Wishes 500th Show on April 6th.

[boo52]

Speaking of FITS, do you have any idea how many versions there were (not counting tags and holiday finales) - for example 1990 and 2001 were totally different shows with different music - how many actual different FITS were played over the years?

I too have been trying to figure that out. I will let you know as soon as I find out. The problem is over the past year I have found documentation of the show from it's early years to be scarce. But what little I have has been interesting.

 

[marni1971]

Hiya, Boo

Good to speak to you as always. Anything you can share about the earlier FITS`s would be gratefully received!

 

[Pongo]

500 shows and the most I've ever seen is about half of one. Well, about three halves of one. different halves. different places. Each time I go I make it a point to remember to watch it from start to finish in the Hub, but each time I forget.

It makes me feel like a bad person...:lookaroun

 

[boo52]

Anything you can share about the earlier FITS`s would be gratefully received!

Now I have seen other sites on the net post that FITS started in 1977 at WDW, but I have found documentation predating that. But what I have found so far is:
The original WDW Fantasy In The Sky started in 1972 and was fired from a site where the Grand Floridian now resides on the Seven Seas Lagoon. In 1973 it moved to an island in the middle of the Seven Seas Lagoon where the New Years Eve and July 4th shows are fired from. In 1975 the site moved to where it now resides, 1/3 of a mile north of the castle. In 1976 FITS went dark during the Bicentennial Celebration. From the island firing site on the Seven Seas Lagoon was presented a patriotic ahow called A Salute To America, which feature fireworks shot off the Electrical Water Pagent barges, small patriotic themed hot air balloons as well as the island itself. Tinkerbell's flight was added to FITS around 1982. The show in it's final form from 1999 - 2003 contained only 240 pieces of fireworks over 142 firing cues. It was fired using a manual push button ignition system. Today Wishes is fired using two state of the art FireOne computer firing system custom designed for Wishes.

 

[marni1971]

Superb, boo!

Even the final FITS was manual?? Was this the whole show (each individual firework) or would on push trigger a sequence?

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Great update Boo, Thanks!

You would think there really isn't anything new to add to fireworks, I'm glad I'm very wrong! :lol:

I can't say what I like best....the themes of the shooting stars, the side fans, cascades and flashes, the hearts, stars, saturns?, that lime green color or the long lasting gold cascade fanale. (sorry for my terms).

Anyway, a wonderful show, that I don't think I could tire of. :sohappy:

 

[boo52]

Superb, boo!

Even the final FITS was manual?? Was this the whole show (each individual firework) or would on push trigger a sequence?

No the final FITS was fired on a FireOne system. The last manual fire of Fantasy in the Sky was on August 23, 2003. In fact on that night we fired a double show from the main launch site. One manual and one on FireOne. The way the manual fire would work is there would be a cue track that would say "Fire 1" and you'd hit cue button one, "Fire 2,3" and you'd hit the numbers when cue'd to all the way to 142.

 

[millercv]

I don't know about you, but we tried seeing ROE three times during June of 2004 and all shows were called off due to inclement weather.

I don't know if they have changed it but last time we were there we watched RoE in a huge rainstorm. We thought it would have been cancelled but we asked a CM and they told us that it was rain-or-shine. The rain did lighten up and there were probably a total of 10 insane people there watching it (two of which were my wife and I of course ).

We were there for the last FitS and the first Wishes - that night at Wishes the park was packed! Epcot closed early so everyone came over to the MK.

FitS had a classic "big fireworks show" appeal but I must say Wishes has really grown on me and I do prefer it now.

 

[marni1971]

We caught (most of) RoE at the tail end of a thunderstorm, having dived into HISTA when the storm arrived (whats with the eveining storms anyhow, we tourists always used to set our watches by the daily 4pm storm...)

Anyhow, after running along with half the park to World Showcase lagoon when we heard the music (thinking it may be cancelled) we had the most breathtaking show ever - the lightning was carrying on as the rain stopped, the entire sky was lighting up along with the fireworks (Faraday was right :lol: )

I have to admit most people kept craning their heads skywards and ignoring the multi million dollar performance in front of them. One item of note, none of the perimeter rounds were fired on that night, I assume due to the weather and safety concerns. Its strange watching the show without them - they are really missed. Not as much, however, as the entire pyro rounds were in the drought of `98 (Illuminations 25)

Hey, boo! :wave:

 

[PhilharMagician]

We were there for the last FitS and the first Wishes - that night at Wishes the park was packed! Epcot closed early so everyone came over to the MK.

Epcot closed that night early @ 5:00 PM for a press event for the Mission Space grand opening. All the other parks were on extended hours that night.

 

[jeanylaser031]

do anyone has the soundtrack of wishes. i have the sountrack of wishes and jimmy cricket did a great job.

 

[InsideOtherPark]

From wdwnews.com



"Wishes" - Fast Facts


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Bursting with color, sound and emotion, "Wishes" is the biggest fireworks spectacular ever presented at Magic Kingdom.

Narrated by the voice of Jiminy Cricket with help from the Blue Fairy, the dazzling display weaves a thrilling "story in the sky" for Walt Disney World guests with hundreds of brilliant pyrotechnic effects exploding above and around Cinderella Castle.

The Show

Running time: Approximately 12 minutes
Fireworks firing cues: 557
Individual pieces of pyrotechnics: 683
Presented most nights, "Wishes" is several times larger than "Fantasy in the Sky," the previous fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, and roughly five minutes longer.
The Story

"Wishes" tells a richly emotional tale about making a wish come true, using classic Disney songs and character voices accompanied by meticulously choreographed fireworks.
The Cast

"Wishes" features the voices of:
Jiminy Cricket , the Blue Fairy and Pinocchio (from 1940's "Pinocchio")
Snow White and the wicked Queen (from 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs")
Cinderella (from 1950's "Cinderella")
Peter Pan (from 1953's "Peter Pan")
Ariel (from 1989's "The Little Mermaid")
Aladdin and Genie (from 1992's "Aladdin")


Tinker Bell (also from "Peter Pan"), flies from atop Cinderella Castle during a key moment in the show.

The Crew

Creator/show director: Steven Davison
Davison, creative director with Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, also developed the "Believe. . .There's Magic in the Stars" fireworks spectacular at Disneyland.

Fireworks designer: Eric Tucker
An award-winning pyrotechnics designer whose credits span the globe, Tucker previously designed the fireworks for "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" at Epcot.

Music director: Steve Skorija
As music director for Walt Disney Entertainment, Skorija oversees music production for live entertainment and special events at Walt Disney World Resort.

Composer/arranger: Gregory Smith
Smith previously worked on such Walt Disney World productions as "IllumiNations 25" and "Splashtacular" at Epcot, and the "Mickey Mania" parade at Magic Kingdom.

The Music

In addition to Gregory Smith's original theme, which is based on the children's nursery rhyme "Starlight, Star Bright," the score for "Wishes" contains portions of 15 songs from 10 classic Disney animated features:
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
"Pinocchio" (1940)
"Fantasia" (1940)
"Cinderella" (1950)
"Peter Pan" (1953)
"Sleeping Beauty" (1959)
"The Little Mermaid" (1989)
"Beauty and the Beast" (1991)
"Aladdin" (1992)
"Hercules" (1997)
The Fireworks

"Wishes" features several new locations for launching fireworks that create brilliant bursts of light around Cinderella Castle, plus pyrotechnic effects never seen before in a Disney theme park, including several developed especially for the show:

The show's "wishing star" crests approximately 100 feet above the castle's bright spires.

The Blue Fairy is represented with a spectacular star-shaped shell that "paints" each wish high in the sky with enchanted starlight.
The Guests

"Wishes" was created in honor of the launch of Magical Gatherings, a celebration of the magic that occurs when friends and extended family reconnect at Walt Disney World Resort. The show is designed to bring guests together at night for a heart-tugging spectacle that will create lasting memories for everyone.

 

[marchofthecards]

Moving around

Hey peeps,

I like the idea that these shows be rotated across the MKs of the globe. What is to stop WDW having Believe (or Remember!) from DL for a season or two, and them having Wishes. Or doing a trade with DLP and Tokyo. DLP had a fantastic show just based on Peter Pan music where Tink made a darting presence around the castle.

Albeit this would be after the candles from the 50th have well and truly been blown out.

What does this entail? Would it be a case of just reprogramming and ordering new works and running the already existing script, or is there more to it than that? It is bound to have cost implications with TDLR and DLPR due to ownership and royalties, but wondering if this is something we could see in reality some time in the future?

Already to the catalogue we could potentially have, Wishes, Believe, Imagine, Remember..... any more? What about.... Enchantment, Dreams? They would then have a longer shelf life as they rotate around the parks. FITS gave us a good run for its money, but more and more people can now travel and afford to visit resorts more frequently. Will Wishes have a less limited run, as our expectations now been raised by the fantastic quality of these shows?

Have a good weekend folks!

Simes

 

[marni1971]

`Wishes` is being duplicated at DLP this summer; a huge undertaking considering the park has no northern launch area (FitS launches from Fanatsyland) and the reworking and probable refitting of the Fantasyland launchers, the reprogramming and new hardware / infrastructure required, new castle lighting / gobos (DLPs is already very good) and also the paying off of local residents for the noise.

So the shows are being rotated. I doubt we`d see TDL`s Starlight Magic at WDW though - the Tokyo castle has some SERIOUS fireproofing!