Light Magic

[dlanaheimfreak]

I never saw Light Magic, but I just watched a video of it. I will admit that it was not the best parade/show Disney has ever done, but I felt that it wasn't half bad. There were many parts that I especially liked. I thought it was neat how classic Disney music was mixed into the soundtrack. I really thought it was cool when Baroque Hoedown was done near the end. What happened to Light Magic that it only lasted one summer? Was it any good to see at the park? I mean maybe it wasn't that great, but it was better than what we have know, NOTHING. So anyway what did you think of Light Magic?

[Goin2Disneyland]

People were expecting something like the MSEP. Only better. And Light Magic wasn't resemblant (is that a word? it is now) of the MSEP at all. The Irish step dancing thing was a little weird, the pixies were freaky looking, and viewing the show was confusing for the average guest. The four floats were all identical. There was a movie with creepy little kids. It was bizarre.

They could have retooled it and worked on it, but the press was so bad and the backlash so strong (yay for the new internet and people who complain loudly) that Disney just did away with it.

[Goin2Disneyland]

It also created a traffic nightmare in the park four times nightly.

[cinder]

Where's the "I never saw it" option?

[suttytx]

"The Irish step dancing thing was a little weird, the pixies were freaky looking"

That sounds fantastic!!

[Goin2Disneyland]

Oh it was, it was! You can see a video at VisionsFantastic.com.

[suttytx]

I remember an article by Sir Jimothy Hill where he made Light Magic sound like it kicked puppies and made children cry.

Was it really that horrible?

[Maxdad]

It was indeed...awful.

First of all, the aforementioned Irish Step dancing. The story going around was that they had it all coreographed, showed it to Eisner, who had just seen Flatley's Lord of the Dance, and told them to include some of it in the show. Dunno if it is true, probably not, but it was certainly a groaner when they started!

Secondly, it was heavy on the PC meter. It was a "cant-we-all-just-get -along example of the worst entertainment has to offer, when it tries to get preachy.

Third, there were technical glitches and misfires. Originally, they had this Tinkerbelle thing that was supposed to fly over Mainstreet. The lawyers vetoed it, although I understand they use it all the time now in NFL football broadcasts. They just mounted a camera to it.

Fourth, the story was extremely lame. and I mean extreme! The premise was that Tinkerbelle's fairy friends were waking up the Disney Characters and helping them "find their fantasy", which is pretty stupid a concept to start with, since if anyone should already know about creating fantasy, it is the Disney Characters.

Fifth... well, the floats never wound up parked where they were supposed to park to line up with the projection units. Well, I wont say never. odds are once in a while they would hit their mark. But usually they were off slightly. sometimes, they were off a lot! They not only had to align on the x axis, but also down the center of the street or else the focus would flounder.

Finally, and I am sure Jonvn will be happy to endorse: it was a budget fiasco. The parade units, which all looked the same... were this mixture of bizarre surreal tree trunk structures with fibreoptics. They were expensive and ugly! They looked like a bad LSD trip. Not... umm. that I know about that, but it looked scarily like it was firmly rooted in the early 70's, which was reason enough to kill the parade.

But hey. that's just my take on it. I could be wrong, but I think the eventual demise of the parade is enough to give my review credence. Clearwater. oops. I fell back to the 70's.

Whata trip.

[Goin2Disneyland]

Horrible, not necessarily. Weird as all get out, yes. It was so bizarre. It was like a car wreck. The video will give you a good idea of how it looked...it did have some cool things, like the embedded fiber optics on Main Street. That was awesome. The fiber optics in general were pretty sweet.

[Maxdad]

Fiber optics are the crabgrass of the lighting industry.