Fun Facts, Figures and History: ‘World of Color’ and Holiday ‘World of Color – Winter Dreams’

ANAHEIM, Calif. – “World of Color − Winter Dreams,” the holiday version of the after-dark spectacular, adds humor, inspirational music and merriment to Holidays at the Disneyland Resort. Presented on Paradise Bay in Disney California Adventure Park, the show features advanced technology and classic Disney animation, plus characters and music from the Walt Disney Pictures animated blockbuster “Frozen.”

Musical Wonderland

• “World of Color-Winter Dreams” unfolds in seven sequences, each one a dreamlike adventure:
  1. Wonder – Season’s Greetings: Guests join sisters Anna and Elsa from “Frozen,” as they play in a magical world created by Elsa’s powers of snow and ice.
  2. Snow – A Winter Wonderland: Elsa creates Olaf the snowman, who takes guests on a breathtaking winter sleigh ride, encountering Bambi, Thumper, Beauty and the Beast, and other classic Disney characters.
  3. Enchantment – The Toy Story Nutcracker: This familiar ballet is danced in some delightful, offbeat renditions by favorite “Toy Story” characters.
  4. Glow – A Season of Light: Holidays from around the world are celebrated with a magical pop-up holiday card, touching moments with Disney characters and a sky filled with luminaria from “Tangled.”
  5. Spirit – Olaf’s Sing-Along: Comical snowman Olaf returns to invite everyone to join in singing holiday classics, starting with “Jingle Bells.”
  6. Olaf’s Wish – In Summer: Olaf has always loved the idea of a warm summer. He innocently imagines himself enjoying the sunshine “In Summer,” before melting into two more favorite “Frozen” musical moments, “Love Is an Open Door” and “Let It Go.”
  7. Finale – Merry & Bright Holiday Lights: A dazzling display of lights blazes to life for a colorful finale around the lagoon, as Olaf makes one final appearance – along with a visit from a surprising Santa!
     
     
• “World of Color – Winter Dreams” features more than a dozen songs, including familiar holiday tunes such as “Jingle Bells,” “Feliz Navidad” and “The Dreidel Song” along with two new songs from “Frozen” – “Love is an Open Door” and “Do You Want To Build a Snowman?”

Technology

• Programming for the “Winter Dreams” show took three months.

• Visual projections are created with an ultra high-definition image playback system with more than four times the resolution of the original “World of Color” system.

• There are more than 17 million pixels in the “World of Color – Winter Dreams” screen. A high definition television image uses roughly 2 million pixels.

• Since 2012, guests have become part of the magic of “World of Color,” and other nighttime spectaculars at Disney Parks, thanks to the innovative interactive technology found in special Disney ear hats. Along with these ears, new “Made With Magic” merchandise items now allow guests to “glow with the show” and interact with experiences at Disney Parks around the world. New this year at the resort are a Minnie Bow Head Band and a magical Sorcerer Mickey wand.

• Each night before “World of Color – Winter Dreams,” guests may log on to play the Fun Wheel Challenge on their mobile devices. In this fun, interactive game, park guests compete against each other to match the color patterns and the winner gets to control the lights on Mickey’s Fun Wheel.

• For the dazzling finale of “World of Color – Winter Dreams,” 700 high-power, color, LED strobe lights were installed along the side of the California Screamin’ roller coaster. Each light has four individual control channels.

• Six snowflake generators within the viewing area produce giant snowflakes in six different shapes.

• Ten mirror balls, installed on the speaker and lighting towers, produce dazzling sparkle effects for the show.

• All of the technological effects added for “Winter Dreams” enhance the existing “World of Color” “stage: a platform composed of nearly 1 acre of engineered superstructure. It’s longer than a football field and capable of settling on three levels – one for the performance, one under the water surface and one for maintenance. There are nearly 1,200 powerful and programmable fountains and a vast underwater grid with more than 18,000 points of control. Each fountain has multiple points of control for lighting, color intensity, water angle and height.

‘World of Color’ Evolution

• Since its premiere on June 11, 2010, “World of Color” has been performed more than 2,600 times and been viewed by more than 11 million guests at Disney California Adventure.

• The show’s flexibility has made it possible to add and subtract special sequences since its 2010 debut, incluiding a July 4 Independence Day pre-show, a New Year’s Eve pre-show and scenes focusing on the films “TRON: LEGACY,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “Brave.”

• From 2011 to 2012, “World of Color” featured a special holiday season pre-show with characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Prep & Landing.”

• The fountains in “World of Color” can send water to heights ranging from 30 feet to 200 feet. By way of comparison, Mickey’s Fun Wheel reaches a height of 150 feet, some of it below the edge of the lagoon.