For more than three decades, Disneyland's nighttime show “Fantasmic!” has illuminated Anaheim Park's Rivers of America. A story about our dreams and nightmares focused largely on Disney's animated works, “Fantasmic!” It has long had a variety of projections, pyrotechnics and fireworks.
In 2023, however, a key part of the program caught fire. A climactic battle between Mickey Mouse and Maleficent in her 45-foot, fire-breathing dragon form brought the show to a halt as the latter became engulfed in flames. The viral video propelled the story to national news and “Fantasmico!” was suspended indefinitely while Disney's live entertainment team reinvented the show.
“Fantastic!” returns on Friday. It will feature some key changes, including the return of an expanded segment focused on “Peter Pan.” It won't have a dragon either.
However, the pinnacle of the “Fantastic!” will continue to revolve around a battle between Mickey and Maleficent, who in the images is seen towering over the star of the show, her figure evoking a variety of lighting, projection and pyrotechnic effects. Maleficent, scepter in hand, will ascend to a height of 35 feet. Fireworks effects will appear shooting from Mickey's hands and Maleficent will set the river on fire.
Mickey Mouse and Maleficent battle with a series of special effects in “Fantasmic!”
(Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort)
“The whole theme of the show — good versus evil and the magic and imagination of Mickey overpowering evil — it's important to have that climax in the show,” says Disney Live Entertainment's Tobi Longo, who has been working on “Fantasmic !” for almost all of its more than three decades. It is Disney's oldest so-called nighttime show.
“Maleficent will continue to be spectacular,” says Longo. “She's on stage longer than before. We've added new pyrotechnic effects, with really cool projections and lasers. The river is still going to burn. … As much as we miss the dragon right now, it will still be a spectacular scene.”
“Fantastic!” is a key piece of Disneyland's live entertainment, which the park has relied heavily on this summer.
With key attractions like the Haunted Mansion up for renovation and the opening of the Tiana's Bayou Adventure log flume ride not expected for a few months, Disneyland has looked for ways to turn the park into a more theatrical experience. To wit: A new parade featuring recent Pixar films launched at Disney California Adventure as part of Pixar Fest.
It joins the contemporary Magic Happens parade at Disneyland, which currently hosts a Pixar-based nighttime fireworks show. Fireworks fans also have additional ways to enjoy the nighttime illuminations, as Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge has become a prime viewing spot thanks to the addition of music and a luminous story that fuels the land's lore. .
Sorcerer Mickey fights Maleficent as she appears to set the river on fire.
(Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort)
However, the return of “Fantasmic!” will enhance the impression that all of Disneyland is a stage, a place where not only can guests play as enhanced versions of themselves, but the park can also come to life and envelop us in stories. “Fantastic!” It makes use not only of the Rivers of America and its central island, but also of large-scale attractions such as the Mark Twain riverboat and the Columbia sailboat.
Longo, currently show director for “Fantasmic!”, says the crew started working on the new scenes in mid-December, meaning they've been on a nighttime work schedule for the past five months. In an industry where live productions can have relatively short, or repeated, runs, Longo was asked how “Fantasmic!” She has endured.
Peter Pan returns to “Fantasmic!”, replacing a scene that featured “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
(Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort)
“I think it reflects the wonderful combination of theatrical technology and classic Disney,” says Longo. “We have used elements that in 1992 no one had ever seen: fog screens, projection on water, lasers and setting a river on fire. That was all so new. It amazes me that 30 years later, those elements are still as impactful and exciting as they were in 1992. It combines the charm of the Disney classic, live performances and spectacular technology. And you have to remember that probably 75% of Disneyland visitors have never seen a live entertainment show.
“I have done many shows, performing at Disney as a choreographer and director. And I've done a lot of shows abroad. “I don't think I've done anything that combines all those elements.”
Of course, the great universal themes don't hurt either, and “Fantasmic!” In about 25 minutes it addresses the power of imagination, romantic idealism and inner demons. Characters are presented in different ways: large-scale projections give way to more serene, waltz-like moments on individual ships.
And that doesn't say anything about nostalgia.
Take, for example, the afternoon parade “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration.” Colorful floats that nod to recent films like “Luca” and “Turning Red,” the latter featuring a giant Mei the Red Panda, contrast with smaller, fun units that play “Toy Story” and “Monsters.” “There is an underlying theme of friendship, and show director Robin Trowbridge argues that parades (and theme parks' approach to live entertainment in general) have a unifying power.
The “Turning Red” float in the “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!” parade.
(Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
“It's a great channel to take people to other worlds and let them live in fantasy for a while,” Trowbridge says. “The parade itself… there is such a level of anticipation. You watch a parade for 25 or 30 minutes and they take you in and out of different stories. You can relive your youth or share your stories.”
“Fantastic!” fills a similar role, weaving in and out of Walt Disney Animation's history, especially now that “Peter Pan” has returned once again and replaced a scene referencing “Pirates of the Caribbean.” With the Lost Boys in tow, Peter and Wendy will confront Captain Hook, culminating in a swashbuckling battle.
And while we may miss the dragon, Longo offers a hint that we haven't seen the last of Maleficent in her fire-breathing form.
“We're excited for something to come back, and we're working on it,” Longo says. “But I think what I've done with that scene, that good versus evil and that battle between Maleficent and Mickey, is so spectacular. “We all loved the dragon and we will continue to work on some things, but there is not much I can say about it.”
Theme park theatrical productions, as evidenced by “Peter Pan,” are always available to experience.
