Admit it. You either love 3-D movies or you don’t. The 3-D movies that are highly popular these days in Central Florida are Shrek 4-D and Mickey’s PhilharMagic. What makes these 2 different, yet very similar, attractions favorites among many Disney and Universal fans today? The quality, special effects, and overall presentation of the 3-D attractions help contribute to the answer.

Shrek 4-D opened on June 11, 2003. The film, although appealing to all families, contains some corny jokes and over-the-top humor with little to no theming inside the theater itself. However, the film and the pre-show presentations help to make this attraction unique. While in the pre-show you are led to believe you are going to be tortured, the theater does not follow up on the storyline of the pre-show encounter. With only water sprays, “spiders”, and moving seats that tilt and jar in the action-packed sequences of the film, Shrek delivers the promise of being a “Grade A-quality” 3-D attraction for Universal Studios. However, there is one film over at the Magic Kingdom that happens to destroy, if I dare to say, Shrek.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic opened in fall 2004 with rave reviews by the media and park guests! Utilizing features that appeal to the sense of smell and our sense of humor, Mickey’s PhilharMagic exceeds the expectations of many theme park enthusiasts’ beliefs on what truly makes a great 3-D attraction. During the show, PhilharMagic utilizes scents such as apple pie and sweets to entice our sense of smell and to also make us hungry. Its 3-D effects happen to the best effects I have seen overall. PhilharMagic promises to entertain families of all ages with its humor from Donald Duck and appearances by some of Disney’s beloved characters from classic movies, including “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”

The question is—why can we consider PhilharMagic better than Shrek? Many readers and theme park enthusiasts will say it’s because PhilharMagic has extra effects and the 3-D is done much better than Shrek. Instead of arguing this, I believe this statement to be true. While Shrek is a personal favorite of mine, I am not allowing my personal attachment over one attraction interfere with what I feel about the other. PhilharMagic has state-of-the-art effects, 3-D projection that is 100% better than Shrek’s, and an overall storyline that carries throughout the attraction and queue line.

In conclusion, Shrek 4-D and Mickey’s PhilharMagic continue to provide excellent and above and beyond experiences for everyone that visit the attractions. Day in and day out, people leave with a smile on their face knowing that they have experienced something that they truly loved and plan on making repeat visits during their stay at the parks.