Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams

Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams
Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams logo
Status	In moratorium
Opening date	Original MTA: 23 September 2013 Final MTA: 2 November 2014 Original MRT: 30 August 2014 Latest MRT: 10 June 2017
Closing date	Original MTA: 19 June 2014 Final MTA: 29 July 2015 Original MRT: 23 November 2016 Latest MRT: 25 June 2017
Theme	Wishes and dreams
Designers	Soleurs Second Star Creative Entertainment
Duration	14 minutes
Host	Jiminy Cricket
Sponsor	Frontier Group

Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, often shortened to Wishes, is a fireworks show that was presented at the Reedy Creek Amphitheatre in Fairfax and at the Lillian Disney Amphitheatre in Konawa. Narrated by Jiminy Cricket, Wishes tells of making wishes come true, using classic Disney songs and character voices accompanied by meticulously choreographed fireworks. The show was sponsored by Frontier Group.

The show was placed in moratorium on November 23, 2016, and an encore opened on June 10, 2017, running for two weeks.

Background

The original show was created in 2003 by a team at Walt Disney Creative Entertainment to create a replacement for the then-32-year-old Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show at the Walt Disney World Resort.

History

The original iteration of this show was created by Soleurs in June 2013 from a contest between him and MinecraftYoshi26 on who could create the best fireworks show. Wishes is the oldest show designed by Soleurs, and his original and longest-running. The original show was designed by MTA Creative Entertainment, a division of Frontier Group on the old Minecraft Transit Authority. It ran for several non-consecutive runs between September 22, 2013, and November 25, 2014, on the MTA server, and GSM weekends between 30 August 2014 and 22 November 2014 and was shelved shortly after that due to Soleurs' inactivity. In July 2016, Soleurs revived the show to celebrate the MRT Server's 4th anniversary. Following a string of well-received performances, Soleurs decided that he would bring more of his shows to MRT audiences following the closure of the MTA in July 2015. The show debuted in its new home in Konawa on November 5, 2016, and played until 23 November 2016. Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams closed at the Magic Kingdom on 11 May 2017 to be replaced with Happily Ever After, after a successful 14-year run. In memorial of the closing of the real-world show, Soleurs announced in May 2017 that the show would return for a two-week encore from June 10 to June 25, 2017.

Plot summary

Wishes opens with a voiceover from the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio explaining the power of wishing upon a star. Following this, a small child introduces the theme song of the show, based on the nursery rhyme "Starlight, Starbright". A voiceover of Jiminy Cricket opens the show with a short voiceover about how anything can happen from a wish. Appearances are made by Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and Aladdin expressing their wishes.

Following this, Jiminy returns to inform the audience that a wish can be a powerful thing. Music from Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast play, while fireworks go off to demonstrate the power of a good wish.

Jiminy returns again, singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" to the audience, and tells the audience that wishes can often be granted in unexpected ways. The Genie from Aladdin then appears, demonstrating his magic in the skies to the music from Aladdin. But suddenly he's interrupted by the brooms from Fantasia as they begin their march, opening the door for the forces of evil to invade the show. Jiminy enters to warn the audience to "always let your conscience be your guide". The music becomes ominous as a voiceover of the Evil Queen from Snow White comes in demanding the Mirror to grant her wish with a strike of lightning, as the show is invaded by the spirits of evil. Following this, Jiminy re-enters the show to tell the audience to "be careful what they wish for". The Blue Fairy then enters, reminding the audience to "always believe in our wishes, for they are the magic in the world", and initiates the finale of the show. A chorus of "Starlight, Starbright" is repeated as the opening of the show's effects are reflected. Jiminy chimes in one more time, telling the audience that "wishes can come true" and they they'll "never run out of wishes" as the music rises to a crescendo lead by "When You Wish Upon a Star"

Soundtrack

The musical soundtrack of the show is reliant on classic Disney movie songs.

• Starlight, Starbright (Gregory Smith)
• "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Pinocchio) (Leigh Harline / Ned Washington)
• "I Wish" Medley:
  • "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (from Cinderella) (Mack David / Al Hoffman / Jerry Livingston)
  • "Someday My Prince Will Come" (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (Frank Churchill / Larry Morey / Harline)
  • "Part of Your World" (from The Little Mermaid) (Alan Menken / Howard Ashman)
  • "The Second Star to the Right" (from Peter Pan) (Sammy Cahn / Sammy Fain)
  • "I've Got No Strings" (from Pinocchio) (Harline / Washington)
  • "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin) (Menken / Tim Rice)
  • "Go the Distance" (from Hercules) (Menken / David Zippel)
• Reprise of "When You Wish Upon a Star"
• "A Wish is a Powerful Thing" Medley:
  • "Cinderella" (from Cinderella) (David / Hoffman / Livingston)
  • "Once Upon a Dream" (from Sleeping Beauty) (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, adapted by Jack Lawrence & Sammy Fain)
  • "Beauty and the Beast" (from Beauty and the Beast) (Menken / Ashman)
• Reprise #2 of "When You Wish Upon a Star"
• "Arabian Nights" (from Aladdin) (Menken / Ashman)
• "Friend Like Me" (from Aladdin) (Menken / Ashman)
• Evil's Visit:
  • "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (from Fantasia) (Paul Dukas)
  • "Night on Bald Mountain" (from Fantasia) (Modest Mussorgsky)
  • "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (from The Little Mermaid) (Menken / Ashman)
• Reprise of "Starlight, Starbright"
• Reprise #2 of "Starlight, Starbright" overlaid with "When You Wish Upon a Star"
• "Wishes" (Smith; plays as the exit music for the show)

Voices

• Blue Fairy - Rosalyn Landor
• Jiminy Cricket - Eddie Carroll
• Cinderella - Jennifer Hale
• Snow White - Carolyn Gardner
• Ariel - Jodi Benson
• Peter Pan - Blayne Weaver
• Pinocchio - Michael Welch
• Aladdin - Scott Weinger
• Genie - Robin Williams
• Evil Queen - Susanne Blakeslee