Summer Nightastic! brings an exciting new look to some old Disneyland Resort favorites

Shelly Valladolid

15 years ago

“Don’t throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again”

That Peter Allen tune kept running through my head this past
Thursday night as Alice and I took part in the Summer Nightastic! press event.
Where we wandered from Disneyland over to Disney’s California Adventure to
check out several classic shows that – to quote from the invite – had been “… reimagined
with spectacular, state-of-the-art effects.”

Was this true? For the most part, yes. As Alice and I sat at the Tomorrowland Terrace
noshing on cheeseburgers and listening to Mitchel Musso perform, I had to admit
that the TLT Dance Club seemed to be a pretty clever updating of this classic
Disneyland venue. Right down to those
giant plasma screens that flanked the stage. Which then allow the teens &
tweens seated in the audience to text message the artist who’s performing on stage.

I got the same feeling as I stood there watching “Magical,”
Disneyland’s new fireworks spectacular. Sponsored by Honda, this special
summertime show (which will only run through September 7th) really is a
charmer. It has the same sorts of
specialty shells ..

… and over-the-top effects that Disneyland Guests have come to expect, thanks to Steve Davison’s previous fireworks extravaganzas like “Remember …
Dreams Come True.”

And yet to hear the crowd go “Awww …” as that Dumbo
puppet
slid down the wire and then – flapping his ears – “flew” over Sleeping Beauty
Castle …

… it made you realize that there are still new ways to stage something as
tried & true as a theme park fireworks show.

From there, we strolled over to the Rivers of America to
catch a performance of the newly enhanced “Fantasmic!” Now I’ve been a fan of
this nighttime spectacular since it first debuted back in 1992. And I have to
say – thanks to those new Hi-Def projectors that are now used to digitally project that
classic Disney animation footage out onto those mist screens – “Fantasmic!” has never
looked better. The color saturation that you get this time around is simply incredible.

And then when you see that newly articulated version of Tick
Tock, all 21 feet of him swimming after Captain Hook’s pirate ship …

… as well as those 37-foot-long versions of Flotsam &
Jetsam snarling through the water …

… it just makes you that much more eager to see Fantasmic!’s
new dragon in action. Which – contrary to what you may have heard – didn’t have its head fall
off in rehearsal. But – rather – as Doug McIntyre, Disneyland’s Director of Entertainment,
explained it to me last Thursday night:

“During test and adjust, an issue came up. And we’re working
now to resolve that. But trust me. I’ve seen the dragon moving. And it’s going
to blow your mind. It’s the greatest, fully realized Disney character I’ve ever
seen. 45-feet-tall with a 32-foot wing span. 18 points of articulation, it
takes 5 computers to run the thing. And
when this thing steps out of the shadows, people aren’t going to believe their
eyes.

The best part is – once it’s up and running – this new
dragon isn’t wind sensitive. When it gets good and windy here in the Park, that
dragon is still going to be there.”

Doug was equally enthusiastic about the newly revamped
version of Disney’s Electrical Parade. Though this nighttime spectacular is currently celebrating its 30^th
season of entertaining Guests at the
Disneyland Resort, the DEP still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Chief among these is “Disney’s Electrical Parade” ‘s newly recorded
soundtrack. According to McIntyre, the recordings that had been used until just
recently were done on a Moog back in the 1970s. Drawing their inspiration from the
soundtrack that was created for Tokyo Disneyland’s “Dreamlights” parade, this
all-new version of “Baroque Hoedown” (which – as always – folds in hints of
your Disney favorites) now has a much richer, fuller sound.

Now add to this “Disney’s Electrical Parade” new lead-off
float. Which has Tinker Bell floating in a balloon high above a magical fairy
garden that shimmers with light.

Those of you who have actually been paying to attention to the
previews for “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
” will immediately recognize this balloon.
It’s the lighter-than-air craft that Tinker Bell uses when she must venture
across the sea in order to save Pixie Hollow.

Does it bother me that Disneyland replaced DEP’s traditional
lead-off float (i.e. The Blue Fairy) with a brand-new unit which promotes an upcoming Walt Disney Pictures home premiere? Maybe a
little. But any concerns that I may have had about this cross promotional issue were quickly swept away when I saw all those little girls along the parade route. Who were frantically
screaming & waving their hands as they tried to get Tinker Bell’s
attention.

Then add to this – after a 13 year absence – the return to
the “Disney’s Electrical Parade” line-up of the Snow White
& Pinocchio
units. Which now shining brighter than ever, thanks to all the fiber optics
that have recently been installed.

During Disneyland’s Summer Nightastic! celebration,
everything old really does seem like it’s new again. With several of your Disneyland &
Disney’s California favorites being plussed to the point that they almost
seem like brand-new shows.

A word of warning, though: These special summertime-only shows
have a very limited shelf life. “Fantasmic!” and “Disney’s Electrical Parade” are
only scheduled to run through August 23^rd, while “Magical” is
supposed to go dark on September 7^th. So if you want to get in all
of this Nightastic! fun, you only have a few weeks to get on out to Anaheim.

As for me, I’m already planning on heading back to Disneyland sometime in late July. So I can then see if “Fantasmic!” ‘s new dragon really is as wondrous as Doug McIntyre says it is.

Your thoughts?