Love to refute revisionist history that gets talked about "Disney NEVER did it that way!"
So here's the history of ALL WDW of nighttime entertainment:
Magic Kingdom:
Fantasy in the Sky: 1971 - 2003 (32 years)
Wishes: 2003 - 2016 (13 years)
Main Street Electric Parade: 1977- 1991, 1999-2001, 2010 - Present (~21 years total time over 39 years - not counting the years it ran in
Disneyland)
Spectromagic 1991-1999,2001-2010 (~18 years across 20 years)
DHS/MGM:
Fantasmic!: 1998 - present (18 years)
Epcot:
Iluminations: Reflections of Earth 1999 - present (17 years)
MK Resort Area:
Electric Water Pageant: 1971 - Present (45 years)
So, let's stop calling Wishes OLD HAT. It is the shortest lived nighttime show in the history of WDW. Second is Spectromagic, which ran for a "mere" 18 years. The average lifetime amongst the 7 shows is just under 24 years.
Another point - before 1998 there was ONE park with a nighttime show. Come 2016 there will be FOUR.
Oh - and "Fantasy in the Sky" was also the fireworks show at Disneyland from 1958 to 1999 - running for 41 years.
SO, sorry everyone... Disney ALWAYS did it that way.