by Wishes Diva
Every visit I take to Magic Kingdom, I insist that whoever I am with accompany me to Mickey’s Philharmagic. Located behind Cinderella Castle to the left of the Carousel, I visit this attraction multiple times throughout every trip. I may be partial to it, considering I am a musician and music teacher, but I think it is a gem! Here are the 4 reasons why I visit every time!
Maestro Mickey on the outside of the attraction building.
- Donald Duck is the lead. I have an immense love for Donald Duck and all things he is featured in. During Philharmagic, Donald “borrows” Maestro Mickey’s magic conducting baton and his magic Sorcerer Hat which then takes him on a journey throughout many different Disney favorites. Throughout the short movie, the hat continues to fall just beyond Donald’s grasp so he is left chasing it through many different scenes. In true Donald fashion, he gets angry before too long which makes the whole audience giggle!
- Many favorite Disney classics are featured in a new way. Throughout the movie, Donald chases the hat across many different movie scenes. This includes “Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from Lion King, “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, “Part of Your World” from Little Mermaid and “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. Each of these films is featured in an all new 3-D way. Despite simply loving these films and songs for what they are, Philharmagic gives the audience a chance to see these animated classics reimagined in a new animation style on the big super-sized movie screen.
- Cheesy 4-D effects. As you enter the theater for Philharmagic and take your seats, it will strike you as being very different from the other 4-D attractions (such as a Bug’s Life at Animal Kingdom and Stitch’s Great Escape in Tomorrowland) that you may have visited at Disney World. I am generally not a fan of these types of shows, however I think that Disney plays this one off perfectly. The use of air blasts and water splashing throughout the story adds an element of surprise and fun to the show.
- The queue area and theater decor. The entire building that houses this attraction captures my attention. I love looking at the “Coming Attractions” posters in the queue. The extra perk of all of this is that you can look while standing inside the air conditioning! Every time I sit in the Philharmagic theater, I am drawn to looking around. The staging is done very well, with the orchestra set up in the front of the auditorium. The seats are comfortable and the entire attraction along with the entire queue is indoors. There are also a plethora of hidden Mickey’s scattered throughout the queue area and in the theater as well! (My favorite one is hidden in the French Horn along the right side of the stage border.)
Tips for Philharmagic: When you get ready to enter the theater, the Cast Members will have you move all the way across the row. If you want to sit in the middle of the row, hang back and let others go ahead of you to help fill in the row. Also, I find that sitting at least half way back in the theater gives you a better view. Because the screen opens to be three times the size of a typical screen, sitting further back will give you a better view of the full picture.
