I spent a few hours at the Magic Kingdom today, as I was invited to come watch the Donegal High School Marching Band from Mount Joy, Penn. perform before the 3:00pm parade. Be sure to tune in to the upcoming June 21 episode of Inside the Magic (show #220) for a binaural recording of the band marching down Main Street U.S.A.

Now, on with the photo update…

With the recent announcement that Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration would be permanently going away on June 27, less than two months after its official premiere, I decided to check in on the show while it’s still around to see how popular it is. Around 5 minutes before the 3:30pm show began, here’s what the gathered crowd looked like:

Around thirty people crammed into every available nearby shaded area, trying to avoid the midday extreme heat while waiting for the show to begin.

As the show began, I spotted a cast member wheeling a cart nearby filled with ice-cold water and fan spray bottles. After standing out there for a few minutes, I was quite tempted to purchase one. Very smart.

The nearby Carousel of Progress let out a couple of minutes into Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration. I’d estimate around 70-80 people exited the Carousel theater, though only around 10 stopped to watch Stitch’s show. But a surprisingly large amount of guests wandering through Tomorrowland did gather once the outdoor show began.

Here’s a panoramic view of what the watching crowd looked like at its max (click the image to enlarge in a new window):

In the end, around 75 people decided to take the time to watch Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration. But as you can see, most of the group crowded underneath the shade provided by the Tomorrowland Transit Authority track. I can only assume that this is one of the major reasons why Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration will be coming to an end so soon. No one wants to sit on the hot pavement for 30+ minutes in the summer heat in Florida. I wonder if the show would have continued longer had it been featured in the now-demolished Galaxy Palace Theater, which included seating and some shading. [Read more…]