The Disney Parks Live-Entertainment Bracket -- Round One, Day Eight

Closing up the first round with one more set of polls.

Good morning, friends, and I hope you’re ready for the week. (Out in Phoenix, we’re having a rare bit of gloomy weather — rain and clouds for most of the weekend, and today as well.) It’s a busy week for me just in general, including a visit to Pandora (and not because I’m going to Animal Kingdom). So with that, I don’t want to waste any time. We have brackets to dive into, so let’s go! (And as always — if you want to vote, you gotta subscribe first.)

(2) Mickey and the Magical Map vs. (15) Mariachi Cobre: Honestly, I miss Mickey and the Magical Map, and wish it had not been retired over the last few years. (The Fantasyland Theatre, where it used to be performed, is now a post-pandemic home to Tales of the Lion King, a fairly lively show inspired by a film whose name I just can’t remember.) So I vote for Mickey and friends.

(7) Fantasy in the Sky vs. (10) Disney’s Spirit of Aloha: An honest man must admit the things he enjoys, and I am an honest man who enjoys the bastardization of Hawaiian culture. (I mean, if we’re being direct about it.) Glibness aside, I really dig the vibe and spirit of Adventureland in both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, and though I have not yet experienced the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian, I vote for it out of sheer enjoyment of its own vibe. (Hey, you know what else was a vibe? Not 1939. Points if you get the reference. Anyway.)

(3) Remember Dreams Come True vs. (14) Royal Street Bachelors: Though I visited Disneyland one time back when I was a little boy who wanted to be a big boy (circa 1990), my memories of that trip are pretty hazy. So in many ways, my first real visit to the Disneyland Resort came in 2009 when Remember Dreams Come True was in full swing at Disneyland Park itself. The show, narrated by the incomparable Julie Andrews, remains one of my favorite fireworks shows. Is it because it’s the first one I truly remember from my many trips? Who’s to say? But it gets my vote, at least for now.

(6) Dapper Dans (Disneyland) vs. (11) Red Car Newsboys: I have already shared my preference in one of these first-round matchups for the Dapper Dans (the Orlando version), so I will lean here towards the Red Car Trolley Newsboys, who can still be found in Disney California Adventure.

I’ve gone on record on Twitter about how much I adore Buena Vista Street leading into Hollywood Land, and part of the aesthetic and atmospheric enjoyment I get is from the existence of the trolley and the Newsies-inspired performers. (This, in spite of thinking Newsies the movie is pretty terrible.) But that’s me — time for you to vote.