Fantasmic! is 30 years old! How crazy is that!? The show started May 13, 1992 in Disneyland. I don't know when I first saw the show, but it was enchantment at first sight. The Electrical Parade is 50 years old. That's kinda crazy.
In High School I bought a cassette tape from the Pirates of the Caribbean store. On side A was Fantasmic! and side B was the Electrical Parade. This tape was played on loop, side A over and over, constantly rewound at the end. (The Electrical Parade is nice and all... but that music without the visuals... 0_0).
On this last trip I saw Fantasmic! about 8 times, all from different spots. And I discovered something new!
So one evening my Mom and I were having a late dinner at the Hungry Bear in Critter Country. (Honestly not my favorite food as the cheeseburger in Tomorrowland is far superior), but the Hungry Bear is in a nice little spot. We were eating past nine from the top deck overlooking the rivers of America. The fun part of this area was being able to see some of the the "backstage" stuff. Watching rafts get into place. Seeing Pirates, Flynn, and Rapunzel run across Tom Sawyers Island to the Mark Twain.
But this was the greatest part of all!!!!!!!!
Ahhhh!!!!!!!
After the pirates left the ship, some remained. I saw the silhouette of Jack Sparrow ready himself on the plank. Elizabeth and a few pirates standing a little ways down, right next to the side facing our shore. And when they passed, the Columbia getting into position for the next show, they all waved completely in character!
When the Mark Twain passed us at the end of the show, all the characters waved, in character, as they passed. A great way to see so many characters up close. And with both ships this happened during both shows.
Now, You really can't see the show from Hungry Bear. The music is faint and muffled. No dialogue heard. Everything is just really distant. But after the first show there's fireworks, and a spot with a tree clearing for the aerials. Though the fireworks are quite loud in this area for those sensitive to loud bangs.
During one show I watched the backstage area on the other side of the river, a little bench area next to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Some of the characters waved to kids who shouted their names, so that was fun.
My favorite spot was Pelicans Landing near the Haunted mansion. I saw two shows here. One right next to the food shack booth thingy (heh, what is it called?), and the other at the end closest to the show. It was this second show that was just so much fun. Everything is seen from the side. For a lot of it we can only see the back of Mickey, but other parts were enjoyable, like watching the monkey's dance as their rafts come out. The Pirate ship so close and in full motion. The princess rafts drifting by.
Now, watching Fantasmic! from the front is in many ways the absolute best, because that's how the show is staged. Twice I saw the show from this angle, though from a distance. Once from the French Market and the other from Cafe Orleans which is only for those who ate at this restaurant just before the show. The French Market is open to all, though there's trees.
I was also in the stand by spot next to the Haunted Mansion. Not once did I do a paid spot or a dining package, so the show can be enjoyed by those not wanting to spend the extra money.
Funny enough I saw World of Color only once and the Electrical Parade one and a quarter times, so needless to say Fantasmic! is my favorite show. :D
Sarah
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