World of Color: 1 Year of Color! Part 1

A Year of Color

In 2007, the Walt Disney Company announced that Steve Davison would bring to Disney California Adventure, a brand new nighttime spectacular called World of Color. This nighttime spectacular is not like any show that they have done. Disney is well known for showing fireworks, parades and stage shows. But this time, this would be a full-on water fountain show similar to the Bellagio. It would also incoporate several special effects like flamethrowers and lasers and projections similar to Fantasmic!.

In late 2007, preliminary testing began in order to see how to present the show on Paradise Bay:

Then in 2008, the real work would begin as the bay was drained to begin building the massive show platform. The platform, as big as a football field was designed to fit into the bay and the extra things were installed. It ranged from the 2 light towers on the sides of the bay and the lighthouse/pagdoa equipment boxes, each equipped with a searchlight, lasers and projectors.

                                                              

The biggest crane in LA, accoriding to Steve Davison was brought out to help install the platform. It was a huge effort from installing the show equipment to making the new viewing area: Paradise Park which replaced the Golden State Ampitheater after it was concluded that the ampitheater would not be able to hold the massive crowds that would sure come to see this show.

The fountains in the platform are way different than their Fantasmic! counterparts. Every fountain has a LED light ring on it so that each fountain had its own color. Some where different like the Grid fountains which don't move but can shoot up to 150 feet with the geysers not moving too but go up to 200 feet. Moving fountains were also made from the single water whips to the multi-head fountains. Flamethrowers were also brought in, both moving and non-moving. Lasers would be brought in and would be brought to life by a group that is said to be the best laser team on the planet. Mist screens that was pioneered by Disney with Fantasmic!, was brought in and is roughly 4 times as big as Fantasmic!s screens. There are 4 mist screens on the platform with one in the front and the big 3 in the back.

By the end of 2009, the platform was done and water was brought back into the bay. Disney had the water when it was drained, sent to the city for storage and brought back when ready to use again, a green effort.

It was also at this time, that Steve Davison began doing presentations at the first D23 expo about World of Color.



Then in 2010 from January to May, testing began to put the show itself together. And as soon as that began, a series of show testing videos surfaced showing what World of Color is capable of.