Mickey’s Philharmagic

April 2019 – present

LOCATION

Hollywood Land – Mickey’s Philharmagic faces the main street, so it’s hard to miss. If you’re coming into Hollywood Land from Buena Vista Street, you’ll see the entrance on your left, one door down from Award Wieners. If you’re confused about the theater entrance, you’re not imagining things! It used to be in the backlot section, by Monsters, Inc. With the arrival of Philharmagic, the entrance was re-routed to the main street.

BACKGROUND

The Sunset Theater in Hollywood Land had been a bit of a wasted space for a while. When the Frozen stage show opened in the nearby Hyperion Theater, the Sing-A-Long in the smaller Sunset theater became redundant. For a while, the theater was used for previews of upcoming movies or screening Pixar shorts, but it didn’t have much of a purpose. The other issue was its entrance – the marquee was hidden in the corner of the backlot area – to the point that a lot of people didn’t even know it was there.

In early 2019, Disney finally announced a better use of the theater space – a west coast version of the Magic Kingdom’s Philharmagic show. As part of the new installation, Imagineers also changed the theater’s entrance, moving it onto the main street and adding a huge marquee to draw the attention of potential audiences.

EXPERIENCE

Details:

• Single Rider Line – no
• Fast Pass – no
• Height Requirement – none
• Duration – 12:00

As guests enter the theater, Goofy welcomes his audience and announces that Mickey’s concert will begin shortly. Minnie, inviting guests to don their opera (3D) glasses, notices Donald is missing, and runs to tell Mickey before the concert starts. Unfortunately, Goofy misses the memo, and raises the curtain too early. Donald, sitting on the empty stage, ignores Mickey’s instructions not to touch his sorcerer’s hat, and accidentally starts up the magical band. In a storm of musical magic, Mickey’s sorcerer hat comes off, and Donald must travel through magical scenes to retrieve it before Mickey comes back. On his journey, Donald gets tossed into several famous scenes, interacting with characters and desperately trying to grab that elusive hat.

Musical numbers include:

• “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast
• “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from Fantasia
• “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid
• “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from The Lion King
• “You Can Fly” from Peter Pan
• “A Whole New World” from Aladdin

In the end, Donald manages to grab the hat and return to the stage, just in time for Mickey’s return. Mickey takes over, finally performing with the orchestra – but not before Donald gets stuck in a tuba and flies across the theater.

MY RATING – ★★★★☆

I first saw Mickey’s Philharmagic in Disney World and really wanted it to come west – and I think the attraction is a wonderful addition to Hollywood Land. Yeah, it’s a little cheesy and the story isn’t the most exciting of Disneyland’s shows, but it’s fun, cute, and features awesome music. Overall, I’d honestly recommend this show for both kids and for anyone who’s a fan of the animated classics – the 3D scenes pay tribute to the original animation style while adding 3D effects and elements.

VISITING TIPS

Honestly, the theater’s large size makes it pretty easy to view a show whenever you want. The theater is quiet, cool, and comfortable, so it’s an awesome place to take a break for a bit, even if you don’t care that much about the show itself. My only word of caution is not to see this show first thing in the morning or last thing at night – since crowds stay pretty manageable for most of the day, you’re better off using those precious times for attractions that build up longer lines throughout the day.

TRIVIA

With the addition of California Adventure’s version of this show, Shanghai is now the only Disney resort without its own Mickey’s Philharmagic.

This show is one of the only times Imagineering collaborated with the Animation Studios on an attraction; animators re-rendered characters from several movies into 3D.

Most of Donald Duck’s voice comes from archive recordings by Clarence Nash, the original voice.