Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs <<seanyoda: Doug... << The Disneyland version came out just after The Little Mermaid. >> You horribly mis-spelled "Beauty and the Beast" >> LMAO! I remember seeing Buzz and Woody on the top deck with the chimney sweeps...and I've read how others were treated to one of the Disney Afternoon characters on the Mark Twain as well. Heck, let's surprise everyone and put The Three Little Pigs, The Big Bad Wolf, The March Hare, The Walrus, Marie and the cast from Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers!
Originally Posted By figment1986 <<One really, really minor quibble. At the height of the Princess sequence in Disneyland, the Prince lifts Snow White high into the air and slowly lowers her as she melts into his arms. In Florida, they just keep dancing, despite the swell in the music. Why is this?>> Prince Eric picks up Ariel and spins her around in DL's version as well, in FLA they just do basic movements. I wish they could redo WDWs first, WDW is like Fantastic 1.3 Versus DLs 1.1. Not to mention all the new LED lightning on the barges at DL's looks great!
Originally Posted By danyoung Perhaps SoCal has a greater pool of dancing actors to choose from, and they needed to keep things simple for the Orlando market? Just a thought.
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs <<bobbelee9: Thank you FiveBearRugs for listing the differences.>> You're welcome...after all, it's all you really needed to know about the two versions. Just remember LPers, that with BearRugs #5, you won't be gettin' any jive!
Originally Posted By dl1956 According to the Wikipedia article on Fantasmic, the dancing style differences in the Fla vs Cali shows is due to restrictions imposed by the union or guild in Fla. Of course Wikipedia isn't always accurate or correct.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I just love Disneyland's version! Not to say I hate the MGM version, it's good for what it is, and if you've never seen the DL version, then it's still pretty magical. With that, said, there are just many little things in the DL version that make it so much more special. I can't emphasize enough how the transformation from normal riverfront and island to a massive show at night really adds to the experience. At MGM, you know full well what you're in for, since you line up on the bleachers and stare at the empty set pieces. At Disneyland, if you have not seen it before, you have no clue what to expect from the stage and surrounding areas. The authentic ships at DL also make a huge difference, and bring things to a grand scale. It's funny, because in one of the posts above, Tony Baxters quote about Disneyland being "charming", and WDW being "spectacular" to me is the opposite for Fantasmic!. At Disneyland, it's spectacular, and at MGM it's charming. It's got an epic quality at Disneyland. Also, I agree that the way the dragon is slain at MGM is so lame. They just use the fountains to cover up the mechanism, and that's it. Disneyland shows her sparking and "dying", and then smoke, and water. It's more impressive. Anyway, everybody else has gone over the details here, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on the two shows. MGM's is still good though, but just loses some of that spontaneous magic of Disneyland's....and some of the epic quality is dimimished too.
Originally Posted By jodiefra I have to agree with most of the posts here -- we had seen DL's F! several times before we ever saw the MGM version and while I appreciated the place to sit, MGM just didn't pack the wallop. The music is different, too, as has been mentioned. I have the DL version on my iPod and pretty much know it by heart; MGM has much more from recent movies. It also has a lot more scenes on the island itself. I do like the end when Mickey appears at the very top of the mountain at MGM, though... We're off to DL in 50 days and won't miss F!
Originally Posted By BrooklynsMom If I remember correctly when F! first came to MGM, the dragon slaying scene was a lot more elaborate. The dragon did spark and die. I agree that scene is pretty pitiful now.
