Disney is a company that re-invents itself constantly, possibly to keep the Imagineers from getting bored as they set about their tasks of creating new entertainment experiences for the parks. When the time came to retire the MSEP, the task went out; how to follow-up that enduring classic?

The answer came in the form of Light Magic, a new nighttime extravaganza that Disney hopes will become a legend just like its predecessor did. It was on Main Street that I met up with the lovely Rita Aero.

She's the author of the best-selling Walt Disney World For Adults and we talked a little about the controversy surrounding this particular show. An annual passholders preview had gone disastrously wrong and here, a week later, the show would go on again.

Disneyland Resort president Paul Pressler soon arrived with an army of children from local Boys and Girls Clubs and 11-year old Lindsay Ridgeway who portrays Morgan Matthews on the ABC-TV series "Boy Meets World". After a brief ceremony introducing the show and a song by the children on-stage, Lindsay handed everyone at the podium a "little bit of pixie dust" and they all blew onto a clutch of flowers that began to glow and sparkle. Suddenly, a bright light popped out of the petals and began swirling around in the air. Tinkerbell had arrived. She flew ten or fifteen feet to the left, then ducked and swooped towards the ground and darted off towards the heaven's before zipping towards one of the Main Street buildings and then flitting off in the opposite direction towards the castle. An astonishing sight.

Then she did a nose-dive right onto the street. Oh well, even pixies have their bad days.

With a burst of fireworks from behind Sleeping Beauty Castle, a series of parade units began moving into place along the street. Blue spotlights began sweeping over the ground as the Celtic-flavored theme began to play. A voice broke in through the celebration: "Now open the window to your dreams and enter the enchanted world of the pixies as Disneyland proudly presents...Light Magic.", and with that, the stages suddenly blaze to life in a dazzling array of fiber optics that spill right over onto the buildings around you.

Soon, with a burst of pixie dust, the fun-loving keepers of light begin a fanciful routine that reminds one of "Riverdance" in its choreography. A brass fanfare played on luminous instruments made of vines and plant leaves awakens the Disney characters who then come out to mix with the pixies. It's interesting to notice how each famous character looks when they're prepared for bed. Timon, the quintessential frump, shows up in a single curler for his bangs.

After showing the visitors their magical pixie dust, the dancing spirits lead our Disney favorites in a medley of familiar tunes that get a Scottish/Irish arrangement. Featured are "Topsy, Turvy Day", "Little April Shower", "Be Our Guest", "Step In Time" and even a cameo musical appearance by "Baroque Hoedown".

When a summer shower threatens to curtail the festivities, mist fills the stages to reveal clouds and animated images from classic Disney films.

The main theme, "Dream Our Dreams" comes back to wrap up the show which sees the floats moving along to prepare for the next performance.

64 pixies and 32 Disney characters can be seen in each show, which performs four times nightly beginning May 23rd. The show lasts approximately 20 minutes including set-up and move-out. Each stage is 80 feet long, 11 feet wide and 25 feet high and are laced with special effects including fiber optics, star strobes, smoke effects, confetti cannons and computerized lighting. The new score is by Disneyland music director Bruce Healey and lyrics are by Tom Child

Light Magic is no Main Street Electrical Parade, but it's unfair to compare the two. What you'll get when you experience this show is a lot of energy and color, great Disney music and the encouragement that "dreams do come true".