Originally Posted By danyoung >The same way Stitch's stupid Celebration at MK failed - guests didn't like it and stopped showing up. It was bad - bad bad. Google it and watch some video, I don't think anyone can watch a video of it now and not admit it was pretty darn terrible.< Completely untrue, both subjectively and objectively. The crowds were there all summer long. But as others have said, I don't think people were used to the idea of a parade with stops. And outside of the show, there really wasn't that much to look at as the floats rolled down the street. I think Disney nicely fixed this problem with the Lion King parade, where it was fun to look at as it moved and it also had terrific show stops. I still think that most of the bad vibes came from that first disaster of an opening night - err, I mean soft opening - err, I mean dress rehearsal. The local AP'ers gave it a thumbs down, and the parade simply never recovered from that. I saw it twice, and for the most part enjoyed it. I have the soundtrack on my mp3 player, and I like to listen from time to time. But I don't think LM quite lived up to the magic of the MSEP.
Originally Posted By mousermerf *sigh* So Disney got rid of a perfectly good show that guests adored eh? That's what it sounds like you're saying. Seems like you're viewing the past with rose colored glasses. Seriously, how many folks have gone back and looked at the show instead of referencing happy DL memories? You know, those memories that insist the queue for Dumbo never had all the paint falling off the railings and rust - despite there being photographic evidence that it's been happening every few years after they fix it since Walt was around.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt But the crowd control for it was a nightmare all summer long. It wasn't a parade, and it was hard for people to get that. You had to get a good spot in advance, and it caused all sorts of crowd control problems for the CM's. It likely cost the park a fortune in CM labor and damage control, and since Pressler was firmly in charge then the spiraling labor costs probably helped do it in." These are all logical reasons, along with whatever complaints about the show that were filed, why Disney may have ultimately decided that the parade wasn't worth the expense. Makes sense. "So Disney got rid of a perfectly good show that guests adored eh?" Neither show ran long enough to gather a following, let along create long adoring memories. In the case of LM the operational logistics alone seemed to have contributed to its cancellation. There certainly had to be more to its demise than just "it was bad" or "everybody hated it".
Originally Posted By mousermerf "The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than more complicated explanations." - Some dude named Occam who liked razors.
Originally Posted By danyoung >So Disney got rid of a perfectly good show that guests adored eh?< Sigh right back atcha, buddy. No, that's not at all what I'm saying, and how you got that out of what I did say I'll never know. What I said was that I didn't think it was that bad of a parade/show. And given a little time and a bit more tweaking I think it could have run longer. But it started out in the red with the disaster of that first test show. Combine that with the logistical problems that Hans mentioned, and it just wasn't worth it for Disney to continue the show into another season. And I love Occam's razor as a general rule. But there are times when it simply doesn't apply. And this appears to be one of those times. You simple reason, that the parade/show was crap, simply isn't true, as evidenced by the reports on this thread from the people who have actually seen the show, myself included. Several other factors added up to the demise of the show, way before its time, IMO.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Well, every time I saw the show I hated it. (Really.) That must be the reason they cancelled it...!
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>...I don't think people were used to the idea of a parade with stops. And outside of the show, there really wasn't that much to look at as the floats rolled down the street.<< I realize this is now beating a (long) dead horse, but again, this was NOT a parade, either with or without stops. It was a show that performed in the street. (Disneyland publicity coined the term "streetacular" to describe it.) There was no fanfare (and originally no music) as the show platforms rolled into place. They were simply delivered to one of two locations, the show was performed, and then it rolled away. No parade.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I kind of have to disagree a bit with you Doug. Saying that LM wasn't a parade is a little bit like saying that Disneyland isn't an amusement park. No matter what Disney called it, and it may not have been staged in the traditional manner that these sorts of shows have been done, the people lining the route assumed that they were watching a parade.
Originally Posted By danyoung Dug, your memory and mine differ greatly. As I recall it, there was indeed music and fanfare and lights going off on the floats as they rolled down the street. When they stopped and went into show mode, that's when all the creepy fairies came out from the bowels of the floats. And at the end of their show, they climed back aboard their hidden positions, the music struck up again, and the floats rolled down to the next position. The floats didn't do a heck of a lot when not in show mode. But they most definitely were parading, and there was music to go with it.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I know that Light Magic is the reason that we now have the lovely theater-quality lights lining the parade route, but have they added some since the LM days? The reason I ask is because LM was really only performed in front of iasw (where there are the towers that get the wreaths for Christmas) and on Main Street (with the towers that fold down onto the roof tops). But today we also have the nice lighting in the hub and next to the Matterhorn. I would assume that it was all installed around the same time, but that middle part of the parade route wasn't used during LM. In fact, I believe it was used as a holding area for the stages before and after the performances each day for part of the summer. Most of the lights along that portion of the route are just simple green poles with the lights on top (with the exception of a couple towers on the roof of Alice), so they would be very easy to add in later, but it would also make sense that they did all the work at the same time. But since LM didn't really use that portion of the parade route, it would also make sense that they would have just skipped that area too. And if they were doing it today, how many people do you think would be outraged by the not-even-remotely-theme-appropriate towers around the hub? We take them for granted these days, especially since they are somewhat obscured by the trees, but they're pretty industrial looking. Yet we would complain if we didn't have them too...
Originally Posted By DlandDug For an exhaustive look at the origins and demise of Light Magic, here's Jim Hill's series with his take: Part 1: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/210.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...210.aspx</a> Part 2: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/211.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...211.aspx</a> Part 3: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/212.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...212.aspx</a> Part 4: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/213.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...213.aspx</a> Part 5: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/215.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...215.aspx</a> Part 6: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/216.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...216.aspx</a> Part 7: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/217.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...217.aspx</a> Part 8: <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/12/31/214.aspx" target="_blank">http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/...214.aspx</a>
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "As I recall it, there was indeed music and fanfare and lights going off on the floats as they rolled down the street." I remember that too.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>I kind of have to disagree a bit with you Doug... No matter what Disney called it... the people lining the route assumed that they were watching a parade.<< >>Dug, your memory and mine differ greatly...<< I'm not arguing with either of you-- just reiterating the position of Disneyland Entertainment, specifically as it addresses the issue of why LightMagic failed. Yes, it looked a lot like a parade, but it was not intended to be. Hence the disappointment of those who were lining the parade route. As far as memory goes, bear in mind this show changed throughout the summer months. Originally the barges (or whatever they were called!) were simply driven into place. Later there may well have been some music and lighting. What was missing was any sense of fanfare or pageantry. There were just four identical units, with what appeared to be colorful bundles of rags randomly dropped on them. Those were the performers, the "sleeping pixies," who were waiting to wake up and start the show, only after everything was in place.
Originally Posted By TempestsPrince Thanks for the links Doug. That was a fascinating story. I had no idea how Al Lutz played into the whole thing either.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Yes, it looked a lot like a parade, but it was not intended to be." Doesn't it crack you up when corporations, in their infinite marketing wisdom, decide to call something by a name other than what it really is? A friend of mine works for a kitchen design firm and he regularly refers to table settings as "tablescapes".
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance tablescapes, lol If you call it a tablescape you'll spend a lot more money on it than if you call it plates and cups and crap.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance I can never bring myself to spend much money on stuff like that. Maybe someday if I'm rich, I'll have a different tablescape for everyone one of my moods. All 932 of them.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Our caterer once offered "fruit infused" water as an inexpensive beverage option. When we asked exactly what it was, they sheepishly admitted it was water with sliced lemons.
