The Magic, The Memories, and You

I'm going to start this article off with a quote, because it beautifully summarizes everything that's great about this new castle show:

"When Disney does something right, nothing is better."
~Meg Strong



As part of its new "Let the Memories Begin" campaign, Disney announced that twice nightly, guests would have the opportunity to view a brand new castle light show, where (supposedly) guest photos taken throughout the day at the Magic Kingdom would be displayed on Cinderella Castle. The initial fan reaction to this announcement was downright hostile. Comments about the "Powerpoint show on the Castle" were almost universally negative. Matters were not helped when videos of the test runs were leaked on to youtube. The photos were unclear, the transitions were choppy, the title song, sung by actress Montego Glover sounded awful, and at one point, the dreaded "blue screen of death" appeared where the photos should have been.




Things were not looking good for the January 18 premiere. But then, something wonderful happened. The night of the show's premiere, audiences were dazzled by what they saw. The photos were now crystal clear, the transitions seamless, the song was now sung by Disney veteran and Broadway star Eden Espinosa (who's gorgeous voice graces many of the nighttime shows at all the parks worldwide), and most importantly, the show had found its emotional hook.

I'm going to discuss specific elements of the show in this review, but I'm not going to call them spoilers, because no matter how much you know about the show, nothing will compare to seeing it live.

Most of the press surrounding the new show centered around the photos that were going to be used in the show. However, when looking at the show as a whole, that's the least impressive part of the show. Unless you're front and center, you can't see many of the photos, anyway. Additionally, since I've seen the show more times than I'd care to admit, I'll let you in on a little secret: many of the photos are not all from that particular day. Disney manages to sneak a lot of repeats in there. The original photos also all fit a specific "type"- you're going to have a little girl in a princess dress somewhere, you're gonna have a little kid riding Dumbo, an old couple hugging Mickey, etc. But again, none of that matters.

What matters is how beautiful the rest of the show is (To be honest, I had extreme doubts about seeing this show, but I can truly say that it is magical, I am not easily impressed - but I could have watched this show every night that I was in WDW - Mike).

Using a series of high-powered projectors cleverly disguised around the park (hint: look on the top of the Main Street USA buildings if you want a look at these monsters), the Imagineers have created a stunning show that takes nighttime entertainment to a whole new level. Simply put, there is nothing else like it any theme park in the world right now. Comparisons to Disney California Adventure's World of Color show are inevitable. However, that show, while technically beautiful, is emotionally hollow (full disclosure...neither of us have seen World of Color live yet, and won't until we return to Disneyland in the summer of 2012).

This show is one "wow" moment after another and is framed around a "time lapse." At the start of the show, it's dawn, and the lighting reflects that. By the show's final tableau, it's the middle of the night. Throughout the show you'll notice the lighting subtly change to reflect the different times of day.

Perhaps even more impressive is the speed and quickness with which the castle appears to change color and form, going from an artist sketch one second to a brightly lit calliope the next. During the Pirates of the Caribbean sequence, the castle actually appears to be on fire. At one point, the Casey Jr. circus train rides along the castle. Most impressive, however, is that for a few seconds, the castle appears to actually take off and leave the ground. It's a spectacular moment, and one that had the entire audience gasping, and the first time I saw it, had this author muttering "holy sh*t."

As if all of this weren't good enough, Disney Imagineers make two more beautiful pulls at the heartstrings. First, they gave the legendary Julie Andrews an appearance in the show (sidebar: Andrews was reportedly delighted to hear she'd been included in the new show and attended its premiere). Second, and far more important, is that they FINALLY, and I mean FINALLY, incorporated the man himself into the show. Yes, Walt actually appears in a Walt Disney World show! Who cares that the footage they use of him is his now famous "To all who come to this happy place, welcome!" line from the opening of Disneyland? Seeing Walt projected on to the castle gets the tears welling up in my eyes every time. It's a fitting end to the show to include him, when he's responsible for all of this, particularly the envelope pushing. It was Walt who always wanted to find the next big thing- something new and exciting that he could develop. He was always looking for new ways to wow his guests. This show does that better than anything right now, and there's no better conclusion to it than for Walt to be on the castle, looking out at his guests, and smiling.