For those of you who don’t know, Walt Disney World is currently celebrating its 50 year anniversary of the park opening in 1971. Part of that celebration includes a new firework spectacular at Magic Kingdom, effectively retiring their most recent fireworks show ‘Happily Ever After’ that was only around for about 4 years. After watching the debut of the new night-time spectacular the other night, I have a couple of thoughts.
Let’s start off with the positives. Disney has always done a great job putting on amazing shows for their guests and I can definitely say that they did just that – at least visually. The updated (and perfected I’m sure) projections were eye-catching and crystal clear when displayed on the castle. I also think that the revamped fireworks are another great addition to the 50th-anniversary celebration, but the show somehow still falls short.
Compared to its predecessor, ‘Disney Enchantment’ lacks the nostalgic feel and happiness that was packed into ‘Happily Ever After’. The soundtrack that follows the new firework show no longer includes original songs from the Disney movies we all know and love. Instead, the songs are covered by other artists. The soundtrack also lacks a happy and upbeat tone to carry you through the story – another thing ‘Disney Enchantment’ lacks. Disney is all about storytelling and I didn’t see any aspect of that.
Overall, I feel that many people are disappointed by the tone and overall feel of the new show. I personally feel like ending my night with a somewhat sad and slow firework show would just leave me disappointed. Having songs that made me want to dance and sing along is what made me love ‘Happily Ever After’ so much. I didn’t feel that same type of excitement when it came to this new show. All I can say is if I visit Walt Disney World any time soon, I don’t think I will be sticking around to watch ‘Disney Enchantment’.