Fantasy in the Sky
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Fantasy in the Sky is a fireworks performance at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, France. It was formerly performed at Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1958 to 2000, shortly again in 2004; and at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, until 2003.
Walt Disney requested a fireworks show against the backdrop of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in 1958, to keep guests at the park for longer hours and provide much needed night-time entertainment. The show was extremely popular, and became a vital component of the Disneyland experience. When the second Disney park, the Magic Kingdom, opened in Florida in 1971, it was only natural to duplicate the show there. The predecessors to Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, the company who create all the entertainment for Disney parks worldwide, were able to produce a much larger show with a bigger budget and more space to work with - Cinderella Castle is almost three times taller than its Californian cousin.
As the shows aged, many guests began to miss out the fireworks in their visits as they had seen them so many times. In 2000, to celebrate Disneyland's 45th anniversary, the Disneyland Entertainment team produced a lavish fireworks production to replace the old show, Believe... There's Magic In The Stars. Many guests formed an emotional attachment to the show, especially when the company created a new additional section of the show, for Christmas, Believe... In Holiday Magic. Believe was itself replaced in 2005 with a special fireworks extravanganza, Remember... Dreams Come True, celebrating Disneyland's fiftieth birthday, making it the most expensive fireworks show Disney has ever developed, with shells all around the park and projects, pyrotechnics and creative lighting. Believe was actually discontinued in 2004, while WDCE were developing Remember, Disneyland Entertainment created a new, smaller show using elements from both Fantasy in the Sky and Believe was created to bridge the gap between Believe and Remember; Imagine... A Fantasy in the Sky.
At the Magic Kingdom, Fantasy in the Sky was only discontinued in 2003. Following the example of Believe at Disneyland, Walt Disney Creative Entertainment developed another show aimed at creating emotional responses among guests, and the result was Wishes. The show was an instant hit, and the theme of the show became the official Magic Kingdom song, as well as forming the base music for Remember at Disneyland. In 2005, the show was extravagantly updated with two additional tags (like the Believe holiday tag) for Halloween and Christmas respectively - both included additions such as releasing fireworks all around the theme park, not just the castle area. HalloWishes and Holiday Wishes became hits in their own right.
At Disneyland Paris, the show is still in performance, and has been since the park's dedication in 1992. The only period where it has not been performed was in the summer of 2005, when a contracted version of Wishes was performed for two months, celebrating Disneyland's fiftieth anniversary (although Wishes is from the Magic Kingdom). The show is sometimes known as Tinkerbell's Fantasy in the Sky or Fantasy in the Sky with Tinkerbell! in Disney literature.
Special performances
At Disneyland, Fantasy in the Sky was brought back from retirement to feature at the 2004 and 2005 July 4th celebrations and on New Years Eve in 2005. At the Magic Kingdom, it is performed every year on the 30th and 31st of December, as well as on July 3-4; the July 3rd and 4th shows being held in 360 degrees around the park and the Seven Seas Lagoon concurrently.Future
Aside from special performances at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, the only park where the show is in continuous performance is Disneyland Paris. With the return of Wishes to the park this summer for another two-month run, and the overwhelming popularity of Wishes in summer 2005, it seems more and more likely that Wishes will replace Fantasy in the Sky as the park's permanent show in the near future. If Wishes does replace the show permanently, the fireworks show which was originally designed forty-eight years ago will be reduced to three to four performances a year at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris.
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