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Alice2marie
02-24-2011, 03:50 PM
As a child a remember a small "show" in front of King Arthurs Carousel where Merlin the Magician asks people to gather around and see if anyone can pull the sword from the stone. I am taking my kids to Disneyland in a few weeks and was wondering if they still do this. I didn't see it on the entertainment schedule, but wondered if it was big enough to be on there. Does anyone have any information on this?

Tan Da Man
02-24-2011, 04:12 PM
Nope, Merlin has been gone for awhile. The last merlin got promoted to a management position in entertainment years ago and they havent hired a new one since.

mkraemer
02-24-2011, 04:17 PM
I'm still terribly sad that the Sword in the Stone ceremony stopped being performed. I thought it was one of the most charming things at Disneyland. It always seemed really popular.

Two of my kids were picked by Merlin and, surprise surprise!, managed to pull the sword when the big hefty guy couldn't. Their proclamations are framed and hang in our hallway, along with their medallions. Those are some really special memories...sigh...

Grandpa Louie
02-24-2011, 05:14 PM
My daughter pulled the sword from the stone 25 +/- years ago. The framed certificate and Polaroid are still in her room.

Mouseketeer1955
02-24-2011, 11:11 PM
My daughter pulled the sword from the stone 25 +/- years ago. The framed certificate and Polaroid are still in her room.

I remember the day my daughter was chosen, and she pulled the sword out of the stone. She was watching the boys as they tugged and pushed, and when she was chosen, she was happy, but when the sword moved, her eyes got as big as baseballs and she was absolutely surprised.

She also still has her picture. As a matter of fact, I think it was about 25 years for her as well.

Alice2marie
02-25-2011, 07:36 AM
Bummer. I really thought that was a great example of a Disney Magical Moment. To bad. It seems like a lot of those kind of things are getting lost in time. Thank you to eveyone for sharing their memories. I never got chosen, but I loved watching those who did.

John
02-26-2011, 07:51 AM
My DD was picked on two consecutive visits, one year apart, in 1990 and 91. (Guess lightning can strike twice.) Still have the framed certificates, photos and buttons.

tylerbo20
02-26-2011, 01:05 PM
i watched the event a few years back for the 50th birthday and the year after i went and saw it. so its just been a few years since they canned that..i wonder why

Tan Da Man
02-26-2011, 02:50 PM
I told you why, they dont have any CM's casted to play Merlin

grumpiestfan
02-28-2011, 07:38 AM
I told you why, they dont have any CM's casted to play Merlin

But if they wanted to cast someone as Merlin I am sure they could.

DwarfPlanet
02-28-2011, 10:30 AM
I read an article awhile back that stated they were doing away with Merlin and the Sword pulling ceremony not that its just awaiting a new CM.

danyoung
02-28-2011, 11:25 AM
I told you why, they dont have any CM's casted to play Merlin

This isn't a reason. They could easily hire someone to play the part, but they haven't. Probably a budget cutback. Too bad.

David Koenig
02-28-2011, 12:16 PM
Merlin's Unofficial Retirement Notice:
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/blog.php?b=478

Imaginears
03-01-2011, 03:08 PM
As a youngster, I have to admit that I simply couldn't be bothered to stop and watch this show when there were so many rides to go on and so little time to ride them over and over again!!!

But I must admit that now that I have a little nephew, I wouldn't mind seeing it come back! I'd LOVE to see his expression if he got picked to pull out the sword and succeeded!!! Talk about a photo op!!!

Grandpa Louie
03-03-2011, 01:05 PM
My DD was picked on two consecutive visits, one year apart, in 1990 and 91. (Guess lightning can strike twice.) Still have the framed certificates, photos and buttons.


Although my daughter only did the Sword in the Stone once at that time in her life she seemed to get picked for every show at Seaworld, she even did the dolphin show at Knott's Berry Farm.

zombie pirate
03-03-2011, 02:58 PM
A little interesting side note to the Sword and Stone show, they used to release white doves, or pigeons durning the show, but had to stop it because local falcons found it to be a easy meal. But it was a great show.

Sosai X
03-03-2011, 11:10 PM
Team Disney Anaheim finds it preferable to pay a cast member to sell hoodies and glow-in-the-dark robots, rather than pay them to do high-quality live entertainment for guests. Look at the Fantasyland Theater. The once-extravagant shows are gone, and the space is now used to sell princess makeovers. Live entertainment is a rare beast at Disneyland, TDA would end it all if they could. I'm sure they would love to find another place to spend the $80,000 a day it costs to run Fantasmic. But the guest outcry would be so great, they don't dare.

danyoung
03-04-2011, 03:43 AM
A little interesting side note to the Sword and Stone show, they used to release white doves, or pigeons durning the show, but had to stop it because local falcons found it to be a easy meal. But it was a great show.

I know this happened in Florida. Did it happen in SoCal as well?

mkraemer
03-04-2011, 07:38 AM
I keep thinking about the lack of this magical experience, and having the sword in the stone at the parks seem sort of pointless now, doesn't it? Really, people can go try to pull it out and fail, but to be there at the moment when some little kid manages to do it was so cool...

familymemories
03-13-2011, 12:16 PM
We were bummed when they took the Sword and The Stone Show out. We loved watching it, even though our kids were never picked.

MichaelaHansen
03-16-2011, 03:08 PM
So sad, he was one of my favorites... :(

houseofmouse
03-17-2011, 07:12 AM
We watched many many times over the years and even when my kids weren't with me, we watched. I loved seeing the look on the kids faces when they got picked to pull the sword!

I hope DL one day realizes that they need to stop trying to sell so much junk and repeat merchandise all over the park and put in more entertainment again!

bubsy
03-19-2011, 03:40 PM
About 20 years ago(omg! how did that happen?!) my Dad was picked to be the big strong guy who couldn't pull the sword out, I was a teenager and knew the shtick, but I loved it. I still remember what he wore - the Grateful Dead Lithuanian tie-dyed Basketball Team tank. Anyway, he just turned 59 yesterday. It's a good memory.

Sad that they eliminated Merlin. I have a newfound appreciation for the movie.

artvixen
05-03-2011, 06:58 AM
It's just your old friend Rhonda here trying to figure out where you might look and see the SOS I'm trying to send you - I can't find you on any other social media, and apparently the smoke signals and carrier pigeons aren't getting to you!!! HELP! I NEED MY BRANDON! rhondazeiler@yahoo.com