Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular Appreciation Post

For my first full-length weekly blog post, I am going to pay homage to one of my all-time favorite attractions ever at Disneyland.  Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular was an awesome stage show that played in California Adventure for over ten years.  Unfortunately, if you ever wanted to see this show, it closed just over a year ago in January 2016 to make room for (surprise, surprise) a Frozen stage show.  Now, to be fair, I have not gotten a chance to see the Frozen show, but from what I’ve heard, it is very good.  Still, it won’t be able to replace what used to be.  But I digress.  

Aladdin was one of my favorite things to see at Disneyland for a lot of reasons.  As a musical theatre kid, I always enjoy going to see a good musical.  This show was an abridged version of the movie, with a few minor tweaks to allow fit into a 45-minute run time.  It had the great songs from the original movie, as well as gorgeous sets and fun choreography (which included a whole ensemble dressed as the Genie during the dance break of “Friend Like Me”).  And of course, it had a flying carpet.  But I think one of the best parts of the show was the Genie.

The Genie was hilarious.  True to the original, I think he must of ad-libbed his lines at least part of the time, since I saw the show multiple times during its run (on different trips to the park), and the show was different every time.  He made references to pop culture and current events, he broke the fourth wall, and he kept the audience laughing almost the entire time he was on stage.  On top of that, the carpet (who was played by an actor) often acted as his sidekick, making jokes without ever having to say a word.  I remember one time the Genie, after hearing that Aladdin was not going to use his third wish to set him free, yelled, “Better talk to the left hand, cause you ain’t right!”, while snapping his fingers before storming offstage.  The carpet then mimicked his actions, glared at Aladdin, and followed his friend off.  

(start at 7:15)

One of my other favorite Genie jokes happened during a different show, at the same place in the story.  When the audience began booing Aladdin, the Genie pointed to them before informing Aladdin that “those are my thoughts!”  Another good Genie-ism happened right after Jafar was made Sultan.  It went something along the lines of: “So now you're the Sultan, and if your last name was Pepper-shaker, you would be Sultan Pepper-shaker!”  Or the time when he asked Jafar if he would like to build a snowman (Genie: It doesn’t have to be a snowman.  Jafar glares at him. Genie: Okay, bye.).

So in conclusion, Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular at California Adventure was one of the most wonderful attractions at Disneyland during its thirteen year run.  And while I wish the Frozen show the best and am sure that it also a great show, Aladdin will always have a special place in my heart.