Jun 11
16
Why I love Fantasmic! #DHSAwareness
When Matt Hochberg from StudiosCentral.com said that he was going to help push for the 2nd Annual Studios Awareness Week, I got excited and a bit nervous. I love the park but I didn’t know exactly what to write about, there are many different choices. Then the news broke earlier this week that until the end of September, Fantasmic would return to being shown every night, and I knew exactly what to talk about!
Outside of Epcot, Fantasmic is my favorite evening show at Walt Disney World. I first saw it back in 1999 and thought it was amazing and I loved all the Disney characters that were involved, the tech used to create the show (Water Screens!!), and tie in Mickey fighting the villains, I was hooked! For those who have never seen the show, the premise is that you end up inside of Mickey’s imagination, and you experience scenes from many different Disney films such as the Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and more. Eventually the villains decide to try to take over Mickey’s imagination and that leads to a showdown between Mickey and Maleficent that cannot be missed.
Stadium 10 minutes after seating begins
Located over in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater (between Beauty and the Beast Stage Show and Tower of Terror) the stadium has room for 10,000 guests and fills up very quickly and it is not abnormal to see lines forming up to 90 minutes in advance of the show. People have criticized Disney in cutting back on showings of Fantasmic to twice per week over the last couple of years, and I am extremely happy to see it returned to every night status and hope this is a sign of things to come after September.
I’m really passionate about this show because to me, the whole thing is just cool. The special effects, the story, Sorcerer Mickey and the numerous character tie ins from various films just make it something that cannot be missed. Some people feel that the Pocahontas segment in the show is a bit out of place, and I agree with that as it’s probably the one scene that does not tie in to the overall story. Outside of that, I really cannot find anything else that I don’t like about Fantasmic.
If you have kids, it’s worth noting that it is a very dark show at times, there’s a giant Jafar Snake, Dragons, explosions and more, so your children may or may not like the show. My son saw this the first time when he was 5 and had no problems and again when he was 6 and wanted to see it more than once on our trip, so every kid is certainly different!
Bottom line, if you’re going to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the next few months, make sure to catch a showing or two or three of Fantasmic. To me, it gets better each time I see it, and even after more than 10 years, it’s a favorite and something I look forward to each trip.
