Fantasmic! Celebrates 10 Years
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The sign on the walls alongside the Rivers of America
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Welcome to Fantasmic!
Fantasmic! officially debuted at Disneyland on May 13, 1992. Now, ten years later, many still regard it as the best show ever created for a Disney theme park.
Lets go back to 1992. Several Southern California parks have announced summer plans including Indian Village and Knott's Berry Farm, the Flashback coaster at Magic Mountain, Backdraft, the Beetlejuice show and the Rocky and Bullwinkle show at Universal Studios, Shark Encounter and Sea World and even new slides at Raging Rivers and Wild Waters. It was to be an exciting summer. However, tempering this excitement was a very sobering real-word event - the Los Angeles Riots. From April 29th through May 3rd the whole world watched as parts of Southern California became a battle zone. With all the fear and bad publicity the theme parks must have been concerned that despite their new offerings, the crowds might not materialize.
The park with the largest investment in a new summer attraction was Disneyland. At a reported cost of $30 million - twice original estimates - Fantasmic! was to become the flagship show at Disneyland. Along with the still-going-strong Main Street Electrical Parade and the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks, Disneyland would be "the place to be" on summer nights.
The hype for Fantasmic! was huge. Prior to its debut Disney went on.a 28-city, $750,000 tour of the West showcasing a eight story tall inflatable Maleficient. Locals can recall print, television, radio and billboard ads. And speaking of billboards, if you were driving on I-5 to Disneyland in late 1991, you may remember seeing billboards advertising "Imagination", an early name for the show. That name was changed in December to "Fantasmagoria" for a short time. Finally, they settled on Fantasmic!
Fantasmic! was originally scheduled to premiere on April 2nd, but technical problems pushed backed its official debut. Finally on Wednesday, May 13th more than 3,000 members of the media and invited guests gathered in Frontierland to see the new show. Fantasmic! officially opened to park guests on May 15th (though there were soft openings prior to that).
Now, ten years later, Fantasmic! still dazzles. Walk through Frontierland on a summer Saturday evening and you'll still find guests waiting up to 2 or 3 hours for a choice viewing spot. A version of the show was added to Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World in 1998. Disneyland's version remains largely unchanged from that of 1992. Fantasmic! had its most recent performance on September 3rd of last year. It returns on June 14th and will run all summer long.
Some Fantasmic! Fun Facts:
- The show is 22 minutes
- Guests sit and stand around the Rivers of America with a reported capacity of 10,000 guests per show
- A cast of 51 performers, most in multiple roles and a crew of 50 per performance.
- The computer control for Fantasmic is above the Disney Gallery and the technical guts are below the Cider Mill on Tom Sawyer Island. Another control center can be seen during performances right next to the center light tower in Frontierland.
- The mist screens are each 30 feet tall by 50 feet wide. 70mm film images are projected on the screens from projectors on the island.
On the following pages are pictures, by Doug Marsh, of Fantasmic! construction and pictures from the LaughingPlace.com staff of the show itself.
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