World of Color

This article is about the present-day show at Disney California Adventure. For the television series known as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color from 1961–1969, see Walt Disney anthology television series.
Disney's World of Color

An overview of some of the show's 1200 fountains
Disney California Adventure
Area Paradise Bay
Status Operating
Soft opening date June 10, 2010
Opening date June 11, 2010
Replaced Disney's LuminAria
General statistics
Attraction type Hydrotechnic show
Designer Walt Disney Creative Entertainment
Theme Disney's animated and live-action films and television series
Music Arrangements by Mark Hammond and David Hamilton (original version)
DLS Music (Winter Dreams & Season of Light)
John Debney[1] (Celebrate!)
Duration 27 minutes (original)
21:30 minutes[2] (Celebrate!)
Number of fountains 1,200+

World of Color is a nighttime show at Disney California Adventure, part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Conceived by Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, and designed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, the show has nearly 1,200 musical water fountains[3] and includes lights, fire, lasers, and fog, with high-definition projections on mist screens. The show is inspired by Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color anthology television series, as evidenced by the use of its eponymous theme song written by the Sherman Brothers.[4]

The process of assembling, installing, and testing the show's numerous components and equipment in Paradise Bay spanned a period of approximately 15 months. The original version of World of Color premiered on June 11, 2010 as part of the "Summer Nightastic!" promotional campaign. The entire show cost $75 million to design, manufacture and build.[5]

The show transpires at the lagoon of Paradise Bay at Paradise Pier, while the audience watches the performance at the Paradise Park viewing area in front of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure attraction. Other nearby attractions such Mickey's Fun Wheel and California Screamin' become part of the performance as they undergo various forms of lighting and projections throughout the show. The effects utilized in World of Color (water fountains, mist screens, fire, lasers, lighting, and fog) are choreographed to work in synchronicity with the featured music and image projections.

Construction and development

The show's hidden control room backstage

The show was first announced as part of the Disney California Adventure Park expansion in the fall of 2007. Construction for the water show began with the draining of the lagoon on November 3, 2008. Construction on the platform began on January 5, 2009. The water was refilled in Paradise Bay in November 2009. Testing began during and after park hours in January 2010. A 25-minute video of sequences from the show was posted on YouTube by a hotel guest staying at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, on April 7, 2010. The first public performance was held on June 5, 2010 for the creators of the show and guests. In the week leading up to June 11, private viewings for cast members, contest winners, and a celebrity-filled World Premiere took place.

Show elements

Pyrotechnics are combined with colored water fountains to create the show.

The show uses nearly 1,200 fountains[6] that can shoot water up to 200 ft (61 m) in the air. Each fountain is equipped with an LED light ring. Other water features include a 380-foot (120 m)-long mist screen on which images are projected (similar but smaller screens are used in Fantasmic! at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida). Isopar instruments are capable of shooting flames up to 50 ft (15 m) in the air.[7] Fog and lasers are used.[8] Projection domes emerge from the water atop telescopic masts and feature lighting effects and video projected onto the inside surface of the domes, and laser and video projections are made onto the sun icon behind California Screamin's vertical loop.[9] A 65' tall telescopic mast[10] was installed in the lagoon to create Chernabog of Fantasia, but the tower has not been used in the show. The LED lights on Mickey's Fun Wheel, as well as LED lights installed on California Screamin', are synchronized to the show.

Light trees rise from boxes bordering Paradise Bay. The light trees bordering the viewing area and the bay include speakers, bubble machines, infrared transmitters and a handful of VariLite lighting fixtures. On either side of the bay, there is an additional light tree with five Syncrolite fixtures. The viewing area, known as Paradise Park, is situated along the northern shore of Paradise Bay, and can hold up to 4,000 spectators at full capacity. It is multi-tiered, similar to the viewing area for Fantasmic at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It features trellises, flowers, and an interactive play fountain during the day. Hidden fountains located in the flower beds in the viewing area are incorporated into show.[11] When World of Color Celebrate was being programmed, a large scrim shaped like Mickeys head was added to be raised to cover the face on Mickeys Fun Wheel giving the show another projection surface. On nights where winds are too strong, the scrim is not pulled up and some projections seen on the Fun Wheel head show up on Screamin's loop area instead. The fountains on the flower beds in the viewing area were replaced by smoke shooters and additional shooters were placed on the edge of the viewing area on the water. Each shooter has their own LED light rings like the fountains do.

From the show's conception, all versions have presented footage from the Walt Disney Studios library, including films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm.

Synopses

World of Color

Special animation sequences were created using paper animation by paper artist Megan Brain, who created many characters for the show.[12] Mark Hammond and Dave Hamilton arranged the music, which was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and The Nashville Choir.[13]

The show begins with Dick Wesson's original introduction to Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. A quote from Walt Disney appears on the center mist screen; "Every child is blessed with a vivid imagination", and the theme song transforms into the reworked version for World of Color. As the introduction concludes, a projection of Ariel before a sunset, stretches across the mist screens. The show enters The Little Mermaid portion, with Ariel and Sebastian singing "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea", respectively. On the last note of "Under the Sea", Crush and Squirt from Finding Nemo are seen traveling on the East Australian Current, as the water fountains begin to portray the characteristics of rough surf. As the final breaking wave clears, the scene with Marlin and Dory encountering the blue whale from the film plays out. As the duo attempt to escape, the scene transitions into the "Pines of Rome" segment from Fantasia 2000. The bay gradually transforms into an outer space environment as Eve and WALL-E from WALL-E appear and re-enact their "Define Dancing" scene. WALL-E, equipped with a fire extinguisher, sprays it throughout the lagoon, forming small clouds as a result. The clouds eventually re-create Andy's room from Toy Story, with Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear appearing shortly thereafter on Andy's bed. Woody rebuffs Buzz's ability to fly, thus Buzz attempts to disprove him and Andy's room is suddenly changed into a battle between Buzz and Emperor Zurg from Toy Story 2.

As the bay clears, Carl Fredrickson's house from Up briefly makes an appearance before the setting transitions into Aladdin. With the night sky recreated on the bay, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine perform "A Whole New World" together, until the Genie abruptly appears and takes control of the show by performing "Friend Like Me". Once the Genie disappears, the Spring Sprite from Fantasia 2000 transforms the bay into a lush forest, where Pocahontas appears, singing "Just Around the Riverbend". The Pocahontas segment ends with a dramatic fountain overlay set to "Colors of the Wind".

After a brief pause, Heimlich from A Bug's Life arrives, informing the audience of an approaching thunderstorm. The storm rapidly intensifies into the thunderstorm scene from The Old Mill, accompanied by an unsettling instrumental version of "Little April Showers" from Bambi. As the storm dissipates, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean emerges from the shadows and "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" is faintly heard. Suddenly, the bay turns blood-red as fountains and flames of fire are orchestrated in tandem with "He's a Pirate". Battle scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean series are projected onto the mist screens before transcending into a sequence dominated by jets of fire.[Note 1] Once the Pirates of the Caribbean act concludes,[Note 2] the atmosphere of the show's narrative darkens and Mufasa's death scene from The Lion King unfolds erratically on the bay.

After a brief moment of silence, the show enters its climax. "So Close" from Enchanted plays as touching scenes from Disney's animated films (including The Lion King, Bambi, Dumbo, Tangled,[Note 3] Lady and the Tramp, The Princess and the Frog and Beauty and the Beast) are projected. The transformation scene from Beauty and the Beast takes place, being followed by other famous moments from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Frog and Cinderella. Immediately following Cinderella, the fountains and lighting turn white and the lagoon fades into darkness. The fountains then slowly begin to regain momentum as they swirl around the lagoon, until Tinker Bell appears to enchant the bay, which suddenly blossoms into a myriad of colors. Entering the show's finale, a reprisal of "The Wonderful World of Color" is heard as the bay becomes host to a kaleidoscopic montage of films, some of which were earlier components of the show (including Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Toy Story, Aladdin, Fantasia 2000, Pocahontas, The Old Mill, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch and The Princess and the Frog). Mickey Mouse then appears in his iconic "Sorcerer's Apprentice" attire from Fantasia and the show concludes with a final series of water, fire, laser and light orchestrations.[Note 4]

Notes:

  • Note 1. ^ The Pirates of the Caribbean sequence was extended from May 20, 2011 to June 15, 2012 to promote the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[14]
  • Note 2. ^ The original show had a sequence composed of the "Firebird Suite" (from Fantasia 2000), "Night on Bald Mountain" (from Fantasia) and "Hellfire" (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame). It was replaced by the extended Pirates of the Caribbean sequences and has not been restored to the show since 2011. But this has been used in "Villains Night Out!" Halloween mini-parade at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2016, as Maleficent morph into a ferocious dragon, determined to claim the castle as her own and invited more villains.
  • Note 3. ^ Replaced Tarzan on May 20, 2011.
  • Note 4. ^ The finale was followed by an encore promoting the release of Tron: Legacy. It ran from October 29, 2010 to March 23, 2011.

Original planned version

The World of Color logo projected via laser onto a mist screen

Early plans also called for a small orange fountain, named Little Squirt, that was meant to embody Walt Disney's artistic and mischievous spirit,[15] and appear throughout the show. Instead, during the post-show, after all the other fountains turn off, the little orange fountain remains on for a couple seconds as it bows to the audience, then disappears.

A video of a run-through of the show leaked onto the Internet on April 7, 2010. There had been a few changes to the show from the synopsis that had been disclosed for Disney fans in September 2009. Sequences featuring Alice in Wonderland, the Firebird, and Dr. Facilier were missing, the Pocahontas/Heimlich/Little April Showers segment was placed after "A Whole New World," and new Hercules and Pirates of the Caribbean segments had been added.[16] It was also rumored that Disney CEO Robert Iger wanted a more contemporary soundtrack and that the show was being reworked.[17] Many of these changes were confirmed when a second video of a run-through leaked onto the Internet.[18]

Disney launched a website for World of Color containing interactive features, pictures of on-site testing, and videos. The theme song to "World of Color" has also been posted on the Disneyland website.[19] Although videos of testing have been leaked online, the site shows both the extensive Alice in Wonderland and The Princess and the Frog segments of the show that were said to have been cut. The site was launched after leaked videos of testing were posted.[20] Even more edits have been made, including extending "Part of Your World" and "A Whole New World" to include the verses, cutting "Go the Distance" in favor of "Friend Like Me," and the return of "Firebird."

Singer-songwriter Amy Grant was going to provide lead vocals for the show's rendition of "The Wonderful World of Color"[21] but was ultimately replaced in the studio and is not heard in the final version.[22][23]

Encore scene additions

A closeup of the individual fountain nozzles.

On October 29, 2010, previews for an encore scene promoting Tron: Legacy began, using additional projections and effects on the California Screamin' structure along with improved use of Paradise Park and Mickey's Fun Wheel lighting in a reworked trailer sequence. The scene was added to the show on November 1, 2010 and was discontinued in March 2011. On May 20, The Pirates of the Caribbean segment was expanded to include scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and was discontinued on June 15, 2012, the same day that a sequence incorporating Brave premiered.[24]

Beginning in 2011 for the Fourth of July season, from July 1 to 4, a special Independence Day preshow was added.[25] The Independence Day preshow utilizes fireworks, which the normal show does not use, such as pyro launches from barges on Paradise Pier, atop of the Toy Story Midway Mania show building, and backstage behind California Screamin'. In addition, the patriotic music for the pre-show borrows selections from Disney's Celebrate America, the Fourth of July fireworks show that is presented at the adjacent Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park.

On November 11, Disney unveiled a holiday themed intro based on Prep & Landing for the 2011 Christmas season, and to commemorate their 1000th show.[26][27]

On December 3, 2011, Blizzard Entertainment held their annual Christmas party at Disney California Adventure Park and for the event a custom World of Color segment was produced featuring characters and game footage from Diablo III, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, and World of Warcraft.[28]

World of Color: Winter Dreams

From November 15, 2013 to January 6, 2014, a full-length show titled World of Color: Winter Dreams debuted. Hosted by Olaf (Josh Gad), the show celebrates the winter season with several holiday-themed segments, featuring scenes from Frozen, Toy Story, Bambi, Fantasia, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Prep and Landing, Secret of the Wings, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Melody Time, Lady and the Tramp, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, and various vintage Mickey Mouse shorts.[29] The show incorporates traditional holiday-related music, including Eric Whitacre's "Glow",[30] "Carol of the Bells", "Let it Snow", "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Believe", "Silent Night", "Thankful", the "Nutcracker Suite", "Jingle Bells", "I Have a Little Dreidel", "Feliz Navidad", "Joy to the World", and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", as well as Disney songs, such as "I See the Light", "Let It Go" and "In Summer". The show features vocals by Heather Headley.

In November 2014, World of Color: Winter Dreams opened with a different show than its pilot year. The pre-show segment of Glow has been removed; its music plays after the post-show segment as exit music. There is a reorganization of the Toy Story version of The Nutcracker with one song cut. Overall the show faced major rearrangement, such as additional songs from Frozen, including "Love Is an Open Door" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". In the "Believe" segment, the old paper animation and guest made greeting cards were replaced with both new and familiar scenes from Big Hero 6, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Princess and the Frog, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Brave, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pinocchio. The isopar flames were introduced into this show.

In November 2015, two different World of Color shows were presented back-to-back: Winter Dreams was followed by World of Color: Celebrate!. "Love Is an Open Door" from Frozen was removed and the additional lights installed for World of Color – Celebrate! on California Screamin' were incorporated into Winter Dreams. The rest of the show is the same as the show from the 2014 holiday season. The scrim made for World of Color – Celebrate! to cover Mickey's head on Mickey's Fun Wheel is raised up before Winter Dreams but is only used for Celebrate.

World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

The intro of World of Color–Celebrate!

Premiering on May 22, 2015, as part of the Disneyland Resort's 60th Anniversary celebration, the World of Color show was changed to World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney. Dedicated to Walt Disney's legacy, this special edition of the show is hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse (Bret Iwan), and features music and imagery from Disney films and theme parks.[31][32] Under the direction of Steve Davison, the show took nearly three years to develop.[2] The show is to return to its original format September 6, 2016.[33]

Celebrate! contains five sections:[1]

The post-show includes a fountain overlay set to Perri's renditions of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" and Howard Ashman's "Disneyland".

The following is list of films, animated shorts, and television series that appear (alphabetically) during the show.

World of Color—Season of Light

In September 2016, Disney announced that World of Color: Winter Dreams would be replaced with a brand new holiday show called World of Color—Season of Light, which will "celebrate the warm and heartfelt spirit of the holidays." and feature classic Disney moments intertwined with the holidays.[34][35] This version features classic holiday songs and incorporates moments from Disney films to illustate such songs.

The following songs are included in the show with the featured films in parentheses.

Ticketing system

World of Color Fastpass

World of Color uses Disney's Fastpass as the only method of obtaining tickets for entering the Paradise Park viewing area unless individuals have gotten reserved viewing vouchers through a World of Color dining package at select Disney California Adventure table service dining locations or a World of Color picnic package. Tickets are distributed for two sections, labeled Blue and Yellow.[37] The Fastpasses are available at the Grizzly River Run Fastpass machines beginning 30 minutes before official park opening. The dinner packages are available at the Carthay Circle Restaurant, Ariel's Grotto, and the Wine Country Trattoria. The dinner package from the Carthay Circle Restaurant includes, with the meal, complimentary tickets to the Reserved Viewing section of the viewing area. Those at Trattoria and Ariel's Grotto are available in limited supply.

Park guests may view the show from the front with either a Fastpass or a dining ticket. Without these options, they must watch the show from the rear, near Toy Story Midway Mania!, on the balcony between the bridge and Ariel's Grotto, or from the far right, near the Golden Zephyr. Some nights, viewing in front of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure is available for guests not utilizing the Fastpass ticket option.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 ""World of Color – Celebrate!" Fun Facts" (Press release). Disneyland Resort. The Walt Disney Company. 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Pimentel, Joseph (July 27, 2015). "Video: Watch Disney California Adventure's new 'World of Color' show as an homage to Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse". The Orange County Register. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Innovative Entertainment Technology Drives 'World of Color' – the Next Milestone in Expansion of Disney's California Adventure" (Press release). Disney. July 16, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ "1964 Opening to "Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color"". YouTube. November 16, 2007.
  5. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (June 10, 2010). "Disney Hopes to Revive Park With a Fountain Display". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  6. ↑ "World of Color". go.com.
  7. ↑ Davison, Steven (January 8, 2010). "World of Color – Behind the H2O – The Journey Begins " Disney Parks Blog". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Details emerge about World of Color water show at Disney's California Adventure". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ MouseTimes. "Photo". SmugMug.
  10. ↑ Darkbeer. "Photo". SmugMug.
  11. ↑ "Disneyland Resort Update (Disneyland Resort Update) by MousePlanet Staff". Mouse Planet. July 27, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  12. ↑ Sukovaty, Valarie (March 19, 2010). "Paper May Fold into the Waters of 'World of Color' " Disney Parks Blog". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  13. ↑ World of Color, MouseInfo, August 28, 2009, retrieved March 5, 2010
  14. ↑ "Youtube video of extended Pirates of the Caribbean sequence".
  15. ↑ "Sneak peek: Scene-by-scene preview of World of Color water show at Disney's California Adventure". Los Angeles Times.
  16. ↑ laughingplace (April 9, 2010). "World of Color full test recorded from the Grand Californian". Video. YouTube. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  17. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (April 10, 2010). "Is Disney's Iger Having a Cinderella Moment?". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ AllEarsNet (April 17, 2010). "World of Color Full Run-Through – Part 1". Video. YouTube. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  19. ↑ Disneyland. "MP3". Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
  20. ↑ Rivera, Heather Hust (April 20, 2010). "The Date You've Been Waiting For: 'World of Color' Water Spectacular Debuts June 11 at Disney's California Adventure Park " Disney Parks Blog". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  21. ↑ D23 Expo – Day 2, Part 2, AllEars, retrieved June 22, 2012
  22. ↑ ...Disney executives decided they wanted to go in a different direction vocally, "AmyGrant.com, Update From Jen (June 4, 2010)"
  23. ↑ "World of Color". Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  24. ↑ Slater, Shawn. "Disney•Pixar's 'Brave' to Join 'World of Color' at Disney California Adventure Park". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  25. ↑ Glover, Erin (June 21, 2011). "Celebrate America with Special Independence Day Shows at the Disneyland Resort " Disney Parks Blog". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  26. ↑ "'World of Color' at Disney California Adventure Park Celebrates 1,000th Performance Tonight". Disney Parks Blog.
  27. ↑ "Holidays at the Disneyland Resort". go.com.
  28. ↑ "Blizzard Holiday Party 2011 special surprise!". YouTube. December 10, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Disneyland Resort Debuts 'World of Color – Winter Dreams,' a Merry New Spectacular for 2013 Holiday Season". PR Newswire. July 27, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  30. ↑ Glover, Erin (September 24, 2013). "end Your Voice to 'World of Color – Winter Dreams' at Disney California Adventure Park". The Walt Disney Company. The Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  31. ↑ Martin, Hugo. "Disneyland to launch new parade, fireworks for 60th anniversary". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  32. ↑ Slater, Shawn (January 28, 2015). "All-New 'World of Color' Show Coming to Disney California Adventure Park for Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, Beginning May 22". The Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Welcome Back Favorite Entertainment Spectaculars at Disneyland Resort This Fall". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  34. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/09/holidays-at-the-disneyland-resort-return-november-10-through-january-8-with-new-world-of-color-festival-of-holidays-and-more/
  35. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/09/world-of-color-season-of-light-is-glowing-into-disney-california-adventure-park-november-10/
  36. ↑ "'World of Color – Season of Light,' a Nighttime Spectacular – Fun Facts" (Press release). Disneyland Resort. The Walt Disney Company. 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  37. ↑ Rich, Andrew (June 14, 2010). "Disneyland Resort Update (Disneyland Resort Update) by Andrew Rich". Mouse Planet. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
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