Disneyland's Wondrous Journeys Fireworks is filled with surprises, not just greatest hits

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Disneyland is celebrating 100 years of Disney with Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railroad, the first ride to feature Mickey Mouse as its protagonist, a revamped "World of Color" water and light show, and "Wondrous Journeys," a firework show that sees Cinderella's Castle bathed in animated segments from all of the studio's 61 feature films.

Last week, surrounded by cast members and a handful of media guests, I saw the show the night before its official debut. It wasn't what I expected. In this case, that's a good thing. I don't want to try and pass myself off as a Disney expert, or suggest that the 20 or so visits that I have made to Disneyland over the last 40 years makes me a Disneyland regular. But if there is one thing I've learned since my first visit in the early 1980s it is that Disney knows how to capitalize on their greatest hits and skip past their less successful offerings. Which meant that some of the films that I loved the most, were generally overlooked.

As a child of the 1980s, I have fond memories of "The Black Cauldron." I was always drawn to the darker fantasy and horror aspects of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," and "Sleeping Beauty" and saw "The Black Cauldron" as a natural progression from "The Sword in the Stone." I had no idea that I was getting the watered down version of the film. I would have loved to see the original cut that purportedly had children from the test audience running for the exits like it was a midnight movie at the Sundance Film Festival.

There was no way that Disneyland was going to sacrifice any time or space forPrincess Eilonwy or Gurgi when they had Cinderella and her mice. To make matters worse, when "The Little Mermaid" landed in 1989 it was like the waving of a magic wand and the 1970s and 1980s never really happened. I was going to hear "Kiss the Girl" regardless of how I felt about it. It was a reality that I accepted because I still had "Peter Pan," "Alice in Wonderland," and all the other classics to revel in. Besides, Ariel had fire engine red hair like Miki Berenyi and I was completely onboard with that.

So, please forgive me if I assumed that "Wondrous Journeys" was going to lean heavily on "We Don't Talk About Bruno," "Let It Go," "Friend Like Me," and "Circle of Life" and classics like "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and "Heigh-Ho." Sure, Disney has been around 100 years but we're only going to really celebrate the commercial successes. I would have been okay with that.

"Wondrous Journeys" goes in a completely different direction as it features some of Disney's overlooked titles as much as it showcases its blockbusters. The most magical moment of the night came when "Treasure Planet" was greeted with a roar from the crowd. It's a moment that I'll never forget. The kind of moment that you go to Disneyland to experience. i didn't have a personal connection to "Treasure Planet." Now I do.

"Wonderous Journeys" is more about Walt Disney's belief in and pursuit of dreams than it is about the company's corporate success. And the spectacle of the show is unrivaled. Where else can you see Baymax, the giant inflated robot from "Big Hero 6," literally fly across the sky? It's 13 minutes of flash, bang, and color. A remarkable achievement set to the soundtrack of so many of our lives. I loved all of it, even the parts that I didn't expect to enjoy.