News Wishes to be replaced with new 'Happily Ever After' nighttime spectacular

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I think a lot of casual Disney fans may agree with you. As a local, I've had the opportunity to see IllumiNations a lot and there is no doubt that the middle section as the Earth Globe moves into position is considered 'boring' by lots of people and they just bail; I see it all the time. Many people I know who have seen it many, many times over the years have come to refer to that segment as the 'intermission'.

Most people who experience the show have no clue (or care) what the story arc is or what the symbolism of the evolution of the planet is; they just know they find that section very boring and many move on to do something else in the park. That doesn't make it a bad show but it does suggest that it may need some updating to keep today's audience more engaged the entire length of the show.

This totally.

 

[Kevin_W]

So excited for this. Wishes was 14 years old; it's time.

Now can Illuminations be next? Please?

No!!!

 

[CTXRover]

Happily Ever After will be a nice length at 18 minutes. While it will likely rely alot on projections for that length of a show, they also still do refer to it as a "fireworks spectacular"

From: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/magic-kingdom/happily-ever-after-fireworks/

Gather ‘round Cinderella Castle for an awe-inspiring show that’s sure to surprise and delight.

The Stories
Happily Ever After starts with a dream… and takes you on an unforgettable journey that captures the heart, humor and heroism of many favorite Disney animated films, including:

• Aladdin
• Beauty and the Beast
• Frozen
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid
• Moana
• Peter Pan
• The Princess and the Frog
• Toy Story

Come experience the magic of these beloved movies firsthand—and be inspired to find your own happily ever after.

Show Features & Special Effects
This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!

Throughout Happily Ever After, you’ll witness the many transformations of Cinderella Castle as it becomes a part of popular Disney stories—and is brought to life by:

• Awe-inspiring fireworks and rooftop pyro
• Supportive state-of-the-art projections
• Brilliant lasers and immersive lighting
• A stirring score featuring contemporary versions of popular Disney songs

It all comes together in a dazzling way—for a fantastical finale to your day at Magic Kingdom park.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

Do you know how many fireworks shows DL has gone through since we got Wishes?

Believe, Imagine, Remember, Magical, Fantasy in the Sky, and Disneyland Forever. There really is no excuse for MK. Wishes should have gone the wayside come the 40th, let alone 45th.

 

[danyoung56]

Now can Illuminations be next? Please?

IllumiNations is, by far, my favorite of the nighttime shows in WDW, just as it is. The Earth Globe uses LED's, not projection, and as such is not subject to fading. I have no problem seeing it from my regular viewing site in front of the Canada pavilion. I understand that the show has been running a long time, and as such is probably due for a revamp. I'm just hoping for personal reasons that it continues to run as is for many more years.

I'm not a fan of projection shows, so at this time I'm not terribly excited about this new show replacing 'Wishes!'.

It's hard to imagine someone who isn't a fan of projection shows. Maybe I'm biased, as I've made my living for many years as a projection engineer. The technology totally blows me away, and what Disney does with it (at least in the Magic Kingdom) gets me all misty-eyed every time.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I would love to hear what @boo52 has to say about all this. Hopefully he's still around and sees my tag.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I am told to expect extended portions without fireworks.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

• Aladdin

• Beauty and the Beast

• Frozen

• The Lion King

• The Little Mermaid

• Moana

• Peter Pan

• The Princess and the Frog

• Toy Story

Three of those already feature in Once Upon a Time, six if you include the opening and finale montages. Utterly baffled at the inclusion of Toy Story (honestly all of Pixar's scores are not fireworks worthy imo). Upset over the lack of Tangled. Glad to see Moana and Princess and the Frog getting some hype though.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Believe, Imagine, Remember, Magical, Fantasy in the Sky, and Disneyland Forever. There really is no excuse for MK. Wishes should have gone the wayside come the 40th, let alone 45th.

It's not about "excuses," it's about fundamentally different guest profiles. Disneyland attracts the same guests year after year, or several times per year, for a day or two at a time. Walt Disney World families visit on five-to-ten year cycles. People on that timeline have probably only seen Wishes two or three times. Those of us who visit frequently enough to get sick of things are in a small minority.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Happily Ever After will be a nice length at 18 minutes. While it will likely rely alot on projections for that length of a show, they also still do refer to it as a "fireworks spectacular"

From: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/magic-kingdom/happily-ever-after-fireworks/

Gather ‘round Cinderella Castle for an awe-inspiring show that’s sure to surprise and delight.

The Stories
Happily Ever After starts with a dream… and takes you on an unforgettable journey that captures the heart, humor and heroism of many favorite Disney animated films, including:

• Aladdin
• Beauty and the Beast
• Frozen
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid
• Moana
• Peter Pan
• The Princess and the Frog
• Toy Story

Come experience the magic of these beloved movies firsthand—and be inspired to find your own happily ever after.

Show Features & Special Effects
This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!

Throughout Happily Ever After, you’ll witness the many transformations of Cinderella Castle as it becomes a part of popular Disney stories—and is brought to life by:

• Awe-inspiring fireworks and rooftop pyro
• Supportive state-of-the-art projections
• Brilliant lasers and immersive lighting
• A stirring score featuring contemporary versions of popular Disney songs

It all comes together in a dazzling way—for a fantastical finale to your day at Magic Kingdom park.

This wording is quite spooky:

"This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!"

 

[Buried20KLeague]

What's the over/under on if the parking and resort fees are implemented in time for these May additions?

I'll take the under.

 

[mouse_luv]

It's 17 years old. Even more overdue for a major overhaul. It's hard to see the projections on the globe. It definitely needs an update.

When was the last time you where there to see it? We were there a few weeks ago and the globe projections could be seen great from all around the WS and the lasers looked awesome.

In reference to you saying it's boring to you: Have you taken the time to read up on the background story and what each section represents? It is pretty fascinating IMHO.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This wording is quite spooky:

"This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!"

More fireworks than Star Wars but fewer than Wishes, I'd imagine.

Not that we couldn't all see that coming when they added the projections, synchrolites, and now lasers.

 

[aladdin2007]

Happily Ever After will be a nice length at 18 minutes. While it will likely rely alot on projections for that length of a show, they also still do refer to it as a "fireworks spectacular"

From: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/magic-kingdom/happily-ever-after-fireworks/

Gather ‘round Cinderella Castle for an awe-inspiring show that’s sure to surprise and delight.

The Stories
Happily Ever After starts with a dream… and takes you on an unforgettable journey that captures the heart, humor and heroism of many favorite Disney animated films, including:

• Aladdin
• Beauty and the Beast
• Frozen
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid
• Moana
• Peter Pan
• The Princess and the Frog
• Toy Story

Come experience the magic of these beloved movies firsthand—and be inspired to find your own happily ever after.

Show Features & Special Effects
This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!

Throughout Happily Ever After, you’ll witness the many transformations of Cinderella Castle as it becomes a part of popular Disney stories—and is brought to life by:

• Awe-inspiring fireworks and rooftop pyro
• Supportive state-of-the-art projections
• Brilliant lasers and immersive lighting
• A stirring score featuring contemporary versions of popular Disney songs

It all comes together in a dazzling way—for a fantastical finale to your day at Magic Kingdom park.

some of those same IP's are growing weary on me, used everywhere for everything. Would have liked to have seen Pinocchio and a few others instead of that same repeated mix, oh well just personal preference. Or how about instead of movie after movie they celebrate the park attractions and what not like Disneyland did with theirs. Maybe for the 50th? And we dont know the status of tinkerbell's flight yet right? Really hope they dont cut that.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I am told to expect extended portions without fireworks.

TDO is nothing if not predictable.

 

[wdwmagic]

More fireworks than Star Wars but fewer than Wishes, I'd imagine.

Not that we couldn't all see that coming when they added the projections, synchrolites, and now lasers.

Yep.

I'd rather see lasers left out of the Magic Kingdom. Something about an 11th century inspired castle and lasers don't mix. Lasers have the ideal home at Epcot.

 

[CTXRover]

Three of those already feature in Once Upon a Time, six if you include the opening and finale montages. Utterly baffled at the inclusion of Toy Story (honestly all of Pixar's scores are not fireworks worthy imo). Upset over the lack of Tangled. Glad to see Moana and Princess and the Frog getting some hype though.

My guess is Once Upon A Time will no longer be shown and this new 18 minute show will sort of be a combined Wishes/OUAT show as a single unit rather than two separate shows back to back as is now the case.

One concern is that it sounds like it will be a show very similar in style to the Studios fireworks show that relies heavily on 'lights, lasers and projections'. I'd prefer they keep the focus on fireworks. I am hopeful they do since it is still listed as a fireworks spectactular with "supportive projections".

EDIT: Just saw on the parks blog that an answer to one of the comments is that this show will NOT also replace OUAT and that they will instead compliment each other.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

TDO is nothing if not predictable.

Why is that objectively a bad thing? I think it's a mistake to assume that less fireworks is necessarily worse than more fireworks. MOAR does not = better.

 

[Laketravis]

I've always felt that Disney's nighttime fireworks/laser/projection shows is an area no other theme park in the world has ever come close to. Hopefully the replacement for Wishes isn't an obvious victim of the current cost-cutting initiative. I'd miss IllumiNations if they happened to decide it was time to go, it's become what I'd consider an iconic feature of Epcot.

 

[Laketravis]

This wording is quite spooky:

"This 18-minute show features more lasers, lights and projections than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park!"

Agreed. I think that's another way of saying "Less actual fireworks than any other fireworks spectacular in the history of Magic Kingdom park, but more lower-cost lasers, lights, and projections!" Hopefully that's not the case.