It's kind of sad when one element of a show that's been running for 17 years at Disneyland gets upgraded ALMOST to what was promised in it's original ads, and the fans go CRAZY!

These people's heads would explode if Disney actually built something new...

See? Disney is thinking of the children. Don't want heads exploding at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Ditto to much of what iSm said above. The new Fantasmic! dragon was the star of the evening. The crowds who gathered around Rivers of America loudly cheered as Maleficent first appeared (because they knew her transformation was coming, of course), and then applause exploded when the reluctant dragon finally came out for the world to see. From the timing of the applause, you could tell there were plenty of eager, dedicated dragon-watcher, Disney fans in attendance--which made it exciting to give the wonderful Fantasmic! show a renewed energy.

Side note, I shot the video on the "Pirates" bridge for a more clear view of the dragon to avoid videotaping the back of people's heads. Even though that location was several feet away from the river's edge, the volume of the cheering crowds was evident.

Of course, you all need to fully experience the whole show in person to truly be in awe of the dragon as it fits in with the rest of the show--but, as Disney fans, you know that already. :)

Also, from different photos and videos posted on various boards, it can be interesting to see the dragon from different sides of the river. Next time, I may try being in the audience's far left, closer to Haunted Mansion, to see the dragon menacing over Mickey the Brave Little Tailor, as seen in THIS POST on MC.

And, yeah, a LoT viewing of the updated Fantasmic! would be great! Twirling napkins in unison would be a bonus! :D

Silly Disney, they could have avoided months of bad press and disappointed fans if they had just announced that Pete's Dragon would fill in for Murphy during the down time.

Not particularly impressed by the video. Just looks like a moderately animated car sale balloon. I'm sure it plays better in person and with fire.

The other thing it made me realize is that I am completely unable to picture in my mind what the dragon looked like before, but I know I never found it disappointing.

Yeah I'm thinking the scale of the thing is probably impressive when you see it in person. Hopefully it won't look so much "like a moderately animated car sale balloon" when you're actually there. It's still exciting though, especially after all the build-up.

I'm down for camping out sometime. That's why the Nintendo DS and those bizarre rectangular doohickeys called "books" were invented.

A common mistake, those things are called "Kindles" now.

Something like a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Dragon?

I can't see the video from here at work (trying to decide if it will be a real flailing tube or that bit from Family Guy) but I"m thinking along the lines of this:

OMG he's dressed as the Brave Little Tailor, isn't he? All these years I just thought he was dressed as Prince Phillip. What a bad Disney fan I am.