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SpectroMagic
On select evenings
guests can indulge in the glow of 600,000 miniature lights when Magic
Kingdom presents SpectroMagic. The parade is very popular - so
consider finding a viewing spot an hour before the posted start time. Consult the
park map to see the parade route. Times and dates are posted on the
events
page in Info Central. Tip: if they are showing two parades on the
evening you are visiting, the second parade will typically draw less crowds.
Parade Highlights:
The Genie from Disney's "Aladdin" is the eccentric conductor of an orchestra
producing a rainbow of music notes that flow into the air.
Practical Pig, poised before the magical world of Disney's characters (a
parade segment more than 100 feet in length and featuring castle towers, a
carousel, a bejeweled coach and other dreamlands), flicks a paint brush to
change the colors of the characters' world into silvery white.
Chernabog, memorable for his role as the monstrous demon figure in
"Fantasia," is portrayed in dark and eerie colors as he dramatically spreads
his wings to a 38-foot span.
The Three Good Fairies in Sleeping Beauty's garden create the sparkle of day
among the flowers and insects...and magically transform the scene to the
mystery of night.
Fast Facts:
"SpectroMagic" borrows from the prismatic holographic industry, military
lighting developments, electro-luminescent and fiber-optic technologies, and
tosses in light-spreading thermoplastics, clouds of underlit liquid-nitrogen
smoke and good old-fashioned twinkle lights. The visual spectacle is
choreographed to music produced for the show and presented over an array of 204
speakers with 72,000 watts of power.
It is the Disney entertainment wizards' 21st century show to rival the charm and
splendor of the "Main Street Electrical Parade," which ended an encore
engagement in March 2001. "SpectroMagic" is presented on select evenings at
Magic Kingdom.
Mickey Mouse in glistening lights with "a confetti of light" sparkling in the
air around him heralds the 20-minute production. Dressed in an amber and purple
grand magician's cape, he plays the role of a light-controller capable of
altering colors, brilliance and types of lighting effects.
Title float, proclaiming "SpectroMagic" in flowing fiber optics, is surrounded
by SpectroMen atop spinning, darting whirlyballs. Effect is a ball of energy,
alive with blue and purple mini-lights and twinkle lights. SpectroMen are robed
in rope lights (points of light inside transparent ropes), mini-lights, fiber
optics and twinkle lights. Electro-luminescent panels make dragonfly wings as
bright as day and costumes enchanting.
Project lighting designer John Haupt is aglow as he talks about the "SpectroMagic"
"confetti of light effect" that uses xenon flashlights and mirror balls. "It
produces six-million-beam candlepower," he says. "With a normal flashlight, you
MIGHT have 125 candlepower. It is so brilliant you may actually see little beams
of light glancing through the air -- thousands of them -- like when sun rays
come through the clouds." The effect showers the air with color at the beginning
and end of "SpectroMagic."
Banks of deep-cycle batteries -- 75 tons of them -- provide the awesome power to
light and move "SpectroMagic" through Magic Kingdom. The battery supply is
equivalent to that of a fleet of 2,000 trucks.
Approximately 100 miles of fiber-optic cables and threads become conduits for
shimmering lights that create everything from the strands of "hair" on King
Triton's beard . . . to giant, four-foot hibiscus blooms and three-foot daisy
petals.
Some 600,000 miniature lights chase in wild patterns, moving in perfect concert
with sound effects and music. Goofy's xylophone keys dance with light at his
touch. Mickey's cape transforms in a 24-step cascade of color sweeping from
shoulder height to the base of the float and upward to 17 feet above his head.
It's a "first" for a float, accomplished through a custom computer.
In fact, "SpectroMagic" is a marvel of the computer age. For lighting alone,
approximately 30 mini-computers are utilized. Audio is stored digitally on
state-of-the-art micro-chips. A sequence of electronic triggers activates the
visual effects and audio effects, and electronic cross-references synchronize
the show.
SpectroMagic Photos:
Carousel
Cinderella's Coach
Chip & Dale
Mickey Mouse
Fish
Peacock
Flowers
Dolls
Video File:
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Spectromagic
Parade: See the night time light and music spectacular in
streaming video. Portions of the parade have been edited for length.
Click and enjoy!
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