World of Color

[Wilt Dasney]

There are definitely worse ways to kill a night at home than watching the live premiere of a new Disney show.

For those who didn't tune in, the new talking Mickey made an appearance, schmoozing with celebrities and VIPS in the audience before trading banter with Tom Staggs and Bob Iger on stage. (Staggs did not seem comfortable having a conversation with a 5-foot-tall mouse whose lips move; Iger actually seemed to be into it.) :lol:

The show? I'll be completely unoriginal and say that I think the lack of any semblance of a narrative does detract. Granted, Fantasmic! is a pretty random mashup as well, but you do (sort of) have a plot tying it together. There really isn't any cartilage here at all. I would have liked to see the "Color" theme utilized a little more originally...say, some set of villains tries to steal all the color from the world, ushering in a dull gray and white pall before true love triumphs and all the majestic shades of the artist's palette are unleashed again. Or something.

I do appreciate the references to the old Walt Disney program. The Disney brand has always been a mix of cutting edge ideas with nostalgia. The DCA makeover seems to be embracing both sides of that, with the references to Walt in the entrance area and WoC, as well as the Victorian theme at Paradise Pier. Pimping the past is good, especially when the company has such a rich vault of history to mine.

However, at the risk of sounding like someone griping about "kids today and their danged rock and roll music," I'm not sure why everything has to have a teen pop sheen applied to it these days. The bubble gum styling of the World of Color theme does diminish from the nostalgia factor a bit, and I'm not sure how it's any improvement on the original.

I enjoyed the mix of Disney properties the show uses, from the well-known animated features, to live action films like PotC and Enchanted, to Pixar. Lots of Pixar. Not that we needed any confirmation, but this show is another reminder that Pixar is driving the Disney train from a creative standpoint these days, which is fine with me. I'm glad all those characters and stories are under the Disney umbrella.

(I also think I spotted a snippet of "The Old Mill" in there!)

Anyway...the effects are obviously what this show is really about, and I can't offer too much input on the pyro from my laptop on the other side of the country. Some parts of the show really do look amazing. And having Paradise Pier and Mickey's Fun Wheel lit up is a gorgeous backdrop.

I guess that's enough stream of consciousness rambling from me. I will say that it's awesome that I could even watch this show tonight in real time. I was a little sad at being "left out" of the big debut, but thanks to technology, I got a real taste of the event after all. That's almost as cool as seeing color on television for the first time.

 

[disneyonmymind]

Wow that live stream was amazing! I think its hilarious how soaked Terri Hatcher was after the show :lol: and I actually loved how "So Close" tied the Lion King and Princesses together. Even watching it on a pixelated computer screen I was heartbroken during the Simba and Mufasa scene. Note to self: New life goal - Visit Disneyland.:sohappy:

 

[Aurora's#1Fan]

The tower isn't used in the show anymore. I heard it was, like many of the other effects, not performing ideally. It's still there under the water, with nothing attached to it, so maybe in the future we'll see it.

No. It is another Murphy incident I believe.

 

[disneysroyal411]

There are definitely worse ways to kill a night at home than watching the live premiere of a new Disney show.

For those who didn't tune in, the new talking Mickey made an appearance, schmoozing with celebrities and VIPS in the audience before trading banter with Tom Staggs and Bob Iger on stage. (Staggs did not seem comfortable having a conversation with a 5-foot-tall mouse whose lips move; Iger actually seemed to be into it.) :lol:

The show? I'll be completely unoriginal and say that I think the lack of any semblance of a narrative does detract. Granted, Fantasmic! is a pretty random mashup as well, but you do (sort of) have a plot tying it together. There really isn't any cartilage here at all. I would have liked to see the "Color" theme utilized a little more originally...say, some set of villains tries to steal all the color from the world, ushering in a dull gray and white pall before true love triumphs and all the majestic shades of the artist's palette are unleashed again. Or something.

I do appreciate the references to the old Walt Disney program. The Disney brand has always been a mix of cutting edge ideas with nostalgia. The DCA makeover seems to be embracing both sides of that, with the references to Walt in the entrance area and WoC, as well as the Victorian theme at Paradise Pier. Pimping the past is good, especially when the company has such a rich vault of history to mine.

However, at the risk of sounding like someone griping about "kids today and their danged rock and roll music," I'm not sure why everything has to have a teen pop sheen applied to it these days. The bubble gum styling of the World of Color theme does diminish from the nostalgia factor a bit, and I'm not sure how it's any improvement on the original.

I enjoyed the mix of Disney properties the show uses, from the well-known animated features, to live action films like PotC and Enchanted, to Pixar. Lots of Pixar. Not that we needed any confirmation, but this show is another reminder that Pixar is driving the Disney train from a creative standpoint these days, which is fine with me. I'm glad all those characters and stories are under the Disney umbrella.

(I also think I spotted a snippet of "The Old Mill" in there!)

Anyway...the effects are obviously what this show is really about, and I can't offer too much input on the pyro from my laptop on the other side of the country. Some parts of the show really do look amazing. And having Paradise Pier and Mickey's Fun Wheel lit up is a gorgeous backdrop.

I guess that's enough stream of consciousness rambling from me. I will say that it's awesome that I could even watch this show tonight in real time. I was a little sad at being "left out" of the big debut, but thanks to technology, I got a real taste of the event after all. That's almost as cool as seeing color on television for the first time.

Those statements were very true! O Staags kind of staggered (<--see what I did there) at that moment and was totally out of the interactive concept.

Also, lack of story line did take away a little bit and I also felt that some of the projections could be added to. Such as when they shut down the projection and leave it all to the water, I feel it takes away and doesn't completely move me. Some dialogue in there with a story would be nice for some empty seems *coughcough Little Mermaid end and Chernabog end coughcough* Those are both IMHO.

 

[etwtec]

Someone has to be getting a recording of this soundtrack soon...right?

Did anyone happen to get a *coughcough audio rip coughcough* of the video stream? If only I knew ahead of time they would be broadcasting with semi source audio.... haha

I hope Disney officially posts the broadcast video. It was annoying as, you know what, with all the lagging.

 

[nemofinder22]

A look way back to end of 2006/early 2007 when Disney started to release a few hints and this page exploded across the Disney message boards and World of Colors there too.

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports/2006/int/dint.html

 

[sponono88]

The premiere was awesome! It was a very big event, got to meet so many great people. I'm sure most of you watched it online so I won't go into detail about the opening ceremony. For the ceremony they were projecting on two giant balloons as well as the center of the Screamin' loop, they had a few fireworks and best of all - talking mickey!

They gave away free souvenir buckets with flavored popcorn, drinks, cookies, and a DisneyParksBlog pin. I got to meet Heather from the blog, she was really nice and personally introduced herself to every one who won the contest. They also gave away a booklet similar to the Playbills you get a theatre - with a list of the different Acts, a list of songs in the show, and all kinds of facts and pictures -- really nice souvenir!

The Blue carpet was fun - the giant puppets paraded through the carpet and interacted with the crowds, celebrities + Disney VIPs - a very fun festive atmosphere.

And once again, the show was phenomenal. I stood farther back this time, near the parade route and saw things I didn't see last weekend. The globe lights in the viewing area interact with different colors throughout the show, and the hidden fountains are really cool as they burst unexpectedly in certain scenes. Also, being farther along the back gives you a wide panoramic view of the whole show, it's amazing.

I noticed Steven Davison was wearing a Little Squirt pin. And btw, little squirt makes an appearance during the post-show, he's the last fountain you see before they all disappear. a nice tribute to the character

It's official. World of Color is finally here.

 

[techiegsy]

^ The latest BlueSkyDisney blog says the Alice scene was cut because the paper animation didn't look good enough once they actually projected it onto the mist screens. You have to keep in mind that they adjusted the show once they got everything up and running in the lagoon. They kept what worked and modified what didn't.

Thanks for that, didn't know about the animation looking bad, it was a shame to see the idea go. But if it didn't work, it didn't work.

Thank you for the kind reminder. I have a hunch that if the fans start voicing these types of concerns more, they will be forced to stop giving out preview information with such long lead times and with such detail as they did with World of Color.

Some people are acting like Disney had a written contract on what World of Color would include, and that the only reason they were going to book trips to Disneyland was to see paper cutouts of Alice figures for 90 seconds in a 27 minute water show. Alice, Herc and that Lil' Squirt concept was cut. When I first heard Steve going on about Lil' Squirt at D23 I thought "Oh, one of those high concept cutesy things that will go right over the heads of nearly everyone in the audience".

World of Color is just that, a world of color brought to life before your eyes. Ask the audience at a Fantasmic! show what the plot is for Fantasmic! and you'll get lots of blank stares, and a few comments that it's Mickey directing fountains and then lots of Disney film clips and then Mickey slays a dragon and it's happy-fun time happy ending.

What's the storyline or plot for Illuminations? Seriously, I have no idea if it has a plot and I've seen that wonderful show a dozen times.

I also never tire of people judging things via amateur video on YouTube. The comments people give after watching YouTube on their laptop for 2 minutes always cracke me up!

YouTube is a modern miracle of communication, but it can only give a tiny taste of something. And it does an absolutely horrible job of portraying night spectaculars, whether its Illuminations or Fantasmic or Fireworks or... World of Color.

I understand if there was a valid reason, but there does seem to be moments in the show where it just doesn't flow between scenes right, and that won't be made worse by Youtube, I've already agreed that it must be breath-taking and I am very impressed with the technology used and it's stunning visuals.

I am not going to not watch it because Alice is missing, that's and incredibly stupid statement, but like I say, some cuts were not for creative reasons but were because The Weatherman was worried about the length, from what I hear. And I think this is why Little Squirt is gone, although I am not sure. I am also convinced that it wouldn't be lost on Joe public, because it would be an obvious visual at the beginning from the quote.

Yet again, I feel it comes to the flow of the show, a lot of the transistion are smooth and really nice (The leaves settle to find Heinrich, or the balloons from up) But some are very obvious cuts, where the music and visuals don't flow as they should. This is another thing that may come down to time restraints, I don't know...

And plots of Fantasmic! and Illuminations, well Fantasmic is explained at the begining, that we are entering Mickey's imaginations and then we hear The Queen from Snow White plotting, with the lines from the villains being very specific to taking over Mickey's mind. So I'm pretty sure most people will get it. And the plot of Illuminations, well Big Bang -> Creation of Earth covered in water -> Creation of land -> Creation of animals and plants -> Creation of humans and buildings -> Celebration -> and then the message of peace. (OK that one isn't brutally obvious but the narration at the beginning helps "As old as time itself, but still being written")

But in all honesty, it isn't the lack of plot, it has one. It looks at the world of love, the world of fears etc... But just the flow.

I sound like I'm being negative, but I'm not, it's a little le that I have said that you seem to have blown out of all proportion. It's a moving show, I got shivers just watching the video on youtube, and at times it's very, very moving. I am glad to see Disney invest so much money in it and I am glad to see how well it has turned out, I just had one little quibble with the flow, which others have mentioned, I am not shouting that the show is terrible am I?

Oh and Sponono88 - I'm very jealous that you got to be at the Premiere! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Does anyone know if there are any opening night videos of the Blue Carpet and things around?

 

[cdunbar]

Does anyone know if there is a version you can watch from last night today?

 

[imagineer boy]

Wow, talking Mickey was at the premier?! Hopefully someone took a video of it, I'm desperate to see more footage of that thing.

 

[dweezil78]

I honestly have no nitpicks on this show -- it simply looks amazing, epic, and and just a pure feast of eye candy. Honestly, any issues people are having are merely of personal opinion at this point. This isn't a stage show, it' a night time effects spectacular. If you want deep story, go read a book or watch a movie.

IMO Disney hit a home run with WoC and I'm excited that they have this entirely new platform to work with and update over the years. This is just the start people... It's a fully programming, customizable display which I'm sure will evolve and expand over time. Lots of greatness to come!

 

[tirian]

The show? I'll be completely unoriginal and say that I think the lack of any semblance of a narrative does detract. Granted, Fantasmic! is a pretty random mashup as well, but you do (sort of) have a plot tying it together. There really isn't any cartilage here at all. I would have liked to see the "Color" theme utilized a little more originally...say, some set of villains tries to steal all the color from the world, ushering in a dull gray and white pall before true love triumphs and all the majestic shades of the artist's palette are unleashed again. Or something.

Gag. No. Sorry. I've had enough of the Villains ruining everything in every theme park show. At this point, Mickey is a moron for not expecting the villains to show up.

However, at the risk of sounding like someone griping about "kids today and their danged rock and roll music," I'm not sure why everything has to have a teen pop sheen applied to it these days. The bubble gum styling of the World of Color theme does diminish from the nostalgia factor a bit, and I'm not sure how it's any improvement on the original.

It's called this: "Old men execs try to figure out what's cool for young people."

I understand Iger's desire to freshen the theme song for the show; honestly, the original "World of Color" song makes me cringe because it's BADLY cheesy. Seriously though, was a bubblegum pop remix leftover from the 90s the best way to update the WOC song? :lol:

 

[sponono88]

A look at the event, blue carpet:

[youtube]6efTHmii-T8[/youtube]

and for those who asked about talking mickey during the opening ceremony, here's a video of the ustream live broadcast (posted by skoolboiedd):

Part 1 of 5

[youtube]yOnaKB2tfUM[/youtube]

 

[cdunbar]

So amazingly awesome! I can't wait to see it next month!:sohappy:

 

[TP2000]

They really pulled out all the stops for this premiere party and opening night! Thanks for sharing the videos sponono88!

 

[sponono88]

^ They did, it was an amazing experience. Talking mickey was such a great surprise

Here's a higher-quality vid of the event, by InsideTheMagic

[youtube]HUPB1ddpfs8[/youtube]

And here's an HD video of the full show. although it's probably the best i've seen on youtube, it still doesn't compare to the actual experience of seeing it live

[youtube]7o0Icz6ExiM[/youtube]

 

[sponono88]

These are the new park maps, with the Summer Nightastic insert - also the first maps to feature the new DCA logo:

And here's the program booklet that they gave out at the premiere on Thursday. I'll have a few more scans later tonight

The merch is out in full force in several stores throughout the park. One item I bought that caught my eye was a large lithograph featuring art that I posted a while back. It was featured as a picture in an AP magazine:

it has a reflective World of Color logo on the bottom, it's really nice I saw several people picking up 2-3 of them at a time, I don't know if they're LE or not.

a picture of the lithograph:

 

[Mukta]

I saw the first show Friday night.
I got to the park at 8:45 and got a fastpass for the first show red seating area. I went back to work and came back at 7 pm.
The area near PP was chaotic. The sections were denoted by colored lamps. The preshow was really fun and helped to kill the time.
The singing was terrible, but the crowd got into it and I loved seeing the characters. The huge Sebastian and Lumiere looked the best.
The show was incredible. It really was the colors and the fountains that stole the show. We definitely got soaked, so I was glad to be wearing my raincoat with hood. The crowds were insane, but I hope to see it again soon.
The red section was a little off center, so I look forward to getting yellow next time.

 

[Nicole220]

Saw it tonight and was blown away. When the first wall of fountains shot up in the air, our mouths dropped and we were like, "woah." I lost it during the Lion King/So Close scene. I knew that was going to be there and was ready for it but still cried.

We got to the park this morning at 9:30 and hopped in the fastpass line. It took about 30 minutes to get to the machines. Our section was orange, which was in the very back. I was hoping for up close, but seeing it from far away was nice because we could see everything. The preshow was lame. Glow fest was a blast for us. The Cast Members working there rock, and not just the costumed dancer ones. One of the merchandise ladies lead the dancing the entire time. She was awesome.

 

[TP2000]

Glow fest was a blast for us. The Cast Members working there rock, and not just the costumed dancer ones. One of the merchandise ladies lead the dancing the entire time. She was awesome.

Glow Fest is the sleeper hit of the summer! I really enjoy it. I've walked through there on my own just getting a kick out of all the go-go dancers and nifty lighting effects, and also spent some time there with friends having a Glowtini and dancing a bit to a good song or two. It's a blast!

The food from the catering truck is really good, too.

Glow Fest is one of those one-hit wonders that will define the summer of 2010 for us, since World of Color will be around for decades. But Glow Fest is a really fun summer party they cooked up out of nowhere!

I love the guy at the start of this Glow Fest video on YouTube... "Who needs West Hollywood anymore?!?" I couldn't have said it better myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsUl_UdhIQc

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