Disneyland Presents: Summer Nightastic!

[Maleficent's Dad]

I can't give the website credit, but here's the release about Disneyland's new nightly spectacular.

April 25, 2009

Disneyland Resort will glow like never before this summer as it debuts an all-new fireworks show, Magical, along with sensational new characters and effects that will brighten the Summer Nightastic! lineup of after-dark entertainment.

Guests can see Disneyland Resort in a whole new light as Summer Nightastic! brings nighttime shows and parades to life – bigger, better and brighter. A huge new dragon and other special effects will highlight Fantasmic! Explosive surprises will illuminate the night sky in the all-new fireworks spectacular, Magical. Guests can rock the night away at a new dance club in Tomorrowland. Sparkling new magic comes to “Disney’s Electrical Parade,” as well as to Pixie Hollow, the enchanting home Tinker Bell inhabits with her fairy friends.

Nightly, beginning Friday, June 12, and continuing through Sunday, August 23, at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure parks. All shows and immersive experiences are free with park admission.

Guests will find new thrills at the popular Fantasmic! on the Rivers of America in Frontierland. The evil Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty” transforms into a 40-foot tall, fire-breathing dragon. Ursula the Sea Witch from “The Little Mermaid” introduces her pet eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, who slither into the show with new power. In addition, the Fantasmic! video projections practically leap off the giant mist screens, thanks to HD (high-definition) technology … (in this case, HD takes on a new meaning - Huge Dragon).

Magical is a new Disney fireworks spectacular created especially to celebrate Summer Nightastic! at Disneyland. Tinker Bell is once again your host, waving her wand to ignite the brilliant color, stunning special effects and charming music. But she won’t be alone in the sky this summer. Dumbo will make his surprise airborne debut in the new show. Tink’s sparkling touch awakens a fantastic array of Disney’s most magical characters, from Pinocchio to Mary Poppins to Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, and the Three Good Fairies from “Sleeping Beauty.”

Everything about “Disney’s Electrical Parade” will have a new glow as Tinker Bell leads the way, waving from the basket of a magical balloon aboard a new opening parade float. The parade’s beloved music and floats will feature electrifying audio and lighting technologies, with sparkling pixie dust added to all the parade floats. Snow White and Pinocchio return to the parade this summer as well, after several years’ absence, riding bright new versions of their classic floats.

Tweens, teens and families will be drawn to the TLT Dance Club at Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland. Dazzling décor will include an illuminated DJ console where the TLT Dance Club DJ will spin the hottest dance tunes, guaranteed to keep Tomorrowland rockin’ all night. Live bands and the hottest Southern California radio stations will appear on select nights throughout the summer.

Tinker Bell and her friends have been welcoming guests into their Pixie Hollow home, tucked into the glen near the entrance to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, since fall of 2008. This summer, for the first time, nighttime visitors will find magical surprises as Pixie Hollow and the nearby pond come to life in iridescent light shows. Pixie dust cascades across the landscape and radiates down into the pond. Even the water becomes enchanted as playful fountains spring to life, pop jets perform with whimsical precision, and sparkling strobes shine throughout Pixie Hollow.

Sounds like they've included something for everyone!

[NotaGeek]

Thanks for posting this ... too bad I am not going to DLR this summer ... I hope the fireworks are awesome!

[tinkwest]

More information about Summer Nightastic! can be found at www.disneyland.com/summer.

[Melanie]

I can't give the website credit, but here's the release about Disneyland's new nightly spectacular.

No need for credit, it's the official Disneyland press release.

[Melanie]

From Disneyland.com/summer:

From June 12 to August 23, 2009, the Disneyland® Resort transforms into an illuminated dream land where favorite attractions and entertainment become even more electrifying.


Fantasmic! – The wondrous effects of this fascinating spectacular are marvelously enhanced with a 40-foot Audio-Animatronics® fire-breathing dragon, high-definition animation and new water characters you'll recognize!

Disney's Electrical Parade – Tinker Bell joins the classic parade and lights the way with her pixie dust as floats twinkle like never before and two beloved scenes make a triumphant return. Also, a remastered soundtrack fills the night air!

Magical – This all-new fireworks spectacular makes its dazzling debut as bursts of vivid color and visual effects dance in the sky to celebrate magical Disney stories and Characters. Pyrotechnics whirl and soar to a melodious new soundtrack.

Pixie Hollow – Follow the twinkling trail to Pixie Hollow for a special light show that uncovers the Disney Fairies' hidden talents!

TLT Dance Club – Tomorrowland Terrace emits a neon glow from sundown to Park closing as local radio DJs and live bands provide the tunes. Get grooving at one of the summer's hottest dance party!

[2Epcot]

Sounds great. I'm curious to see what the new dragon looks like as well as the HD video projection on the water.

[Magic Smiles]

Ewwwwwwwwwwww....even more reason for me to be getting excited!
96 DAYS 13 HOURS until departure...

[Mufasa]

Sounds great. I'm curious to see what the new dragon looks like as well as the HD video projection on the water.

The new digital projectors have actually been in the show since the upgrades last fall (November)- the biggest challenge was matching the light output of the previous 70mm film projectors, but overall the image I think is more uniform in brightness and clarity from edge to edge.

Also the new projectors bring other improvements- they allow for the upgrades to the dragon because of the space savings (the film projectors took up a lot of room where the new digital projectors and media servers take up a fraction of the space allowing room for the more elaborate dragon).

Also, makes the show management easier since if you needed to perform a show restart you can pick up right where you left off where the old film projectors required you start from the beginning because of matching up the SMPTE sync cues.

The new fireworks show should be interesting- some new shells for this show but one of the big changes is from an operations side where some of the fantasyland rides and the monorail won't need to be shut down for this show with the new pyro so there shouldn't be as much of a bottleneck during and after the show.

The Dumbo flying effect is something to look forward to- also the music is interesting. The new show will have a featured soloist- Eden Espinosa (appeared in various productions of Wicked.

The finale actually recycles some music from a Tokyo Disneyland stage production for that resort's 10th anniversary that was called "It's Magical".

[Marla]

Thanks Mufasa, it is always such a treat to hear from you. When you started telling us all on the West Side of Intercot about changes we felt so special. That feeling is still the same. Thank you so much for checking back on us here, and letting us know what is going on.

[maizey05]

So, if Nightastic events only go until Sept 23rd, how much of the entertainment will be going on before and through labor day???

[robnadina]

Disneyland previewed the new fireworks on Friday night. AMAZING! For those that are making the trip during the summer, you are in for a treat! I will be there 4th of July weekend to see the new Fantasmic. Hope its as good as the press release says.

[NotaGeek]

MAN I am jealous!

[Blue Genie]

A little bit of sad news with Fantasmic. From what I have read from another web site the head of the dragon broke sunday night and they don't think it will be repair in time for the June 12th day of Fan!

[2Epcot]

A little bit of sad news with Fantasmic. From what I have read from another web site the head of the dragon broke sunday night and they don't think it will be repair in time for the June 12th day of Fan!

I've been reading a lot of what the "locals" are saying who claim to have inside knowledge. Nobody seems sure what happened, but most agree something went wrong. That's not good ... Disneyland is doing a lot of promotion of Fantasmic right now with its Summer Nightastic commericals. Hopefully if it did break, the repair will be on a faster track then the Yeti.

[robnadina]

LA Times just reported that the dragon is having "Technical Issues" and despite the rumors the neck did not break. A DL spokesperson only said that the dragon will debut "later this summer". The new pyros, HD water graphics and Flotsam & Jetsam will debut this weekend as planned. Lets hope this is a quick fix for DL and not something that takes weeks. I am going on the 4th and am braving the anticipated crowds just for Fantasmic. Will be sad if not all aspects of the show are working

[Blue Genie]

Yeah I read that to but they also said it be late summer when the dragon is out. So it may not be out this month at all. Only time will tell.

[Magic Smiles]

I hope that 12 - 18 Aug will be late enough as I would really love to see this and this trip will most likely be my one and only to Disneyland.

[2Epcot]

Here is what the LA times wrote about Fantasmic.

Disneyland dragon not ready for Fantasmic reboot

While the OMG Web rumors aren’t true, the new Maleficent dragon won’t make her scheduled debut this weekend at Disneyland in the upgraded Fantasmic show due to “technical issues.”.

Disneyland officials say those “technical issues” do NOT include the latest Internet rumor du jour pinging around the Twittersphere — that the 40-foot-tall dragon’s neck snapped during testing and that the head fell off!

The show will go on sans the dragon — with the new Fantasmic making its official debut on Friday (June 12) with the new Flotsam and Jetsam eels and high-definition video projections on the mist screens.

The new dragon won’t join the show until “later this summer,” according to Disneyland officials. That likely translates to a delay of weeks rather than days for the iconic image of the Anaheim theme park’s Summer Nightastic marketing push

Here is more about the new Flotsam and Jetsam characters that should be seen when the show debuts.

Flotsam and Jetsam eels to join Fantasmic cast at Disneyland

When Disneyland decided to incorporate Ursula’s evil eels Flotsam and Jetsam from “Little Mermaid” into the updated Fantasmic show, master puppeteer Michael Curry drew inspiration from a novelty shop wooden wiggle snake.

I wanted a sense of swimming, of serpentine motion and menace,” said Curry, a long-time Disney collaborator. “Since it’s an underwater movie, it made sense to use the water as a stage.”

Curry’s puppets have appeared in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 and 2002 Olympics, the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show, the Broadway production of “The Lion King,” the Cirque du Soleil production of “Love” in Las Vegas, the “Aladdin” stage show at Disney’s California Adventure and countless parades at Disney theme parks.

To tackle the task of bringing Flotsam and Jetsam to life, Curry and his crew employed an eel puppet mounted on top of a nimble high-performance Jet Ski.

The 34-foot-long aluminum pontoon sub-frame — built of military-grade super-lightweight carbon fiber and a stainless steel typically used in submarines — pivots at 14 points just like the toy snake.

The ingenious invention faced one huge hurdle: “Boats tend to turn over,” Curry said.

To avoid disaster on Disneyland’s Rivers of America, test puppeteers put the “Jetsam Ski” through its paces in a river near Curry’s production facility outside Portland, Ore.

The tests immediately revealed that the friction of the water turbulence put too much drag on the lightweight fabric attached to the subframe.

The solution: a weather-resistant awning-like fabric that pulled over the sub-frame like a pillowcase.

To avoid the robotic animations of computer-programmed audio-animatronics, Curry designed the Flotsam and Jetsam eels to be brought to life by puppeteers. The Jet Skis can operate in manual or automatic mode, depending on the physical demands placed on the driver/puppeteer.

“I always try to put the human at the heart of it,” Curry said.

The updated Fantasmic show, part of Disneyland’s Summer Nightastic promotion, makes itsofficial debut June 12 at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. “Soft opening” previews of the Anaheim theme park’s all-new Magical fireworks show are underway.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff witer

[EPCOT84]

This story was in the news in LA. This is from the UPI (Sorry that it quotes another site)

Mechanical problems slay Disneyland dragon


ANAHEIM, Calif., June 12 (UPI) -- The Disneyland automated dragon will not make any appearances at the California amusement park in the near future due to mechanical problems, Disney says.
Disney said Maleficent, the fire-breathing star of the Disneyland production "Fantasmic," has been sidelined with unspecified mechanical problems ahead of Friday's premiere of the summer-long show, the Los Angeles Times said.
Maleficent typically stands 40 feet tall and weighs 10,000 pounds, but the editor of the Disney-themed Web site, [edited per TOS] , says the mechanical beast is now in pieces.
[edited per TOS] editor Al Lutz's site reported during testing of the mechanical beast, the dragon's head fell off.
Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown denied the site's dragon was beheaded during testing, telling the Times the complex machine was simply not prepared for its debut.
"It's a very technically complex mechanism," Brown said. "It's huge and it's just not ready."

[NotaGeek]

Thanks for sharing this ... but to be honest, any writer that has to use Al Lutz as a source for Disney info isn't very credible.

I will believe it when Disney announces it.