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

It's so funny because I always thought that Hercules is one of the lesser remembered Disney movies of the 90s. And yet it also got me, first when Mufasa's voice introduces "Go the Distance"... but then again when they hit the chorus will all of the emotional force and defiant celebration of a fireworks finale:

I will beat the odds,
I can go the distance!
I will face the world,
Fearless, proud, and strong.

You know at that moment, they are not talking about Disney characters. They are talking to the audience. It's about achieving what you've struggled your life to accomplish. I don't know. I'm not that sentimental, or so I thought. But right then, I'm kind of choking up a bit. And my cynicism falls away, telling me that this giant corporation really does have real, good, creative people in it who can put on spectacles like this one that inspire and make people feel. And even though I'm just one of their guests, I feel proud and good and ready to do more with my life. (Too much of a stretch? I don't know... but I do honestly feel at least a little bit more is right in the world.)
 


We didn't love it either. We watched it from the train station and left before it was over. It just wasn't the same and didn't hit me like Wishes always did. Maybe I will have to give it another try. It is like a new song that comes out, that I don't really care for until I hear it a few more times and then fall in love with it. I will have to watch it again when we go.. closer to the castle, as others have said.
 
Go the Distance is one of my favourite Disney songs (even though Hercules isn't my favourite movie), so I was very pleased that was used at the climax. I also enjoyed the message and the main theme, and while other projection mapping shows (Once Upon a Time at MK and Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at HS) impress primarily with scale, I much preferred HEA's transformation of the castle itself. I'm not sure whether you'd be able to see the detail if you're as far back as Main Street, though - I was in the plaza both times I saw it.

I was more impressed by HEA than I expected to be (and I already had pretty high expectations). However, I'd not been back to WDW in some years, so any memories I had of Wishes had faded.
 
I have never seen it live because I have children in medical transport strollers and HEA doesn’t have a wheelchair viewing area, although I have heard they they are testing one.
 


It's not my favorite either, but I've never been all that into the fireworks anyway. I will say that I used to get teary eyed during Wishes even though it was just "okay" to me as well - it seems it's the music that got to me more than anything.

We typically end up leaving the parks well before the evening entertainment unless we are visiting with friends who would like to stay later.
 
It's so funny because I always thought that Hercules is one of the lesser remembered Disney movies of the 90s. And yet it also got me, first when Mufasa's voice introduces "Go the Distance"... but then again when they hit the chorus will all of the emotional force and defiant celebration of a fireworks finale:

I will beat the odds,
I can go the distance!
I will face the world,
Fearless, proud, and strong.

You know at that moment, they are not talking about Disney characters. They are talking to the audience. It's about achieving what you've struggled your life to accomplish. I don't know. I'm not that sentimental, or so I thought. But right then, I'm kind of choking up a bit. And my cynicism falls away, telling me that this giant corporation really does have real, good, creative people in it who can put on spectacles like this one that inspire and make people feel. And even though I'm just one of their guests, I feel proud and good and ready to do more with my life. (Too much of a stretch? I don't know... but I do honestly feel at least a little bit more is right in the world.)

Dang @bryanb, you’re going to make all of us a little weepy here. Too early for that! :-)
 
It's so funny because I always thought that Hercules is one of the lesser remembered Disney movies of the 90s. And yet it also got me, first when Mufasa's voice introduces "Go the Distance"... but then again when they hit the chorus will all of the emotional force and defiant celebration of a fireworks finale:

I will beat the odds,
I can go the distance!
I will face the world,
Fearless, proud, and strong.

You know at that moment, they are not talking about Disney characters. They are talking to the audience. It's about achieving what you've struggled your life to accomplish. I don't know. I'm not that sentimental, or so I thought. But right then, I'm kind of choking up a bit. And my cynicism falls away, telling me that this giant corporation really does have real, good, creative people in it who can put on spectacles like this one that inspire and make people feel. And even though I'm just one of their guests, I feel proud and good and ready to do more with my life. (Too much of a stretch? I don't know... but I do honestly feel at least a little bit more is right in the world.)

Dang @bryanb, you’re going to make all of us a little weepy here. Too early for that! :-)

I second that! :)
 
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.
I watched it in front of the castle twice and behind the castle once. I didn't enjoy it at all. You have to choose to watch either the projections or the fireworks, you can't do both at the same time. I didn't care for the jumping around and no flow between the segments. While I appreciated the technology behind the show, I didn't appreciate Cinderella Castle being used as a screen and found the entire thing meh.
 
Plus they couple Go the Distance with Mufasa's voice "remember who you are"... Goosebumps and tears every time

It's so funny because I always thought that Hercules is one of the lesser remembered Disney movies of the 90s. And yet it also got me, first when Mufasa's voice introduces "Go the Distance"... but then again when they hit the chorus will all of the emotional force and defiant celebration of a fireworks finale:

I will beat the odds,
I can go the distance!
I will face the world,
Fearless, proud, and strong.

You know at that moment, they are not talking about Disney characters. They are talking to the audience. It's about achieving what you've struggled your life to accomplish. I don't know. I'm not that sentimental, or so I thought. But right then, I'm kind of choking up a bit. And my cynicism falls away, telling me that this giant corporation really does have real, good, creative people in it who can put on spectacles like this one that inspire and make people feel. And even though I'm just one of their guests, I feel proud and good and ready to do more with my life. (Too much of a stretch? I don't know... but I do honestly feel at least a little bit more is right in the world.)

That's exactly it... both of your posts explain the reason I :sad: every time.

I first saw this show when I was preparing to take a huge step in my life & move (far) away from my family for the first time. I had graduated from college, gotten engaged, and everything was changing for me. I had a lot of mixed feelings (happiness, excitement, fear, sadness, etc) and this part of the show really spoke to me. I don't think I will ever forget how I felt at that moment - and I am sure there are many others who feel just as I do whenever they watch the show :) Nearly everyone will be able to relate and I think that is a triumph in storytelling.
 
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.
No, you are not alone! Sometimes, I don’t want to have to think about the message/story and just enjoy the show!:)
 
No, you are not alone! Sometimes, I don’t want to have to think about the message/story and just enjoy the show!:)
Whew, I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with me in that I'm not sent a message by the fireworks show. Outside of, oh, look at the pretty colors
The movies, yes, they tug at me. But the show isn't the movies.

Now, that said, I will admit that the song from Wishes did tug at my heart strings. The little girl had such a sweet voice and it came at a point in the show that just fit well. It wasn't the words so much though, just the melody and tune in general. I couldn't even tell you what the words are, other than Wishes, LOL
 
Now, that said, I will admit that the song from Wishes did tug at my heart strings. The little girl had such a sweet voice and it came at a point in the show that just fit well. It wasn't the words so much though, just the melody and tune in general. I couldn't even tell you what the words are, other than Wishes, LOL

I agree. The Wishes song was so lovely, the new one for HEA does nothing for me. I also loved the song for Celebrate the Magic. The absolute best, though, is "We Go On".
 
I have never seen it live because I have children in medical transport strollers and HEA doesn’t have a wheelchair viewing area, although I have heard they they are testing one.

When we were there in January we were in a wheelchair viewing area. It isn't perfect as there's a light pole in the middle, but it was a decent view. My dad (the one in our party in a wheelchair) was able to see everything and loved the show.

Personally, I vastly prefer HEA (the visual and the message) to Wishes. I enjoyed Wishes, but it wasn't a "must do".
 
We haven't been since 2015 so this August will be our first time seeing HEA in person. I've listened to the show on Youtube but I never actually watch the show because I don't want to experience it before I'm able to experience it in person if that makes sense. I will say since me and my girls had seen Wishes many times over including a few times with my parents and my extended family and now that both my parents are gone it holds a special place in our hearts so saying goodbye was especially hard for me. I use to get emotional while viewing the show in person so there was a full on attachment for me and when I heard they were replacing the show I was against it. I've known about the change for a while and only recently told my kids since we have a booked trip and needless to say my oldest was sad to hear the news as well. I've had to listen to the show several times and now I actually like what I hear and if the reviews about it being a great show are true then I'm sure me and my girls will like it as well, we may just not have as much of an emotional attachment to it has we do to Wishes.
 
Looking forward to seeing HEA when we go later this year. As great as I'm sure it is, I still miss Wishes!
 

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