Last night, Disneyland brought Fantasmic back to the Rivers of America for the first time in over a year. The show closed last April when the dragon that appeared in the climactic scene of the show unexpectedly caught fire and burned down. Now, the nighttime spectacular has reappeared but with a few changes including the retirement of the dragon who was known as Murphy. In this post, we’ll write about those changes as well as give our thoughts on having Fantasmic back in Disneyland.

There’s no sense burying the lede. Fantasmic is back but without a main character. When walking around before the premiere yesterday, it was hard to avoid people wearing past merchandise with the dragon on it. The character was spectacular and one of those ‘wow’ moments that the Disney theme parks can evoke. How they were going to replace that moment was a source of fascination over the last year. Unfortunately, it was always going to be a losing battle.

I won’t sugarcoat it. What Imagineering and the Fantasmic team came up in Murphy’s stead is underwhelming. The famous scene which resulted in the terrible fire was Maleficent rising on a platform above Mickey before transforming into a gigantic dragon that our hero needed to strike down. Now, the scene is prolonged with Maleficent rising up and then staying there, duking it out with Sorcerer Mickey.

The scene certainly isn’t bad. By my estimation, there were some new fire effects and Mickey had some different choreography in this scene. I’d go as far as to say that it all looked good! But there was a punch missing; a wow moment that just never accumulated. Eventually, Mickey is victorious and Maleficent is defeated while the platform lowers and the lights on her fade. It’s exciting but everything is relative and this doesn’t hold up to what Disneyland once had. That’s the downside of the Fantasmic return, a dragon-shaped hole that was simply impossible to fill once our man, Murph, was retired.

The other significant change to Fantasmic is changing the ship scene from Pirates of the Caribbean to Peter Pan. This is a return to form of sorts, as the show featured Peter Pan before Pirates came to this scene in 2017. I was way more mixed on this change than the other.

Starting with what I liked, this segment is more congruent with the Fantasmic story and the choreography was very fun to follow. The nighttime spectacular is Mickey’s dream and features strictly Disney animated characters. Peter Pan fit that and Pirates didn’t. I don’t think that’s a big deal but the nostalgia works. I am a theme park fan after all.

As for the choreography, it was so much easier to follow what was going on with the performers than the previous incarnation. Peter Pan was easy to spot and did some really great stunt work. They take full advantage of the boat, using the high and low levels as well as the front and back. Peter Pan climbing up the ropes to reach the top was an absolute highlight of the show.

Where Peter Pan doesn’t match the segment it replaced is in the energy. Turns out Hans Zimmer writes really good scores! Who knew, right? The music in the Peter Pan segment does not give the crowd as big of a buzz. And for as much as I enjoyed actually being able to follow the new choreography, the Pirates frenetic pace was chaotic enough to wow guests. I think the new Fantasmic missed that energy but the change feels like a wash to me. Both segments are fantastic and Peter Pan will be one of the best parts of the show going forward.

As for the rest of the show, most of it was status quo. I should mention that it looked really good! Having a year off to get everything in working order surely played a part in that. But the projections are clear, the props and lighting on point and the performances are as wonderful as ever. Hopefully, that quality will hold up over the course of a busy summer.

I feel like I can give fair critique most of the time when it comes to Disney Parks. Calling something out if I don’t think it’s as good as it should be isn’t a big deal to me, although I’ll always try to be thoughtful about it. When it comes to Fantasmic, I don’t know how objective I can be. The show played such a formative role in my love of theme parks, travel and this website existing. Even with the changes that amount to a net negative, I can’t help but romanticize the experience.

We arrived to watch the first show back over 3 hours early and were surprised, although we shouldn’t have been, to see plenty of people already vying for spots. Credit to the Cast Members who were trying to keep some sense of order in the area. Thank you for all you do if you’re a CM and reading this! The excitement for the show was palpable.

Sitting or standing along the river, staring out at Tom Sawyer Island is a Disneyland rite of passage. It’s an amphitheater showcasing Disney’s version of a rock show. And it’s still that, dragon or not. After waiting with other fanatics for hours, it was clear how much Fantasmic holds such a special place in people’s hearts. When Mickey, the leader of the band, ascends into the light, the cheer was loud enough to raise the hair on my arms.

All this to say, having Fantasmic back makes Disneyland a significantly better park. It’s the most organic theme park show around, belonging to the area and bringing in thousands to cheer. After the dangerous disaster that caused the show to close, it’s enough for me to just have the spectacular back even in a slightly worse state.

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