Fantasmic!, Disneyland® Park’s nighttime spectacular presented on the Rivers of America in New Orleans Square and Frontierland®, marked 20 years of presentations this past weekend. Opening May 13, 1992, Fantasmic! combined Disney characters and live performers with amazing special effects and high-definition digital images from classic Disney movies projected on giant mist screens.
Fantasmic! is an exploration of Mickey’s active imagination as the forces of good and evil battle in his dreams. Whimsical scenes from the film Fantasia and other classic Disney films are displayed around Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island until the Evil Queen calls her her magic mirror. From there, Mickey’s dream takes a dark turn as he tries to triumph over some of Disney’s most dastardly villains!
Several updates have kept Fantasmic! fresh over its 20-year run. Recent enhancements include the climactic transformation of the evil Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty into a fully animated 40-foot-tall dragon. Also added was an appearance by Flotsam and Jetsam, the slithering eels who serve Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid and a new look for Captain Hook’s crocodile nemesis.
Because of the continued popularity of Fantasmic! at Disneyland® Park, be sure to ask your Magic Maker® about the availability of advance reservations for premium viewing options. Slightly varied versions of Fantasmic! can also be seen at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ in Florida and Tokyo DisneySea®.
Enjoy these Fun Facts from Disneyland® Park’s Fantasmic!:
- The new dragon is a fully animated 3-D design that replicates the movements of the dragon in Sleeping Beauty.
- The Fantasmic! dragon is 32 feet wide and weighs approximately 18,000 pounds.
- When “lurking” beneath the Fantasmic! stage prior to appearing, the dragon contracts to just 22 feet tall.
- Tri-color LED lighting fixtures put the gleam in the dragon’s eyes.
- In her spectacular appearance, Maleficent breathes a plume of fire 35 feet long, lighting the Rivers of America on fire for 25 seconds during the show. She is controlled and monitored by four computer systems.
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