Saw SpectroMagic Parade for first time.
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We never got to see the Main Street Electrical Parade. How was it different from SpectroMagic?
April, 1998 Coronado Springs
April, 2001 Coronado Springs
January, 2004 All-Star Sports
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April, 2001 Coronado Springs
January, 2004 All-Star Sports
July, 2005 Caribbean Beach Resort
April, 2006 Pop Century
December, 2006 All-Star Sports
March, 2008 All-Star Movies
April, 2009 All-Star Music
August, 2010 Disney's Swan Resort
August, 2014 Off Property - Caribe Royale
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- Mike Fink Keel Boats Boatswain
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You know what, I absolutely adore both. Both parades have a special place in my heart for the following reasons
MSEP opened my eyes to Disney. When first went as an adult to WDW I was a cynical 20something who was convinced that the best things to do in Florida were Busch, Universal, Sea World etc. Disney didn't have that much appeal to me. The first time I arrived in MK MSEP had just started. I could not believe what I was experiencing. From then on I have only ever wanted to holiday in Disney
I first saw Spectro on my Honeymoon in 2005. Me and my wife saw it almost every night. I get so emotional when I hear the music. It has a special place in both of our hearts

MSEP opened my eyes to Disney. When first went as an adult to WDW I was a cynical 20something who was convinced that the best things to do in Florida were Busch, Universal, Sea World etc. Disney didn't have that much appeal to me. The first time I arrived in MK MSEP had just started. I could not believe what I was experiencing. From then on I have only ever wanted to holiday in Disney

I first saw Spectro on my Honeymoon in 2005. Me and my wife saw it almost every night. I get so emotional when I hear the music. It has a special place in both of our hearts


1980, 2000, 2005 and 2008 all had plenty of magic. Hoping for a bit more in 2010.
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- Mark Twain Steamboat Captain
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Come on now, of course something that's older may seem inferior. However, I wouldn't say SpectroMagic is a better product. The technology is wonderful, but IMO the parade lacks character. On the other hand I like Wishes more than Fantasy in the Sky. It's just a personal preference that has nothing to do with how old a show is.spectromagic is much better than MSEP. its like comparing wishes to fnatasy in the sky.....a much better product
MSEP has run at every Disney park and has so many fans that getting rid of it may have caused riots. SpectroMagic has only run at Magic Kingdom. That should say something right there.
In any case I don't think judging things by their predecessors is fair. You have to view them, taking into consideration the technology of the time. MSEP, SpectroMagic, Fasntasy and Wishes were all groundbreaking for their time. Doesn't mean anyone of them was better than another.
It's kind of difficult to describe the differences, they both have very different feels to them. The impressions I get from them are that MSEP is supposed to be "fun" while SpectroMagic is supposed to be "beautiful". While MSEP has a very neat synthesizer theme, Spectromagic has this wonderful orchestra theme with vocals at some points. The major difference is the technology. Most of MSEPs lights are of the same type. SpectroMagic has many different kinds of lights. It also has some other cool effects (stolen from Fantillusion?We never got to see the Main Street Electrical Parade. How was it different from SpectroMagic?

I think that's why I don't like SpectroMagic as much. Today's Disney shows always have to end in a big finale with all the Disney characters. I think that really takes away from the heart of the show and makes all the shows more generic. It's almost become expected to have a finale with all the characters now.
As a side note, Tokyo's MSEP: Dream Lights is sort of a combination between the classic MSEP and the technolgoy of SpectroMagic, if anyone's ever wondered what would happen if the two parades combined.
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When I saw spectromagic for the first time I was disapointed that msep was no longer at wdw, so I think that influenced my feelings at first. Now I absolutely love it! Everything about it. We had been watching by the castle one night, it was one of the times when it was run right at closing time, and we had no idea that a parade was about to happen. It was 10pm, and as far as we were concerned the park was closing, so we were getting ready to head toward Main street. It was such a treat! As the parade was coming to an end we noticed some Castmembers with brooms getting ready to clean up. They were dancing with their brooms to the Spectromagic music, and doing an incredible job, it was so sweet and spontanious. Something I will never forget 
