For the last 10 months Walt Disney World has been celebrating its 50th anniversary, but it’s difficult to say how many people visiting the parks right now even know that. Recent guest surveys have asked guests if they knew the 50th anniversary of Disney World was happening, indicating the resort is at least aware that the birthday party might be a bit lack luster. However, it appears that Disney World is taking the criticism to heart as it may be adding a new segment to the Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular that will celebrate the history of Disney World.
Enchantment is the brand new fireworks show at Magic Kingdom that debuted as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, and while many love the show, (though it’s no Happily Ever After) there’s nothing about it that specifically celebrates the history of Walt Disney World. However, last night there was some after hours fireworks testing going on, captured by One Little Spark JL which clearly shows Walt Disney himself as part of the Cinderella Castle projection mapping. Along with other new segments it appears that about two minutes is being added to Enchantment specifically to focus on Disney World history.
Disney World is, by its very nature, designed to invoke nostalgia in guests and so many fans found it strange, and frustrating, that a lot of Disney World’s 50th anniversary was just new versions of popular IP, and not more of a focus on the parks themselves. They’re all very different places than they were decades ago and many fans loved Epcot back when it was still Epcot Center or parts of Magic Kingdom that are now long gone.
Nothing about this test has been officially announced so while it appears we could be seeing a running change to Enchanment, we’re not sure exactly when we’ll see it. It could happen as early as tonight, or if more testing is needed it could still be weeks away. We coulld also end up seeing this new element as part of an entirely new show.
We rarely see a running change like this made to a nighttime spectacular. We’re more than halfway through the 18-month long 50th anniversary celebration, so even if there was agreement inside Disney World that Enchantment was missing something, that wouldn’t mean for sure that we’d see it. It would certainly appear that this issue was important enough, and potentially easy enough to fix, that Disney World is making this change.
Seen in a positive light, this looks to be a case of Disney World hearing a complaint, taking it to heart, and actually doing something about it. For some it may be too little too late, many who have been to Walt Disney World in the last 10 months probably aren’t looking to return in the next eight.
Still, to see this update happen is better than not. And it would also seem to contradict recent rumors that Walt Disney World was looking to distance itself from Walt Disney, which may even be another reason this update is being made.
