World of Color



""Every child is blessed with a vivid imagination.""

- Walt Disney

World of Color is a water "nighttime spectacular" running at Disney California Adventure, in which "dancing" fountains (plus lasers and fire spouts!) perform to iconic Disney Animated Canon and Pixar sequences (such as the "speaking whale" scene from Finding Nemo). Think of it as Las Vegas' Fountains of Bellagio meets Fantasia in a good ol' Disney Acid Sequence.

Business wise, it could possibly be billed as the "main attraction" of California Adventure's billion dollar makeover, and so far, it's done a pretty good job of making a Disneyland/DCA ("Park Hopper") ticket worth the money. The show is designed in such a way that sequences can be changed out and fountains reprogrammed fairly easily, with the football field-sized fountain platform only needing general routine maintenance. Also notable for prominently featuring the mist screen technology that started with it's Long Runner predecessor Fantasmic.

The title, opening sequence, and theme song are a tribute to Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, though that is about as far as the homages go. As for the show itself, YMMV, but general consensus among Disney fans seems to be that it falls squarely in the So Cool Its Awesome category.

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 * Art Evolution: Originally, effects were limited to those created with the equipment installed in the lagoon and the lights on Mickey's Fun Wheel. Scenes added later broadened the show's canvas with additional lighting and projection effects made on the California Screamin' roller coaster.
 * Award Bait Song: The re-imagined theme to the Wonderful World of Color TV show.
 * Development Gag: World of Color has the Cheshire Cat and Alice appearing in the finale after technical issues caused the deletion of their segment.
 * Additionally, the sequence played during the exit music ends with a single orange fountain taking a bow, then shutting off. This could reference an early draft of the show, in which a mischievous orange fountain named "Little Squirt" guided viewers through the different Worlds.
 * Disney Acid Sequence
 * Dueling Shows: Semi-invoked example with Fantasmic. When both shows are playing on the same night, they are almost always scheduled around the same time in order to force guests to choose between them. This effectively solved the lack of nighttime crowds for California Adventure, therefore downgrading Disneyland's nighttime crowds from "crazy ridiculous" to just "ridiculous". Technically speaking, they are more companion shows rather than dueling shows, partnered up as Disney continues to work through crowd problems on its California property.
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: The lead-up to the finale includes several of the Disney Princess girls in their famous scenes, such as Cinderella's "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" transformation and Tiana and Naveen getting married and returning to human form.
 * Everything's Better with Rainbows: As if you couldn't tell by the title.
 * Everything's Better with Sparkles: Good Lord is this show sparkly. Bonus mention for the Mickey's Fun Wheel ferris wheel in the background, which is programmed to light up in sequence with the music.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Aww, yeah.
 * Intercontinuity Crossover
 * The Merch: Disney is very proud of this show, and merchandise for it can be found all around California Adventure. This includes apparel, collectible pins, bracelets, keychains, ect.
 * Mood Whiplash: The show includes a long montage of fun and (duh) colorful Disney movie moments and then -- The Firebird and Chernabog in all their terrifying glory... the Death of Mufasa... Dumbo's mom in the cage... the Beast dying... And cut to the Disney Princesses suddenly! (Admittedly, the theme of the latter three segments seem to be "being with loved ones", but... yeah.)
 * Special mention goes to the segue from Heimlich the Caterpillar to the Pirates of the Caribbean sequence which is unsettling to say the least.
 * Product Placement: A reminder that Tropes Are Not Bad, if you can believe it. Sequences centered around the newer Disney movies can be easily programmed before, after, or directly into the show. So far, Tron: Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Prep and Landing have received their own sequences, with a Brave sequence coming up in Summer 2012.
 * Spiritual Successor: To Fantasmic.
 * Shout-Out: The orange Mickey Mouse balloon at the end of the Up sequence.