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Disney Modifies Enchantment Fireworks Show After Lackluster Reviews

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Credit: Disney

Disney World’s 50th-anniversary celebration show, Disney Enchantment, has been met with lukewarm reviews, with fans begging Disney to bring back its fireworks classics.

The Magic Kingdom Park nighttime show features fireworks, projection mapping, and lasers set to classic and contemporary Disney soundtracks at Cinderella Castle, with an all-new original song called “You Are the Magic”.

And it now appears Disney Parks may be listening to Guests, as some changes were noticed during the Magic Kingdom fireworks spectacular this week.

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Credit: Disney

After many Walt Disney World Guests took to social media to share their disappointment with the new fireworks show, it seems Disney Parks has now started to alter Disney Enchantment.

Guests noticed this week that the finale of the fireworks spectacular has been changed. The new version has similarities to the beloved Happily Ever After show, with an extra set of flares launching to the left and right of Cinderella Castle as Angela Bassett proclaims, “You are the magic.” Purple and yellow lasers then emerge from the iconic castle as even more fireworks launch, followed by one red Mickey Mouse silhouette-shaped firework.

Twitter user @disneyglimpses further shared the news of the alterations to Disney Enchantment, writing:

Disney has been tweaking Disney Enchantment over the last several weeks with brighter projections, lasers, added pyro, etc.

The problem is they think those things are the issue. Guests enjoyed the laser-less, pyro gutted version of Happily Ever After 100x more than this show.

The comparisons to Happily Ever After and Wishes will forever plague Magic Kingdom’s Disney Enchantment, it seems. Many Walt Disney World Resort Guests expected a celebration of attractions, music, and icons from the Lake Buena Vista theme parks in the fireworks for the Florida Resort’s 50th-anniversary celebration, rather than the typical movies featured in nighttime shows.

It was back in May 2017 when the Walt Disney World Resort ended its run of the fan-favorite Cinderella Castle show, Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, at Magic Kingdom.

Happily Ever After then made its debut to rave reviews and became an instant classic. Unlike its predecessor, Wishes, the show included projection mapping across Cinderella Castle, lasers, and searchlights, in addition to traditional pyrotechnics. The catchy song that made so many Disney Guests cry was performed by Angie Keilhauer and Jordan Fisher, known for his role in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.

fireworks-magic-kingdom

Credit: Disney

Happily Ever After was permanently retired on September 29, 2021, and was succeeded by the new nighttime spectacular Disney Enchantment for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary on October 1, 2021.

The all-new firework show projects onto Main Street, U.S.A., much like Disney Guests see at Disneyland Resort in the recently returned Disneyland Forever. But with the same-old movies and characters featured in the show – like those from Frozen (2013), Moana (2016), and Aladdin (1992) – rather than the 50-year history of Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it seems that Guests want Wishes or Happily Ever After to return.

About Melissa Cannioto

Melissa is an author, adventurer, and chatterbox, who has worked at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Adventures by Disney! A British native, she has traveled the world seeking new experiences, and now resides in Florida with her husband, an Air Force pilot. Find her children's book at @bear.hug.book