by Brittany DiCologero

Image: Disney

If you’ve been on social media or the Disney Parks Blog in the past couple of days, you have probably heard by now that Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is set to be replaced by an all new show, “Happily Ever After” on May 12.

The change has come as quite a shock to many Disney fans, and while Wishes does hold a special place in my heart (particularly after it having been the show that was there during my two Disney College Programs) I am very excited to see what “Happily Ever After” will have to offer. By the sounds of what has been announced regarding the show so far, this show should be much more technologically advanced than Wishes was. It will feature newer Disney movies and characters, and combine the projection techniques that have become extremely popular in recent years with classic fireworks pyrotechnics.

The films currently set to be featured in the new show are: Aladdin, Big Hero 6, Brave, Moana, The Princess and the Frog, and Zootopia. By the sounds of what the announcement post on the Disney Parks Blog has mentioned so far, we should be expecting more films and characters to be announced closer to the show’s opening date. This all show is also said to have a “heart tugging” original score, a preview of which is also available at the Disney Parks Blog.

If losing Wishes has you down, remember that the parks are always changing. Walt Disney himself once said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Before we had Wishes, we had “Fantasy in the Sky,” the original fireworks show that opened with the Magic Kingdom in 1971. That’s right- Wishes is only the second fireworks show in history of the Magic Kingdom. “Fantasy in the Sky” took place nightly in the Magic Kingdom until 2003 when it was replaced with “Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams,” the show that eventually evolved into the version of Wishes we see in the park today.

Losing Wishes is sad, but don’t forget that we’re gaining something new. When Wishes came out in 2003, I never thought I would love any fireworks show as much as I had loved “Fantasy in the Sky.” If you’re disappointed that Wishes will be having its last show in a couple of months, probably because it’s the show you grew up with, I would advise you to give “Happily Ever After” a fair chance. (This makes me sound old) but I grew up with “Fantasy in the Sky,” and in 2003 I was distraught at the idea of it being replaced with Wishes. For the first couple of years after Wishes’ debut, I even took to Epcot announcing Illuminations as my favorite fireworks show instead.

Wishes has become nostalgic to me only in the past couple of years as it reminds me of the nights I spent in the park with some of my best friends during my Disney College Program. I remember seeing it from behind the castle when we inevitably arrived last minute but still wanted a decent view, and I remember holding my friends who were about to head home during their last time watching Wishes. I remember watching with my friend Anthony after just having discussed how early we’d need to be up for work the next day, mentioning how lucky we were to be able to see Wishes as often as we did. And of course, I remember my own last time watching Wishes during my college program, before we went back to the parking lot at the Transportation and Ticket Center and drove back to Massachusetts.

I’m planning on being in the Magic Kingdom for Wishes’ last show on May 11 (being there for the last show is really becoming a habit for me apparently). But I’m also planning on being there on May 12 for the premiere of “Happily Ever After.” As much as I love Wishes, something (objectively) better is coming, and I don’t want to spend another couple of years in Epcot being resentful- and I hope you consider doing the same.