Once Upon a Time/Happily Ever After?

[POLY1985]

I go to the parks often but rarely am there for the nighttime shows. We will be there next week and I wanted to see the show at Magic Kingdom. Next Saturday it is scheduled as Happily Ever After at 9:15PM. I never see any listings for Once Upon a Time. When do they show it? Is it similar? Both look like there are projections on the castle.

 

[Moliphino]

Well they definitely made finding times for this difficult! I eventually found it on MDE, it says 10pm on 9/14.

Once Upon a Time is a projection show. Happily Ever After is a fireworks show with a lot of projections.

 

[The13thLetter]

I think I might need to youtube both shows because this still confuses me hahaha. Does Once upon a Time start pretty much right after Happily Ever After or is there time in between? I feel like most people leave after Happily Ever After but maybe I am mixing both shows together in my head (I dont recall ever seeing 2 separate shows but we never leave after Happily Ever After so I assume I have seen both? lol).

 

[subtchr]

I think I might need to youtube both shows because this still confuses me hahaha. Does Once upon a Time start pretty much right after Happily Ever After or is there time in between? I feel like most people leave after Happily Ever After but maybe I am mixing both shows together in my head (I dont recall ever seeing 2 separate shows but we never leave after Happily Ever After so I assume I have seen both? lol).

It is definitely two distinct shows, and the timing varies seasonally. Occasionally Once Upon a Time is even before Happily Ever After. Once Upon a Time is almost all projections.

 

[The13thLetter]

It is definitely two distinct shows, and the timing varies seasonally. Occasionally Once Upon a Time is even before Happily Ever After. Once Upon a Time is almost all projections.

Maybe that is it then, I may be seeing Once Upon a Time before Happily Ever After, that makes more sense to me. thanks!

 

[Wild4Walt]

In June we say Once Upon A Time First and then Happily Ever After right after.

 

[Rach3975]

I think I might need to youtube both shows because this still confuses me hahaha. Does Once upon a Time start pretty much right after Happily Ever After or is there time in between? I feel like most people leave after Happily Ever After but maybe I am mixing both shows together in my head (I dont recall ever seeing 2 separate shows but we never leave after Happily Ever After so I assume I have seen both? lol).

When we were there in November, I'd checked a few weeks ahead of time and it said that OUAT wasn't scheduled for our night. We watched HEA at 9 then got some ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream shop (not sure what it's exact name is) while we waited for the crowds at the buses to die down. As we were standing outside eating, we were surprised when OUAT started. So there was definitely a break in there, at least 15 minutes. I don't know if this had anything to do with OUAT not being scheduled at first, but it was a Saturday night that had been scheduled to have a 9 pm close. They extended the hours until 10 just a few weeks before our trip, IIRC. Maybe they waited to post the OUAT schedule until they finalized their hours?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

FYI, OUAT is one of those shows/entertainment that doesn't get added to the Disney calendar until closer to the date. For example now, no times show up past Sept - which is pretty normal. They'll get added eventually.

OUAT is (almost always) either 30 minutes before or 45 minutes after the HEA start time, depending on the season/park hours.

 

[mshanson3121]

I go to the parks often but rarely am there for the nighttime shows. We will be there next week and I wanted to see the show at Magic Kingdom. Next Saturday it is scheduled as Happily Ever After at 9:15PM. I never see any listings for Once Upon a Time. When do they show it? Is it similar? Both look like there are projections on the castle.

We LOVED Once Upon a Time, and it's not nearly as crowded, either. It's normally about 30-45 minutes before or after the fireworks.

 

[The13thLetter]

After youtubing the shows I realized over the weekend that I actually have never seen OUAT and that I was thinking of the show it replaced (Celebrate the Magic) so the confusion was caused by myself

 

[hebvrun]

@GADisneyDad14 Do you think this is the case for 3 of the Fridays in February 2020? HEA is scheduled for 8pm. On other nights in February, OUAT is scheduled right after at 8:45pm. However, on Friday Feb 14, 21, and 28 "No Times Available". Thinking of switching our late night to another night to see OUAT, but hate to do that if it's just not scheduled yet!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@GADisneyDad14 Do you think this is the case for 3 of the Fridays in February 2020? HEA is scheduled for 8pm. On other nights in February, OUAT is scheduled right after at 8:45pm. However, on Friday Feb 14, 21, and 28 "No Times Available". Thinking of switching our late night to another night to see OUAT, but hate to do that if it's just not scheduled yet!

Good question. So for those dates, those are scheduled Villains After Hours nights. OUAT did not play during VAH nights over the summer, so it appears is following a similar pattern for this new round of dates starting in February.

 

[gharter]

OUAT is a nice how with good projections.
Everytime I've seen it has been about 30 minutes after HEA, but looking at show times, it does seem to vary a lot.

 

[raraavis]

It is definitely two distinct shows, and the timing varies seasonally. Occasionally Once Upon a Time is even before Happily Ever After. Once Upon a Time is almost all projections.

touringplans has it before HEA during our trip in early February (OUAT at 7:30pm and HEA at 8pm)

 

[epcotty]

thought it was strange last time that ouat was after hea

 

[raraavis]

touringplans has it before HEA during our trip in early February (OUAT at 7:30pm and HEA at 8pm)

scratch that. MK just changed their hours for my trip. Now OUAT is at 8:45, after HEA at 8.

 

[SeeDisney]

i have wondered how much longer are they going to still continue with the shorter version of the castle's fireworks of Once upon a time....isn't kinda the same as HEA? Isn't kinda redundant? I thought of is Disney corporation wants to cut $$$, they could eliminate that short version. Well, from my perspective, I hope not. My favorite short is one with Walt Disney himself appeared on the castle....priceless.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

i have wondered how much longer are they going to still continue with the shorter version of the castle's fireworks of Once upon a time....isn't kinda the same as HEA? Isn't kinda redundant? I thought of is Disney corporation wants to cut $$$, they could eliminate that short version. Well, from my perspective, I hope not. My favorite short is one with Walt Disney himself appeared on the castle....priceless.

OUAT is 99% projections with a couple of castle fireworks blasts at the end. It costs Disney nothing to run, other than projector bulbs, electricity, and whatever a few shots of pyro cost. It is nothing like HEA, which is a true nighttime spectacular show with abundant fireworks and castle projections.