I've seen some great shows in my day: July 04 displays that end with a barrage of shells made me think the night sky was noontime. And the deafening explosions rang in my ears until I'd finished the long walk back to the car.
One memorable show was on the Philadelphia Parkway, in front of the Art Museum. The power of the explosions was so forceful, I felt the legs of my shorts being tugged with every shot, moving on their own from the sudden changes in air pressure.
But only one fireworks show stands out as truly unforgettable.
And not surprisingly, it was courtesy of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Orlando.
I had heard about this show, which blazed nightly over World Showcase Lagoon in EPCOT. I'd heard about the power of the music and the use of multiple visuals including fountains, lasers, fire, barges and projections to create a fireworks show unlike any other.
What I wasn't prepared for was the sheer emotional wallop this show packed. At least for me.
We first saw it when Kristin was very young; in fact, she spent most of the performance cowering in Eileen's shoulder to escape the sheer power of the audio and visuals.
I, however, was rapt.
From the impressive opening, whose narration about the power of gathering to share stories, ended with the whimsical blowing out of a ring of giant torches, ala a massive birthday cake.
The music then took over, full of chaos and fury but evolving into a four-movement symphony that helps the story unfold. It covers the dynamic range of fortississismo (that's three fs, people) to pianississimo (three ps) and back again. Its time signatures swung between syncopated measures of 5/8 and 3/8 to calmer sections of 6/8 to bouncy measures of a more traditional sounding 4/4.
The accompanying visuals were showers of sparks, explosions of color, bursts of fire, beams of light and video images on the large globe that had been floated to the middle of the lagoon.
After the dazzling finale, it segued into two vocal selections ("We Go On" and "Promise") before the final exit music.
Eileen was rather distracted as Kristin was freaking out, and Amanda was somewhat nonplussed by it all. But I remember Claire looking up at me as it ended, with tears streaming down her cheeks (matching my own waterworks, fyi). When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "The magic's all over."
To this day, I'm not sure if she meant the magic of the fireworks display or the magic of the entire trip, which was indeed ending, as we were departing the following morning.
We got back to Disney a handful of years later and Illuminations was must-see. Kristin was much calmer this time and enjoyed herself.
Somewhere along the line, I acquired an EPCOT soundtrack, and the Illuminations music remains to this day a favorite. I play it in the car loud enough to strain my speaker system. But it still moves me.
Illuminations is on its way out, according to the Disney folks. The lagoon at EPCOT is due for a refresh, and with it will come a new show. And I suppose that's as it should be. "We Go On" is more than just a theme song to an evening entertainment extravaganza; it's a viewpoint for all of Walt Disney World.
And life in general, I suppose.
So tomorrow night, July 04, I will stand with neighbors and family at our local golf course, stare at the sky and oooh and aaah.
But somewhere deep, I'll wish I was in Florida once again being literally blown away by a fireworks show.
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