Pyrotechnic artistry illuminates the capital city of theme parks

[WDWGuy]

Fireworks. When you think of them a lot of us are immediate brought back to the firecracker we lit or the first 4th of July we saw.

But for theme park fans, especially those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the Central Florida area, we have the fortunate circumstance to make fireworks part of our daily lives. From Epcot to Magic Kingdom, from Sea World to Universal...All of the area parks make nighttime high-altitude fireworks shows part of their night offerings...and this summer is going to prove no different:

Magic Kingdom- Nightly showings of "Wishes" - the nighttime spectacular that takes place above Cinderella Castle

Epcot - Nightly showings of "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth" - The show takes place nightly around World Showcase Lagoon.


Disney's Hollywood Studios - Between the fireworks for Star Wars Weekends, fireworks for the Summer-long Frozen event, and Nightly showings of the special effects/Characters show "Fantasmic". Pyro fans can get their fill nightly at the park.

Universal - Cinematic Spectacular - Shows on late evenings at the water's edge.

Sea World - Fountain/firework shows during summer peak season.

And of course 4th of July fireworks will be exploding everywhere!


So? I ask...what show is your favorite? What shows would you like to see change?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Fireworks. When you think of them a lot of us are immediate brought back to the firecracker we lit or the first 4th of July we saw.

But for theme park fans, especially those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the Central Florida area, we have the fortunate circumstance to make fireworks part of our daily lives. From Epcot to Magic Kingdom, from Sea World to Universal...All of the area parks make nighttime high-altitude fireworks shows part of their night offerings...and this summer is going to prove no different:

Magic Kingdom- Nightly showings of "Wishes" - the nighttime spectacular that takes place above Cinderella Castle

Epcot - Nightly showings of "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth" - The show takes place nightly around World Showcase Lagoon.


Disney's Hollywood Studios - Between the fireworks for Star Wars Weekends, fireworks for the Summer-long Frozen event, and Nightly showings of the special effects/Characters show "Fantasmic". Pyro fans can get their fill nightly at the park.

Universal - Cinematic Spectacular - Shows on late evenings at the water's edge.

Sea World - Fountain/firework shows during summer peak season.

And of course 4th of July fireworks will be exploding everywhere!


So? I ask...what show is your favorite? What shows would you like to see change?

Illuminations needs replaced with something newer and less boring.

 

[WDWGuy]

Ive felt for years that World Showcase would be the perfect spot for a World of Color-esque east coast version show. The fact that we are using those fountain barges still is mind-blowing.

 

[TubaGeek]

Let's get IOA something new already! They haven't had a nighttime show in years!

 

[WDWGuy]

Let's get IOA something new already! They haven't had a nighttime show in years!

I had the pleasure of working on Island Blast in the IOA Lagoon years ago. It drew crowds for sure. I hope they bring something to the area again soon. Although evening guest retention has become much easier now that the Potter attractions have arrived.

 

[WDW Monorail]

Illuminations needs replaced with something newer and less boring.

RoE has won the Golden Ticket best outdoor production award for the past 10 years in a row. It is extremely popular.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

RoE has won the Golden Ticket best outdoor production award for the past 10 years in a row. It is extremely popular.

Yes, yes it is. And I believe that given the technological advancements since it was made 20 years ago could make for a new, better show. But heaven forbid anyone mess with the nostalgia! And it's FAR cheaper to market "not changing things" than it is to offer new modern offerings.

 

[WDWGuy]

The middle portion of the presentation is one of the least-entertaining elements of any show ive seen in any theme park. The LED images on the globe and the fountains (the lighting is so poor on the barges that the colors barely pop at all) for 4 minutes is really awful now.

Once you've seen the fountain technology at WoC its hard to like anything else.

id love to see the powers above give much-needed love to the RoE fountain barges AND upgrade the Fountain of Nations show.

 

[yensid67]

I have seen both Wishes and RoE, My favorite is RoE! But I agree that it needs at least some updating! But like with everything else RoE will become OBSOLETE and be taken away without a replacement! I WOULD NOT PUT THEM PASSED THEM TO SAY THAT! THIS IS DISNEY...NOTHING IS OBSOLETE!(i.e...Lights of Winter!)

 

[wdwfan22]

Ive felt for years that World Showcase would be the perfect spot for a World of Color-esque east coast version show. The fact that we are using those fountain barges still is mind-blowing.

I always wonder if the people that ask for WOrld of Color to come to Walt Disney World have ever seen it in person. While the dancing fountains are nice it gets old real fast after 5 minutes. I'll take IllumiNations with it's lasers and fireworks any day over a 30 minute movie of Disney clips projected on water.

 

[WDWGuy]

I always wonder if the people that ask for WOrld of Color to come to Walt Disney World have ever seen it in person. While the dancing fountains are nice it gets old real fast after 5 minutes. I'll take IllumiNations with it's lasers and fireworks any day over a 30 minute movie of Disney clips projected on water.

I have seen WoC several times (in person) and what makes it work is a couple of things: 1) Total immersion - They designed the show that in such a way that from the viewing area your field of view is completely consumed by the large fountains, projections, extremely vivid lighting elements, special effects, and film elements. Also, the digital video allows them to change and update the show very easily. I do agree however the show could be a bit shorter to cut down on Repetitive show fatigue.

 

[TubaGeek]

I had the pleasure of working on Island Blast in the IOA Lagoon years ago. It drew crowds for sure. I hope they bring something to the area again soon. Although evening guest retention has become much easier now that the Potter attractions have arrived.

All the more reason to have one in my opinion. I understand that the point of a nighttime show is to get people to stay, but, at a certain point, it's silly for a park so popular to be skipping out on such a theme park cornerstone.

My favorite is Reflections of Earth, no other show comes close to its magnificence. The score is flawless, and one of my favorite pieces of music. I love the atmosphere before/during/and after the show (if you don't rush out) and when every effect is working, the production is amazing. I honestly wouldn't care if Disney continued to upgrade the show and perform it forever.

(This is the only experience at Disney where my rose colored glasses won't come off )

As someone who regularly lombasts the mouse for relying on nostalgia... I'm right there with you. I will always love that show.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'm fine with ROE staying. Its a solid show, night after night. So many different places to watch from.....

Wishes? Eh. Its old. I want something new for/by the 50th.

 

[WDW Monorail]

What was touched upon in the first post are the Hollywood Studios shows. What was not mentioned was Villainy in the Sky. This show was so good that the majority of it, retaining a lot of the choreography and queues and some of the product used, was entered in to the Putrajaya Fireworks Competition and came in 2nd place.

 

[mousehockey37]

My favorite is Illuminations. As others said, you can watch from so many places and each one gives you a different experience. I'd love to see some of the stuff from Disneyland Paris come here and replace and/or upgrade Wishes.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is obviously heavily used in DLRP, but they could afford to use it some more in WDW. The music from the movie is wonderful.

Now if they wanted to add a show, I know it could get pricey, but to have 2 shows per park... that'd be interesting. Then you wouldn't have to see Wishes every night or Illuminations. You could alternate them with something else and give a little variety.

I love the atmosphere before/during/and after the show (if you don't rush out) and when every effect is working, the production is amazing. I honestly wouldn't care if Disney continued to upgrade the show and perform it forever.

YES!!!! The atmosphere around the WS is so laid back. It's wonderful to just stroll along after Illuminations is over with Tapestry playing and the torches lit (even after the music over and the torches are "blown out" for the night, it's still peaceful). Since the WS is so big with 2 exits (IG and FutureWorld), you have a couple ways of getting out and it takes some time depending which way you go. It's not like Main St. in the MK where it's a cattle chute (which they have now redone with the expansion and bypasses, but I can still imagine it's like herding cattle).

 

[mouse_luv]

I have seen every version of Illuminations and could care less until the latest one. It is my favorite anywhere, and while Wishes for some reason never fails to make me cry, it gets old fast. RoE for me never gets old. I love the score and the pre-show music, the torches, the atmosphere etc. It'd better stay around for awhile. If they can keep that annoying MSEP around so long (esp now that they killed off Spectro) they'd better keep RoE around.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

I enjoy wishes, it always makes me smile. But ROE is quite a spectical. I don't spend alot of time at epcot, my family isn't big on it, and my wife could care less about world showcase. By the time it starts to get dark there, they are all ready to head back to the room. I've seen it 4 times this year, three times all by myself..I really enjoy it.

 

[JIMINYCR]

A long time favorite..... Illuminations. All the fireworks shows are better than anything I get to see at home. So I'm wowed by them all when I see them... but even though they are fabulous I think its time they all should be given a boost. Lets change some things up and make them even more amazing.

 

[WDW Monorail]

I'm fine with ROE staying. Its a solid show, night after night. So many different places to watch from.....

Wishes? Eh. Its old. I want something new for/by the 50th.

RoE has also been an extra source of revenue for the park with its numerous private viewing locations available to be reserved. Now Wishes also has its own Dessert Party in addition to a few fireworks cruises.

Both shows have been kept interesting with product changes over that last 6 years and with RoE's Holiday tags including the amazing new version of PoE. Wishes just had some additions during the Fantasia section and also the return of 2 shells to the Star Light, Star Bright chorus near the end of the show. One of the product changes was for the heart shells. They now use the best heart pattern shells I have ever seen with a ghost crackle effect.

I really do like Wishes and could watch it for years to come but I am open to seeing a new show as well.

 

[PhotoDave219]

RoE has also been an extra source of revenue for the park with its numerous private viewing locations available to be reserved. Now Wishes also has its own Dessert Party in addition to a few fireworks cruises.

Both shows have been kept interesting with product changes over that last 6 years and with RoE's Holiday tags including the amazing new version of PoE. Wishes just had some additions during the Fantasia section and also the return of 2 shells to the Star Light, Star Bright chorus near the end of the show. One of the product changes was for the heart shells. They now use the best heart pattern shells I have ever seen with a ghost crackle effect.

I really do like Wishes and could watch it for years to come but I am open to seeing a new show as well.

I'd rather not discuss the new Holiday Tag. My opinion differs from most.