With a splash of fireworks, dazzling water-based special effects and a celebrity red carpet (actually a water-inspired blue carpet), the nighttime spectacular “World of Color” made its exciting world premiere Thursday before an audience filled with celebrities and VIPs at Paradise Bay in Disney California Adventure park.
This new dimension of Disney storytelling, brimming with water, color, music and animation, opens to guests at Disney California Adventure Friday, June 11.
Robert A. Iger, president and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company, joined Thomas O. Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, and Mickey Mouse to welcome the special VIP premiere guests.
“‘World of Color’ is a testament to the creativity, passion, innovation and talent of people throughout our organization,” Iger said. “The combination of water, light, fire, and music makes ‘World of Color’ a truly magical event that showcases beloved Disney characters in an entirely new way.”
Added Staggs: “‘World of Color’ transforms the landscape of the Disneyland Resort and marks a major milestone in the expansion of Disney California Adventure. It’s a spectacular show that is distinctly Disney, and unlike any attraction we’ve created before. It will captivate our guests with an end-of-day experience that is exhilarating, emotional and highly memorable. We are excited to debut this great, new experience for our guests and extremely proud of the talented team that drove its creation.”
There has never been a show like “World of Color,” the mega-scale, after-dark celebration of Disney storytelling. “World of Color” brings animation to life with powerful fountains that become stars of the show as they create one of the world’s largest projected water screens. In just under 25 minutes, “World of Color” immerses audiences in technological wonder and the enchanting magic of beloved Disney and Disney•Pixar characters, combining nearly 1,200 versatile fountains, dazzling colors, Disney music and an all-new kaleidoscope of audio and visual effects, taking water-based entertainment to a new level of artistry.
The inspiration for the show came from Walt Disney himself and “World of Color” features characters and images that span the history of Disney and Disney•Pixar moviemaking.
“Our entire team – from every corner of the Walt Disney Company – is thrilled to finally share ‘World of Color’ with our guests,” said Steve Davison, show director and vice president, parades and spectaculars, for Walt Disney Imagineering. “It’s very exciting to take audiences on an emotional journey as they experience laughter, drama and beauty in this breathtaking extravaganza.”
Disney cast members and crews built nearly an acre of superstructure to support the complex production. Walt Disney Imagineering and Creative Entertainment installed the massive infrastructure and revolutionary technology that created the stage for “World of Color.” On this stage, the team directs a unique variety of water effects, larger-than-life projections, lasers, fog, flames, surround sound and stunning images.
The sweeping story and stunning effects are created with:
- Nearly 1,200 powerful and programmable fountains with heights ranging from 30 feet to 200 feet (50 feet higher than Mickey’s Fun Wheel). Each fountain has multiple points of control to direct the lighting, color intensity, water angle and height.
- One of the world’s largest projected water screens – a wall of water 380 feet wide by 50 feet high, for a projection surface of 19,000 square feet.
- Nearly 30 high-definition projectors – 14 of them submersible.
- Synchronized flame projections, lasers and special effects that will flood the senses.
- A soundtrack performed by more than 100 musicians.
“World of Color” has been some five years in the making, beginning with brainstorming by show director Davison and his creative crew. As the concept grew, the Disney team sought out new technologies and multi-media to support a visionin which water and light could dance, change character and move the audience, becoming, in effect, the “stars” of the show.
Helping to tie it all together is a musical score that combines both familiar and new melodies and introduces a newly arranged version of the 1960s television theme for “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color,” originally composed by Richard B. and Robert M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning composers of “Mary Poppins” and “It’s a Small World.” The “World of Color” score was composed by Mark Hammond, and orchestrated and conducted by David Hamilton, both celebrated music industry professionals.
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As we look forward to 2011, we are excited to share that we are making great progress on the expansion of Disney California Adventure park. The year 2010 has been very exciting. In June, we made a big splash with “World of Color,” the nighttime spectacular that is wowing guests every night. On October 29, we reached an exciting milestone with Cars Land with the topping out of the Cadillac Mountain range – about 125 feet in the air. And, many of you have seen The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School coming to life along the parade route. Both are scheduled to open in 2011 along with new restaurants and shops as we finish the entire Paradise Pier expansion.
