Disney’s World of Color water show promises to amaze

Disney’s California Adventure Reimagined: Second in a series

It’s nearly impossible to imagine Disney’s World of Color water show without drawing comparisons to two obvious forerunners: Disneyland’s Fantasmic and the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas. What’s enticing is Disney’s boast that the new California Adventure nighttime spectacle will blow away both predecessors.

Opening in 2009 as part of California Adventure’s $1.1-billion makeover, the 18-minute World of Color will feature an array of dancing fountains, movie projections and lighting effects all tied to the original Sherman Brothers musical score from the 1960s television show that included “Wonderful” in the title.

The Bellagio comparison is no coincidence, since the same water wizards who created the Las Vegas Strip sensation have been drafted to surpass their accomplishment in Anaheim (lest Disney fans call World of Color a second-rate Fantasmic).

Unlike Fantasmic, World of Color will feature no boats, performers or — most important — fireworks (lest visitors recall the ill-fated LuminAria water show whose smoke and ash choked and irritated the eyes of viewers along the shores of Paradise Pier in 2001).

What viewers will see promises to impress: walls of water that take the shape of virtually every recognizable Disney character and sky-rocketing fountains that shoot so high they’ll obscure the 16-story Ferris Wheel (set to receive a Mickey Mouse makeover by then).

To accommodate the expected crowds, a 9,000-person shoreline amphitheater will be built into Paradise Bay that will also host live music concerts and movie premieres, according to Blue Sky Disney. A rooftop viewing platform also will be added to the adjacent Grand Californian Hotel for VIP guests, according to MiceAge. Diners will be able to watch the show from the waterside Ariel’s Grotto restaurant, which will be re-themed as the meet-and-greet Princess Palace, according to Disney artist concept sketches.

You can find all the blog entries in our California Adventure Reimagined series here.

— Brady MacDonald / Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Disney]

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 5, 2007 at 12:20 pm by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Family & Kids, San Diego, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.