Disney characters - Assemble!
Welcome to one of the top-notch 4D theaters in Disney World, featuring everyone’s favorite character, Mickey M– …Donald Duck! Sorry, Mickey. I’m a big fan of that irritable duck and still fondly remember spending countless hours in my teenage years reading several Donald Duck comics in a row.
Yeah, I know, the name of this attraction is “Mickey’s Philharmagic”, and Mickey does appear, but Donald Duck is the real star of the show. The story is very simple: Donald steals Mickey Mouse’s magic hat from Fantasia, something goes wrong and he ends up being taken to a bunch of Disney movies. Yeah, it’s basically Donald traveling across the multiverse of Disney movies, which is a pretty good and effective idea to begin with.
Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King are only a few of the movies visited by our brave and misunderstood hero. All of them feature brand new animation, brief story sequences and also act as musical pieces, so you will be listening to “Be our Guest” and “Part of Your World” while Donald gets into trouble trying to retrieve the sorcerer’s hat. The entire show takes about twelve minutes, which is perfectly acceptable for a 4D movie.
Most of the story sequences happen while characters are singing, similar to how they do it in their own movies. You know when Aladdin and Jasmine are flying on the magic carpet and singing “A Whole New World”? Now imagine the same scene, but with Donald Duck in the mix causing some trouble. Donald makes it better, honestly. Now that I think about this, Disney should put him in every single one of their movies.
Each time Donald ventures into a new world, a fresh song begins playing, which is particularly enjoyable for our kids who adore listening to Disney classics like "I Just Can’t Wait to be King" and "Part of Your World".The visuals are all amazing and very colorful, which is expected from Disney. You know what’s also cool? Even if you have to wear 3D glasses, the screen never looks blurry and the colors never look weird, which is definitely a plus.
The screen is also rather imposing. Not only do textures look great, but it's actually the largest 3D screen ever, stretching an impressive 150 feet wide. All of this so we can see Donald Duck and friends in all their glory, you gotta love it.
Here is a list of Disney franchises you can see during Philharmagic:
- Beauty and the Beast
- Fantasia
- The Little Mermaid
- The Lion King
- Coco
- Peter Pan
- Aladdin
I really like this show and would put it ahead of other 4D movies like It’s Tough to be a Bug and Star Tours. It’s charming, it’s cute and it features several Disney characters. You can’t go wrong with it.
Will Kids enjoy it?
Oh yes, they will! This 4D theater is pure fun with no scares, loud noises, or aggressive visual effects, and it stars several Disney characters. Every young child will love it, and there is a good chance that your teenagers will fall in love with it as well. Just keep in mind that 3D glasses are required for this one, so make sure your little ones are comfortable wearing them.
