customers keep coming...

So ironic considering the expanded, barren hub was supposed to enable guest flow and evening crowd management, but now (COVID aside) Happily Ever After fills up the hub + Main Street entirely on its own.

Seems like a nighttime parade could provide an opportunity to maintain more order on Main Street (keeping the street clear, utilizing the bypass earlier, etc.) but I imagine at this stage it's seen as redundant.

 

[Stupido]

Poor Spectro. I was working in the magic kingdom for the last performance. I’ll never forget that night, or the advance preview of Main Street Electrical Parade they gave us.

SpectroMagic will always be my nighttime parade, I still drive around listening to the soundtrack whenever I’m missing the Mouse.

 

[marni1971]

I just came across some of my private footage of Spectro from July 5 2008 (anyone who remembers will know)

Absolutely magical. That’s how it used to be. Brought a tear to my eye.

 

[brb1006]

Poor Spectro. I was working in the magic kingdom for the last performance. I’ll never forget that night, or the advance preview of Main Street Electrical Parade they gave us.

SpectroMagic will always be my nighttime parade, I still drive around listening to the soundtrack whenever I’m missing the Mouse.

If I remember correctly, the parade was originally planned to return after MSEP was suppose to only run for the Summer of 2010. But due to popular demand, WDW decided to keep it for a few more years before moving it back to DL. As a result, the parade left with no fanfare.

Here's video of the final performance from June 2010.


At one point in the video, you can hear somebody say "90 days" referring to the parade's return which sadly never happened.

 

[Kev1982]

If they will ever put out a new nighttime parade, the technical aspects and effects they were gonna use this time around will probabely be outdated. So I wonder if we will ever see the designs of what they were cooking up for the 50th nighttime parade...

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

The only thing around is the Sebastian AA. Also the LE pins with a piece of fabric.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Whenever they finally do a new night parade they should make it a spiritual successor to Spectro the same way PtN is a spiritual successor to MSEP.

 

[cookiee_munster]

If I remember correctly, the parade was originally planned to return after MSEP was suppose to only run for the Summer of 2010. But due to popular demand, WDW decided to keep it for a few more years before moving it back to DL. As a result, the parade left with no fanfare.

Here's video of the final performance from June 2010.


At one point in the video, you can hear somebody say "90 days" referring to the parade's return which sadly never happened.

did they replace those creepy clown kid things with something 50% less creepy?

 

[Heppenheimer]

I like the MSEP soundtrack much better than Spectro. I know this is an unpopular opinion on these boards. But I would rather see any future parades at WDW be based on MSEP music like Dreamlights or PTN than Spectro.

I really enjoyed Spectromagic, but now when I listen to the soundtrack vs. Main Street Electrical Parade... the latter wins. It might be that the orchestral score of Spectromagic doesn't translate as well to a CD or MP3 file (it just sounded so much more majestic blaring out over Main Street!), but something about Main Street Electrical Parade just hits a primal pleasure center. It might because as a kid, hearing and recognizing Baroque Hoedown in a non-Disney setting was like being part of a secret club. The kids who knew it were the fortunate ones to have visited Disney World!

 

[Piebald]

I miss Spectromagic a lot. Saw it a million times and never got sick of it. I'm glad TDR exists to preserve some of the Disney greats or in other cases just do things better overall. If that resort was ran the same way as WDW it would be quite depressing. Seeing their night time parade a few years ago, with everyone politely sitting down on their little plastic mats was awesome. Cant wait to go back.

 

[wedenterprises]

The day Spectro ended was the day WDW lost the magic, in my experience. Those 7 or so years with the Spectro/Wishes nighttime combo will never be beat.

 

[brb1006]

The day Spectro ended was the day WDW lost the magic, in my experience. Those 7 or so years with the Spectro/Wishes nighttime combo will never be beat.

Especially since Jiminy Cricket hosted both nighttime shows.






While I enjoy Tom Kane's voice for Happily Ever After. The nighttime atmosphere at Magic Kingdom isn't the same without hearing Jiminy's voice. @wedenterprises was right, once Spectromagic ended, it felt like part of WDW's soul was lost.