Without diving into spoilers, the new nighttime spectacular, Disney Enchantment, takes inspiration from both Wishes and Happily Ever After to create something new.
After seeing it in the park, I couldn’t help coming away feeling overjoyed and excited about the direction of the future of Disney entertainment yet again. The new show is more tender, more delicate than its predecessor, and the films it chooses to highlight through music are carefully curated to tell a more adult message, one of perseverance and appreciation of one’s own inner beauty and strength.
The show designer is younger than designers of past, and it shows in its message. But make no mistake, the classic films are absolutely represented here, and its done so with a reverent hand.
Part of the show’s true magnificence comes in its projections, which are elevated significantly from shows of the past. Some scenes are downright breathtaking, and the way the colors shift the mood and lighting of the entire Magic Kingdom® Park is nothing short of breathtaking. The laser effects are notably awe-inspiring here, giving the show complex layers of dimension in the same way the castle projections did when they first made their debut.
It occasionally borrows Happily Ever After’s bombastic ballads and weaves them in between the softness that Wishes made famous. Philip Lawrence’s “You Are the Magic” is a gorgeous reflection on the values that many of Disney’s fans hold true (although it needs to be available on streaming services if fans are to ever make the same attachment to it as previous shows).
Ultimately, whether or not the show “works” and has staying power is not a question that can be answered today. Wishes and Happily Ever After was outstanding spectaculars, sure, but what made them special were the way they wrapped some of our favorite days, the way we folded their messages and lessons into the way we went about our days and the memories we made with the shows. Those things take time to craft, but I firmly believe Disney Enchantment has the potential to do it.