Alright guys, I'm not sold on Happily Ever After...

MagicKingdomDarling

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
My husband and I just got back from our 18 day wedding/honeymoon extravaganza, and we had the most amazing time. The last time we were there was March 2017 so there were lots of new things to experience this time around! I wanted to ask everyone else's opinion on the Happily Ever After show. We saw it three times this trip (one time from in front of Beast's Castle, twice from in front of Cinderella Castle) and to be quite honest....it is definitely not my favorite.

Don't get me wrong, it is a good show. The fireworks they are using are stunning, and the projection technology is very impressive. Good soundtrack, included a lot of my favorite movies, I definitely didn't NOT like the show.

But I was disappointed. When the show was over after our first viewing, I looked at my husband with a confused look on my face and said "Did I miss something? I feel like I missed something." There's just.....no point, I guess? There's no story being told, or overarching theme (that I was able to discern). It seemed like a sort of random mash-up of Disney movies, with no cohesive theme or even reasonable transitions between them. It felt like a Disney IP showcase, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney movies and have no problem experiencing them. But when I think of Wishes, and I remember my first time seeing Wishes last March, I IMMEDIATELY understood it. It was telling me something, and it instantly resonated. I didn't need to ask, I got the overall point and message of the show. I suppose I expected the same from the new show, and I didn't personally get that.

Also, as impressive as the projections on the castle are, it was kind of difficult to watch both the fireworks and the projections at the same time. I constantly felt like I couldn't see everything because I couldn't look at that many things at once. I actually felt like my favorite viewing of it was from Beast's castle, because I was able to just watch the fireworks going off with the music and not have the distraction of the projections. Maybe I'm trying to say I think this show relies too heavily on the projection technology? I don't know, still processing everything. I will say that we finally got to catch Once Upon A Time this trip and I loved that. Loved watching everything happen on the Castle, and not feeling the need to look at anything else.

I'm not trying to put down anyone who loves the show, this is all just my newly formed opinions on it. And I did really like it! Maybe I just need to stop comparing it to Wishes, but that is so hard to do seeing as this is supposed to be the replacement for Wishes! Does anyone else feel this way about the show, or is it only me? And if you do love the show, tell me why! I'd love to hear the reasons this show touches people the way Wishes touched me.

Thanks in advance for any responses!
 
My husband and I just got back from our 18 day wedding/honeymoon extravaganza, and we had the most amazing time. The last time we were there was March 2017 so there were lots of new things to experience this time around! I wanted to ask everyone else's opinion on the Happily Ever After show. We saw it three times this trip (one time from in front of Beast's Castle, twice from in front of Cinderella Castle) and to be quite honest....it is definitely not my favorite.

Don't get me wrong, it is a good show. The fireworks they are using are stunning, and the projection technology is very impressive. Good soundtrack, included a lot of my favorite movies, I definitely didn't NOT like the show.

But I was disappointed. When the show was over after our first viewing, I looked at my husband with a confused look on my face and said "Did I miss something? I feel like I missed something." There's just.....no point, I guess? There's no story being told, or overarching theme (that I was able to discern). It seemed like a sort of random mash-up of Disney movies, with no cohesive theme or even reasonable transitions between them. It felt like a Disney IP showcase, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney movies and have no problem experiencing them. But when I think of Wishes, and I remember my first time seeing Wishes last March, I IMMEDIATELY understood it. It was telling me something, and it instantly resonated. I didn't need to ask, I got the overall point and message of the show. I suppose I expected the same from the new show, and I didn't personally get that.

Also, as impressive as the projections on the castle are, it was kind of difficult to watch both the fireworks and the projections at the same time. I constantly felt like I couldn't see everything because I couldn't look at that many things at once. I actually felt like my favorite viewing of it was from Beast's castle, because I was able to just watch the fireworks going off with the music and not have the distraction of the projections. Maybe I'm trying to say I think this show relies too heavily on the projection technology? I don't know, still processing everything. I will say that we finally got to catch Once Upon A Time this trip and I loved that. Loved watching everything happen on the Castle, and not feeling the need to look at anything else.

I'm not trying to put down anyone who loves the show, this is all just my newly formed opinions on it. And I did really like it! Maybe I just need to stop comparing it to Wishes, but that is so hard to do seeing as this is supposed to be the replacement for Wishes! Does anyone else feel this way about the show, or is it only me? And if you do love the show, tell me why! I'd love to hear the reasons this show touches people the way Wishes touched me.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

I feel exactly as you about the HEA fireworks. I really wanted to love it, but I didn't. It was okay. It felt mashed up to me too.

But I was never a fan of Wishes either. I enjoyed the Wishes fireworks, but was never moved by the story. Was there a story? I tried to pay attention. I just never got it.

Anyways, I think for me, I just like Big Bang fireworks set to a bit of music. I think the castle projections plus the fireworks are a bit too much. Give me some beautiful changing lights on the castle, but not random pictures. I don't like the whiplash of HEA......do I look at the fireworks or the castle? Up, down, up down. Not relaxing! :upsidedow
 
I do agree that it is hard to watch both the fireworks and the projections at the same time. However, I LOVE Happily Ever After so much more than Wishes. It like a blue print for story telling. You have an introduction to the main character, the faithful side kick, the love interest, the villain, and the happy ending. I get goosebumps during some parts and when I see Tinkerbell my eyes well up-and I'm not usually like that.
 


I prefer Wishes to HEA.

I loved Wishes and knew I would miss it dearly. But I saw HEA with an open mind. I wanted to love it, but I didn’t.

The HEA technology is amazing, don’t get me wrong. But I think Cinderella castle is so beautiful and I love how Wishes framed the castle in it’s classic form. HEA (to me) reduces Cinderella castle to a movie screen for most of the show. That really bothers me.

To each their own. I really don’t care much for the projections so I’ll just be happy watching the fireworks from afar from here on out until 1. My kids want to see HEA in the park or 2. We happen to be in the park at the time and catch them. I won’t be making extra effort to catch HEA in the park. Wishes was always a must do for us.
 
While I can agree with the comment that it's hard to take in both the fireworks and the projections at the same time I love the show. It's visually stunning. I don't watch it for a story, I watch it for the visuals. And that it gives it droves. There's so much going on that no matter how many times I've seen it, and it's been a lot, I'm still seeing new things. I love how Tink caps off the end instead of starts it off.

While I will always miss the Wishes song I do like the overall show of HEA better.
 
I totally agree with you!! I saw it for the first time last week. The projections are getting boring to me? I couldn't follow it, I was finding myself completely missing Wishes the entire time. My husband on the other hand, loved it. He said it was the best fireworks he'd ever seen. Sadly, its once and done for me, I hope it doesn't stay for very long.
 


It's visually stunning. I don't watch it for a story, I watch it for the visuals.

I agree with this. I love the "message" of HEA...Go and take an active role in your happily ever after, don't just sit back and hope your life is happy. You gotta make it happen. But, even if all the songs and movie clips don't match the theme, that's okay with me. The show totally entertains and transports me for 20 minutes with breathtaking visuals and some of my favorite songs. I hope it stays around.

The only thing I don't like is having to stress over a good place to view it from. It is so important to have a good viewing lane due to the projections.
 
I find there's too much projection, and the fireworks aren't as potent as Wishes was. While I don't need a storyline, I find it's a big mishmash of things.

Pretty, impressive, worth seeing, but I guess I'm not a huge fan of projection technology. I don't love Star Wars at HS either, so I might just be grumpy.

Also, you kids get off my lawn!!
 
I absolutely loved hea! I got teary eyed when they played the Tarzan song and showed the families. I also thought the villain scenes were awesome and the music that went with it was cool. One of my favorite firework moments is during the pirates music because it syncs up so well. Plus, the pirates music is just awesome. We didn’t have trouble finding a spot to watch because we always look for a spot with a fence in front of us. This was our niece’s first Disney trip and she loves the show! She kept shouting out character names whenever she saw one she recognized.
 
I expected to dislike HEA. In fact, I think I went in wanting to dislike it in order to validate the anger I felt when Disney replaced my beloved Wishes.

Well, I loved it. Loved every second of it. Loved the music, loved the fireworks and projections - especially the scene from Up and anything having to do with Tangled will immiediately win me over.

And of course the tears and goosebumps were on hand to remind my why I love WDW.
 
I wish I loved it. I don’t. We used to get to MK probably 2/3 of the nights on our trip, part of which was watching Wishes - usually behind the castle. Now... meh. I don’t “feel” the show like I did Wishes, although I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt since Wishes has so much time to grow those emotional ties. My bigger gripe, however, is that we’re now more-or-less required to fight the hub crowds, which are MORE intense because everyone else wants to be up there, too. I don’t handle crowds well, but you lose so much watching it from anywhere else. :/
 
I love any kind of fireworks, so from that standpoint, HEA is stunning. However, nothing will ever replace Wishes for me.
 
Help me out, what was the theme or story of Wishes? I guess I thought it was just about loving Disney movies and being at WDW. Half the fireworks were recreating the Tink arc from their logo that appears before each movie. There was certainly a strong tie to When You Wish Upon a Star but that’s one of their most famous songs from one of their earliest movies.
 
TLDR, apologies in advance!

I was kicking/screaming/crying over the abrupt announcement Wishes was ending and a new show was being added. I went into HEA with a high degree of skepticism. Like many of us, Wishes was my "thing." Plus all the talk of lasers, lights, projections (read cheap elements) and less fireworks... I was ready for a good let down.

Well, I was wrong. I changed my tune from first viewing....absolutely love HEA and think it's the best new park addition in quite awhile. It has a very high "entertainment" value for us.

Pros:
  • Love the length - 18 minutes is a solid show
  • Love the mix of 80's/90s Disney (me/DW) and 00s/10's Disney (my kids) - in my humble opinion they struck a really nice balance there to make it relatable across age groups
  • The villains segment is one of the most visually stunning, impressive, immersive few minutes of entertainment you will find anywhere
  • It's not just projections or just fireworks - it's a good mix of both (whispers, I enjoy the fireworks for HEA more than I did Wishes)
  • Love they kept Tink
  • Love that the show can be experienced in different ways from different locations (OP, I agree with you in that watching from behind the castle is awesome)
  • Like @AngiTN said, we continue to see "new" things / show elements each time we see the show (this comment is admittedly more applicable to those who go more often and can experience the show multiple times)
  • I understand the "so much going on visually" objection, and I think it's totally valid... but we actually really like that part of it - I like the "not even sure what I just saw" feeling we sometimes have
If there was any doubt I had about HEA, it was quickly erased when I looked down at DS (then 6) and saw how enraptured he was in the show. He was totally hooked from day 1....knows every word, every segment, we'll watch it on YouTube just for fun. Wishes may have been "my thing" - but now HEA is "his thing" and I'm OK with that.

Cons:
  • I do agree some of the transitions are a bit abrupt; a few dramatic pauses or something could help
  • Could the 'story' be a little more pronounced? Perhaps.
  • Wishes would always leave me a little weepy (just being honest here); sometimes HEA does, sometimes it doesn't - can't quite figure out why?
  • HEA has ruined other MK fireworks shows for me.... I used to look forward to Hallowishes and Holiday Wishes because they were 'bigger / more wow factor' than Wishes - but to me those now seem relatively... basic?
Anyway - long ramble. Of course I'm not right, those that don't like the show aren't wrong. Different strokes for different folks!
 
I liked Wishes better too. HEA is much more of a "clips episode" than Wishes was. And I don't see any storyline in HEA, it's more like: love montage, friendship montage, PIRATES, romance montage.

The projections are cool, but I don't need to see them to enjoy the fireworks and music of HEA. In January I watched the show from Frontierland a couple times. For me, that was fine. In Frontierland, the fireworks do not appear to be behind the castle, but you can still see them, and hear the music, even if you can't see the projections. And there were no crowds back there, so you don't have to stake out a spot ahead of time.
 

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