World of Color Making It's Way to Animal Kingdom?

No Name

Well-Known Member
How many people even saw it before it got reduced, changed, stripped down and changed some more?
Huh? Thousands of people, more than enough. Disney surveys their guests and it was the lowest-rated nighttime show on property. They changed it specifically because it was not popular.

You can like the show and acknowledge that most people did not.
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Huh? Thousands of people, more than enough. Disney surveys their guests and it was the lowest-rated nighttime show on property. They changed it specifically because it was not popular.

You can like the show and acknowledge that most people did not.
It had to have perfect conditions to be close to acceptable show, maybe the op saw it on a perfect night. The idea was good but the tech just wasn't there and like most things they bring out today it was overly complicated and expensive. Not enough of those perfect conditions to give most a good show
 

No Name

Well-Known Member
It had to have perfect conditions to be close to acceptable show, maybe the op saw it on a perfect night. The idea was good but the tech just wasn't there and like most things they bring out today it was overly complicated and expensive. Not enough of those perfect conditions to give most a good show
That is also a good point!
 

Vacationeer

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
It had to have perfect conditions to be close to acceptable show, maybe the op saw it on a perfect night. The idea was good but the tech just wasn't there and like most things they bring out today it was overly complicated and expensive. Not enough of those perfect conditions to give most a good show
That makes more sense. Thanks.
 

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion . . . I really don't get the hype for World of Color. I've seen it two or three times in person, each time hoping there was something I missed before that'll make it click this time. It just feels like another clip show where they never figured out what it was they were actually trying to do conceptually, but the tech was cool enough (and expensive enough) that they just pushed go and hoped people would be into it. And, you know, clearly people are, it just doesn't do it for me. At this point I'd only watch if someone I was with desperately wanted to see it.

I enjoyed Rivers of Light for what it was - I feel like it had a better idea than WOC, but they just didn't take it far enough in execution. That show could have been saved with some strategic editing and an infusion of some cash to amp it up further, especially in the finale. But I'm not sure how much it cost in the first place - perhaps there was no way to make sense of spending more on it. The music was great, though - I think they were on to something. A shame that it fell off the way it did, it could have been something special.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion . . . I really don't get the hype for World of Color. I've seen it two or three times in person, each time hoping there was something I missed before that'll make it click this time. It just feels like another clip show where they never figured out what it was they were actually trying to do conceptually, but the tech was cool enough (and expensive enough) that they just pushed go and hoped people would be into it. And, you know, clearly people are, it just doesn't do it for me. At this point I'd only watch if someone I was with desperately wanted to see it.
I'm so glad it's not only me who finds WoC just ok. It's a good solution for a lagoon that's too small for proper pyro, but I'm mystified at how many people rate the show as among Disney's best.
 

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion . . . I really don't get the hype for World of Color. I've seen it two or three times in person, each time hoping there was something I missed before that'll make it click this time. It just feels like another clip show where they never figured out what it was they were actually trying to do conceptually, but the tech was cool enough (and expensive enough) that they just pushed go and hoped people would be into it. And, you know, clearly people are, it just doesn't do it for me. At this point I'd only watch if someone I was with desperately wanted to see it.
I agree. The original WoC show is nothing special. I haven’t made an effort to see it in years. The Christmas version, Season of Light, is great, though.

Disney can do and has done better.
 
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DoleWhipDrea

Well-Known Member
My husband and I had the luck of seeing RoL on our honeymoon when it soft opened, on a beautiful night in April. We were absolutely mystified by it. The shaman, the music, the imagery - it had this beautiful spiritual quality that felt like the perfect way to end a day at Animal Kingdom. When we moved to FL a few years later, we were perplexed at what had been done to the show. It felt like the heart was taken out of it.

With the hype for WoC, I think Disneylanders (I was one of them) were mostly just purely excited that DCA was getting the attention that it desperately needed, and WoC was the first big thing to debut from the massive changes. It started with a nighttime party in the Hollywood section of the park, the first DCA had, called GLOW Fest. Delicious local food trucks, fun music, colorful lighting, and entertainment - all of which evolved into better versions of itself in the following years...still dreaming for elecTRONica to come to Magic Kingdom whenever Lightcycle Run actually opens. In any case, we were so starved for something fresh and new that WoC just brought a lot of joy. The Hellfire sequence has always been a bug crowd pleaser. But the show isn't without faults - art that we'd seen indicated that several sections had been cut, the Santa Ana winds can really mess with the projections, and no one has ever really liked the dramatic transition of Mufasa's death in the show.

Do guests really want every WDW park to be like Magic Kingdom? I know that a lot of tourists probably expect it to be that way, but does that fit with what these parks are? We talk about this a lot on these forums, but I would argue that Animal Kingdom should continue to be the most different from a Magic Kingdom-style park. Sometimes you have to really show audiences what they want before they know what they want. Maybe RoL just needed a bigger finale. All I know is that the changes that were made to the show made it less special.

Ultimately, if Disney wants to keep guests staying at Animal Kingdom for a whole day to a real nighttime closing, the park is going to need more rides, fix Dinoland (Dinosaur is currently a disaster with poor maintenance) and nighttime entertainment. Animal Kingdom should be next up for some attention - let's keep our fingers crossed that perhaps something gets announced for D23. I would really like to see them attempt another nighttime show, perhaps using some drones to make the finale bigger without setting off loud fireworks to upset the animals.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion . . . I really don't get the hype for World of Color. I've seen it two or three times in person, each time hoping there was something I missed before that'll make it click this time. It just feels like another clip show where they never figured out what it was they were actually trying to do conceptually, but the tech was cool enough (and expensive enough) that they just pushed go and hoped people would be into it. And, you know, clearly people are, it just doesn't do it for me. At this point I'd only watch if someone I was with desperately wanted to see it.

I enjoyed Rivers of Light for what it was - I feel like it had a better idea than WOC, but they just didn't take it far enough in execution. That show could have been saved with some strategic editing and an infusion of some cash to amp it up further, especially in the finale. But I'm not sure how much it cost in the first place - perhaps there was no way to make sense of spending more on it. The music was great, though - I think they were on to something. A shame that it fell off the way it did, it could have been something special.

I think some versions of WoC are better than others but I feel similarly in it didn't live up to the hype for me and the viewing situation for it is horrible (and even worse to get out of the area after the show)

I loved Rivers of Light - especially the first version with the performers who went through the stadium seating and then we're on the boats. I thought it was beautiful and the music was incredible

It definitely wasn't a "spectacular" like other night time shows at WDW so I can understand why it has lower ratings than Illuminations or Wishes or whatever, but I thought it fit the park quite well - and certainly was better than the current nothing they have now lol
 

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
Unpopular opinion . . . I really don't get the hype for World of Color. I've seen it two or three times in person, each time hoping there was something I missed before that'll make it click this time. It just feels like another clip show where they never figured out what it was they were actually trying to do conceptually, but the tech was cool enough (and expensive enough) that they just pushed go and hoped people would be into it. And, you know, clearly people are, it just doesn't do it for me. At this point I'd only watch if someone I was with desperately wanted to see it.

I enjoyed Rivers of Light for what it was - I feel like it had a better idea than WOC, but they just didn't take it far enough in execution. That show could have been saved with some strategic editing and an infusion of some cash to amp it up further, especially in the finale. But I'm not sure how much it cost in the first place - perhaps there was no way to make sense of spending more on it. The music was great, though - I think they were on to something. A shame that it fell off the way it did, it could have been something special.
agree 100% with you. World of Color is just a projection show with no real story line at all. For us it was a see it once and never have to see it again.

Rivers of Light was the same way. It just wasn't much of a spectacular to be called a Disney nighttime spectacular. Animal Kingdom should have never gotten rid of Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade. That drew in the crowds, could be ran late in the day to keep people in the park. If it was me in charge of entertainment, I would bring the parade back instead of trying to do something on the water.
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
I honestly liked the original version of Rivers of Light when the Shamans were more prominent. I remember those two were prominent in marketing and a D23 preview months prior. Once Disney decided to remove them from the show, the show really lost it's spirit.
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
My husband and I had the luck of seeing RoL on our honeymoon when it soft opened, on a beautiful night in April. We were absolutely mystified by it. The shaman, the music, the imagery - it had this beautiful spiritual quality that felt like the perfect way to end a day at Animal Kingdom. When we moved to FL a few years later, we were perplexed at what had been done to the show. It felt like the heart was taken out of it.

With the hype for WoC, I think Disneylanders (I was one of them) were mostly just purely excited that DCA was getting the attention that it desperately needed, and WoC was the first big thing to debut from the massive changes. It started with a nighttime party in the Hollywood section of the park, the first DCA had, called GLOW Fest. Delicious local food trucks, fun music, colorful lighting, and entertainment - all of which evolved into better versions of itself in the following years...still dreaming for elecTRONica to come to Magic Kingdom whenever Lightcycle Run actually opens. In any case, we were so starved for something fresh and new that WoC just brought a lot of joy. The Hellfire sequence has always been a bug crowd pleaser. But the show isn't without faults - art that we'd seen indicated that several sections had been cut, the Santa Ana winds can really mess with the projections, and no one has ever really liked the dramatic transition of Mufasa's death in the show.

Do guests really want every WDW park to be like Magic Kingdom? I know that a lot of tourists probably expect it to be that way, but does that fit with what these parks are? We talk about this a lot on these forums, but I would argue that Animal Kingdom should continue to be the most different from a Magic Kingdom-style park. Sometimes you have to really show audiences what they want before they know what they want. Maybe RoL just needed a bigger finale. All I know is that the changes that were made to the show made it less special.

Ultimately, if Disney wants to keep guests staying at Animal Kingdom for a whole day to a real nighttime closing, the park is going to need more rides, fix Dinoland (Dinosaur is currently a disaster with poor maintenance) and nighttime entertainment. Animal Kingdom should be next up for some attention - let's keep our fingers crossed that perhaps something gets announced for D23. I would really like to see them attempt another nighttime show, perhaps using some drones to make the finale bigger without setting off loud fireworks to upset the animals.
Strongly agree, I'm surprised Disney hadn't thought on creating newer attractions for AK compared to DHS and Epcot.
 

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