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

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Guess I phrased wrong. I am just sad he wasn't in the show. I miss Mickey.

But he wasn't in the show that it replaced either? You said you hate change and then said you miss Mickey. So in theory, you should like that he's not in this show either because it would be a change if he was lol.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Guess I phrased wrong. I am just sad he wasn't in the show. I miss Mickey.

So you just miss him in general?

 

[Deno]

So you just miss him in general?

He wasn't in that either

 

[JS514]

I apologize if this was already addressed...I may have missed the posts. But how were the crowds last night? Horrible? Manageable? We are going to attempt to see it tonight and would like some sort of view in front of the castle..doesn't have to be perfect. Do I have to stand there for hours or can I get there around 8 and be okay?

 

[Lou Gyton]

Well….. For the first time in 10 – 15 years of just reading and enjoying pretty much everything about WDWMAGIC, and 16 trips from the UK to the amazing bubble that is Disney World, I feel the need to post after watching the live stream on You Tube of Happily Ever After … bear with me .. I possibly ramble a bit

Whilst I agree with others that this does seem a little disjointed at times (transition from one projection/musical segment to another is not always entirely seamless), I thought this show was absolutely fantastic! I think the projections and lasers were amazing and there seemed like an extraordinary amount of pyros (timing of the pyros was spot on).

This may seem ridiculous, but apart from the middle segment I cried with joy or some kind of emotion like I’ve never experienced before at/during a Disney show. Happily ever after really evoked a feeling I’ve not experienced for a while at Disney. I can’t say exactly why, but it really stirred me ….even watching via You Tube. Wishes and Illuminations pretty much used to do the same, I never made it through a viewing without crying, but that was in person.

I was there for a solo visit late April/Early May this year, and for the first time Illuminations (this show has always meant so much to me) left me feeling deflated (it felt like they cut something and some of the mains speakers were not working properly) and for the first time in forever of watching Wishes in person and on you tube videos, whilst fantastic and emotional as always I did feel a little disconnected from it ….whether it was due to fact of not sharing it with a loved one I don’t know. I definitely felt ready for a new show.

I watched the new Rivers of Light and something also seemed missing in this show … whilst it was musically and technically superb, for some reason it seemed to miss that personal something (I’m sure/hope it will feel different next time) ..

I really felt unsure of what Happily Ever After would bring … I didn’t particularly feel it when watching all the teasers. However, I WAS BLOWN AWAY .. !!

Happily Ever After and the frustration of missing the opening of Pandora has probably just led to booking another trip for November …. Yippee WELL DONE DISNEY!!

 

[fractal]

Spectacular, amazing, moving and stunning! Can't wait to see it in the flesh this Summer.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

So you just miss him in general?

He's definitely still around is the thing.

 

[MerMom1981]

Bah. I hate change. But I didn't like it. Guess I'm in the minority.

You're not alone girl.
I didn't like it either.
I didn't care for the opening song at all.
I'm not saying it wasn't well done, but it lacks the effervescent magic of Wishes.

 

[ToTBellHop]

You're not alone girl.
I didn't like it either.
I didn't care for the opening song at all.
I'm not saying it wasn't well done, but it lacks the effervescent magic of Wishes.

It's the lack of moppets, isn't it?

 

[Bolt]

Good news for people following the burn bans and such for Central Florida. Absolute downpours for the first time like this in nearly 6 months today.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Well….. For the first time in 10 – 15 years of just reading and enjoying pretty much everything about WDWMAGIC, and 16 trips from the UK to the amazing bubble that is Disney World, I feel the need to post after watching the live stream on You Tube of Happily Ever After … bear with me .. I possibly ramble a bit

After all those years of lurking , it's great that you decided to post and join us. Welcome.

 

[Lou Gyton]

After all those years of lurking , it's great that you decided to post and join us. Welcome.

Thank you 'dreamscometrue'

 

[nevol]

Welcome to the 21st century of cheap. I am positive projections are cheaper than fireworks. I don't know if i would call this a fireworks show as the overwhelming majority was projections.

The story seems a bit unorganized and a lot of stories just added just because.

example of "stories" added "just because?"

 

[nevol]

I agree. I miss a theme song that is a theme song throughout the show. I've never even liked the parades since Disney Dreams Come True because the music doesn't flow.
I'd rather have Jiminy Cricket and tugging of heart strings.
The only crying I heard throughout it was my daughter who was so disappointed. I'm so glad she grew up for all these years with Wishes!
I guess I expected more than cut-and-paste just to show off the projections and lasers.
I'm happy for those who do like it. I won't take up your space in the hub. I'll be on the attractions.

The narration and lyrics are incredibly meaningful. I can only speculate that people aren't hearing them or comprehending them with so much else going on around. But it truly is some of the most emotional stuff I've seen/heard from the parks in decades. Id rather have someone other than Jiminy say things that make sense to having Jiminy just ramble about nothing. Now if we could have HEA narration with Jiminy's voice... maybe that would appeal to more people?

 

[nevol]

So the order was: Intro, Disney, Pixar, Friends family and romance, Villains, Heroes, and Finale

no

 

[WDW1974]

At times like this, I realize that I may be a fan of Disney, but I'm in no way the typical fan. I appreciated the artistry of Wishes, but thought we lost way too much (trees, shade, benches, a Hub that fit the look of the area) for a show that everyone thought had to be viewed from in front of the castle (my favorite location became roughly the area of Fantasyland where Dumbo used to fly). The show was way too syrupy sweet to me. And its use and overuse of terms like 'dreams', 'wishes' and 'magic' turned me off.

Not only did I prefer any/all of the DL shows since 1999's Believe, but in a lot of ways I missed the simpler FitS.

Anyway, I've never cried because of a Disney pyro show and I've pretty much enjoyed EVERY one I've ever seen. Loved most.

But didn't need to see the final Wishes. Didn't need to plan a trip to WDW around it or the opening of HEA. It sounds like the vast majority of people really like the new show and that's great, but I don't sit at home watching videos of pyro shows. I can wait to see the real thing.

I miss the old days, pre-Internet, where you actually had to wait. Where everything wasn't spoiled for you because people need instant satisfaction (want to make a joke involving fanbois and lotion, but won't). I don't need to see Pandora ride-thru videos done by every no-life O-Town lifestyler/blogger/podcaster.

Anyway, back to this show ... one criticism I've heard a lot of is the whole concept being very heavy on throwing as much IP as possible in, rather than simply focusing on maybe a dozen films and concepts. I don't see much changing this. That's why Shanghai and Paris are basically sharing 85% of the same show when one park should be introducing itself to the world and another should be celebrating a quarter century of being Europe's top tourist destination. It's a Burbank mandate that franchises from Frozen to Pirates, Star Wars to Toy Story get shoved into the collective consciousness as much as possible. ... The only good thing for WDW visitors is the tired Wishes is finally history and the replacement is most definitely an improvement.

I would be remiss if I didn't remind you to not get too attached to this show since it won't be around more than four years.

Oh, and really hoping I get the OK to tell you why Remember is back at DL this summer and not the Star Wars show that was originally slated to go in. An only Disney tale ...

 

[nevol]

From my position in front of Walt's statue it was stunning. Crowd loved it (though I imagine new shows attract crowds that will, by default).

Thought the music, projections and pyro were a giant middle finger to Universal, personally. Loved it.

Seriously. this show has the meaningful, emotional, relatable soul of Disney that is completely absent at Uni. It relates to guests and thus, the broader world, and it does so in a very gender neutral way. the color choices with the fireworks and projections were really interesting/different. It is odd to see a finale with the castle lit up anything but blue/pink/purple. Fully saturated shells rather than the wash of white for the finale. Using opposition to make the castle pop... blue/pink projections with orange fireworks, for example. But its great that the intro and finale were absent of characters!!! No Steve Davison collage so that was wonderful. The stained glass castle with the characters looks really great right before the finale.

 

[WDW1974]

People are actually espousing that this pyro show is a "giant middle finger to UNI"?!?!

Seriously, where do these people crawl out from? How does Disney replacing a tired show with a new one have one thing to do with UNI?

Again, the fan community breeds this type of insanity and then bloggers/Lifestylers enable each other in these beliefs. And UNI's fans have become just as deluded and crazy ... they actually think Mark Woodbury is a good guy who is doing a good job ... they think that UNI-Beijing isn't as big a cluster cluck as SDL. It is astounding.

 

[Disney4family]

The narration and lyrics are incredibly meaningful. I can only speculate that people aren't hearing them or comprehending them with so much else going on around. But it truly is some of the most emotional stuff I've seen/heard from the parks in decades. Id rather have someone other than Jiminy say things that make sense to having Jiminy just ramble about nothing. Now if we could have HEA narration with Jiminy's voice... maybe that would appeal to more people?

I didn't think Jiminy rambled about nothing in Wishes!
The narrator's voice is fine, I guess. His last speech goes on for awhile and is very soothing to a point where I expected him to talk about all the Woos in Wooville having a wonderful Christmas with the Grinch.

I did watch wdwmagic's version of the show today. As people have said, it is better than what the DP Blog showed since you were able to see more of the show.

I do appreciate the new pyro. I enjoyed it more when I ignored what was happening on the castle. It is a beautiful show. It's a visual overload. It's a lot to process at once. I don't understand the need for so many characters. I miss the continuous melody that ties together the whole story (instead of just cutting-and-pasting different soundtracks). I understand the story as it has been explained here. I just don't know if I enjoy a story as much if I need someone to write such an outline for me to understand it.

I expected the unprecedented, jaw-dropping creativity from the Disney Imagineers that can make us all feel so many emotions with something so simple (instead of copy & pasting as many characters as they can, just because they can).
.
I guess I am old-school. I can appreciate the efforts of the new, but still prefer the old. You guys are obviously much more with-it than I am. Maybe I still see shows like this through my old "7 year old" eyes and not as a sophisticated adult. I like to leave that part for the real world where I'm expected to be one.

 

[stitchcastle]

I have to say, HEA has the best theme song of all the castle-centric nighttime shows, the trumpets at the beginning really make it impressive. That being said, as has been already stated, the scenes and transitions felt very disjointed and didn't necessarily have a good flow. Also there is once again a really heavy reliance on the projections.

All in all, i'd say of the currently playing Disney Castle Fireworks shows around the world, this one is the best. It's better than Paris' Illuminations and Shanghai's Ignite the Dream despite their fountains. It's even better than Disneyland's more pop-y Disneyland Forever. Though of all time I think the original Disney Dreams in Paris and MK's old Wishes are still better.