Orlando/SoCal Theme Park Showdown: Fantasmic! vs. Fantasmic!
And now we come to the final vote in the Theme Park Insider Orlando/Southern California Showdown. Since this is the end, why not wrap up with a night-time spectacular? Our final contest is Fantasmic! versus Fantasmic! The vote will be open for 24 hours.
Disneyland's Fantasmic!: Frontierland
Walt Disney World Disney's Hollywood Studio's Fantasmic!
The differences? Fantasmic! debuted on the Rivers of America at Disneyland in May 1992, revolutionizing the theme park night-time show with its blend of water screens, fireworks and live actors, on stage and on boats, floating by the audience. In October 1998, Disney brought Fantasmic! east, building a decicated amphitheater at the then-Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. The shows are largely the same, though a Pocohantas replaces the Peter Pan sequence that plays on the Sailing Ship Columbia at Disneyland. Then, there's the whole how-does-Mickey-kill-Maleficent thing, too. In 2009, Disneyland debuted a new Maleficent dragon (nicknamed Murphy for all the things that went wrong with it during development), as well as adding Flotsam & Jetsam to the Ursula scene.
Feel free to further break down the match-up in the comments.
Other Showdown winners:
- SeaWorld Orlando's Journey to Atlantis defeats SeaWorld San Diego's Journey to Atlantis, 84% - 16%
- Disneyland's It's a Small World defeats Walt Disney World's It's a Small World, 70% - 30%
- Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror defeats Disney California Adventure's Tower of Terror, 91% - 9%
- Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain defeats Disneyland's Splash Mountain, 76% - 24%
- Islands of Adventure's Jurassic Park River Adventure defeats Universal Studios Hollywood's Jurassic Park - The Ride, 58% - 42%
- Walt Disney World's Tom Sawyer's Island defeats Disneyland's Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer's Island, 59% - 41%
- Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean defeats Walt Disney World's Pirates of the Caribbean, 75% - 25%
- Walt Disney World's Space Mountain defeats Disneyland's Space Mountain, 52% - 48%
- Universal Studios Florida's Revenge of the Mummy defeats Universal Studios Hollywood's Revenge of the Mummy, 87% - 13%
- Walt Disney World's Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin defeats Disneyland's Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, 56% - 44%
- Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion defeats Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, 58% - 42%
Replies (11)
You're just taunting me, aren't you Mr. Niles?
Be advised I have the email templates and Facebook notices lined up ... The birds are in the air ... The hammer is cocked ... I've already announced the cliche first two-thirds: "On your mark, get set ..."
Bring it.
Never seen either, and Im not watching them on you tube, so Im sitting out on this one.
Disneyland needs some love here. Though, I gotta say, the whole sitting-on-the-ground thing really stinks.
I'll say that this showdown is an easy choice for me because of choreography & quality of dancers. Unless Orlando's show has changed, So Cal's Fantasmic! destroys Orlando's in that aspect alone. Just look at the finale on the Steamboat!
Sure the Orlando one is longer, but one can debate that they even out since some people prefer a longer show, while others think it's a tighter show in Anaheim. But I'd say the reliance on live action at Anaheim vs. the video of Orlando makes me choose Anaheim for sure.
Other than that, the shows are nearly identical. So my vote goes to Anaheim... but if this was about the Haunted Mansion in both parks... Orlaaaandoooooo... or Star Tours... or the Monorail...
I say DLR has the edge- I much prefer being able to watch the show casually from the the midst of the park itself, rather than having to schlepp into an out-of-the-way amphitheater. Plus, at DHS, people waste lots of precious park time lining up for this WAY in advance of showtime because of the way it's set up. At least at DLR, even if you're staking out a good spot in advance, you're doing so in the middle of the park, not off away somewhere out of the action...
Definitely preferred the DL version, even if I didn't get to see Murphy (he lived up to his nickname that night!). Also, Orlando's version should shorten or drop the Pocahontas sequence. It slows down the show.
Absolutely Disneyland's version. I am shocked that the vote is even close. The Pocahontas scene is hardly noteworthy, and the Wicked Witch from Snow White is a far cry from the elegant evil that is Maleficent. Giant Ursula figure? Nope, Florida doesn't have that, either. Steamboat Willie's boat? Meh. Tricking out the Columbia as well as the Mark Twain for the show? Nothing short of brilliant. Considering that Florida's version came after California and is in an arena designed specifically for it, rather than retrofitted into a very active part of the park like Disneyland has, I would have expected Florida to have the premier version of the show, but it just falls short in so many ways. And need I mention that Disneyland's has THE. BEST. DRAGON. EVAR. (when it works!)
Robert, can we have another showdown some time adding in international parks? eg. it's clear that Paris has the most outstanding Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain of all. It would be great for a future tournament to find the best version of each ride in the world. Not only the best, but second best, etc. (where there are more than 3 versions!).
I absolutely love the Peter Pan scene at Disneyland and grew up going there. The first time at Disneyworld, I just felt something was missing. Love the show in both parks, but Peter Pan and the Finale make up for the lack of seating.
Wow. Final Score Florida 9 California 3. Most Disney rides are better in Florida (Haunted Mansion, TOT, Toy Story Mania, Buzz Lightyear)
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lol lice actors