Guests who attended the Disney Parks and Resorts panel today at the D23 Expo we’re treated with the chance to see one of four showings this weekend of the brand new Fantasmic! nighttime spectacular set to officially return to Disneyland on Monday, July 17th.  We were lucky enough to not only be in that panel, but also to get into the first 9 p.m. showing of the show this evening at Disneyland. You can check out our live stream of the show on Twitter or enjoy the Fantastmic! FULL show video above!

The show debuts with a host of technological upgrades and several new and updated moments in the show. While several elements have been changed, the show still seems to maintain a lot of the charm of the original. It will take purists a while to get used to it but this show is definitely still every bit as awesome. Some of the changes you can look forward to seeing include…

Changes to Disneyland’s Fantasmic!:

  • Slightly modified opening dialogue:
    • Welcome to Fantasmic! Tonight, our friend and host, Mickey Mouse, uses his vivid imagination to create magical imagery for all to enjoy. In a moment, you can experience a beautiful fantasy or an exciting adventure! But beware… nothing is more powerful than the imagination — for it can also expand your greatest fears into an overwhelming nightmare! We now invite you to join Mickey and experience Fantasmic!—a journey beyond your wildest imagination.
  • A longer and reworked opening sequence little extra bits of audio from Mickey as he orchestrates the water
  • Projections all over the island throughout the show
  • Reworked jungle section
    • New Circle of Life lead-in
    • Kaa has a new paint job
    • Monkeys were completely redone.
  • Re-worked animation for Pink Elephants on Parade
  • “Friend Like Me” replacing Pinocchio
    • Mickey character appears during this segment
    • Genie turns himself into Mickey in the projections on the mist screen but in the style of the old Pinocchio puppet segment which has been replaced
  • Pinocchio underwater scene is not culminated by loud canon blast, it goes into new Pirates of the Caribbean scene
  • Two strong/loud canon blasts are still used just not in the same sequence as before
  • Captain Jack can be seen running about the ship
    • Tom Sawyer Island catches fire via digital projection from canon blasts that also hit the water
  • Updated Princess segment replacing Snow White with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
    • Much of the choreography is very similar to the former including the romantic lift. A new lantern moment ends their featured moment
    • Ariel is still a mermaid (thankfully) and Beauty and the Beast are also still on their own barge.
  • Evil Queen is out but her her hag form is still in the show, leading into Ursula taking matters into her own tentacles via projections in a shortened segment
  • Chernabog still leads into Maleficent rising up in the air except now her reveal on the island is not hidden in darkness; instead we see her coming up slowly as Mickey cowers in fear
  • Maleficent’s defeat is much more dramatic and she spurts fire again into the air as she meets her demise
    • Sorcerer Mickey instead of Brave Little Taylor
    • Mickey doesn’t use a sword any more, just magic to defeat Maleficent
  • Chimney sweeps are gone on the Mark Twain
  • New exit music with vocals instead of instrumentals

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

See it for Yourself

Tickets are completely sold out for the D23 Expo 2017! That means your only way to get to experience the magic of this event is to live vicariously through others. As luck would have it, we have tickets for all three days of the event so keep an eye on MouseInfo.com or on our social media channels (including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) as we continue to share updates from the D23 Expo 2017!

D23 Expo 2017 takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center from July 14-16, 2017.