For the Love Of All Disney Parks!

I don't remember the old one in Florida, but I do remember being terribly disappointed with the show, half of which consisted of video clips from various animated films.

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The new dragon is in the Disneyland version, not the WDW version. I'll be in Disneyland beginning September 9, so I'm excited he finally seems ready to appear.

There are a number of differences between WDW's and DL's Fantasmic. Disneyland's came first, and is staged on the Rivers of America. The WDW version is performed in a large stadium/ ampitheatre, specifically built for the show. Both shows contain the animated scenes on the water screens (which I agree get a bit boring). WDW's has a Pocahontas sequence, while DL has a Peter Pan sequence (which is REALLY cool, with a pirate ship and everything). They're both enormously popular, and a little dull at the beginning. However, the final 10 minutes in each makes the entire show worth it.

Yea, and they are saying ?The dragon in Fantasmic! is technically complex and the largest and most fully animated Disney character ever created for a live stage show. We want to make sure it?s perfect before adding it to the show,? said Mike Hyland, director of Disneyland Resort public relations."

I'm sorry, but Abe Lincoln and the new Johnny Depp AA figures move more than the dragon.

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Well... that was anticlimactic.

Thanks for posting this! I was there a few weeks ago and disappointed that they STILL hadn't fixed the problems - the version of the show without the dragon is truly anticlimactic (Maleficent just gets taller).

For the true Disney park and Fantasmic! fans, here is a video comparison of the two versions of the show, albeit an outdated one at this point. Needless to say, watching something like this on a youtube video doesn't begin to convey the scale and spectacle of the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMna0JIHg_w

I've seen the show in both parks, and while I agree the animated sequences are lame, I think the live performers and especially the pyrotechnics make up for them. When I was in Disneyland earlier this summer, they told me the new dragon there was supposedly more like the one in Florida than whatever DL had previously had.

^They've promised the Yeti will be in A-mode this fall. I'll believe it when I see it. The strobe light is very cheesy, and is the only thing keeping that attraction from being perfect.

I'm not sure I even understand what that was I just watched, but it looks like it might cause some children to wet their pants. And if they can make a dragon that moves around and stuff, why must Mickey's face be frozen in a perpetual smile like Joan Rivers after her latest "spa treatment"? It seems inappropriate for such a scary scene, like maybe Mickey's had electro convulsive therapy to control mood swings.

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"And if they can make a dragon that moves around and stuff, why must Mickey's face be frozen in a perpetual smile like Joan Rivers after her latest "spa treatment"?"


They actually do have new models of costumes that have articulated mouths and eyes. They're slowly introducing them in Disney World; I don't know if they have any at Disneyland yet. The only thing I don't like about them is that now you have to make sure Mickey isn't blinking when you take a photo of him, LOL.



Goofy is broken.

Updated On: 8/31/09 at 10:31 PM

I doubt that any of the characters beyond the "face characters" will speak, given how iconic the voices of the non-speaking characters are.

The closest I think they'll come is the technology that they use in Turtle Talk with Crush and the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club, which is pretty incredible (and proprietary).

I can't remember the last time Betty the Yeti over in Expedition Everest was in A mode (fully operating). She's been in B mode (stationary with some lame strobe lighting) every time I've been to WDW since probably a year after Everest opened.

That's so sad to hear! That Yeti was the most impressive display of animatronics I'd ever seen at any of the Disney parks. The whole scene they set up is jaw-dropping, even if you can only see it for an instant. It was very effective. I only wish they could update Space Mountain to include the visuals from the Paris Space Mountain, which are actually more reminiscent of the original effect of the WDW Space Mountain when it first opened, which is not only dated now, but is too brightly lit now. But I don't care for the coaster itself in Paris. It's basically just a copy of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. They are practically identical.

As for Fantasmic, it was our least favorite nighttime show at WDW. I actually preferred the original MGM Studios firework show. Wishes at Magic Kingdom is the best now.

I've never been to Disneyland, but I'm planning a trip next summer. How is California Adventure? Is it pretty easy to do both in one day?

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Are there videos online of the moving Yeti? I've only ever seen the be-strobed stationary one.

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