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Wondrous Journeys

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Fireworks show at Disneyland

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Wondrous Journeys
Disneyland
AreaMain Street, U.S.A.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
It's A Small World
Rivers of America
StatusRemoved
Soft opening dateJanuary 26, 2023 (2023-01-26)
Opening dateJanuary 27, 2023 (2023-01-27)(original)
March 22, 2024 (2024-03-22) (first reopening)
May 16, 2025 (second reopening)
Closing dateAugust 31, 2023 (2023-08-31)(original)
April 14, 2024 (2024-04-14) (first reopening)
ReplacedDisneyland Forever (2022)
Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular (2024) (Pixar Fest only)
Replaced byTogether Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular (2024) (Pixar Fest only)
Ride statistics
Attraction typeMultimedia and pyrotechnic show
DesignerDisney Live Entertainment
Walt Disney Animation Studios
MusicIt's Wondrous
Various Disney Soundtracks
Duration13:50 minutes
Disabled access Wheelchair accessible

Wondrous Journeys was a projection mapping and fireworks show at Disneyland that debuted on January 27, 2023. It premiered alongside World of Color: One as part of the Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration to commemorate the centennial of The Walt Disney Company. The show contains a large assortment of songs and characters from the entirety of the Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film canon.

History

The show was announced on September 11, 2022, during the D23 Expo. It was developed by Disney Live Entertainment and Walt Disney Animation Studios as part of a collaboration.

Show runs

The show's original run started on January 27, 2023 and ended on August 31, 2023. On December 21, 2023, Disneyland announced that the show will return on March 22, 2024, until April 14, 2024. On December 5, 2024, it was announced that the show will return again on May 16, 2025, as part of Disneyland Resort's 70th anniversary celebration.

Technical details

The show features special projection effects showcasing the tribute to Disney animation consisting of blank pieces of paper, pencil sketches, and transitions from black and white to finalized colors as well as featuring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bambi, Ariel, Mirabel, and Winnie the Pooh.

The show has four viewing areas within the park: Main Street, U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle, It's A Small World, and Rivers of America. The projection mapping for the show was made by Medici Media (formerly Mousetrappe).

Show scenes

Show summary

Wondrous Journeys is a multimedia show that was created to celebrate 100 years of Walt Disney Animation Studios and the entire company as a whole. It features a montage of all 61 films released by the studio during the 100 years of the studios existence, paying tribute to Disney as well as moments featuring characters from films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, Encanto, Wish, and many other films.

Opening

The list below shows complete scenes during the show. Due to differences in projection size, certain scenes are absent from the castle side and the Fantasmic! stage side.

Introduction

At the start of the show, an introduction welcomes guests with the following words:

For over a hundred years, Walt Disney Animation Studios has invited audiences to believe in things never thought possible. And so tonight, we once again invite you to wish upon stars, to step into the unknown, and to join us on this: our wondrous journey.

Shortly afterwards, the music begins with Plio's opening narration from Dinosaur before the show theme It's Wondrous begins:

Some things start out big, and some things start out small, but sometimes the smallest thing can make the biggest changes of all.

During the introduction, the projection on the Fantasmic! stage shows lights with the same colors as Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, while other buildings just show blue searchlight-like lights.

After that, the original theme song of the show It's Wondrous plays, and features the line drawing and footage from the following shorts and films:

Act 1

After the introduction that contains the original theme song of the show, a transition occurs featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra's silhouette in Fantasia 2000. In this part, the instrumental version of When You Wish Upon a Star plays, then the first lyric of I'm Wishing sung by Snow White combined with the melody from I Wonder from Sleeping Beauty. After that, the reprise of When You Wish Upon A Star plays for the castle side, for it features a flyover of Blue Fairy that is accompanied by shooting stars of fireworks, while for the other buildings, it shows the films instead below:

Songs of Hope and Yearning

This is a segment that featuring the concept art and the characters sung from three films from Disney Renaissance era as well as Moana from the Disney Revival era.

In the Out There segment, all characters from four films sing together at the finale.

Act 2

This act begins with Tiana's father James telling her about her dream and the hard work. "Now you remember, that old star can only take you part of the way. You got to help it out with some hard work of your own." Upon the conclusion of the quote, the song Almost There plays with initially slowing-mode to depict the scenes of Tiana from The Princess and The Frog, Pocahontas from Pocahontas, as well as Simba and Mufasa from The Lion King. With the song becoming more upbeat, the scenes transition from The Lion King into featuring characters from many films from different locations:

It then switches into a footage featuring The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and therefore it transitions into a scene where Peter Pan is flying with his friends combined with the a snippet of You Can Fly taking the journey to depict the footage of ships from the following films:

For another part, For the First Time in Forever plays, and it features some scenes from the following films in different buildings:

Act 3

This act begins with a transition featuring Treasure Planet and Long John Silver's narration – "You got the makings of greatness in you, but you got to take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls!" It then transitions to a scene of the Golden Bridge from Big Hero 6, the castle side features a flyover of Baymax, while other buildings and Rivers of America use projection animation of Baymax and Hiro Hamada. After that, the song Immortals plays featuring dialogues from Disney characters from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Big Hero 6. From these scenes, it combines with I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan and features movie's characters from the different buildings. In the climax, Casa Madrigal from Encanto collapses, with all related buildings except the tavern at the Fantasmic! stage area collapsing in the same way while Baymax breaks a hole in Krei's teleportation portal space.

Finale

  • It's Wondrous (reprise)
    • The Little Mermaid
    • Tangled/Encanto/The Sword in the Stone
    • Aladdin/Zootopia/The Little Mermaid
    • Dumbo/Tarzan/Raya and the Last Dragon
    • Frozen/Beauty and the Beast/The Black Cauldron
    • The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia/Pocahontas/Cinderella
    • Treasure Planet/Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Symphony No. 5 from Fantasia 2000
    • Peter Pan/The Rescuers Down Under/Bambi
    • Moana/The Lion King/Brother Bear
  • The show concludes with the following dialogue (with "When You Wish Upon A Star" as background music):
    • Narrator: "And so we come to the end of this chapter."
    • Winnie the Pooh: "Oh no, please! Can't we go back to page one and do it all over again?"
    • Narrator: "But Pooh, it is just another turn of the page, and I for one think what comes next will be wondrous..."
  • Conclusion (final tones of It's Wondrous)
  • It's Wondrous (Lawrence Version) (Exit Music)

Soundtrack

Wondrous Journeys contains a total of 18 songs. "It's Wondrous", an original song created by Duddy Brown and Alex Geringas, is used as the theme song for the show. The other 17 songs are from various Walt Disney Animation Studios films.

Songs in Wondrous Journeys
Song Film/Artist
It's Wondrous Devon Garcia and Rudi
I'm Wishing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
I Wonder Sleeping Beauty
When You Wish Upon a Star Pinocchio
Belle (Reprise) Beauty and the Beast
Go the Distance Hercules
How Far I'll Go Moana
Out There The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Almost There The Princess and the Frog
You Can Fly! Peter Pan
For the First Time in Forever Frozen
Immortals Big Hero 6
I'll Make a Man Out of You Mulan
Mufasa Dies The Lion King
I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors) Moana
Dos Oruguitas Encanto

See also

References

  1. ^ MacDonald, Brady (January 27, 2023). "Review: 'Wondrous Journeys' is everything a Disneyland fireworks show can and should be". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 11, 2023. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Michaelsen, Shannen (May 31, 2023). "BREAKING: Final 2023 Performance of 'Wondrous Journeys' Announced". WDW News Today. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. MacDonald, Brady (September 11, 2022). "Disneyland teases new lands, rides and nighttime spectaculars at D23 Expo". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  4. Palm, Iman (January 27, 2023). "What guests should know about Disneyland's yearlong Disney100 celebration". KTLA. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  5. "BREAKING: Return Dates Announced for 'Mickey's Mix Magic,' 'Wondrous Journeys,' and 'Magic Happens' at Disneyland - WDW News Today". wdwnt.com. December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  6. Taylor (December 5, 2024). "Guide to the 70th Anniversary at Disneyland Resort". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  7. Amezcua, Claudia (January 25, 2023). "Disney100: What to see at the Disneyland Resort". ABC 10News San Diego. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  8. "Nighttime Spectacular". Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  9. "'Wondrous Journeys' Fact Sheet". Disneyland News. January 23, 2023. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  10. ^ MacDonald, Brady (February 3, 2023). "All 18 songs from Disneyland's new 'Wondrous Journeys' fireworks show". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

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