Saturday, June 19, 2010

Premiere of Disney’s World of Color

I recently attended the premiere of “World of Color” at Disney’s California Adventure park.  World of Color is the nighttime show that I’d been hearing was coming for a couple of years.  The Paradise Bay Lagoon in California Adventure had been walled off for so long I was really excited that I was invited to be among the first to view the show.  I wore my typical black but threw on a bright pink wrap in honor of the theme.  My first stop was along the red carpet for the Celebrity Red Carpet Welcome portion of the night.  I joined several of my fellow bloggers who had also been invited to the event including: Caryn, Aracely and Liz.  The carpet was actually blue in honor of the water theme.  Among the celebrities we saw were two of my favorites: Jamie Lee Curtis and Geena Davis.  Next we headed over to the World of Color viewing area, Paradise Park, which is the side of the lagoon opposite Mickey’s Fun Wheel.  The name “World of Color” is a tribute to Walt Disney’s 1960’s tv series “Wonderful World of Color”.  Fountains in the lagoon (1,200 of them!) serve as the screens onto which the show is projected.  There are also synchronized flame projections, lasers and all kinds of special effects.  The show started and I was pulled into an amazing journey of Disney and Pixar characters accompanied by an original soundtrack performed by more than 100 musicians.  I learned that many of the scenes, although familiar, actually had to be recreated for World of Color.  This show is an amazing creative and technological feat!  Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Wall-E are some of the movies included in the show.  Be warned, you may get a little wet.  More likely just slightly misted depending on where you are in the audience and how breezy it is.  I was in the left front and only get a little bit of mist.   When the fire shoots up, you really feel it and it warms you up a bit, too.  Wow, I was blown away and can’t wait to go back!  The show runs just under 25 minutes and will have at least two showings per night through the summer with a possibility of a third show if demand is there.  Show times are: 9:00pm and 10:15pm.  A third show will be announced the same day and will be at 11:30pm.
Now, here is the scoop on maximizing your viewing of World of Color: The World of Color FASTPASS, reserved viewing and preferred viewing.  World of Color FASTPASSES will be available every morning at The Grizzly River Run FASTPASS terminals.  A limited number of FASTPASSES are available each day for each show.  The FASTPASS will allow you access to a reserved area in Paradise Park from which you can view World of Color.  For reserved viewing, you can take advantage of “World of Color” Picnic Meals which are available online or by walk-up purchase.  There are a set number of picnic meals each day, thus I strongly recommend ordering online to guarantee yours.  For $14.99 you get a choice of 4 adult and 3 kids meals, each meal comes with reserved viewing.  Finally, Prix Fixe “World of Color” Dinner Packages are available at Ariel’s Grotto and Wine Country Trattoria restaurants and come with World of Color Preferred Viewing.  At Ariel’s Grotto, prices are $36.99 for adults/$20.99 for kids ages 3-9 and at Wine Country Trattoria, prices are $39.00 for adults/$18.99 for kids ages 3-9.  For full details about World of Color dining options, go to Disneyland.com/WorldOfColor.  But, don’t worry if you don’t get a FASTPASS or a reserve viewing, you can still view World of Color from many locations around Paradise Bay.
After the Premiere of World of Color we headed over to the after party at Paradise Pier.  The whole pier was decorated with a dance floor and the gazebos were turned into living rooms.  There was tasty food and drinks to by had as well.  But let me tell you the best parts:  Characters and rides! Characters were available for photo opps without lines.  Chip and Dale who are my absolute favorite characters were hanging out right near our table so I went over and took some pictures with them.  They were right near the dance floor and since no one else was waiting to take a picture, we all danced around together for a bit, so funny.  The other absolutely awesome aspect of the party was that the rides were open…With no lines!  We went on Toy Story and then stayed on because no one was waiting.  You should have heard us hooting and hollering as we went back in.  I must have had the biggest grin on my face.  I think I we were all about 8 years old that night.  We didn’t have our kids with us so we could do whatever we wanted.  It was crazy.  We were all saying, “Hey, go on Screamin’ with me!” which is the roller coaster.  I went on that three times in a row because with toddlers I can never, ever do that!  Tee hee!!  Then we ran over to the new attraction “Silly Symphony Swings” which is a ride with 40 swings that you sit in and it swings you up high and out while you go spinning around on a musical journey.  We were having too much fun and the night came to an end too soon.  I knew I had to get home and get some sleep though to get back the next day for the media briefing so I could find out what’s new and what’s next at Disneyland to share with all of you.

For some great info about more to see and do in the Anaheim area, visit Uptake.com

Photo credit for most of the photos in this post goes to Caryn Bailey of RockinMama.net.  Thanks, Caryn, awesome shots!

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