Walt Disney World recently replaced ‘Celebrate The Magic’, a long running, nightly show that played on Cinderella’s Castle before Wishes, with a much longer show called ‘Once Upon A Time’. ‘Once Upon A Time’ is a show that originates in Tokyo Disneyland (which many herald as the cherry topping of all Disney theme parks). I went into the show with high expectations – a young girl on prom night, expectations. Alas, I was left wanting more.
Don’t get me wrong, the show is good. It just didn’t give me the same chills that ‘Celebrate The Magic’ did. Maybe it felt a touch too long for me, maybe it characters felt a touch too high-def, maybe the double dose of Frozen songs felt a little too over played. Again, I did like the show. I just feel like they’ve set up ‘Once Upon A Time’ to fail. As of right now (and this could all change very soon, with Holiday scheduling being in effect in the very near future), but the show is playing a half hour AFTER Wishes. For anyone that has seen Wishes at The Magic Kingdom, they know that right after the show is over, people leave the park like a mass exodus from Egypt, being chased by Pharoh. To try to get a good spot for ‘Once Upon A Time’, is the same kind of struggle, as when you watch salmon struggling upstream.
Tips:
-If you want to watch ‘Once Upon A Time’, we recommend watching Wishes from near the front of Main Street, or the back of the Hub. This will give you less space to cover, as you try to fight upstream (while all the other people go downstream to get out of the park), as you try to get a good viewing space.
-The best view for ‘Once Upon A Time’ is in front of the Partners Statue, with an unobstructed view of The Castle.
-As of right now, ‘Once Upon A Time’ isn’t playing nightly. If it’s high on your list of priorities, check the times before you go, so you can play your days accordingly so you don’t miss it!
We think Once Upon A Time is worth seeing, even if it’s not our personal favorite show that The Magic Kingdom has ever put on. It has a lot of great stuff in it (minus two full Frozen songs), and is a lot of fun.