Saturday, October 29, 2011
Forty Years of Fireworks at Walt Disney World Resort
Disney Parks Blog: The Walt Disney World Resort has marked several 40-year milestones this month, including the debut of Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Resort and the Electrical Water Pageant. Another 40-year milestone that we marked this week was the anniversary of the first fireworks display ever launched at Walt Disney World Resort.
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I would love to see one of these shows, the thought and planning that goes into these both logistically and conceptually must be immense. We spend a lot of time studying design at CMU and it would be interesting to see how much of that carries ove into firework shows designs. It is an entirely new medium that has very little similarities directly to any other mediums but I'd bet that being theatrical designers a lot of our skills would transfer. Controlling light, angle, time, intensity makes them just like lights except that they behave in an entirely different way.
It would be fascinating to be able to go behind the scenes at Disney to look at the entire fireworks setup there. I'd love to see what sort of systems are used to sync and cue all of the fireworks across such a wide span of launching points. The ability to control all the launches via computer timing must have been a great innovation for the fireworks industry, but imagine how much pride an operator could have taken in manually cueing a show to music by launching individual fireworks like shows used to be. Also, I am curious how much money Disney spends on pyrotechnics with there being an entire fireworks show every single night.
The part of this video that really caught my attention was when he talked about storytelling and having the characters interacting with the fireworks. This is an amazing feat of engineering to get performers (such as tinkerbell in the video) up into the air with the fireworks, but it is also just a very interesting question of "how do they tell a story with blasts and explosions of colored light?" I would love to be able to sit in on the process of storyboarding out how they will do each fireworks show and what they are trying to convey with them.
I also find it hilarious that they have so many shows that they have begun naming them. "Sky Spectacular" is a good name for a fireworks show, but I wonder what some of the others are, and if that information is available to the public anywhere.
The idea that a place does fireworks every night is what I found most amazing about this. I have never seen a Disney firework show before, but if the scale portrayed in the video is to be believed they on a nightly basis put many 4th of July firework shows to shame. While that's cool and all, it's almost more of a testament to the money making power of Disney that they can afford to do something like fireworks with that much frequency and scale.
It's interesting to see this different take on the development of a firework show. I don't think the idea of story and the interaction of different elements such as the characters or music (beyond the 1812 Overture) are considered as often to mix with the fireworks, and trying to bring all these elements together in order to be able to a story through a fireworks show. The vast resources and space that Disney have certainly don't hurt in helping them to develop this story, and do things they do. It's good to see a different medium that we aren't used to being used for storytelling being pushed in that direction.
Growing up partially i Orlando Fl, The fireworks will always hold a special place in my mechanically infused metaphorical heart. You could always see them going off from the roof of my heart as the different parks lit the sky on the drive home from school. a common pass time when working tech events late at my theatre was going on the roof of the fly tower and watching the different parks from the roof. the variations of the different shows could be heard depending on the night and distance from each park. it is something i will miss wherever i live from now on as it was one of my favorite parts of living in FL.
I was just at Disney World this summer and they never disappoint me. As a child I loved their shows and now as an adult I can appreciate them more because I know how they technology works. They really know their stuff at Disney World and I love just hearing about how they accomplish different things there from their light shows to firework shows and more. I would love to work on their team one day creating beautiful things like that for kids to ogle at and enjoy.
I would love to know how much money they spend on fireworks a day and on special occasions. It amazes me how much money they have. I also wonder about the environmental impact the fireworks have. That much sulfur cant be great. That being said i would still love to see them.
Disney has always put a different spin on anything they do. The way in which they describe (or justify) what they do is always fantastical and imaginative leaving us with this 'wow' factor. The thought that they put into creating something that is so common to every American, and adding a story to it shows how Disney is more than just show. The shows are gigantic and they have a great sense of theatricality, but that is what their vision is and the world that Walt wanted to create. It would definitely be interesting to know how much money Disney spends on their firework shows and how if they feel spending that much money truly helps with the vision of the shows.
Every time I see a new fireworks show at Disneyland, I am endlessly amazed at the precision with which the shows are designed and planned. The ability of these pyrotechnicians and programmers to set off hundreds of fireworks in time with a piece of music for fifteen minutes from various locations around the theme park is incredible. Talk about a lot of tech time going into a show. I think a huge lesson to learn from these Disney masterminds is their attention to detail. Not only does the angle, color, style, and intensity of each individual firework seem to be specifically thought through, but it is obvious that there has also been thought put into the lighting and projection on the castle, which add to the atmosphere and overall entertainment value of the show. I wonder how much these shows cost per night....imagine what we could do with a budget like that on a show! But people at Disneyland are paying the big bucks to be watching the fireworks, so it is only natural that so much time, care, and money goes into their development.
The only thing I ever think about when watching one of these firework displays is the environmental footprint of even one 10 minute show. I can't imagine what kindo f damage 40 years of nightly firework displays some being over 15minutes of straight fireworks has done to the environment. It surprises me that Washington DC even still does firework displays over the monument each 4th of July. It's just so detrimental. I wish there were some report of these displays alone and what kind of effect it's had over the past 40 years.
It's certainly increadible to be able to afford and execute these massive shows each night. But theres nothing magical about the effects the shows have on the REAL WORLD. Our environment can't afford this.
"Do it right, or go home." This motto is what comes to mind when I think about Disney. Whether it is in the quality of their animations, the experience they create for their patrons at their amusement parks, or the execution and detail in which they put into their shows (firework shows included!).
Not only does a large budget contribute to the quality (and quantity) of shows that they produce, but the skills of their staff and the delight that their patrons take in this tradition encourage them to pursue new feats, while highlighting the landmarks of the organization.
For example, the idea of the castle silhouetted by fireworks will never get old. Little girls will always want to be that Disney princess in the castle, etc...They have an ever-flowing market of patrons, because there are always little kids that dream about this stuff, and their parents love to see their little eyes light up. The fireworks are just one of the incredible displays Disney provides their patrons with. Their goal is to reach perfection.
The Disney firework shows are a complete and wonderful show that captivates the senses and imagination. They are so great because they think about the whole story about the music and how fireworks make you feel because they have thought through all the aspects it increases the success of the show. Not only are the shows impressive but the amount of planning the goes into the shows are also impressive. I would love to see the New Year’s show.
Ive been a part of the process for setting up a pyrotechnics show and let me say... never have i enjoyed my day job after that... and that show was set up on a small barge in a lake. These shows always impress and intimidate me. If your lighting goes wrong in a show, oops. if something goes wrong in pyrotechnics... poor life choices. Doesn't change the fact that i would love to get a chance to experience the process.
I've been lucky enough to see this one of these shows in person and have to admit they are stunning. The show can be super close to the viewers because they are staged over a massive lake, which also paints a nice picture with the water's reflection. The amount of money and time that goes into a single fireworks display is staggering, topping tens of thousands of dollars per show. It's a sight to see for sure.
The progress that has been made since when they first opened the parks and began doing firework shows is remarkable! The technology is so much more advanced looking and more compatible for the running. I would love to mess around and learn how it all works! The design aspects are so polar opposite in relation to any other kind of lighting show, the timing especially in preparation for the real thing. I remember going to Disney World three years ago with my class and going to see the firework show our last night and everyone was in complete awe at the end.
I am literally counting down the days until I am back in my hometown and can hear the comforting sound of the fireworks out my window once again. As an Orlando local, I hear the Magic Kingdom train whistle and the fireworks from my house, and watching them is still such a cherished memory and amazing experience. I believe there is nothing like watching a Disney firework show, and no one does it quite like them. From the shapes and colors, to music and auditory storytelling, to projections and immersive spaces during the theatrical performance, I absolutely adore this style of storytelling. I still remember the first time I saw Tinker Bell fly from the Magic Kingdom castle during a firework show as a child. From then on, I have amazing memories of frolicking through the parks with my friends all throughout middle and high school as the fireworks go off, singing along to some of our favorite Disney movies and marveling at the gorgeous pictures painted in the night sky.
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