Disneyland's World of Color: Anaheim's new cacophony of color
The world is a carousel of color in the new World of Color night show at Disney’s California Adventure. The Disney imagineers have put their money where they minds are in this new twice-to-thrice nightly, 30-minute extravagant display. It took five years to plan and create the work, fine-tuned so intensely that every spouting hue from this fountain of choreography and animation looks like the very ink that painted it.
The nighttime water spectacular over the 3.5-acre Paradise Bay Lagoon debuted June 1. It runs a good 25 minutes against the backdrop of the Mickey-faced Ferris wheel in a lagoon in a running story told by 1,200 spewing fountains, sending columns of water 200 feet into the air and creating a liquid movie screen some 380 wide and 50 feet high. The sound, light and water effects create a montage of Disney animation through the years recalling scenes from The Lion King, Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid, Hunchback, Aladdin, Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, even Bambi and Fantasia.
Easily, however, a crescendo performance is managed by the animators of Up as a 300-foot-wide water wall of colorful balloons seems to rise from the floor of the lagoon and ever slowly ascends into the air as a full scene from the film unfolds. And, of course, Disney has a dark side, and it comes to life in splendid effects with columns of white-hot fire dancing on the water during certain scenes, such as "Night on Bald Mountain" from Fantasia. If you position yourself close enough to the action, you will get both drenched and dried!
The first show is at 9 pm, the second is at 10:15 and an optional third can be viewed at 11:15.
The World of Color is just the first item on a huge, $1.4 billion Disney’s California Adventure park expansion list that has added 4D interactive entertainment to the Toy Story attraction, unveiled a new Silly Symphony Swings ride, plans to open Ariel’s Undersea Adventure in 2011 and is ambitiously moving dirt on a three-pronged, 12-acre Cars Land attraction targeted for completion in 2012. These developments complement the new pools and complete room renovations currently taking place at the Disneyland Hotel.
HelloLosAngeles Tip: Although the park created wide swaths of standing spots along the lagoon and on the bridge over the lagoon for viewing the World of Color, there are better ways to get a guaranteed great spot right on the action. First, a FASTPASS for World of Color is available each morning at the Grizzly River Run on a first come first served basis. (The line-up starts at 7 am at the main park entrance.)
Second, order a picnic meal at www.disneyland.com, or take your chances on a walk-up meal. Each picnic box costs $14.99 and comes with a reserved viewing ticket for a specific time, show and location. Online orders usually get the first showing where walk-up purchases engage the second showing.
Third, why not make it a dinner and a show? Prix fixe World of Color dinner packages available for Ariel’s Grotto and Wine Country Trattoria offer dinners for adults for $36.99 and $39.99 ($20.99 and $18.99 for children 3-9) from each restaurant respectively, with reserved seatings and tables over the water and looking onto the show. Reserve at 714-781-DINE.
Posted by Lark Ellen Gould
