A brief update from the construction at the Cinderella Castle forecourt courtyard stage. The area in front of the castle has received new towers, lights, slightly longer ramps, and landscaping giving the castle a tad more mysterious curbside appeal. The work on Cinderella Castle is… Read More »Cinderella Castle forecourt construction nearly finished
There was no show like The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Festival of Fools at Disneyland. Instead of a simple retelling of the story of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Pheobus, Clopin, and the gang from Disney’s popular movie, it took place in and around the audience in an arena based on medieval play structure and brought a new style of entertainment to guests.
Because there was always multiple things going on in the show at the same time it had repeatability. Also, the performers were given a small amount of leeway to juice up their roles with an extra bit of humor here and there. I saw the show well over 600 times, but I guarantee I never had the same experience twice.
I could have watched it many more times, However, it only ran from June 21, 1996 to April 18, 1998. Not nearly long enough in my book. But I do remember it with an essay in my Dispatch from Disneyland book and, through the magic of YouTube, you can watch a recording of that wonderful final show. Hard to believe it’s been 16 years.
Parts 2 & 3 below
Read More »A Salute To The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Festival of Fools at Disneyland
There are a number of things that I love to say, loudly and often, and more than a few of them are direct quotes from William Goldman’s classic film The Princess Bride (based on his equally classic novel of the same name). For instance: “No… Read More »Disney Taking The Princess Bride to Broadway
Okay Newsies fans. It’s time to strap on those tap shoes and seize the day. Nationwide auditions for Newsies on Broadway begin this weekend! Find out which cities you’ll need to visit for your tryout on their website. As you might expect, they’re only searching… Read More »Your Chance to Be in Disney’s Newsies The Musical
On September 25th at the 4:50 pm show of Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular at California Adventure there was a frightening malfunction of the flying carpet effect during the show. Thankfully, redundant safety systems prevented any real injury, but the show was stopped and the audience evacuated while performers on the flying carpet swung upside down above the audience.
This video shows the moments after the carpet flipped over. Both performers can be seen strapped into the carpet, but the Jasmine performer is obviously (and understandably) upset. So don’t watch the video if that bothers you:
Here’s another angle that shows the carpet actually flipping over:
Well, at least it wasn’t anything violent.
I wasn’t going to post about this incident, chalking it up to a freak accident, but it turns out this is not the only time the flying carpet effect has had problems. Spoilers and more details below:
Read More »Aladdin Accident Video – Flipped Flying Carpet Stops Show
Was just given access to a new video that includes the first look at the American Idol Experience stage and some of the backstage areas. As others who have seen the show say, the stage is really faithful to what you’re used to seeing during… Read More »American Idol Experience, first look at the stage
The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood is the pinnacle of the Disney movie watching experience. It is old Hollywood meets new, with restorations to both the exterior and interior, and equipped with Dolby SR-D digital sound, film and digital projectors, and 3-D capability. It is… Read More »Disney’s El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood
The latest theatrical musical to come from The Walt Disney Company is really making waves. Well, at least the Disney Wonder, the ship upon which it is staged, is making waves. Using Randy Newman’s Oscar nominated hit song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” as… Read More »Toy Story Musical Hits the Waves