have accomplished with these projections . Not only do they now light up Main Street in addition to the castle , but the technology has far surpassed even what we ’ ve become accustomed to in Happily Ever After .
I tried to tally all the stories I saw displayed on the world ’ s most iconic castle , but I lost count somewhere in the middle . Disney reached far and wide , showcasing heroes from Hercules , Moana , Finding Nemo , Lady and the Tramp , Zootopia , Onward , and Alice in Wonderland , to name a few .
Far and away , my favorite projection moment comes near the end . A rainbow spreads across the castle from the ground up , and just as it reaches the peak of the tallest turret ( and the music also hits a poignant crescendo ), Tinker Bell launches into the sky . Chills . Absolute chills . The kind that only Tinker Bell ( and Christina Aguilera ) can evoke .
Disney Enchantment is chock full of amazing projection moments like that , but three others deserve special recognition .
MAGICAL BEACON COCKTAIL
My ideal day at Walt Disney
World is sauntering through EPCOT , drink in hand , in search of a bite to eat and a place to park my behind to take in views of Spaceship Earth from across World Showcase . And I can be admittedly snobby when it comes to adult beverages . So when I saw that the new Magical Beacon Cocktail for WDW ’ s 50th Anniversary Celebration was a whopping $ 17 , I had my doubts .
Oh , how wrong I was . This beautifully blue gin-based drink matches the blue colors of the Celebration collection of merch that dominates the resort , but the color is made even more stunning by the keepsake glow cube inside . Walking around bioluminescent Pandora at night with this glowing drink in hand is # goals .
The Magical Beacon Cocktail is a mixture of Empress 1908 Gin ( 42.5 % ABV ), blue curacao , Minute Maid Premium Lemonade , orgeat syrup , lemon , and hibiscus grenadine . You can taste the gin ( a lot ). Still , the drink is sweet , and the lemonade flavor is refreshing on a humid Orlando day .
At $ 17 a glass , I ’ d order one on your 50th anniversary trip just for the experience — and for an in-person look at the eyecatching glow — but then switch to a cheaper cocktail , like a margarita from La Cava del Tequila .
PHOTO BY TINA CHIU
100 MAGICAL ISSUES
ABOVE : Projection mapping adds a rainbow to the castle . PHOTO BY DANNY SHUSTER