Disney California Adventure Park may have found something to keep visitors from heading across to Disneyland at the end of the night.
Last month, Walt Disney Co. debuted World of Color, a 25-minute nighttime water show, the first of several attractions and rides being built as part of the $1 billion revamp of the company’s second Anaheim theme park.
Disney seems to have borrowed technology and elements of past attractions at Disney’s other theme parks. Some might recognize high-definition projections on mist screens similar to the ones used in Fantasmic at Disneyland.
But the World of Color is definitely more than a rehashing of past shows, combining some of the best elements to create something unique for California Adventure.
The show uses 1,200 cascading fountains that can form a towering sheet of water nearly 200 feet high, digital projectors, lights, laser, fireworks, smokescreens and fire. Even Mickey’s Fun Wheel—a permanent ride at the park—has its lights synchronized throughout the show.
The show begins with a remix of the classic Walt Disney “World of Color” TV series which ran in the 1970s and lends its name to the new show.
The rest of the performance features a montage of scenes and songs from some of Disney’s most popular animated films, including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Pocahontas.” Several Pixar Animation characters are woven into the show from “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story” and “Wall-E.”
Even Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean” makes an appearance on the enormous wall of mist.
It was quite a show and actually inspired me to seek out several of the movies featured throughout the show that I haven’t seen in years.
The park plans to update the show a couple times a year to keep it fresh and unique, and ultimately to keep fans coming back.
Be warned: the nighttime show is standing room only—there are fast passes available to claim a patch of concrete—and includes the possibility of getting wet.
The show ends just a few minutes before the nightly fireworks begin over at Disneyland, so for those looking to cram the Disneyland experience into one day, expect a lot of hustling between the gates.
World of Color is shown nightly at 9 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., with the possibility of third showing in the works.
It’s free with park admission.
—Michael Volpe
