By Charly SHELTON

After a year and a half, guests are finally able to welcome back some classic Disneyland attractions: The Mark Twain Riverboat, the Santa Fe and Disneyland Passenger Train and the mighty sailing ship Columbia. But nearest and dearest to this reporter’s heart is Fantasmic!

The attractions have been closed for 18 months as construction began on the upcoming land expansion, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The new land will be located behind Frontierland, with entrances roughly where the Big Thunder Ranch barbecue restaurant used to be. To accommodate the 14-acre addition, the railroad and the Rivers of America needed to be closed temporarily. The Rivers were rerouted, resulting in slightly shorter cruises, and part of Tom Sawyer’s Island was removed as well. All this was for Star Wars. Expectations were high, as many of these attractions had been in place since the park’s opening day in 1955, and all were considered classics. Finally, last week, the train, the Twain and Fantasmic! reopened to the public with some additions that are sure to satisfy.

I was nervous about the attractions coming back with changes. Historically, changes and remakes of beloved properties don’t go over too well. Yes, I’m looking at you, Power Rangers – and Force Awakens – and Indiana Jones 4.

So with Fort Wilderness, the Native American Village and parts of the surrounding river set to be lobotomized, I was not optimistic. Then it was revealed that Fantasmic!, my all-time favorite attraction at any park anywhere, would return with new, updated scenes and storyline. The stakes were high, and I thought there was no way that they could pull off a decent return. I thought it would be “Frozen” scenes in Fantasmic! and blank views of the Star Wars construction. Boy, was I wrong.

The train drives over a beautiful new trestle, gliding over five new waterfalls that flow beneath. The Native American Village has been saved and repositioned with the shaman up on the cliff, telling tales to the villagers down in the river valley below. The berm that the train rides on actually separates the Rivers from Star Wars land and vice versa, helping to keep the theme contained. And the new soundtrack incorporates music with each station to set the mood for your stop.

Let’s talk Fantasmic! It has been redone and updated with such care. I openly wept while watching the finale, as I always do. This show is so special to me. I was there for the show’s opening when I was 2 years old, and it has been my favorite ever since. The reverence shown to the original source material is heartening. It isn’t a remake; it’s an enhancement. Gaps in the show were filled in with new classics like “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” but they don’t feel shoehorned. One problem with World of Color at the other park is that whatever movie is being pushed will worm its way into the show, often replacing some other classic film. Fantasmic! isn’t just a clip show, it’s a coherent story built on chosen scenes that all feel like they fit together as if the show debuted this way. It was such a relief to see that it wasn’t “Frozen,” it wasn’t “Star Wars,” it was just Mickey’s journey through imagination. If this was my favorite attraction in the world before, it’s even more so now.

It’s rarely worth a trip to see one new attraction at any given park, but Fantasmic! is worth that trip by itself. Add on to that the train, the Twain and the Columbia, as well as the recently opened Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, the Summer of Heroes and the limited time return of The Main Street Electrical Parade, and you have a handful of reasons to head down to Disneyland now.  

  Charly Shelton