Is World of Color Replacing Fantasmic?

[TikiRoom]

Hi everyone,

I've been a long-time reader of Micechat, first time poster. Thanks for all your wisdom that has helped me during my park visits! I've finally had a question that has puzzled me enough to join the forums.

Is it the intent for World of Color to replace Fantasmic? I've read no less than 30 Imagineer interviews and attraction updates about WOC and this has never been specifically addressed, to my knowledge. I've looked back into the forum topics to see if I've missed this discussion, but I haven't found anything. Please feel free to set me straight if this has already been discussed at length and I missed it.

I'm excited about WOC, but I have an incredibly soft spot in my heart for Fantasmic. Also, I can't believe that they would spend the $ on the dragon, Flotsam & Jetsam, Tick Tock Croc, etc. if they plan to scrap it in '10.

Do you guys have any insight on this matter? I welcome speculation if no one knows for sure!

[stitchon]

Hi everyone,

I've been a long-time reader of Micechat, first time poster. Thanks for all your wisdom that has helped me during my park visits! I've finally had a question that has puzzled me enough to join the forums.

Is it the intent for World of Color to replace Fantasmic? I've read no less than 30 Imagineer interviews and attraction updates about WOC and this has never been specifically addressed, to my knowledge. I've looked back into the forum topics to see if I've missed this discussion, but I haven't found anything. Please feel free to set me straight if this has already been discussed at length and I missed it.

I'm excited about WOC, but I have an incredibly soft spot in my heart for Fantasmic. Also, I can't believe that they would spend the $ on the dragon, Flotsam & Jetsam, Tick Tock Croc, etc. if they plan to scrap it in '10.

Do you guys have any insight on this matter? I welcome speculation if no one knows for sure!

No worries, World of Color is actually going to be at Disney's California Adventure in the Paradise Pier Lagoon. Fantasmic! will probably keep showing for years to come.

[FI183]

The reason they are making WoC is so DCA has something to compete with F!. F! will still be around for a LONG time. Trust me you are not the first to assume this, but it is mainly to spread out the guests to both parks at night so DL isn't overly packed like it has been this summer at Night. WoC will be DCA's "fireworks".

[TikiRoom]

Thanks for the reply! I should have mentioned that I knew that WOC was being constructed in DCA. I was there this past July and saw the incredible underwater staging for WOC and the drained lagoon; what an undertaking!

The reason why I asked was because I read a while back in an article that World of Color was being designed as a hopeful "Fantasmic Killer". Since Fantasmic has had quite a lengthy run and is somewhat expensive to show each night (I've heard estimates of $30k/night), I was just concerned they might limit their financial commitment to nighttime entertainment.

[Josh&Robert]

The reason they are making WoC is so DCA has something to compete with F!. F! will still be around for a LONG time. Trust me you are not the first to assume this, but it is mainly to spread out the guests to both parks at night so DL isn't overly packed like it has been this summer at Night. WoC will be DCA's "fireworks".

Er, from I have seen it is going to be far greater than that. What they are doing looks so amazing! It's going to be on Fantasmic!'s level, not fireworks.

[Fantasmic Fan]

... F! will still be around for a LONG time ...

Yup, you got that right. As long as Fantasmic! keeps bringing in crowds to Disneyland, they will have it. I think that Fantasmic! is what makes Disneyland at night magical, because Disney changes the firework show every year, and people love Fantasmic!

[FI183]

Er, from I have seen it is going to be far greater than that. What they are doing looks so amazing! It's going to be on Fantasmic!'s level, not fireworks.

You didn't quite get what I meant. I know WoC is going to be amazing. I'm super super excited, have always vouched for it since the begining. What I mean is that WoC will be the nighttime equivalent to fireworks. The main nighttime event for guests at Disneyland are the fireworks. When WoC premiers, thats what guests will stay late at the park to see, WoC. And WoC will be changed and evolve over the years. Just like the fireworks are changed and more advanced every few years.

[techskip]

The reason they are making WoC is so DCA has something to compete with F!. F! will still be around for a LONG time. Trust me you are not the first to assume this, but it is mainly to spread out the guests to both parks at night so DL isn't overly packed like it has been this summer at Night. WoC will be DCA's "fireworks".

The investments made in the dragon would indicate that Fantasmic will be around for some time to come. I question how any show could be an honest competition. However the way WOC is being hyped it may be just that... an honest competition. It will be interesting to see if WOC will have a shelf life beyond it's opening years.

On that note I am curious how DCA plans to offset both Fantasmic and the fireworks. There was a comment a while back about moving the Electrical Parade back to Disneyland... if this is done it would give Disneyland the "top 3" which could be problematic to DCA's nighttime attendance.

[TikiRoom]

It does make sense that DCA would try to retain some of the daily park attendance with WoC, assuming that they change the park's operating hours to 10pm or 11pm on show nights.

When I was there this past summer, I could not believe the stampede of people running out of DCA after the Electrical Parade to try to get in just in time to see Magical. More astounding was the unmoving mass of people trying to flood out through Adventureland into the main hub after the first Fantasmic before Magical. Hopefully WoC will solve some of the "nightmare Fantasmic" traffic issues.

Thanks to you guys, I'm already feeling a little bit more confident that my favorite DL show won't be going anywhere, anytime soon!

[misskswann]

Hi everyone,

I've been a long-time reader of Micechat, first time poster. Thanks for all your wisdom that has helped me during my park visits! I've finally had a question that has puzzled me enough to join the forums.

Is it the intent for World of Color to replace Fantasmic? I've read no less than 30 Imagineer interviews and attraction updates about WOC and this has never been specifically addressed, to my knowledge. I've looked back into the forum topics to see if I've missed this discussion, but I haven't found anything. Please feel free to set me straight if this has already been discussed at length and I missed it.

I'm excited about WOC, but I have an incredibly soft spot in my heart for Fantasmic. Also, I can't believe that they would spend the $ on the dragon, Flotsam & Jetsam, Tick Tock Croc, etc. if they plan to scrap it in '10.

Do you guys have any insight on this matter? I welcome speculation if no one knows for sure!

Wow this sounds very promising indeed! I haven't heard a thing about that yet, but when I think WOC, I imagine an amazing water show filled with bold colors and maybe flashbacks of old cartoons and whatnot, I know fantasmic is a water show, right? If so Im pretty sure I've seen it once or twice, and it was amazing, I cant wait to see how they pull this together, and it definately has to do fantasmic justice

[blondiethesounds]

Wow this sounds very promising indeed! I haven't heard a thing about that yet, but when I think WOC, I imagine an amazing water show filled with bold colors and maybe flashbacks of old cartoons and whatnot, I know fantasmic is a water show, right? If so Im pretty sure I've seen it once or twice, and it was amazing, I cant wait to see how they pull this together, and it definately has to do fantasmic justice

This is the first you have heard of "World of Color?"

Somebody's late to the party......

[ChessurInWonderland]

No, though Fantasmic uses water projection to help tell a story, much of it is more about other effects, like Kaa, Columbia with Peter Pan characters, the crocodile, different barges, and, of course, the dragon, while World of Color is completely showing off water projection, with no barges or animatronics.

[mycroft16]

On that note I am curious how DCA plans to offset both Fantasmic and the fireworks. There was a comment a while back about moving the Electrical Parade back to Disneyland... if this is done it would give Disneyland the "top 3" which could be problematic to DCA's nighttime attendance.

Hopefully the EP move is temporary while construction is going on for BVS, TLM and PP, blocking most of the parade route. Once construction is complete it should move back to DCA. One would hope anyway.

I think WoC will actually be able to compete with Fantasmic!. It definitely has the potential to create an emotional connection with people, mainly through the music.

[WestsideCM99]

WoC is designed to spread the park attendance out more between the two parks during the evening's entertainment just like how Fantasmic and the Electric Parade are engineered to divert crowds away from the hub during the fireworks.

This makes me excited to think about the potential that is in WoC since it needs to draw a significant amount of guests away from the fireworks and fantasmic without it actually being another fireworks/fantasmic-ish show. WoC could be a really really big thing the likes of which we can't even imagine given the limited data that we have on it so far... or it could be a complete flop, only time will tell right?

[mycroft16]

[...]since it needs to draw a significant amount of guests away from the fireworks and fantasmic without it actually being another fireworks/fantasmic-ish show.[...]

I'm sure this was a challenge to the design/creative teams, and probably why they went with something with no pyro in it. It's something we haven't seen from Disney on the scale of a full sized show before.