Disneyland Forever was a nighttime spectacular at Disneyland that premiered alongside the Paint the Night parade and World of Color—Celebrate! on May 21, 2015 as part of the park's 60th anniversary celebration. The show was produced by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, under direction of Steve Davison. Disneyland Forever incorporates fireworks, projection mapping, fire, lasers, and searchlights to depict scenes from Disney films.
Disneyland Forever features fireworks launched both from backstage areas and from selected locations within the park, as well as the largest projection mapping display ever presented in a Disney park. During the show, video and images are projected on Sleeping Beauty Castle, the buildings along Main Street USA, the Matterhorn, the facade of It's a Small World, and along the Rivers of America (on the water screens from Fantasmic), using a total of 25 projectors. The projections in each area are different in order to evenly distribute crowds and to encourage people to view the show multiple times from different locations. The show also features fire effects, lasers, searchlights, and other effects, and is approximately fourteen minutes and forty-seven seconds long.
Two new songs were written for the show: the theme song "Live the Magic" and the exit song "Kiss Goodnight", the latter of which was written by composer Richard M. Sherman and sung by Broadway star Ashley Brown. Other songs co-written by Sherman and his late brother, Robert B. Sherman, including "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins and "Heffalumps and Woozles" from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh are also featured in the show. The rest of the soundtrack includes music, songs, and audio from Disney and Pixar films and archival footage of Walt Disney.
The show features seven themed sections:
"Open": A traditional fanfare, complete with 94 high powered searchlights (most of which form a diamond over Sleeping Beauty Castle), opens the show. As images of orange groves are projected around the viewing areas, the opening narration describes how, 60 years ago, the area where Disneyland currently stands was an orange grove. As the projected oranges grow larger, they burst into pixie dust. Walt Disney’s declaration that "as long as there’s imagination left in the world, Disneyland will never be complete" ushers in Peter Pan and a live action Tinker Bell. Peter encourages Tinker Bell to sprinkle her pixie dust on the castle as they show the audience "how magical this place can be", leading into "Live the Magic."
"Clouds": Projections of the rooftops of London accompany the song "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins (Dick Van Dyke recorded new chants as the character Bert for this sequence). Projected kites then segue into floating lanterns as "I See the Light" from Tangled is performed.
"Enchanted Places": A projection of Winnie the Pooh floats to the top of the castle and dives into a honeycomb to introduce a sequence featuring the songs "Rumbly in My Tumbly" and "Heffalumps and Woozles" from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
"Jungle": The song "Circle of Life", a fireworks "sunrise", and projected animals recreate the opening scene of The Lion King. The scene then transitions to Angkor Wat from The Jungle Book as King Louie performs "I Wanna Be Like You". A "wild jazz number" punctuated by rainstorm effects and waterfalls follow.
"Sea": Giant inflatable coral structures and projections of underwater scenes accompany Ariel and Sebastian from The Little Mermaid as they perform "Under the Sea". The number ends abruptly as projections of the Tank Gang from "Finding Nemo" encourage a Nemo puppet suspended above the castle to swim through the "Ring of Fire". Projections, smoke and lighting effects on the Matterhorn transform it into Mt. Wannahockaloogie.
"Snow": The projected smoke and ash from the volcano transition into snow as artificial foam snow begins to fall in the viewing areas. Queen Elsa of Arendelle appears to perform "Let It Go" and projections on the Matterhorn transform it into her snow palace.
"Finale": The projections of the orange groves return and the narration declares that Disneyland will continue to grow and that "the magic, as Walt assured us, will never end." Searchlights, lasers, and projections of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the buildings on Main Street, and the facade of It's a Small World moving and dancing accompany "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio and a reprise of "Live the Magic." As the buildings 'disintegrate' and the finale culminates, a projection of Walt hand-in-hand with Mickey Mouse is shown and Peter Pan is heard exclaiming that "(Disneyland) is yours…forever!" A bright ensemble of fireworks punctuate the finale.
In cases where the fireworks cannot be deployed due to inclement weather, an alternate version consisting of the finale is shown. Slightly different projections are seen in their respective viewing areas, while the searchlights and lasers still function.
Ellen Dubin - Disneyland Forever Narrator
Walt Disney - Himself (archival recording)
Keith Longo - male vocalist, 'Live the Magic', (Disneyland Forever original recording)
Sheena Loza - female vocalist, 'Live the Magic, (Disneyland Forever original recording)
Blayne Weaver - Peter Pan
Dick Van Dyke - Bert
Zachary Levi - Flynn Rider/ Eugene Fitzherbert
Mandy Moore - Rapunzel
Sterling Holloway - Winnie the Pooh (archival recording)
Paul Winchell - Tigger (archival recording)
Louis Prima - King Louie (archival recording)
Jodi Benson - Ariel
Keith Ferguson - Sebastian
Brad Garrett - Bloat
Allison Janney - Peach
Stephen Root - Bubbles
Austin Pendleton - Gurgle
Joe Ranft - Jacques
Idina Menzel - Elsa
