Disney's World of Color Premieres With a Splash
World of Color Premiere
Disney’s California Adventure
June 10, 2010
World of Color, the new lights, lasers, and water show at Disney California Adventure, premiered with a splash (quite literally!) on Thursday night. The star-studded event was a celebration to remember, capped off by an emotional and captivating show that only Disney could deliver.
Disney's World of Color is a spectacular sight!
The night started off with a Blue Carpet Event introducing Disney executives, Hollywood celebrities, and of course some of the favorite Disney characters. Sebastian, Genie, Mike Wazowski and Lumiere appeared as Carnivale-style puppets, kicking off the festivities with Disney flair. Premiere Guests who walked the carpet included Jamie Lee Curtis, Terri Hatcher, John Stamos, Geena Davis, Wayne Brady, and many cast members from hit ABC shows The Bachelor and Modern Family. Disney names on the carpet included company president and CEO Robert Iger, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Thomas Staggs, Disney music legend Richard Sherman, and vocal artist Jodi Benson (voice of Ariel). Stars seemed excited to be a part of the event, waiting in anticipation with their children and families for a glimpse of the long awaited show. While waiting for the show to start, media and guests munched World of Color “Multicolor & Flavored Popcorn” – a kettlecorn mix of red cherry, blueberry and purple grape – and flavored colored vitamin water.
Jodi Benson, known for voicing Ariel in The Little Mermaid, shares her thoughts on the upcoming show
At Paradise Bay, the premiere showing was kicked off by none other than Mickey Mouse himself, who presented the festivities in his new animated and interactive form (which is quite a sight to see). Nothing beats a Mickey who can make improvisational jokes with celebrities, or flash a smile with his expressive face! After joking with some of the celebrities in his midst, Mickey introduced Parks & Resorts chairman Thomas Staggs, who greeted guests and introduced a film clip with some of the background that went into the show. He was joined by Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, who tried to start the show with a ‘magic wand’, but of course needed a little help from his friend Mickey to start things rolling with a ‘ribbon-cutting’ firework display.
Mickey and CEO Bob Iger kick off the show
The twenty-five minute World of Color show itself is a sight to see. Steve Davison has done an incredible job making water come to life, in an artistic display that literally dances before your eyes. While there is no sequential storyline, guests are pulled in with a variety of emotions, similar to what one might experience while watching a Disney fireworks display, only with water and imagery in place of explosive bursts of fire. The musical soundtrack helps make the experience more intense, and the wide array of Disney characters and film clips blend together making the entire show an adventure to remember. The most impressive parts of the show include the Wall-e and Eve scene, where the sky is painted before your eyes in an impressive display on a canvas of mist. Simba’s stampede is one of the peak moments of intensity in the show, where the experience becomes more interactive and splashes its viewers in the heat of the chase. The Night on Bald Mountain scene explodes Paradise Bay into a lake of fire, with the heat from the flames so intense that you want to shield your face.
Fire and water make the show an interactive experience!
All in all, Disney has done a great job with its newest addition to the Summer Nightastic! Festivities at the resort. The World of Color show is more in line with a firework display or the Illuminations show at Epcot in Walt Disney World than it is a parade or Fantasmic!, but it brings a new and needed life to Paradise Bay. The choreography, music and animation are absolutely incredible, and the show draws you in with its use of water, fire and mist screens. Guests should be aware that those sitting too close to Paradise Bay may receive quite a soaking, and even those sitting farther away may be prone to a shower from some of the environmental water effects. Disney will be using a FASTPASS system for public viewing of World of Color, which is a standing-room only show (strollers are permitted) with a special viewing area for wheelchairs. Guests can pick up their Fastpasses at Grizzly River Run terminals as early as 7 AM, where they are assigned a showtime for reporting to Paradise Bay that evening. In addition to the multi-colored popcorn, guests will have other World of Color dining and snacking options, including Picnic Meals at the Sonoma Terrace, Dinner Packages at Ariel’s Grotto and Wine Country Trattoria, as well as Light-Up Cotton Candy, Spectrum Splash frozen drinks, and Tropical Mist Cocktails with light-up swizzle sticks.
We hope other Intercotees will make their way to DCA this summer to enjoy the World of Color experience and all the other additions and coming attractions at the Resort!
For all the Intercot photos of the event, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/intercot/
World of Color Fun Facts (Courtesy of Disney Press Release)
* The man-made Paradise Bay lagoon is 3.5 acres with 15 million gallons of water.
* The “stage” for “World of Color” is a platform composed of nearly 1 full acre of engineered superstructure, longer than a football field and capable of settling on three levels – one for the performance, one under the water surface and one for maintenance.
* The show features nearly 1,200 powerful and programmable fountains, and a vast underwater grid with more than 18,000 points of control. Each fountain has multiple points of control for lighting, color intensity, water angle, height and more.
* The fountains in “World of Color” can send water to heights ranging from 30 feet to 200 feet (by way of comparison, Mickey’s Fun Wheel reaches a height of 150 feet, some of it below the edge of the lagoon).
* “World of Color” employs 28 high-definition projectors (14 of them, submersible).
* The Emmy Award-winning “Wonderful World of Color” (1961-1969) was Walt Disney’s first color television series, an extension of his previous “Disneyland” and “Walt Disney Presents” anthology series. Like those earlier shows, it entertained audiences with both classic storytelling and innovative artistry.
* The television show premiered with an all-new theme song composed by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. (The Sherman Brothers recently received the highest Disneyland honor – their names on a Main Street, U.S.A. window – on March 11, 2010.)
* The music and kaleidoscopic images of Walt Disney’s pioneering TV show inspired the colorful, ever-changing experience that immerses guests in the new “World of Color” spectacular in Disney California Adventure park.
