Fantasmic!

[HMF]

Originally Posted by PeoplemoverMatt

No...having the show not in its own stadium really adds to the magic of it.

-- PMM

Dont get me wrong I prefer it on the Rivers of America. But there is all this visual clutter everywhere. (the trees etc. I just wish they had benches like at WDW i do not like standing and where i was sitting at a table in Frontierland i had to over come a tree. It was not too bad but i prefer they had a more WDW style arrangement. Also EPCOT and MGM are right across the street from each other. Reflections of Earth starts around the same time as Fantasmic. If you pay attention you might see one of the fireworks from Reflections over the mountain.

[Fantasmic!kid]

I did hear a rumor (that obviously didn't come to pass) that they were going to have an inflatable Chernabog puppet (like DL's Ursula) and do the whole Night on Bald Mountain thing, with UV lighted ghosts.

[xfkirsten]

Originally Posted by PeoplemoverMatt

Good points kirsten. Add to that Fantasmic! is stuck in a what is not a full day park...only maybe 2 or 3 other headline attractions, and the circle of Disneyland envy is complete.

-- PMM

See, I come from a different perspective - I'm an entertainment-minded person, and I've come to favor shows over rides in recent years. Disney-MGM Studios is a full-day park - but only if you're into shows. They only have a few big ride attractions, but from a show standpoint they also have Indy, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, the Animation Building, LMA, etc. It becomes a full-day park when you take those into account (because shows really do suck up a lot of time).

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Well coming from parks as dense with both shows and attractions as Disneyland and DCA are, even with those shows you mentioned plus things like the Studio Tour & Drew Carey's Sounds Dangerous, Disney-MGM Studios still seems on the lighter side.

-- PMM

[GreenLantern13]

Originally Posted by Fantasmic!kid

I did hear a rumor (that obviously didn't come to pass) that they were going to have an inflatable Chernabog puppet (like DL's Ursula) and do the whole Night on Bald Mountain thing, with UV lighted ghosts.

I've heard something like that before but it would've been so repetitious with the dragon, having these two large demonic creatures coming out of the mountain, that there's no way they coulda done it. Would've undermined the dragon entirely. And I'd much rather the dragon be there.

I also heard that the finale we all like to complain about for taking too long just to shoot the dragon wasn't the finale we were supposed to have. Having the sword in the stone that mickey goes and pulls and shoots the dragon just like DL's version was slapped together at the very last minute. Apparently mickey was supposed to walk out onto the river and then rise up in a big column of water and destroy the dragon with some magic. The mechanisms are rumored to still be there. Some say they couldn't get the hydraulics to fully work. A lot say that Michael Eisner watched the show before it came out and immediately said "Mickey does not walk on water." So they had to come up with the sword in the stone instead. Meanwhile the show's CD had already been produced, and hence the last track is called 'Mickey Walks On Water/Evil Destroyed."

[fantasmic_boy122]

oh now looking at the CD tracks... that makes sense.. i so wanna se Mickey walk on water... MI... y cant mickey walk on water.... HE'S IN HIS IMAGINATION..... so i dont get y he thought why that that should not happen

[GreenLantern13]

religious conflicts. he wasn't willing to deal with it. and who knows, i mean it may have been unreliable hydraulics too.

[Harrison Hightower III]

I haven't seen Fantasmic so you guys can bicker away.

[Fantasmic!kid]

^Not bickering, discussing!

[jagfkb]

This is probably my favorite since this is what started Fantasmic the musical.

[buzzlightsnack]

I've seen a few videos of Fantasmic from MGM Studios and I noticed that during the Princess sequence that Prince Eric and Prince Charming don't pick up Ariel and Snow White when the lyrics say "ready to stand.." like in the Disneyland version, does anybody know why?

[GreenLantern13]

the equity union has an agreement with disney so that any non-equity members are not allowed to do choreography deemed too complex, things like singing, etc... prince charming picking up snow white and spinning her around is deemed too complex. The whole equity situation bogging down their entertainment sucks over there imho.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

^ The lack of choreography was also a big downer.

-- PMM

[Disneyland_Wolf]

So that's why the Pocahontes battle scene lacked choreography. No wonder, it looked dull.

Disneyland Fantasmic! is completely choreographed.

[xfkirsten]

Originally Posted by almandot

the equity union has an agreement with disney so that any non-equity members are not allowed to do choreography deemed too complex, things like singing, etc... prince charming picking up snow white and spinning her around is deemed too complex. The whole equity situation bogging down their entertainment sucks over there imho.

It's all too true, and I'm of the opinion that that rule really kills a lot of what they can do in terms of choreography. There's some incredible dancers in the character department there, but they're limited to such basic choreography because of that agreement. I think Festival of the Lion King is about as complex as it gets for them (and Celebrate the Season and Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas are a bit heavier on the dance side).

While I was down there, I recall hearing a rumor that some shows (at least for awhile) had "non-equity" days where they had different choreography and used character performers instead of equity dancers as a way to cut back on budget. I never saw any evidence of that myself, though.

Originally Posted by Disneyland_Wolf

So that's why the Pocahontes battle scene lacked choreography. No wonder, it looked dull.

Disneyland Fantasmic! is completely choreographed.

They can still do choreography, they're just limited in what that can include (eg high kicks are out). That scene was just dumb in general, not just because of a lack of choreography.