Disney may not start Happily Ever After, its new nighttime show at Magic Kingdom, until next week, but it’s releasing a pretty detailed preview beginning today.
This advanced look is actually an expanded version of the sneak peek the company offered a month-and-a-half ago, but at three times the length, there’s more than enough new material in there to make fireworks fans salivate. Mixing in behind-the-scenes footage of the orchestra and singers recording the music along with exclusive glimpses of the advanced projection-mapping technology that will shortly be on hand, it’s hard not to get swept up in the magic of the moment – something which Disney, of course, has been famous for being able to do over the past six decades.
Many astute commentators, both fans and journos alike, have noted just how pitched the competition between Disney and Universal has been this year – such as having both of their grand new additions to their respective resorts, Volcano Bay and Pandora: The World of Avatar, open just two days apart from one another (and with their media events taking place simultaneously, forcing journalists to choose one over the other). It seems that projection mapping is yet another front in this newly-aggressive war, as Universal just announced last month that it would be debuting a Harry Potter Christmas-themed show at Hogwarts Castle for the holidays this year. It’ll be interesting to see if the Wizarding World can offer up the same level of technical prowess and artistic majesty that Disney has demonstrated in the video above – and, if so, how Disney will respond with Happily Ever After and beyond.
Happily Ever After starts on Friday, May 12. Stay tuned to both the Orlando Informer Blog and Facebook page for even more early peeks.
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