Conference koolit::disney

    Okay, now that they have this great new show, where's the best place to
    watch it from??
    
    The Disney Gallery.  Although so far it seems this area has been
    reserved for VIP seating...  
    
    The bridge over the Pirates entrance.  Best place if you're there early
    enough.  Check out Annie Lund's reply in the Disneyland topic
    (8.16mumble) for better info on how to snag a spot on the railing.
    
    Down in front.  Worked for me.  Sure, you get a little wet but that's
    what you call, "audience participation..."  :-)
    
    The River Belle Terrace.  The plus is that you can sit down (yes, in
    real chairs); the minus is that I don't know how well you can see over
    the crowds.
    
    A bad spot??  On the shore, way to the right.  Most of the floats move
    from right to left around the river, following the same basic course of
    the Columbia and the Mark Twain during the day.  So they could have
    passed you before they're even lit.  A good deal of the show plays to
    the audience along the front shore.
    
    - Skip

    
       There was a Disney special on for the fourth that had a couple of 
    minutes of Fantasmic in it.  This looks like a super show, but since I
    don't think I will make it to Cal. anytime soon, I sure hope they find 
    a place to run this show at WDW.
    
                                     -Rob
    

    I recently had the opportunity to take in the Fantasmic Show at
    Disneyland. It is the best show of it's kind I have ever seen.
    It's unbelievable that they do this a couple (I believe twice a night)
    of times every evening!
    
    This shows got everything - Music, Lasers, Fireworks, Boats, Disney
    Characters, Fire!  WOW!!!
    
    It's kind of like Disney decided to pull slightly ahead of the
    competition when it comes to this kind of entertainment... Sort 
    of like on star trek when they go from
    cruising along to "light speed" leaving everyone else standing
    "still"...
    
    Enjoy...
    

    
    	Okay, Mouse Fans : I've just talked with my mole at WDI and -- if
    all goes according to plan -- this is how the magic of " Fantasmic "
    will makes its way 'round the world :
    
    	The version of " Fantasmic " that's currently playing on
    Disneyland's Rivers of America will stay where it is for five years.
    During that time, Walt Disney World will gets its own version of the
    water pageant. Current timetables call for WDW's " Fantasmic " to be
    up and running by the summer of 1995. And -- * YES * -- the earlier
    reports we've been hearing about the show being installed at the
    studio theme park ( * NOT * WDW's Magic Kingdom ) appear to be true.
    
    	Now -- after five years of performances -- Disneyland's original 
    version of " Fantasmic " will close. Then that show will be packed up
    and shipped to Tokyo Disneyland, where it will begin a five year run 
    at that park in the summer of 1998. That same year, an all-new version 
    of " Fantasmic " will debut at Disneyland.
    
    	Then -- following five years of performances in Orlando -- WDW's
    version of " Fantasmic " will be moved to the Euro Disney resort's
    not-yet-constructed-but-sure-to-be-open-by-then studio theme park. 
    That show will begin five years of performances in the summer of 2001,
    with an all-new water pageant bowing at the Florida park that same 
    year.
    	
    	Confusing ? Sure it is -- but also pretty damn ambitious. Eisner's
    long range plan is to have each version of " Fantasmic " play at each of
    the parks for several summers in a row, thereby getting most out of the
    company's investment. Each version of the show would make use of the
    same mix of water, pyrotechnics, lasers, barges, meet-n-greet
    characters as well as mechanical / inflatable monsters. ( I'm told that
    the WDW version has Mickey rubbing the lamp we'll see in Disney's upcoming
    animated version of " Aladdin " --  which features Robin Williams as
    the Genie ! -- to create magical images. But then Ursula rises up out
    of the lagoon, steals the lamp and -- well, you get the idea. The
    climax would supposedly recreate the climax of the " Little Mermaid "
    film, with Mickey doing battle with a three story tall version of the
    sea witch ... Sounds pretty cool, don't you think ? )
    
     	 But that show -- as well as the all-new Disneyland show as well
    as the second WDW version of " Fantasmic " are years away. In the
    mean-time, the Imagineers are trying to come up with easy, workable
    solutions to the how-do-we-create-seating-for-6000-people-around-the-
    Rivers-of-America-without-totally-ripping-New-Orleans-Square problem.
    Disneyland fans should expect another round of construction on this
    side of the park this fall and/or next spring as they try to make
    " Fantasmic " a much more pleasant viewing experience for guests in
    the summer of '93.
    
    	Any other questions ?
    					jrh 
    
    	

    Is Fantasmic just a summer attraction?
    thanks
    
    todd///

    
    	Not necessarily. Though -- what with the hoopla surrounding its
    first year of performances -- Disneyland's " Fantasmic " water pageant
    will probably run well into the fall. But -- beyond that point ...
    Well, Disneyland officials eventually plan on running " Fantasmic " on
    the same schedule they use for " Fantasy in the Skies " : You'll get a
    performance ( or two or three ) every night the park is open late. So
    -- should you be planning a trip to Disneyland after Labor Day and
    definitely want to catch " Fantasmic, " make a point of hitting the park
    on a Friday or Saturday night. Better still, call ahead to Disneyland's
    Guest Relations desk and find out for sure if the show's running and
    when.

    Good news for you DL goers. 
    
    The area between the River Belle Terrace and the Haunted Mansion has
    been terraced to give visitors an unobstructed view of Fantasmic at
    every level. This new viewing area blends into the New Orleans Square
    landscaping by day, but becomes a series of staggered viewing platforms
    by night.
    
    This new viewing area debuted on November 18.
    
    Mike

This article is from today's (4/21) Orlando Sentinal.



  Walt Disney World
  will announce today
  that it is bringing the
  Fantasmic show to
  Disney-MGM
  Studios next year, an expansion that likely will
  become one of the park's top draws. 

  The nighttime water and fireworks production made its
  debut at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., five years
  ago, combining live action, lasers and numerous
  special effects, including film projected onto huge
  water screens.

  As soon as Fantasmic opened, Disneyland officials saw
  a shift in attendance, with fewer people arriving in
  the morning and more in the late afternoon and
  evening. 

  Crowds watching the show were larger than expected,
  prompting park officials to renovate the viewing area
  in Frontierland, which had been big enough to hold
  about 6,500 people comfortably. 

  ''That first summer we never had fewer than 8,000 for
   a show,'' said Disneyland spokesman John McClintock.
  ''They were crowded in shoulder-to-shoulder.'' 

  The new show's script -- based on a good vs. evil
  battle between Disney characters -- is similar to
  that of the original Fantasmic. But in other
  respects, it's a very different undertaking. 

  Most important, it will have its own home in a new
  6,900-seat amphitheater that also will have standing
  room for 3,000, making it the largest theater at any
  of Disney World's theme parks. For the Disneyland
  show, the audience has to stand or sit on grassy
  patches and sidewalks, just as they do for parades. 

  The amphitheater will curve around a man-made lagoon
  or moat, which will be rigged for high-tech water and
  pyrotechnic effects. In the middle of the lagoon 
  there will be an island with a 40-foot-high
  ''mountain'' where much of the action will take
   place. 

  Disney executives would not disclose the cost of
  Fantasmic except to acknowledge that it will match
  the tens of millions spent on other major
  attractions.  Workers are scheduled to break ground
  on the project this morning at a site behind the
  Studios' best-known attraction, the Twilight Zone
  Tower of Terror. 

  Company officials say the show will debut in late
  1998.
  Like Epcot's IllumiNations, it will play every night.


  Fantasmic's script follows a dreamlike sequence that
  relies on sophisticated stage technology for the
  illusionary effects. 

  It opens with the night sky suddenly illuminated by a
  burst of light. A spotlight falls on Mickey Mouse,
  who's playing conductor by making the waters in front
  of him ''dance'' to the music. An animated comet
  sweeps across the sky and -- here's where the laser
  graphics and other techniques start to come in -- it
  sprinkles stars across a giant water screen. 

  After some musical numbers by live actors and
  animated characters from Pocahontas and The Lion King,
  the playful mood suddenly gives way to a threatening
  atmosphere and Disney villains such as the evil queen
  from Snow White take over the show. 

  Lightning, smoke, fog and other ominous effects
  dominate the next segment, which concludes with a
  40-foot-tall dragon coming up through the mountain
  and setting the lagoon on fire. In the climax, Mickey
  appears to rise up out of the water atop a fountain,
  using lasers to slay the dragon. The show concludes
  with Disney characters sailing around the lagoon in
  the Steamboat  Willie riverboat. 

  In other Disney news, the company is planting a toe
  in the International Drive retail scene with plans to
  open a store this summer at the Pointe Orlando
  shopping and entertainment complex. 

  Unlike the Disney Stores at shopping malls, the
  I-Drive store will carry merchandise exclusive to
  Disney's theme parks. The store, designed to resemble
  a turn-of-the-century train depot, will plug Disney
  attractions on changing sign boards. 

  The store's proximity to the Orange County Convention
  Center -- the new shopping center is right across the
  street from the massive complex -- will give the
  company access to the I-Drive area's burgeoning
  convention crowds. 

  Disney also recently opened a second store at Orlando
  International Airport in the Delta Air Lines gate
  area.  The store, designed as two Plexiglas enclosures
  in the center of the terminal atrium, is divided into
  adult's and children's souvenirs.