**Disclaimer : This blog post is strictly my opinion. You are in no way obligated to feel the same way as me. I just wanted to share my thoughts. Enjoy!
I wanted to start by saying I love Disney, like most of you who are probably reading this. Disney has a way of bringing my feelings together in a unique way. Sometimes I find this magic in the songs of the parades, the Disney Parks, the message behind the movies, or the nighttime firework shows. Happily Ever After was a super special show to me. It embodied exactly what I was feeling at that time of my journey and it will always hold a special place in my heart. When I heard they were retiring Happily Ever After I was completely devastated. It felt like a chapter of my life also closed. I was a bit bitter about it, not going to lie. BUT, I was trying to gear up to head to the 50th Anniversary Celebration with no expectations. I decided to not watch the preview of it and wanted to experience it for the first time live. (I’m so glad I did) Below is an in-depth explanation of how Enchantment speaks to me. CAUTION: There will be spoilers. If you have not seen the new show and don’t want to see any spoilers maybe STOP HERE.
Enchantment starts out with the beautiful lyrics ”Make a Wish Upon a Star, Close your Eyes and Just Believe it.” These lyrics in itself are so powerful. The way the fireworks synced with ”Wish upon a star” reminded me of Wishes. Maybe that was on purpose, I don’t know. These lyrics spoke to me because often times in life we have these huge dreams and wishes that if we just believed in ourselves we would feel the magic that exists in ourselves. The next line ”You have traveled from so far, and now you’re close enough to feel it.” has two meanings for me. I think that it doesn’t just mean you have traveled to Disney from so far but also your own personal journey. YOU have traveled so far from where you were and now in this moment you are close enough to feel it, the magic inside of you. It of course does mean you have traveled from far away to Disney World but also, I think Disney’s main message (spoiler alert), you are the magic wouldn’t fit if it meant you traveled to feel the magic that Disney encompasses but yet, you’ve traveled here only to realize that it was in you all along.
The next few minutes of projection and song are unique because Disney chose to do silhouette characters for their animation. Some say they ran out of time but I’m not convinced by this theory. (Disney if you’re listening and you did run out of time don’t change this section) I think they purposely made it silhouettes, so you could see yourself in the characters. See yourself as Brave, Courageous, and a Dreamer. The opening song continues stating that the spark is in your heart and boldly proclaiming you are the magic. I know the projection here wasn’t fancy but sometimes you don’t need fancy to get the point across. Moving on, the next segment starts with a beautiful narration from the queen! No not THE QUEEN, but a queen nonetheless, Angela Bassett. She invites you in saying that if you are along the journey to find hope and magic, start with looking inside yourself and that is where you will find what you seek. Then the ”dreamers” (as I call it) section starts off right with “Almost There”. Tiana shows us how hard work and determination pays off. It continues with Pocahontas, Moana, and Judy Hopps sharing how each journey is not our parents but our own.
This next segment is where it started to lose me. Sure, “Be Our Guest, and Under The Sea are fun but they didn’t seem to fit. It was also strictly instrumental which I thought was an interesting choice. With the whole message, it just didn’t seem to go along with the storyline. (If you can tell me why you think this part exists please enlighten me)
The next section of Enchantment is the “Duo Section”. This in my opinion paid homage to Happily Ever After. It was also a copy and paste section of it so I wasn’t too impressed. The animation was cool but I just couldn’t get over that it was instrumental throughout this entire segment.
I didn’t stay unimpressed for long because this next part was far from unimpressive. From top to bottom I was IN LOVE with this section. The music, the lasers, the projection, the fireworks and the message were all so cohesive I couldn’t pick my jaw off the floor. Elsa’s whole story is centered around going “Into The Unknown” and encourages us that life sometimes has hard times and that if we are brave enough to face those moments we can get through them.
It transitions directly into the climax of the show with what used to be the villain section, but instead of showing you how villainous people can be, it shows you reactions of characters we all know and love and how they responded to such trials. I adored this perspective. It shows kids, and adults, that we are not alone. Everyone faces tough times of some kind. This section also had just instrumental BUT I don’t think it needed lyrics, you felt the pain, the darkness, the sadness that we all have felt at some point.
We then finally get to the point where it all starts to make sense. Moana starts singing and gives everyone chills. “Sometimes the world seems against you, the journey may leave a scar. But scars can heal and reveal just where you are”. With Covid and these times being so challenging it is no coincidence that they chose this song. Continuing on, Moana sings “the people you love will change you, the things you have learned will guide you and nothing on Earth can silence that quiet voice inside you”. All a huge symbol, we are who we are because of the people we love and what we have learned on this very specific journey. Moana then puts the Heart of Tefiti in its correct place, the 50th emblem. Showing that the magic isn’t actually in Disney but inside us. All of this moved me to tears but to me, one of the purest elements was that instead of singing ”I AM MOANA”, a very powerful moment in the movie, they used instrumental so YOU could put your name there.
The finale starts and Angela graces us with her voice and proclaims “and so we have found what we seek, the magic of dreams come true in fact, lies within you”. Such simple yet powerful words. As a Disney fan, I always say that Disney is the magic and instead of celebrating 50 years of its magic they celebrate us by encouraging us that WE are the magic. Tink then flies after a beautiful rainbow appears on the castle. A wonderful reminder of inclusiveness and love. We see Tinkerbell sprinkle her pixie dust on the castle turning it gold! A beautiful finish reminding us that where ever you go you have it, YOU ARE THE MAGIC!
Overall, I loved the message behind it all. It will never be “Happily Ever After” but that’s the point, its not suppose to be. If you’ve made it this far thank you, I know I’m long winded. AND, if you read this and have yet to see the show, do yourself a favor and see it IN PERSON. I have yet to find a video, or live stream that does this show justice.
Travel Soon,
Kayla
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