Just back. Not a big fan of HEA (breaks my heart!)

[SaintsManiac]

I love HEA and I had emotional attachment to Wishes. Now I do for HEA, but in a different way.

Change is good.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm not thrilled with HEA either. While Wishes was a must do as many times as possible, I'm fine with skipping HEA altogether. It has no magic at all, imho.

 

[gillep]

Total opposite, never cared for Wishes, especially the message and skipped it more times than not. Really enjoy HEA.

 

[yulilin3]

I'm a very vocal HEA supporter. Just from the story standpoint it has a better message than Wishes, you're the key to unlocking your own magic, get out there and create your happily ever after... The sequence of songs is deliberate, you start wishing and move on to your journey where you get help along the way from family, friends, loved ones, you encounter bumps along the way and then you have your heroes welcomev when you reach your goals, it goes way past just wishing upon a star.

 

[ajwolfe]

Worried I'm not going to love it myself. Was a huge fan of Wishes and it had such an emotional tug for me that I'm not sure how I'll connect with HEA.

Fingers crossed for the best!!

 

[bryanb]

I hope that people will give it more chances, because I think it will grow on you. One viewing is not enough to make up your mind.

To be honest, I disliked Wishes the first time I saw it. I'll admit this is cynical, but I thought its whole message was untrue or overly simplistic. That if you just wish hard enough, things will be handed to you. But over multiple viewings, it really grew on me and I came to appreciate it much more for its sentimental value, and the childlike view of the world as a simpler place.

Happily Ever After has a wonderful, positive message about strength, confidence, and overcoming obstacles. I'm with @yulilin3.

I know some people don't want to move on to a new show, but I think it has and will continue to find its way into people's hearts. Some people just need to see it a few times.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Well I also don't think you can decide until you see the full show with projections.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

OP, I agree! I have not yet watched it from inside the park, only from Ohana and on my TV, so hoping we enjoy it more once we see it in person from in front of the castle. But what we have seen, didn't impress us. The visuals are stunning, it the music arrangement can't get passed. The whole set up seems disjointed and just doesn't flow well for me.

 

[Dug720]

Just back from a FUN 3-day, 2-night trip with a college friend!

But I haven't been in a few years, and my dd21 and I kind of fell out of princess fever a few years back. We watched the fireworks from Top of the World. It was so cool - the rain stopped just in time for the fireworks.

But, am I crazy? Although the fireworks were amazing, as always, I just didn't care for the music accompanying. Later, I looked up the lyrics, and while there are some from movies I'm not familiar with, I think what I didn't like was how fast it jumped around. (Maybe I'll print out the lyrics next time so I can follow along that way.) Am I the only one?

Of course, I didn't let it ruin a spectacular show, but it doesn't make me eager to see them again.

On the other hand - we had such a fabulous trip overall! Cranky CMs? Never saw any. Ride lines were tolerable. The new Soarin' and Flight of Passage were wonderful. Flower and Garden? Just so incredibly cool. It had been a while, and I have to say - I still love it there!!!!

I could not stand the new schizophrenic-cannot-make-up-its-mind-what-kind-of-show-it-is mess. Just made me miss Wishes all the more.

At least I know I don't have to waste my time waiting around to see it ever again. I'll just ride things with shorter wait times.

 

[AngiTN]

Am I the only one who just wants to watch for the visuals of the fireworks and the pretty lights on the castle? I don't need a big or meaningful message from a fireworks show. Or any message for that matter. It just needs to be pretty.

 

[PPFlight75]

I'm a very vocal HEA supporter. Just from the story standpoint it has a better message than Wishes, you're the key to unlocking your own magic, get out there and create your happily ever after... The sequence of songs is deliberate, you start wishing and move on to your journey where you get help along the way from family, friends, loved ones, you encounter bumps along the way and then you have your heroes welcomev when you reach your goals, it goes way past just wishing upon a star.

Yes to this! Love the HEA message

 

[disneygirlsng]

I find the story and the message just incredible in itself. The amazing fireworks and projections just make it that much more special. Anytime I see someone say it's just a mish-mash or has no flow I just wonder what show they were watching lol. Soooo much more emotional to me than Wishes ever was. Not even close. I am bawling by the end every single time. And when Tink flies to "you can fly", forget it.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Definitely watch it from in front of the castle. You'll likely have a much more enjoyable viewing

I think it depends on the person.

In Sept. we watched from the hub. Walked away thinking it was an amazing and impressive production but it didn’t hit me like Wishes.

Last week, I watched HEA 5 times from the Poly. My kids love fireworks so we watched most evenings before bed. I enjoyed it much more from there without the distracting projections. Still doesn’t compare to Wishes for me from an emotional perspective but I enjoyed it more than I did from the hub.

I like Cinderella’s castle in it’s classic form. I think it’s beautiful the way it is and one of the big reasons I don’t like HEA is that Cinderella is basically a movie screen during the show. The simplicity of the fireworks over the classic castle is more appealing to me. I miss that.

Everyone is different and I think everyone needs to see for themselves from up close and afar to make a final verdict.

 

[ChanduTail]

I was actually really annoyed that they didn't use the movie version of "Go the Distance". The words are different (the HEA version says "hero's welcome" instead of "great, warm welcome" like it is in the movie) and it threw me off when I was trying to sing along.
I do appreciate that Hunchback was included, but overall the show seems haphazardly thrown together.

The lyrics are the same in both the movie and HEA. That is a very meaningful part of the show for me & it would have thrown me off if they had changed it!

Maybe you were thinking of a different part of the song?

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love the Moana part in HEA so much, however Wishes is still my favorite! My dd and I have spent many trips together as she grew up watching Wishes, it has such sentiment and emotions for us. HEA is wonderful but doesn’t give me the same feelings. I also agree the music jumps around to much. The fireworks are spectacular with HEA, so yes I miss Wishes but enjoy HEA.

 

[Hope Soda]

I really liked Wishes. I don't care much for HEA, though I like the Aladdin parts. However, my favorite is Holiday Wishes. I will pay for the Christmas party mostly because I love the fireworks, which I think are even better from behind the castle.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

I love them both, and I'm weird in the fact that I don't see HEA as a replacement of Wishes, but rather a sequel.

That probably has to do with our family trips to Disney over the years. Wishes sort of represented our trips to Disney during the time when DS was very young - full of wide-eyed wonder, magic, and wishing on a star.

The new HEA show came along as he was graduating from high school and going (way) off to college, full of optimism, go-out-and-grab-your-dreams-young-voyager, and a touch of nostalgia. The Moana part of HEA reduces me to tears every. single. time. Bittersweet.

 

[Moliphino]

The lyrics are the same in both the movie and HEA. That is a very meaningful part of the show for me & it would have thrown me off if they had changed it!

Maybe you were thinking of a different part of the song?

That's the reprise. The song is "great, warm welcome". The Michael Bolton after-credits version has "hero's welcome", and that's what's used in HEA.

 

[North of Mouse]

Just back from a FUN 3-day, 2-night trip with a college friend!

But I haven't been in a few years, and my dd21 and I kind of fell out of princess fever a few years back. We watched the fireworks from Top of the World. It was so cool - the rain stopped just in time for the fireworks.

But, am I crazy? Although the fireworks were amazing, as always, I just didn't care for the music accompanying. Later, I looked up the lyrics, and while there are some from movies I'm not familiar with, I think what I didn't like was how fast it jumped around. (Maybe I'll print out the lyrics next time so I can follow along that way.) Am I the only one?

Of course, I didn't let it ruin a spectacular show, but it doesn't make me eager to see them again.

On the other hand - we had such a fabulous trip overall! Cranky CMs? Never saw any. Ride lines were tolerable. The new Soarin' and Flight of Passage were wonderful. Flower and Garden? Just so incredibly cool. It had been a while, and I have to say - I still love it there!!!!

Maybe if you had watched HEA in front of the castle you would have enjoyed it much more. The projections, fireworks and music all seem to go together to get the full effects. I would not enjoy it anywhere else. As much as we loved Wishes, dh & I love HEA more.

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

We have seen HEA three times now. It’s very impressive but I don’t have the emotional connection to it like I did with Wishes. Wishes made me blubber like a baby, in a good way! HEA makes me smile but that’s all.

World of Color at DL makes me blubber too. I love that show.