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

[Rteetz]

So DCharacterNews on twitter said we should expect another announcement yet after this one. Anyone have any info on what that could be? @marni1971 @Magic Feather

 

[kagacins]

I think all WDW fans can agree on one thing - the new spectacular should be exactly like Wishes but also 100% completely new. Wishes HAS TO GO because it is 15 years old, but also what replaces it should remind us of Wishes IN EVERY WAY because of 15 years of nostalgia. Slam dunk.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

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.

My goodness you guys are miserable. We just got a major new show announced and everyone's reaction is "blah I bet it'll suck and be cheap and watered down. Classic TDO."

No, not classic TDO. Classic WDWMagic.

 

[TXDisney]

Too much change. Wishes is breathtaking. Makes my wife cry watching it it's that good. Happy that we are visiting in 3 weeks to catch it before it goes though.

 

[xdan0920]

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.

I think fireworks are one of the few things where more does = better. Obviously that's subjective, but for me, more boom boom is good. Less boom boom is less good.

 

[CJR]

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.

I'm a huge sucker for lasers too (still bitter Carnival Cruise Lines show didn't work out), so the fact I fully agree with this just shows how out of place it is. There's always been something about the charm of MK that caused it not to rely too much on technology. That's why Fantasy in the Sky worked for so long.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I think fireworks are one of the few things where more does = better. Obviously that's subjective, but for me, more boom boom is good. Less boom boom is less good.

IllumiNations has very little fireworks and I've always preferred it to Wishes.

 

[Laketravis]

My goodness you guys are miserable....

Naw, not miserable. Realistic, maybe. Able to spot a trend, perhaps. But not miserable.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Naw, not miserable. Realistic, maybe. Able to spot a trend, perhaps. But not miserable.

No, it's worse than that. If this show comes out and it's terrible, complain away. The thing that drives me insane is the pre-complaining about something completely new that you've never seen before. It's like some kind of reverse excitement where you gear up to dislike something almost deliberately.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

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.

MOAR does not = TDO.

This show will cut pyro, and it'll be done as a cost cutting measure. That's why they do these things. They don't do these things because it's better for the guest. Not anymore. Not for the past 10 years.

They likely looked at the castle projection show and saw it was popular, and thought "hey, what if the projection show and Wishes had a baby? We would only have to present one show a night for a total of 18 minutes instead of the two current shows (which take longer and require more crowd control and manpower), and we can use the already depreciated cost of the projection equipment to carry large sections of the show to cut down on pyro costs. Also, LASERS!!!"

A full projection show and a full fireworks show being combined into one does not = MOAR.

I'm gonna take a stab at it and say they'll cut pyro by 15-20%. Not enough for the casual observer to notice likely, but enough to drive their most die-hard supporters crazy (as usual). A savings of that each night would add up to well over a million saved per year, I'd wager. If they run this show for 14 years, that could save them $20 million over the life of the show.

Or maybe I'm wrong and TDO has the guests' best interests in mind and cost cutting was not taken into consideration. LOL

EDIT TO ADD: @CTXRover says the projection show and this show will both run... If so, that's less upsetting to me. I still will believe that when I see it... There would be some overlapping sections between the two. We've seen the parks blog people be wildly off before.

 

[Laketravis]

IllumiNations has very little fireworks and I've always preferred it to Wishes.

I actually prefer it as well but I didn't realize it had very little fireworks? I suppose it's all in how they are presented.

 

[HMF]

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.

Yes, people must have explosions or something flashing and catching their attention every single second. Can't have people think or be reflective for a single moment.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

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.

My main concern for this show is the mention of "contemporary versions of Popular Disney songs". That is exactly what I meant when I said that Iger era scores do not in any way compare to Eisner era scores. With several exceptions, the majority Iger era shows have had choppy scene transitions and are filled with pop remakes of Disney songs. For the most part, these shows don't have much of a soul and come off as corporate trailers for whatever product they're trying to push at the time. Meanwhile, the majority of Eisner era shows weren't trying to be "contemporary", they were just trying to be authentically Disney. But alas, I remain optimistic. This show is going to have brand new animations created just for it and all of the movies chosen to be featured are good and natural picks. However, the Frozen section needs to be something OTHER than a full length performance of Let it Go. If they pull that footage out again for the trillionth time, I think I'm going to lose my $#*+.

 

[ToTBellHop]

IllumiNations has very little fireworks and I've always preferred it to Wishes.

Doesn't it have about 1200 shells? This will have fewer than that.

I'm sorry, but multimedia presentations are in the other 3 parks. MK has always and should always have a fireworks-driven show. MK=fireworks (among other things). Of course, I'd say MK=electric light parade, too.

 

[Laketravis]

No, it's worse than that. If this show comes out and it's terrible, complain away. The thing that drives me insane is the pre-complaining about something completely new that you've never seen before. It's like some kind of reverse excitement where you gear up to dislike something almost deliberately.

Or are careful to avoid expectations that are too high? Dunno.........

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm gonna take a stab at it and say they'll cut pyro by 15-20%. Not enough for the casual observer to notice likely, but enough to drive their most die-hard supporters crazy (as usual). A savings of that each night would add up to well over a million saved per year, I'd wager. If they run this show for 14 years, that could save them $20 million over the life of the show.

Wh...

That's literally a win-win situation. Cutting costs in a way that nobody notices is exactly the way they should be cutting costs (if this is, in fact, a cost cutting initiative, which we've seen no evidence of whatsoever.)

 

[Buried20KLeague]

No, it's worse than that. If this show comes out and it's terrible, complain away. The thing that drives me insane is the pre-complaining about something completely new that you've never seen before. It's like some kind of reverse excitement where you gear up to dislike something almost deliberately.

If you don't think that press release was written to subtly push their agenda, we should have a chat about how PR works.

Also that this was all released around the Mommy Bloggers being wined and dined.

All this is calculated. Hence the calculated response.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Wh...

That's literally a win-win situation. Cutting costs in a way that nobody notices is exactly the way they should be cutting costs (if this is, in fact, a cost cutting initiative, which we've seen no evidence of whatsoever.)

You will notice when 2 minutes go by without any high-level pyro. Because that's never been the case for MK fireworks.

 

[msteel]

Doesn't it have about 1200 shells? This will have fewer than that.

I'm sorry, but multimedia presentations are in the other 3 parks. MK has always and should always have a fireworks-driven show. MK=fireworks (among other things). Of course, I'd say MK=electric light parade, too.

Do you know how many shells Wishes has?

I am a little disappointed that my trip starts a few days after the switch over and I won't get to see both.

 

[Laketravis]

What happened to the drones?