The closing date for World of Color – ONE is quickly approaching.
Nightly spectaculars mark the end of any good Disney day. For decades, these mainly consisted of fireworks. Since Fantasy in the Sky debuted at Disneyland Park in 1958, pyrotechnics shows have become a major part of Disney’s entertainment programs worldwide, with recent shows bigger and better than ever before.
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In recent years, Disney parks have moved away from exclusively using fireworks and have begun incorporating technologies such as projection mapping and drone technology into their shows.
At the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort, for example, “Happily Ever After” has proven to be one of Disney’s most popular spectacles to date. The show lights up both Main Street, USA and Cinderella Castle with projections and also eclipses the Fourth of July in the sky above the park every night.
Meanwhile, advances in drone technology at Disneyland Paris have led to the introduction of the popular Disney Electrical Sky Parade drone show (which was inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade and caused guests to “cry”) before the park’s fireworks display.
Thanks to Walt Disney Imagineering’s technological expertise, some shows don’t even need pyrotechnics to wow guests. This was the case at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, for example, when it presented the (unfortunately short-lived) evening show Rivers of Light, which relied on water projections, floats and characters to avoid annoying the park’s many animal residents with explosives.
Disney California Adventure Park also refrains from using pyrotechnics – not to upset the animal residents (of which there are none in the park in Southern California), but to avoid upsetting the neighboring communities in Anaheim.
Instead, the park offers World of Color. First opened in 2010, it consists of 1,200 fountains that, in combination with light, fire, lasers, fog and high-resolution projections, bring key moments from Disney films of all time to life.
The show has been updated several times over the years, with one of the biggest additions being the introduction of World of Color – ONE. This honors Walt Disney’s storytelling tradition and features cameo appearances from iconic Disney characters such as Pocahontas, Joe Gardner, Luke Skywalker, Mirabel Madrigal, Simba, Moana and the Avengers.
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Many assumed (if not hoped, given the less than lustrous response to World of Color – ONE) that the show would end with the rest of Disney100. Such was the case with the fireworks display over Sleeping Beauty Castle in neighboring Disneyland Park Wondrous Journeys, which received high praise from diehard Disney fans.
But that turned out not This also applies to World of Color – ONE, which returned earlier than expected after renovation in January and did not return to the classic show, but in its current form.
In fact, the show will soon be closed – at least temporarily.
As of September 9, World of Color – ONE is listed on the Disneyland Resort website as currently being renovated. We now know that this renovation will apparently last until October 22, 2024. Given the timing, we assume this is in preparation for its replacement by World of Color – Season of Light, the holiday edition of the show that normally returns in early November.
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Until its closing, the show will continue its two evening screenings at Pixar Pier: 9:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. World of Color – ONE is currently offering a special screening to celebrate the release of Pixar Animation Studios’ Inside Out 2 (2024), just like last summer, when Pixar’s last release, Elementary (2023).
World of Color – Season of Light typically runs until the first or second week of January. Last season’s performances ended on January 10, 2024.
It remains to be seen whether World of Color will return in its original form or as a slightly less impressive World of Color—ONE version. However, with Disneyland’s 70th anniversary coming up in 2025, it would be great if the show were updated accordingly (and if it made smarter choices regarding songs and pacing).
What is your favorite version of World of Color?
