With so many streaming options available these days, it feels like going to a theater to watch a movie is a lost art. Some would say that they would rather stay home and watch movies. They would even claim that they can get the same experience from the comfort of their couch. Well, they’ve never been to a movie at Disney’s El Capitan Theatre.
Known as Disney’s Home on Hollywood Boulevard, the El Capitan Theatre hosts all kinds of live stage shows, world premieres, and other events. It’s all enhanced with state-of-the-art technology and the Disney magic we all know and love. It feels like a movie going experience and a Disney attraction all rolled into one.
Just yesterday, I attended one such event at the El Capitan Theatre. About this time of year, the venue has their annual screening of, in my opinion, the best Halloween and Christmas movie of all time: The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The El Capitan Theatre is transformed and feels a little like the Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction at Disneyland. The lobby is fully of Nightmare Before Christmas decorations, including the original Jack Skellington head used at the Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction in the Stretching Room (before the digital update).
Inside the theatre itself, you can see lots of decorations from the movie: buildings from Halloween Town and Jack’s version of Christmas all over. The best part was that the event was in 4-D. That meant that it had your traditional 3-D glasses for the film, but also the decorations and lights around the theatre would also react to different scenes in the film. It certainly felt like a next level movie experience. Also, it felt so good hearing the welcome from Oogie Boogie himself before the film. It was a reminder of the fact that the late great Ken Page, the man who gave us Oogie’s iconic voice, will never be truly gone.
Before the film, we had the pleasure of listening to famed organist Rob Richards. Richards has played at the theatre for the last 22 years, and the organ he played is a Mighty Wurlitzer 4/37, which was originally inside the San Francisco Fox Theater in 1929 (it has been at the El Capitan since 1999). It was amazing hearing him play songs from the film and the soundtrack from the Haunted Mansion ride (the songs from Phantom of the Opera felt out of place, but it was still a pleasure to hear it).
Overall, it was a tremendous experience. This was my second time at the El Capitan Theatre, and it has been so much fun that I can’t wait to go back. For those that have never been to the El Capitan, it is an amazing experience, and you have to try it at least once. I look forward to returning soon and, in the words of Anton Ego from Ratatouille, “hungry for more…”
