So if UOR is successful in providing social distancing for nighttime spectaculars, anyone care to take a Wild A** Guess (WAG) as to when Disney could try? I’m thinking Fantasmic! would be the easiest, then Epcot, followed by MK. Is there even an AK show on the books right now? (I think ROL was discontinued correct?).
We all know how they love to squeeze cash out of us via VIP Dessert Parties and Dining Packages. Come on Disney - take my money. I want to see Fantasmic!
For reference:
Following the layoffs there aren’t enough technicians left to put on any night-time shows, parades etc. Which presumably means they don’t expect these to be returning anytime soon.
Fantasmic for example needs around 70-100 technical crew to put on, plus another 100 or so to man the arena, queues etc.
Harmonious is still being progressed and there doesn’t seem to be any word yet as to whether Epcot Forever will be brought back first or if they’ll go straight to Harmonius.
The latest I’ve seen is there are plans to bring night-time shows back in the first half of 2021. But that we can expect a net loss of 2 shows. It isn’t clear if that includes ROL which has already been confirmed as finished. My guess is it’s ROL plus one other being axed.
So that suggests that some of those laid off could be recalled after a few months. If they’re still around of course, otherwise they’d have to hire and re-train a new team.
HEA or an Epcot show are the two obvious ones to bring back first.
Fantasmic is the most labour intensive. But I would have thought SWAGS was the more obvious candidate for not returning. F! can at least be controlled crowd wise in the arena even if getting out again is an issue.
Taking a guess: Cinematic Celebration is mostly a fountain show with some fireworks, no actors. Compare this to Disney’s shows which are more elaborate/expensive to run.
Are you thinking this for the Fantasmic arena? It’s a possibility perhaps in the short term. Especially with the social distancing of performers not being an issue.
But they would still need around 80-100 CMs to man the arena etc - and they don’t have that many “spare CMs” around now to do that. Plus it would need technicians. So it would still take a lot of manpower to put on and a lot of re-hires.
They might if they do the show after hours. Then they can repurpose existing CMs from elsewhere in the park. Not saying they will, just a thought.
I didn’t think about all the manpower going into putting on Fantasmic. I guess there is little hope for me. 2022 it will be I guess.
My two cents worth, as long as Covid 19 crowd limitations are in place, the first nighttime show to “return” will be an EPCOT show, most likely the new Harmonious.
The show area is the largest available and guests can watch the show while maintaining distancing.