Yes, that leads to some odd moments: Instead of Sorceror Mickey appearing on top of the towering mountain, his finale moment is on top of a shacklike building. Not quite as impressive.

But some of the other effects are amazing.

I scoffed at the idea of using high-definition projections on the waterscreens. "It's still water," I said. "How much better can the picture quality be?" Turns out, it can be a lot better. It's a matter of the brightness: The colors are so much more vibrant that even against a backdrop of moving water, the projections have more pop.

Another fun addition: Flotsam and Jetsam. Disneyland's "Fantasmic!" has an extended Ursula segment during the villains segment of the show. Her two henchmen (hench-eels?) make an appearance, malevolently skimming along the water (think Jet-ski or similar watercraft). Cool and different.

But, of course, the big news is the new dragon. Details and photo after the jump.

Whereas, the Disney World dragon is quite connected to the mountainside, Disneyland's new dragon seems to be a 3-D entity all its own.

Rather than black, it has the cartoonish purple tint from its movie ("Sleeping Beauty"). And it just looks more ... solid than the Disney World equivalent.

The fire effect also was more spectacular, with a steady stream of flame coming forth.

Also remarkable: Where did it come from? There's some nice stage magic in getting it on view in time.

Of course, I suppose we have Maleficent to thank for that. With this transformation, the evil witch has outdone herself.