Fantasmic

Thoughts on Glow With the Show at Walt Disney World’s Fantasmic!

22 October 2013 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

On a whim, I decided to bring my family to the east coast premier of Glow with the Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Fantasmic! It had been quite some time since we’d all seen Fantasmic! since, after 15 years, you feel like you’ve seen it all. Also, my children recently got a taste of Fantasmic! west coast sister out in Disneyland, and it’s hard to argue that that is a better show. With the Sailing Ship Columbia with Peter Pan and Captain Hook swordfighting as they float by, and ending with the Mark Twain full of your favorite characters, along with many other better effects, it makes our little Fantasmic want for something. And I think that something may just be Glow with the Show!

I made a quick highlight video of the opening show at Fantasmic! on my iphone (please excuse any nighttime auto-focusing as a result!) to showcase the Glow with the Show ears effects:

I know Glow with the Show has been running with Disneyland’s Fantasmic! for some time, but I think what makes Hollywood Studios a great match is the stadium seating. If you sit in the back, you can see all of the ears before you, but, if you sit closer to the front, you can choose to look to your right or left and see the full effect of the colors. It really adds to the show, rather than detract. I loved how it looked on opening night and think if the ears are a success, the pairing with the show will be to. Whether guests will bother to pay $24 for, let’s face it, pretty heavy and uncomfortable ears, remains to be seen. I know in Japan, they recently debuted similar technology, but in a handheld wand type of product, which makes much more sense as far as viewing the lights (rather than depending on your neighbors to have purchased ears to really see the effects yourself).

Glow with the Show also began working with Wishes and the Celebrate the Magic castle projection show earlier this week. I will admit, I really had no desire to watch this. I’m not sure why I think it’s okay to work with Fantasmic! but not Wishes, but I do. I guess because for Wishes and Celebrate the Magic, your attention should really be focused on one thing – the castle and the sky, while at Fantasmic, there are moments of darkness where the lights are a good filler, and there is also so much going on at once, that it seems okay for the ears to be a part of that show. It also could be that I’m really ready for a new fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom! Glow with the Show will also work with the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights later this year. I think the ears will be an easy addition because everything is already flashing around you, but I don’t think they are *needed* by any means. I will have to see how things look when the switch is flipped for the lights.

What are your thoughts on Glow with the Show? Which nighttime shows do you think they work best with? I dare say I like them at Hollywood Studios’ Fantasmic better than World of Color, because I just think World of Color is so perfect on its own! Please share your opinion in the comments below, I’d love to hear what you think!

Fourth of July Festivities and Fireworks at Walt Disney World Resort

4 July 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

JULY 4TH CELEBRATED AT WALT DISNEY WORLD IN FLORIDA — Cinderella Castle with patriotic projections ©Disney

Here are all the official events going on at Disney Parks here in Florida tonight! For the first time ever, I’ll actually be attending Fourth of July activities at Epcot. I know it’ll be super busy, but it should be super fun too. The last time I was in a Disney park on the Fourth, I was working at the Magic Kingdom in 1995, so it’ll be nice to experience again, on the opposite side of the coin. I wish you all a wonderful patriotic day with family and friends! Enjoy good food and spectacular fireworks as we celebrate our freedom!

Walt Disney World Resort will pixie dust the night skies July 4 with special pyrotechnic shows, including a patriotic display at Magic Kingdom, a rock’n’roll spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and a classic sky show at Epcot infused with an Independence Day finale. Here’s how you can celebrate America’s birthday – Disney-style:

Magic Kingdom will present “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky.” This patriotic fireworks spectacular, paying homage to the hopes and dreams of America’s forefathers, will light the skies at 9 p.m. July 4 – and for guests who would like to begin the Independence Day celebration early, the show also will be presented July 3 at 9 p.m.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, traditional Fourth of July fireworks take on a different spin when Mulch, Sweat, and Shears perform for the all-new “Rockin’ 4^th of July Celebration.” These resident landscapers – with serious rock and roll ambitions – take Disney guests on a musical road trip across America that will highlight each region’s contribution to rock and roll. Fireworks, lighting and special effects – backed by the driving live rock and roll of Mulch, Sweat, and Shears – combine to bring a new twist to celebrating Independence Day. Showtime July 4 is 9:45 p.m. Before the show, Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests can catch Disney’s Fantasmic!, performing July 4 at 9 p.m.
At Epcot, sky-watchers can check out “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” bursting high above World Showcase Lagoon. IllumiNations is a 14-minute spectacular during which pyrotechnics, lasers, water and music are all used to tell a story about the past, present and future of our planet. On the Fourth of July, the show will be enhanced with “The Heartbeat of Freedom,” an overture of traditional Americana themes displayed in a pyrotechnic and laser light event. The show is at 10 p.m.

In addition, Epcot guests may lend their ears to “Voices of Liberty 4^th of July Concert” and meet with Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and Disney characters adorned in patriotic dress at American Adventure.

Theme park hours on July 4 (subject to change without notice): Magic Kingdom, 8 a.m.-1 a.m.; Epcot, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Disney’s Hollywood Studios, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

VIDEO: Magical Disneyland Memories (and a little D23 Expo too)

29 August 2011 by Suzannah Otis 8 Comments

I mentioned before as a preface to my D23 Expo Primer guest post by Carrie Hayward that I was visiting Disneyland for the first time during our journey out west to see the Expo. Not only was it my first time visiting California and the Disneyland Resort, it was my first time flying since 1997! So, I was a bit nervous, but I survived and actually liked it!

Now usually, I am a photo-holic and take pictures of any and everything when I visit a place for the first time. However in this instance, I was so completely overwhelmed by the experience, that I found myself without photos of a lot of what we saw when I returned home. (I still have quite a few, and I’ll be posting them over the next few weeks.)

Nicole and Zanna on Small World — Nicole and I on "it's a small world" Where else but Disney could we get away with those hats?? (photo by Becky Staudt)

That said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve seen tons of photos of Disneyland, even ride videos, but nothing compares to walking down Main Street, U.S.A. that first time and seeing it all before you in living, breathing color. So while I’m still sharing our memories here with you, my real purpose in writing this post is to implore, even beg any Disney fan that has not yet made the pilgrimage to the “motherland” to do so. If you’re anything like my friends and me, it will change your life.

Now first, a little backstory. I decided to make this journey westward thanks to an amazing friend of mine, Nicole Siscaretti. She is not only a wonderful, caring person, but she’s also going to be a star some day, so you can watch these videos and say later, “ahh, I knew her when…” Nicole was part of our team for the D23 WDW Scavenger Hunt we did a few months back and it was then that I really got to know what a special person she was. After spending the last few months hanging out and “planning” our conquest of Disneyland (I say that in quotes because this was probably the least planned trip either of us had ever taken), she is like a little sister to me. In addition, she loves making fun videos on her iPhone andlooks WAY better on camera than me, so I’m pleased to be able to share a highlight reel of our Disneyland adventures thanks to her.

Before sharing her Disneyland video, I must explain one other thing. Nicole actually embarked on a quest that most people don’t even dream of – visiting all 6 Disney Parks in the US in one day. Nicole had asked me to join her and I was all set to do so before a last minute meeting had to happen at 9 on the morning we left for California. So I got to take the easy way out and only went to the 2 west coast parks. Nicole persevered and accomplished her goal. You can see her Six Parks One Day adventure on YouTube!

And now, without further ado, here are just a handful of our amazing Disneyland memories, shared with local Florida friends, west coast friends and new friends from all over! Disney fans may recognize the famous Scott Otis (@otisney on twitter) and the equally famous Michael Crawford from ProgressCityUSA.com (@ProgressCityUSA on twitter), two great friends from whom we were lucky enough to get amazing Disneyland history and backstory as we toured the lands!

I hope you enjoyed our video and if you’ve never been, do make plans to get to Disneyland some day soon, it is simply incredible!