IllumiNations, NEW SOUND EFFECTS!

[Nemo14]

Then what was the globe floating out there in 1984 and 1986 when I was there? Doesn't look that different than the current one.

can you post a picture?

 

[cspencer96]

Then what was the globe floating out there in 1984 and 1986 when I was there? Doesn't look that different than the current one.

It was very different. The sphere was basically a screen for lasers. The current globe is a very sophisticated show element, not just a white sheet stretched around a spherical frame. Also, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is an entirely different show than the original IllumiNations. It's more about a journey through time, while the original had a lot to do with world culture.

 

[rle4lunch]

It was very different. The sphere was basically a screen for lasers. The current globe is a very sophisticated show element, not just a white sheet stretched around a spherical frame. Also, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is an entirely different show than the original IllumiNations. It's more about a journey through time, while the original had a lot to do with world culture.

I don't know if I could call it 'very' sophisticated, compared to what they could do now. Maybe 'very' sophisticated back 15 years ago or so. Now you can barely see what's going on with it. I've seen that show a dozen or so times in the last 5 years and (IMO) it's one of the most unimpressive pyro shows in all of Disney.

But thanks for at least pointing out that there was a floating orb out there in the early 80's. I'll see if I can dig up that picture again when I get home.

 

[marni1971]

Then what was the globe floating out there in 1984 and 1986 when I was there? Doesn't look that different than the current one.

Courtesy of WDWMagic:

 

[Father Robinson]

I don't know if I could call it 'very' sophisticated, compared to what they could do now. Maybe 'very' sophisticated back 15 years ago or so.

Wow. Even by today's standards it's impressive to me. Look what they have there..the world's FIRST EVER floating, spinning, LED television in the shape of the Earth that shows a different image/video on each continent, the images FIT each continent, which by itself is impressive, the whole thing blossoms like a flower, while still showing images mind you, a torch emerges, lights, and then shoots tons of pyro high into the air. They may have bigger things out there that can do similar things, but do they do all that? The Earth Globe will always be incredibly impressive in my book, no matter what.

 

[rle4lunch]

Wow. Even by today's standards it's impressive to me. Look what they have there..the world's FIRST EVER floating, spinning, LED television in the shape of the Earth that shows a different image/video on each continent, the images FIT each continent, which by itself is impressive, the whole thing blossoms like a flower, while still showing images mind you, a torch emerges, lights, and then shoots tons of pyro high into the air. They may have bigger things out there that can do similar things, but do they do all that? The Earth Globe will always be incredibly impressive in my book, no matter what.

I dunno, it still feels very 'dated'.. Do yourself a favor if you can and go see DL's World of Color. It kinda puts ROE to shame in many respects. Don't get me wrong, the show is fine, but just doesn't float my boat (pun intended) anymore. It's just Disney doing what Disney does best (WDO that is), and playing out a certain attraction, long past it's expiration date, all in the name of cost savings.

 

[lilclerk]

I dunno, it still feels very 'dated'.. Do yourself a favor if you can and go see DL's World of Color. It kinda puts ROE to shame in many respects. Don't get me wrong, the show is fine, but just doesn't float my boat (pun intended) anymore. It's just Disney doing what Disney does best (WDO that is), and playing out a certain attraction, long past it's expiration date, all in the name of cost savings.

I agree that RoE is pretty old and, as much as I love it and don't want it to, it probably should be changed. But I wouldn't say it's "dated" at all. The technology of the globe still amazes me, the music is breathtaking, and the story is inspiring. World of Color is amazing, no doubt, but it's still just projections of cartoons on water, which is a huge chunk of Fantasmic too. RoE is WAY more than that.

To be fair, I haven't seen WoC in person yet, and I'm not as emotionally attached to the Disney movies as I am the parks, but I just can't imagine it being "better" than Illuminations.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

I remember hearing the sounds very early in the 2000s. I thought it was pretty neat.




Epcot firework shows are fireworks, lights and music on a lake. Yea it's the same thing, just presented totally differently over the years. You can say the same about Mk shows. It's just fireworks over the castle, with some to the side and some lights.

RoE is immensely better than the other lagoon shows of the 80s and 90s. Next year, RoE will have its 5,000th show. It has the popularity of remaining for another 5,000 shows.

do you know when is the 5,000th show is?

I dunno, it still feels very 'dated'.. Do yourself a favor if you can and go see DL's World of Color. It kinda puts ROE to shame in many respects. Don't get me wrong, the show is fine, but just doesn't float my boat (pun intended) anymore. It's just Disney doing what Disney does best (WDO that is), and playing out a certain attraction, long past it's expiration date, all in the name of cost savings.

I would love to see WOC make it to WDW. But it does not belong in Epcot because WS is about the world and culture, not about Disney.

I do agree to the people who say that ROE needs to be upgraded. I saw it in April and half of the barges did not work! I was disappointed. I have never heard the animal sounds either!

 

[tissandtully]

I've always found the pyro in ROE to be a bit sloppy, I guess that's the right word, anyone else agree?

 

[WDW Monorail]

do you know when is the 5,000th show is?

I do agree to the people who say that ROE needs to be upgraded. I saw it in April and half of the barges did not work! I was disappointed. I have never heard the animal sounds either!

I don't know the exact date but it will be in late summer.
It is very rare that an issue like that will occur. I have seen half of the barges shut down due to high winds. It could also have been a PyroDigital controller issue.

I've always found the pyro in ROE to be a bit sloppy, I guess that's the right word, anyone else agree?

What do you mean by sloppy? Product appearance or timing? 2-4 years ago the timing was kind of off for certain shells. However right now the timing for every pyro aspect of the show is impeccable.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

I don't know the exact date but it will be in late summer.
It is very rare that an issue like that will occur. I have seen half of the barges shut down due to high winds. It could also have been a PyroDigital controller issue.

As you are looking out to WS, I was infront of the shop to the left, the far right barge was not working at all. no water fountains and no fireworks. The first 3rd of the smaller barges was not working either. When the show first started i saw all the pyrotechnics (if you call them that) freaking out over them not working. when the globe came they all rushed to turn them on. they only was able to get the fountains working on the large barge. They should have everything ready to go at least 30mins before the show starts! i just hope this does not happen again when im there for the holidays.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I've always found the pyro in ROE to be a bit sloppy, I guess that's the right word, anyone else agree?

Like WDW Monorail said, right now the pyro timings are excellent, so if you get a chance to see the show in the near future be sure to see it again.

While there have been some product issues over the years, and there is always the threat of a tech problem, on the whole RoE is one of the best (if not the best) choreographed firework shows Disney has ever created. And you dont have to take just MY word for it; its been named Best Outdoor Night Attraction 8 years running:

http://www.goldenticketawards.com/winners/all-time-winners-by-category#31

Is RoE starting to show its age? Yes. Could it use some technology upgrades? Certainly, especially on the laser front. But it remains one of the best outdoor nighttime shows ever produced for a theme park. It wholeheartedly deserves the distinction that comes with 5,000+ performances.

 

[Tom]

I agree that RoE is pretty old and, as much as I love it and don't want it to, it probably should be changed. But I wouldn't say it's "dated" at all. The technology of the globe still amazes me, the music is breathtaking, and the story is inspiring. World of Color is amazing, no doubt, but it's still just projections of cartoons on water, which is a huge chunk of Fantasmic too. RoE is WAY more than that.

To be fair, I haven't seen WoC in person yet, and I'm not as emotionally attached to the Disney movies as I am the parks, but I just can't imagine it being "better" than Illuminations.

You honestly can't compare them. They both take place on water and there's fire. That's the end of the comparison.

I've seen ROE probably 25 times, and WoC 3 times on our May trip. WoC was incredible, and I absolutely think they could incorporate some of the technology into RoE. But RoE can stand on its own regardless. The soundtrack is a literal masterpiece.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I have never heard that sound during Illuminations either. I don't like it. It feels very random and out of place. However, if they added a lion roaring, a giraffe bleating, and a warthog snorting, then it might make more sense!

They're moving Festival of the Lion King to Epcot?

 

[Cosmic Commando]

You honestly can't compare them. They both take place on water and there's fire. That's the end of the comparison.

I've seen ROE probably 25 times, and WoC 3 times on our May trip. WoC was incredible, and I absolutely think they could incorporate some of the technology into RoE. But RoE can stand on its own regardless. The soundtrack is a literal masterpiece.

Illuminations: RoE and Soarin'.... two of the best theme park audio tracks ever created.

 

[Prototype82]

You know, my wife and I were going through some old picture albums and scanning old pics into the computer before the pics go bad on the acid pages, and we found one of my parents old WDW albums from 1984. I was 8-9 years old then, and remember the wonder that Epcot was back then in its infancy. Which brings me to my point...

Looking at the pictures of the fireworks show, and the floating ball out in the water, remembering it in 1984, and then seeing ROE Christmas 2012, its nearly the SAME DAMNED SHOW. Talk about milking something to ridiculous ends (looking at you CAPTAIN EO!), this fireworks show takes the cake.

Just update it to a WOC type show, and milk that sucker for 30 years like you did with ROE. Time for a change.

I'm sorry but ROE is something composed so perfectly, that tinkering with it would be a mistake.

 

[rle4lunch]

You honestly can't compare them. They both take place on water and there's fire. That's the end of the comparison.

I've seen ROE probably 25 times, and WoC 3 times on our May trip. WoC was incredible, and I absolutely think they could incorporate some of the technology into RoE. But RoE can stand on its own regardless. The soundtrack is a literal masterpiece.

There's the laser show with both as well... Just sayin'..

And they can (and should) incorporate some of WOC into ROE, not because ROE can stand on its own, it's because it's getting dated, nearly 15 years old.

 

[Epcotbob]

I have seen ROE probably 50 times since it's inception and have never heard those sound effects before. I've watched just about every ROE video on Youtube and have never heard that before.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

I know that the speakers around the lagoon were upgraded (dont remember when) and use a proprietary audio technology developed by Bose, originally for military purposes. The speakers can be controlled individually, and project audio, meaning that, like a video projector, the speaker only sends audio in one direction, isolating it from other audio from surrounding speakers. Audio from the speakers travels well, without losing much volume, and the sound waves do not reflect as much as standard speakers. Walt Disney Creative Entertainment uses this to enhance the pre-show experience, making the music begin in a few small areas and eventually build to cover the entire promenade. Each country uses the same base loop track mentioned above, with accents from that country's musical style added in. Each "speaker" is actually a cluster of several of these high-tech speakers, each controlled as a separate track. Disney has also applied this technology in their parades, isolating the different musical tracks played in the different park sections as the parade progresses. The same speakers are used to play music for the actual show, as well as area music throughout the day. During the show, however, the isolating function of the speakers is turned off.

 

[Alektronic]

I know that the speakers around the lagoon were upgraded (dont remember when) and use a proprietary audio technology developed by Bose, originally for military purposes. The speakers can be controlled individually, and project audio, meaning that, like a video projector, the speaker only sends audio in one direction, isolating it from other audio from surrounding speakers. Audio from the speakers travels well, without losing much volume, and the sound waves do not reflect as much as standard speakers. Walt Disney Creative Entertainment uses this to enhance the pre-show experience, making the music begin in a few small areas and eventually build to cover the entire promenade. Each country uses the same base loop track mentioned above, with accents from that country's musical style added in. Each "speaker" is actually a cluster of several of these high-tech speakers, each controlled as a separate track. Disney has also applied this technology in their parades, isolating the different musical tracks played in the different park sections as the parade progresses. The same speakers are used to play music for the actual show, as well as area music throughout the day. During the show, however, the isolating function of the speakers is turned off.

Wow! Did you just make that up or did someone told you that?