Originally Posted By TDLFAN For the past few years, TDR has been celebrating the arrival of summer and hot temperatures with splashy productions such as "Cool the Heat" and "Natsu Matsuri" shows. This year, a new production with the similar Nartsu Matsuri theme is being presented 3 times daily at TDL, called "Garyo Gunbu" and frankly, I am quite surprised that no one on these boards have commented on this yet. Similar to Matsuri, Garyo show is presented in a traditional Japanese festival format, streetacular style, and being a water show.. it is very wet and lots of fun. Unlike in previous years when OLC has built a custom stage with water shooters and equipment on stage and on the castle itself, but this year the equipment has been installed on 4 large scale floats/stages and the budget has been increased to include about 75 performers (characters and dancers) all in glittering japanese costumes, and daiko drums props. The fun begins when two competing dance groups converge at the castle forecourt to dance in a friendly and wet competition. Both teams enter the hub area from opposite ends, Team Mickey from Westernland and Team Donald from Tomorrowland. High energy dancers set the show in motion, while characters make a surprise entrance from hidden compartments on the floats themselves. Team Mickey takes center stage to do their dance sequence, accompanied by a brand new high NRG music score and lots of water flying thru the air and onto the audience members sitting in the central viewing area. In the meantime, Team Donald is in motion around the hub, sprinkling water and mist on the guests in the perimeter and their own troupe of dancers putting on a show. Once Team Donald finishes the entire clock wise circle around the hub, they enter the central forecourt area and bump Team Mickey out of the way.. then Donald and troupe put on their show. Team Mickey is now going around the hub getting guests wet and dancing as they go full circle around the hub, and joining team Donald for a splashy epic finale when both teams and 4 floats park next to one another merging and creating a sense of a huge stage, with about 75 performers and lots of water cannons blasting away to cool the heat and getting guests wet. The show ends in a big splash down note and all performers and floats exit right towards Tomorrowland and the show ends. So what is my opinion on this? This new Garyo Gunbu production is very well staged and synchronized. Features the largest cast of performers in a water castle stage show production ever, and offers a very energetic musical score. From the costuming, to the music, to the perfect choreography, this summer-only show is simple yet lots of fun. Lots of thoughts must have gone to the motion of the cast and floats as the show progresses as to not miss a beat, especially during the small musical breaks in between numbers, but the finale is so grand in a wide screen format way of being... that it simply puts a smile on everyone's face, and the roaring audience reaction is proof of it all. With that said... there are some things that I miss from the previous year's versions of these shows. The fountains on the castle itself are missing here. Maybe because Cinderella Castle is now being prepped for the twice nightly performances of "Once Upon a Time", which includes pyro launching from castle itself.. not sure if that would be the case, or maybe just budget cuts in that aspect of the show.. who knows. But I think the retooling of the show from stage production to streetacular is great, especially since NO other Disney park does Streetaculars better than TDL. Putting the water cannons on floats and moving them around the hub was a strike of genius as the water aspect of it now reaches a far bigger audience. Albeit, these water cannons appear to have been toned down considerably. In previous years, guests who were too close to the action and on the central viewing area got soaked to the bone. That does not appear to be the case this year. I didn't even see the water sprinklers on top of the castle forecourt turrets being used at all. Only those who are in the central viewing area got closer to being soaked. By the way, There is NO lotto ticket needed to access the central viewing. They do load the area (which has seat benches) from a line that forms on the right side of the central viewing area. But if you intend to do that, then run to that line asap to grab the best spots. Seating in the central area is limited so you will have to play the waiting game to be able to sit and enjoy the show from the central viewing area. You have been forewarned. However, you can stand and view the show from other areas without having to wait hours to see this 20- minutes production. Just stand behind the central viewing area or from either side of the forecourt, those areas afford good viewing locations. This show CD is already on sale in Japan, and includes a special track of Frozen's Let it Go, performed in a japanese instrumental format. So want to have a splashy wet good time this summer at TDL, head to see this show and let the water hit you. But HURRY!!! this show ends at the end of August. TDLFAN rates it a B+, so go check it out.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I touched on this show in my write-up of my recent trip (I saw it the first day of Summer Matsuri), but I definitely agree with you assessment. It's very cleverly staged so that it's unique, yet easy for tons of guests to get a decent view We watched from just behind the center of the hub, so we got a good view of the floats and water cannons, but missed a lot of the ground-level performers and stayed pretty dry. Although I was hoping they would use the water on the castle itself, it was really impressive to see how powerful the cannons on the floats were; certainly a lot more than the little misters I've seen in DCA and HKDL. At times, it seemed like the water was shooting nearly as high as the castle itself, and several of the cannons were pointed into the audience, which was a lot of fun I was also quite impressed with the choreography of the show. Obviously it needs to be good in a "dance battle"-type show, but they seemed to really nail it with the various performers on the stages, in the audience, and while moving around the hub. I was pleasantly surprised to see that each character was doing the same choreography perfectly in time, but the performers all managed to do it in the style of the character; Goofy and Minnie actually moved like Goofy and Minnie rather than a generic dancer. I wasn't able to see any characters coming out of surprise compartments, but it seemed like they had TDR's main cast up there (Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Max, Chip, Dale, Clarice, Donald, Daisy) It was neat to see how much merchandise they had related to this short-term show, from towels to headbands/hats to stationery to plush. It seems like the US parks rarely make merchandise for their entertainment that runs for decades, yet they had a huge selection of stuff for this show that will only run a couple months. I can't help but think that the US parks could move more merchandise if they would take on a similar model; in a way, it almost seemed like the seasonal promotion was simply created as a way to move more merchandise, which is a great approach since it makes money for the company and gets fresh stuff to bring the guests back frequently I also bought the CD (haven't had a chance to listen to it yet) since the music was just so darn fun and catchy! It seemed like every time you thought that it was coming to the finale, the music modulated up another key and the energy bumped up even higher. It would be hard to walk away from this show without a smile on your face
Originally Posted By LindsayC The music is fab for this - love it Got absolutely drenched sitting in the central viewing area watching this, still it was boiling at 10am so didn't mind at all - so much fun though
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I'll also add that I thought this show was far better than Minnie's Tropical Splash at TDS. While that show did a great job getting everybody wet, it seemed like the venue was a lot more awkward to present an actual storyline of any kind. The TDL show did a great job of having a lot of fun music and dancing, a vague storyline, and still getting everybody wet!
Originally Posted By leemac <<With that said... there are some things that I miss from the previous year's versions of these shows. The fountains on the castle itself are missing here. Maybe because Cinderella Castle is now being prepped for the twice nightly performances of "Once Upon a Time", which includes pyro launching from castle itself.. not sure if that would be the case, or maybe just budget cuts in that aspect of the show.. who knows. But I think the retooling of the show from stage production to streetacular is great, especially since NO other Disney park does Streetaculars better than TDL.>> OUAT impacts the ability to run the usual summer water jets from the turrets. I'm glad they ditch the predominantly stationary castle summer shows. Cool The Heat wasn't my favourite at all. This rolling streetacular is far better so that more guests can experience the show. It also encourages repeatability as guests want to see all aspects of the show.
Originally Posted By leemac The one aspect I didn't like was Ondo-Ko-Don! that is performed before the first show each day. Even with prime seats in the central viewing area it isn't possible to see the dancing that kids are doing. This is the welcome meet 'n' greet for the show in the summer. It is only 11 minutes long but it just needs a wider participation and better visuals to hold the attention. I'm sure the kids who are sent up to perform love it (they get to dance directly with Mickey and Minnie) but I always thought that a small float with show modes was a better idea.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I'll also add that I thought this show was far better than Minnie's Tropical Splash at TDS.>> This one fell flat this year. TDS shows have traditionally skewed towards the feminine but this one was a little odder than usual. I did like a couple of the song element - Welcome to the Tropical Carnival is a great up-tempo number. Once it gets to the Are You Ready? element it is very frenetic. The dancers need medals for performing in this show - they get soaked and the energy of the choreography is off the scale. The fruit song is just plain weird even for TDR.
Originally Posted By leemac I will say that I was very disappointed that HKDL decided not to run Mickey's WaterWorks parade this year. That parade is so much fun and absolutely perfect for a hot ands humid summer day in HK. The park needs a soaking experience like those that run at TDR even if the Mainlanders won't appreciate it.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>The dancers need medals for performing in this show - they get soaked and the energy of the choreography is off the scale.<< Absolutely! It was amazing to see them giving it their all, while getting soaked and continuing to drench the audience. Although I didn't care for the show itself, the spectacle of the whole thing was so incredible that it became an absolute highlight of my ~3 week trip. It's just so over the top and unlike anything I've ever seen before that I couldn't help but enjoy myself during it
Originally Posted By TDLFAN I agree with Leemac. HKDL is a miss this summer without Waterworks parade. Not that I will be going back to HKDL anytime soon since scheduling changes at my employer will prevent me from going to HK for a very long time. I'm bummed about that. And furthermore I'm curious to know more about hkdl's Disney lights up the night parade or show since they have the show's logo on the current Disney Fan magazine in Japan. As for the small kids show at Tokyo Disneyland. It is just an excuse to give the kids something to do. Seems like this year the previous summer kids show programs have been ditched as well.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Great review, TDLFAN. Not that I will be spending summers in Asia anytime soon. Sounds like a typically high-quality limited tie event that the OLC is known for. And at WDW we get more upcharge events to make NGE appear to be the revenue driver it was pitched by Nick Franklin and Co as. $79 for six food and wine 'samples' and an after hours dance party in the UK. How utterly MAGICal. Sorry to hear Mickey's Waterworks isn't being held in HKDL. I loved that parade and it seemed like everyone did. I suspect money and the new night parade are the culprits. Good to see Leemac is still alive. I was afraid Zenia had taken him out along with Tales. Summer in Asia fun? Do you think Disney will announce next fall's SDL opening before say next year? I say it will open in October as I can't see them opening that resort in December considering typical weather and smog issues then.
Originally Posted By leemac <<And furthermore I'm curious to know more about hkdl's Disney lights up the night parade or show since they have the show's logo on the current Disney Fan magazine in Japan. >> Paint the Night launches October 1 - it should be in preview the week before. It is also going to be at Disneyland for the 60th. It isn't even close to the scale of a Fantillusion but it is a nice enough evening diversion.
Originally Posted By leemac <<As for the small kids show at Tokyo Disneyland. It is just an excuse to give the kids something to do. Seems like this year the previous summer kids show programs have been ditched as well.>> I'd forgotten about the Disney Kids Summer Adventure programme - did it run in '13 too?
Originally Posted By leemac <<Sorry to hear Mickey's Waterworks isn't being held in HKDL. I loved that parade and it seemed like everyone did. I suspect money and the new night parade are the culprits.>> I was expecting it back - I could have sworn it was on the agenda earlier in the year - and cost is always a weak excuse for stuff like this as it effectively utilised the Flights of Fantasy cast. It is grousing to a degree as the park has had so much investment over the past few years but the summer season is just so flat this year. It is basically just a quiz/treasure hunt in the guide map e.g. four clock signs are on runaway mine cars and you need to spot them all. I'm sure a nice diversion for young kids but it doesn't scream summer to me.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Summer Adventure did play in 2013 at both parks. Had to research last year's entertainment schedules.. but yes, it did. As for "Paint the night", glad to see it coming to the most deserving park but not glad it's coming to Disneyland. I would have preferred a brand new parade to honor the original park. But at least I am glad Disneyland has yet something new to show for, continuing the tradition of outstanding night time offerings.
