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As that exit music was playing, hardly anyone was able to exit. On opening night, eager crowds had filled in every available spot along the river, as guests waiting for the night’s second performance crowded into Frontierland and Adventureland. And the Disneyland cast members found themselves in something of a “war zone” of their own. Drifting smoke, the slight odor of fireworks, and the detritus of a crowd that had waited for hours added to the atmosphere. As the “exit music” began to play, I looked around and had an odd thought: the area around the Rivers of America looked like the Happiest War Zone on Earth. The music swelled, streamers burst in the air, and Mickey played a final magic trick, “vanishing” from his high perch and reappearing on stage to deliver his curtain line, “Some imagination, huh?” Oddly enough, it was again Brave Little Tailor Mickey who performed the task, with still no sight of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.īut top it they did, with the appearance (finally!) of Sorcerer Mickey, high atop the roof of the Cider Mill, surrounded by pyrotechnics, lasers, and smoke. She was a magnificent, fire-breathing dragon, and she set the whole river aflame.įortunately for us (and the river), Mickey made a triumphal return to defeat not only Bucky, er, the dragon, but all of those pesky villains, as well. As a jet of fuel was sprayed between them, a spark jumped from one to the other, creating a magnificent jet of flame.Īnd that first night (as well as many others to follow), no one cared that Bucky was mostly an illusion.
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If one closely observed them, they served a very important purpose. She was manipulated by a whole retinue of black-clad cast members who tugged at ropes and poles to keep her in constant motion lest the whole illusion collapse.Īnd why was she named Bucky? Because she had two prominent front teeth. You see, she was composed mostly of pipe and drapes, with a pair of wings and a sculpted head that was fairly complete. But how could they possibly leave us with projections for something this crucial? Before the disappointment settled, however, the screens dropped, and out of the smoke emerged… Bucky.įor those of us who spent summer nights from 1992 through 2009 along the Rivers of America, Bucky was an affectionate nickname for the grand illusion that was the first Maleficent dragon. Granted, there had been many spectacular moments.
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I will not deny I felt a sense of disappointment as I watched the sequence unfold. And on those screens? All of Mickey’s nightmare nemeses, including that dragon. And just as it seemed she was about to transform… water screens appeared. One odd note, though, was that rather than Sorcerer Mickey, it was Brave Little Tailor Mickey who confronted the wicked fairy.Īfter zapping Mickey with a well-aimed blast of pyrotechnics, Maleficent began to grow. Maleficent appeared which meant… that the dragon could not be far behind. For the first time in many years, Disneyland had prepared and sold a special souvenir booklet devoted to a single attraction.įinally came the moment for which we had all been patiently waiting. I do, however, have another visual record of Fantasmic’s debut. My camera had been stolen on a trip to New York City, and so I do not have any of my own photos from that memorable night. In those days the internet was still just a glimmer ( officially launched on the World Wide Web in 1996), so fans were still getting information through news reports, fan newsletters, and tip-offs from cast members.Īs noted in last month’s column, I was missing something crucial that evening. On Friday, May 15, I made a point of getting into Disneyland and over to New Orleans Square as early as possible. This month I will be describing my reaction, the public reaction, and the long-term impact it had on Disneyland. Last month, I described the events leading up to the May 15 public debut of Fantasmic!, the new nighttime spectacle that had everyone guessing about what, exactly, it would be.