Forever Magical
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The Disneyland 45 celebration continues into the night with a pyrotechnic display that has brought tears to my eyes each time I’ve seen it. The story begins with a little boy looking up into the sky and wishing on a star. Guests are then treated to a delightful medley of Disney tunes accompanied by a precise pyrotechnics display. While the strains of You'll Be In My Heart play majestically throughout the Park several heart shaped fireworks appear above the castle. A mother standing nearby could be heard calling out “oh, corazon” which is Spanish for heart. On another evening an Asian lady standing near my husband and I was so wrapped up in the fireworks that she stood with hands clasped and with large firework bursts would open her hands wide and cheer and then close back up and silently applaud. She jumped up and down at the sight of the Mickey firework. Each time it has filled the sky cheers echo down Main Street and I get goosebumps. I no longer feel that I am merely a spectator of the fireworks but that I’m watching my dreams come to life. I almost worry that if I don’t believe strong enough Tinkerbell may not appear. These performances for me are not a passive experience anymore. Just as I feel threatened by the darkness in Mickey’s overwhelming Fantasmic! nightmares, I feel uneasy as the little boy’s dream turns more adventurous and a barrage of red pyrotechnics surrounds the castle. As with Fantasmic! the dream eventually returns to beautiful and peaceful images.

Having been to Walt Disney World last October the Disneyland celebration is a continuation of a theme. The WDW Millennium Celebration invited me to Celebrate the future hand in hand. Magnificently illustrated in part by the Tapestry of Nations processional, which encircles the World Showcase with a feeling of unity without compromising diversity. There are nine characters in the parade and during the performance we saw they marched together as characters section by section. The characters colorations reflected the flags of various nations. The music playing is a blend of various ethnic rhythms and the lyrics themselves are not any language in current existence.

Illuminations2000: Reflections of Earth celebrates the earth’s evolution from a ball of fire and chaos into a beauty masterpiece of life and beauty. In its introduction we are reminded that we are gathered not as a single person but as a collection of families around the storyteller. No longer individuals but collectively we experience the images set before us. The earthlike orb in the center of the World Showcase Lagoon highlights man’s inventions and cultures as pyrotechnics explode in the sky above.

As I walked away from the Disneyland performance the final chorus of its song echoed in my head…”so find the child in you believe that dreams, there’s magic in the stars.” And as I thought back over recent Disney memories..the little girl watching the parade, the lady calling out at the sight of Mickey Mouse and the new friendship that started with a pin trade I realized that dreams do come true.

Related Links

• Guide to Disneyland's 45th Anniversary (from LaughingPlace.com)
  Includes more information and pictures for the 45th anniversary parade and fireworks.
• Guide to Walt Disney World's Millennium Celebration (from LaughingPlace.com)
  Includes more information and pictures for Tapestry of Nations and Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth

-- Rebekah Moseley (February 23, 2000)