Tipping the Light - Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Disney's Hollywood Studios entertains guests with a thrilling display of pyrotechnics—and an epic battle of good versus evil.
by Carolyn Keating

A single note is heard in the darkness, gradually growing louder until it swells into a chord. Suddenly a brilliant light pierces the gloom, and Mickey Mouse appears in the spotlight, orchestrating the movement of water fountains, pyrotechnics, and laser lights with his baton. "Use your imagination," the theme song exhorts us at the beginning of Fantasmic!, the nighttime extravaganza at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Set on an island surrounded by a moat in a vast amphitheater, Fantasmic! chronicles Mickey's "dream," which begins with music from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," accompanied by the original Fantasia scene projected onto giant mist screens. This is followed by a medley of songs and scenes from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and others, featuring various Disney characters who appear either onscreen, onstage, or on barges that fl oat along the moat. Monstro the whale from Pinocchio fills the screen in a huge wave, his tail smack on the water translating to real life and splashing the theater's front rows.

But Mickey's dream turns darker with the appearance onstage of the Evil Queen from Snow White, who is concocting a spell to defeat Mickey and his magic. "I will turn that little mouse's dream into a nightmare fantasmic!" she cackles, and a host of Disney villains begin to appear onscreen above her cauldron, morphing into each other in a crescendo of nightmarish images: Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians, Jafar from Aladdin, Ursula the sea witch from The Little Mermaid, Fantasia's demonic figure Chernabog... ending with Maleficent the dragon from Sleeping Beauty, who rises up onstage breathing fire and setting the moat aflame. But Mickey is not so easily defeated. "This is my dream!" he declares, bringing the waters to life again and dousing the flames. After the defeat of Maleficent, the 80-foot Steamboat Willie riverboat floats into view, filled with Disney characters happily waving and singing, accompanied by fireworks, lasers, and dancing colored fountains, celebrating Mickey's triumph over evil.

Attendees have called Fantasmic! "spectacular" and "breathtaking," with one guest declaring, "I thought this was the best attraction at Disney. It was so colorful and the music was wonderful."

Probably the most exciting (and scary) part of the show are the fire effects, such as when the moat is set on fi re by the dragon, the largest robotic performer at Disney World. This effect is created using a network of natural gas tubes that lie just beneath the surface of the water, which are turned on when the moat is "lit" by Maleficent's breath, simulated by pyrotechnics. The heat from the flames can be felt all the way to the back of the theater.

"We want to send [guests] off with a big 'wow' moment," says production manager Miguel Berrios. "Fantasmic! is a superconcentrated dose of Disney magic that hopefully is enough to hold them over until their next visit." Apparently it's addictive—people keep coming back for more!