I Watched a Disney World Show Entirely in B Mode…and It Wasn't As Bad As Everyone Says

The shows around Disney World are incredible, but they often go unnoticed or aren’t as high of a priority as other attractions, such as rides!

I’m starting to learn to slow down and take it all in!

I’m majorly guilty of this, and I’m a performer myself! Sometimes I’m moving so fast on my Disney World days I’m afraid sitting down for a half-hour show will mean I dread standing up again or I’ll lose all momentum, but the truth is that I’ve started taking more time to really enjoy the parks and all they have to offer, and the shows are some of my favorite activities! I finally got to see the entirety of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular a few months ago with Quincy, Sage, and Angie, and Emma and I recently went to Fantasmic! together so I could see it for the first time. However, I got to see a very interesting version of Fantasmic! most guests don’t often see — it was all in B mode!

What is B mode, you may ask? B mode is essentially the backup plan, the plan B, for anything, but especially live shows. If Plan A isn’t working or isn’t safe to do but Plan B is, then B mode it is and the show must go on!

Disco Yeti is B Mode, for example! (A mode was when it moved)

Let me set the scene: Emma and I had just finished having an amazing day in Animal Kingdom with Angie, completing an Everything in Disney World episode, and we both were rushing to Hollywood Studios to see if we could make it in for the 8PM showing of Fantasmic!

The stars aligned and we made it in just in time, and the show started right as we sat down! For backstory purposes, I had seen Fantasmic! once before, but I had been in middle school and don’t remember anything from that trip, so I was counting this as my first time seeing it. Everything appeared to be progressing as normal — Emma and I both teared up at the Frozen section, I mouthed along to “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, and then I excitedly was turning to her to say “Is the dragon about to come out?” a few minutes later when the music changed.

But the dragon DIDN’T come out! That was our first sign that something wasn’t working properly, and was the only sign I actually recognized! However, it was really cool to see the actor playing Maleficent go SO HIGH in the air, and the show went on as normal!

Fantasmic! Dragon (how it normally looks!)

After the show, Emma pointed three additional moments out to me that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, but she clocked since she’s seen the show so much — when the Disney characters are all on the ferry boat and doing their final number, they usually have ribbons and do specific choreography. In this case, the characters just waved to guests and didn’t have their ribbons.

At the end of the show, there were no fireworks, and Emma explained to me that Sorcerer Mickey at the top of the stage didn’t drop as quickly as he normally does, also resulting in “regular” Mickey not popping up as fast down at the bottom. I will admit that because there weren’t any fireworks at the end, it didn’t pack the same emotional punch as I was expecting, but I’m looking forward to seeing the show again and hopefully seeing it in its full working capacity! Want to see Emma and I talk more about the show and our thoughts? Check out the AllEars YouTube episode below!

I feel like I’m always experiencing things in Disney World for the first time, and I write about all of them here, so stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney World news!