02x06 - Nighttime Spectaculars

[bunniefuu]

[birds chirping]

[announcer] Remain seated, please.

[in Spanish]
Please remain seated.

[♪ theme music]

[indistinct chattering]

[narrator] Just as it's always been,
since Disneyland first opened in 1955,

a day in a Disney park
is one of endless possibilities,

-thrills…
-[roaring]

-…adventure, discovery.
-[train horn honks]

Everything under the sun
can be found in these magical lands,

and everything not under the sun as well,

because when night falls,
that's when it's time for…

-Fireworks.
-[fireworks crackling]

[narrator] But, of course,
it doesn't end there.

Don't forget the lights, lasers,
and parades.

These are the nighttime spectaculars…

It really changed your perception
of what nighttime entertainment can be.

…that transform the Disney park
of the daytime into a whole new world.

But there's a reason
for this radiant ritual,

a guiding philosophy, if you will,

that dates back to the earliest days
of Disneyland.

There's a great story
with the Sherman Brothers.

♪ Shining at the end of every day ♪

When they were with Walt Disney
on Main Street

and there was a firework show
that started.

[fireworks crackling]

And Walt turned around
and said to Richard Sherman,

"This is our kiss goodnight."

[narrator] Literally and figuratively,
sparks were flying.

Did Walt say the kiss goodnight?

Did he actually say that?

There is the rumor.

I don't know that that is true.
I think it's kind of apocryphal.

[narrator]
Well, one shouldn't kiss and tell.

But it's… it's a good urban legend.

[narrator] Oh, well, in any case…

Walt thought that we really needed a way
to bring everyone together

at the end of the night
and kind of encapsulate the day.

[narrator] Hm, almost like a…

Like a moment that kisses you goodnight
before you leave at the end of the day.

[narrator] Thank you.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves,
we've only just begun our evening.

In fact,
the story of fireworks in the park,

the very first nighttime spectacular,
started before the first park even opened.

Before Disneyland opened,
Walt Disney started telling folks

about it on television.

[Rebecca] He created a show called…

[announcer] Walt Disney's Disneyland!

…and started doing, uh, reports
on how the construction

and how the development was going

to get people excited
about coming to see the new park.

Now we want you to share with us
our latest and greatest dream.

And he opened that show with Tinkerbell
flying in and waving her wand

and making fireworks explode.

And so when people came to the park,

they expected to see Tinkerbell
and the fireworks…

[guest 1] Can't wait to see the fireworks.

-…and there weren't any.
-[crickets chirping]

[guest 2] I guess
they're not doing any fireworks.

We didn't have the wherewithal

to do a big firework show
or anything at that time.

[narrator] But all of that was about
to change,

thanks to Mickey.

No, not that Mickey!

Mickey Aronson was the first
full-time pyrotechnician at Disneyland

that was hired by Walt Disney.

[narrator] Yes, Mickey Aronson,
who, in 1957,

would begin overseeing
Disneyland's first fireworks spectacular,

which, later that year,
would be formally titled…

Fantasy in the Sky.

[crowd cheering]

When it started,
it was literally about five minutes long,

and it was cast members
sh**ting the fireworks themselves

up in the sky behind the castle.

They would take a music track…

[♪ fanfare music playing]

…and then the pyrotechnicians
would light a flare

and you would hear, "Two, three, fire one!

Fire two!

-Three! Four! Five!"
-[fireworks crackling]

[crowd cheering]

And they knew how long the timers were
on each of the shells,

and then by doing that,
they would create a show in the sky,

but it was all done by hand with a flare.

[narrator] But while Mickey and his flare,
along with his team,

were handling the magic behind the scenes,

there was only room
out front in the spotlight

for one minute master of ceremonies.

Walt knew that the fans wanted to see
Tinkerbell starting the fireworks,

and he wasn't able to do that

until after the Matterhorn was built
in 1959.

Then, he had a place where he could have
Tinkerbell fly down behind the castle.

[announcer] Here comes Tinkerbell now
over the happiest land of all!

[narrator] Naturally, the Tinkerbell role

would require someone
both acrobatic and tiny,

which is quite literally what Walt found.

[Rebecca] Tiny Kline
was a fairly famous circus acrobat

and she was famous for her iron jaw act,

where she would slide down a wire
holding on to a bit in her teeth.

[♪ fanfare music stings]

And so, at 70 years old,
she's living in Southern California

and Walt met her and said, "Will you come
and be Tinkerbell for me at the park?"

[narrator] And so Tiny took to the sky,
hanging by her teeth and…

Not with her teeth.
She slid with, you know, with a harness.

[narrator] Probably sensible!

Fantasy in the Sky was a huge success,

making Walt's dreams of a lively park
after dark a reality.

And as the parade of time marched onward,

ultimately making its way
to early 1970s Florida,

the firework spectacular
would light the skies of the Magic Kingdom

at Walt Disney World as well.

But all of the excitement
wasn't just confined to the park.

The nearby contemporary
and Polynesian hotels

were destinations of their own,

and when guests visited those places…

There needed to be
some kind of nighttime entertainment,

something special for them.

[narrator] And with both hotels

sitting on the sprawling lagoon
at Magic Kingdom,

it seemed only natural for the folks
at Disney World to test the waters!

So the Electrical Water Pageant
was created.

[narrator] A parade of literal actual
floats, literally, actually floating!

[Rebecca] They used these wire frames

with thousands of twinkling lights
and music.

The music and the lights would synchronize

and form different types
of whimsical characters,

dragons and water creatures,
and things like that.

[narrator] Hugely popular,
these twinkling lights dazzled the eyes

of more than just the guests, namely…

Card Walker.

[narrator] Who, at the time,
was the executive VP

and COO of the Walt Disney company.

Card Walker saw
and loved the Electrical Water Pageant

and said, "We need something like this
for Disneyland."

Just because a show works in one park,

does not necessarily mean
it's gonna work in another park.

[narrator] And so, out in California,

Disneyland chose to go
a slightly different route.

You know,
Disney's just all about innovation, right?

So there's this pageant on the water.

We come to Disneyland

and the idea is to translate that
into a nighttime parade.

That, naturally,
would march down Main Street.

[narrator]
Which would make it a Main Street…

Yes.

-…Electrical Parade?
-Yes.

[narrator] Yes!

[♪ epic music]

[crowd cheering]

And to design this luminous cavalcade,

Card Walker turned to Disney
Director of Entertainment, Bob Jani,

who, with the advanced technology
of Disney R and D at his disposal,

began prototyping the show with…

his Christmas tree.

He basically was in his living room
and took the Christmas lights off the tree

and had them on the floor,
and his wife goes, "What are you doing?"

-[glass shatters]
-And he goes, "What do you think

if we did this in three-dimensions
and sent it down the street?"

And it's like, "Are you crazy?"

[narrator]
As it turns out, no, thanks to batteries!

And there were these switches
that would go…

[imitates electricity crackling]

[imitates electricity powering up]
…and turn on!

[narrator]
Like the many lights themselves,

the many floats came together
to create a dazzling spectacle.

So it was developed to be a series
of individual segments

that had lots of little twinkling lights
on them.

There was a giant drum

manned by Mickey Mouse
with the logo on it.

Certain float sections were inspired
by Disney animated classics,

such as Alice in Wonderland,

the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio,

and Pete's Dragon,
another very popular one added in 1977.

[narrator] But there was more
to the Main Street Electrical Parade

than meets the eye.

The ears got their fair share too.

♪ The Main Street Electrical Parade! ♪

[♪ lively parade music playing]

It's a very interesting song
that is played

during the Main Street Electrical Parade
called "Baroque Hoedown."

[narrator] Definitely a catchy tune.
But as unique as the song itself was,

so, too, was the way in which park guests
were hearing it.

Was our first parade
that had tracking show control.

[narrator]
That's right, tracking show control!

-[music stops]
-Um, what is tracking show control?

The technicians at Disney
had figured out a way of moving the sound

down the street with speakers

so that it was always synchronized
to the floats.

So no matter which float
was in front of you,

you were hearing the portion of the song
that was designed for that float.

Say it was Alice in Wonderland,

as the float went by you would hear
the Alice in Wonderland music

incorporated into the main song.

And then when it passed you
and went to the next zone,

the music would start
for the people in the next zone.

[narrator] Well, that's cool, but how?

When they recorded it,

there was a two-inch piece of tape
that had 24 tracks,

and one of it was the bass track

that went around
to all the wayside speakers,

then every single other track
was transmitted to the float,

that would then pick up a radio signal
and then play it back.

I mean, that was nuts back then!

[narrator] And it's been that way
since it opened in 1972.

Although, not a permanent lighting fixture
at Disneyland,

the Main Street Electrical Parade
has returned for limited time runs,

and when it does, it's plain to see

that there are some fancy new frills
on display.

For guests to be able to see
Raya and Moana, and Hercules,

you know, a character representation
that they may not have seen

in the Electrical Parade before.

[narrator] And that's not all!

As the finale float
comes down Main Street,

it enchants all of the buildings around it
with projection mapping.

[narrator] Yes, projection ma…

Actually, we're gonna need an explanation
on that one too.

Projection mapping, basically,

is instead of projecting on a flat screen
like a movie,

you're projecting it
on a dimensional surface

and marrying that surface
with what you are projecting on it,

which gives you so much latitude
in creating illusions.

[narrator] But projection mapping
is nothing new to the Disney parks.

In fact, it goes back further
than you might think.

The first instance of it is Madame Leota
in The Haunted Mansion back in the '60s.

Awaken the spirits with your tambourine!

And that was done
in a very rudimentary way

at the time with a film projector.

[KC] These days, it's all done with video.

And I love that we're continually growing
and changing things like our parades

and to be able to…
to keep that fresh for guests.

[narrator] And that's no small feat
after more than 50 years.

And when it comes to Tokyo
Disneyland's Electrical Parade,

there's no small anything,
with this one clocking in at 45 minutes,

over double the length of the original.

It's a giant version
of the Electrical Parade

called Dreamlights,

and Dreamlights has been running
since 2001.

[in Japanese] Welcome, everyone,
to the world of light and fantasy!

[narrator] But unlike
Main Street Electrical Parade,

Dreamlights has left the nostalgia
of those holiday bulbs behind

in favor of some sparkly new tech.

What was wonderful
when Dreamlights came on in Tokyo

is it really took kind of light technology
to a whole different level.

LED technology has been incorporated
over the years.

It has really evolved
from the Christmas light

that we know and love

from the original
Main Street Electrical Parade.

And it really started to transform
how you can do lights.

[Steve] Like with the Genie,

the whole Genie can change
and morph in front of you.

Just a beautiful nighttime display

that will just bring you back
to your childhood like that.

[in Japanese]
In each and every float we feel a story,

and the characters
seem to shine brighter than usual

in the many lights that illuminate them.

[crowd cheering]

[narrator] With guests mouths agape

at the spectacle of fireworks and parades,

nighttime's have become the highlight
of many people's day.

But back in 1984,

when Michael Eisner
joined the Disney company,

where others saw
a spectacular array of dazzlement,

Eisner saw a spectacular opportunity
specifically for Disneyland.

Not content
with just the nightly fireworks

and Main Street Electrical Parade,

Eisner set his sights
on adding a third event, but where?

Well, let's see.

[narrator] It's not like Disneyland
had a spare lagoon laying around,

or did it?

So of course,
where better than the Rivers of America.

[narrator]
Of course, the Rivers of America,

there since opening day in Frontierland,
surrounding Tom Sawyer Island,

which they figured could be used to stage
this brand-new nighttime spectacular,

whatever it would end up being.

They wanted to create something
that would attract a lot of people,

you know, kind of like the fireworks,
tell a definite story,

and the name of the show
was "Imagination!"

[narrator] The concept being that
the entire show

takes place in Mickey's mind,
or rather Mickey's…

Imagination!

[narrator] Exactly!

-Okay!
-[narrator] Yep.

-Good name!
-[narrator] Um…

Is it, though?

Imagination is kind of a generic term.

What was needed was a Disney term,

something that would more fantastically
show the imagination of the show.

[narrator] Which was Mickey's imagination.

Oh, boy!

[narrator] And taking a cue
from the 1940 film Fantasia,

one word came to mind.

"Phantasmagoria," and that was felt to be
a little too much of a mouthful.

[retches]

[narrator] So after tapping out of
and then into their imagination,

they conjured up "Fantasmic."

And, of course,
also that sort of brings in Mickey Mouse

at the end of it too, Fantasmic.

-[narrator] And on May 13th, 1992…
-Fantasmic!

[narrator] Yes, Fantasmic became
the newest way to punctuate your day.

Let's not forget the exclamation point.

That's the most important part!

-[chimes]
-[narrator] Right!

Well, there are other contenders
for most important part.

[announcer] Welcome to Fantasmic!

From pyrotechnics. The water effects.

The first mist screens that ever appeared
were here on Fantasmic.

[Jessica] The projections.

The barges as they were coming by.

[♪ epic music]

Mickey on top of the mill
with the fireworks going off around him.

[narrator] But the really impressive
part of Fantasmic

is the show before the show.

One of the most amazing things
is that you'd never know it was there

when you walk by the park during the day.

It's really quite unbelievable
that this is pulled off night after night.

[narrator] In the afternoon,
before a Fantasmic show,

Tom Sawyer Island is fully transformed
into the stage for Fantasmic.

It's an amazing system
that all works together,

these huge towers
that have lighting, projection, audio.

They have to be brought out
in time for the show.

[narrator] And as the sun casts its shadow
over the lagoon,

it's not just the guests that gather.

[Jessica] It takes a casting crew
of over a hundred people

to bring this show to life.

[David] Stage technicians that are working
on the Columbia and Mark Twain

getting it all set up for the show.

[narrator] As crew members and characters
prepare to light up the lagoon,

there's one character in particular
that truly brings the heat.

[roaring]

Any show that has a huge,
fire-breathing dragon is okay by me.

[fire crackles]

[narrator] The Maleficent Dragon!

Our Maleficent Dragon
stands at 45 feet tall, 35 feet wide,

and can fire an isopar
dragon's breath flame.

[roaring]

She's breathing fire, real fire,

and all of the Rivers of America
are set aflame.

[narrator] But not all of this spectacular
is hidden away by day.

The Mark Twain Riverboat
and the sailing ship, Columbia,

both make a spectacular appearance.

We sneak a giant pirate ship
up in the darkness,

and all of a sudden,
Jack Sparrow's up there

swinging through the ratlines.

[narrator] From a boat load of effects
to a boat load of Disney characters,

Fantasmic set the standard
and pushed the boundaries far beyond

where live shows had been
in the Disney parks.

[David] This is the one
that started it all

when it comes to spectaculars we show
around the world.

[Jessica] Fantasmic was the show
that made me wanna work for Disney.

It was something
unlike anything I'd seen before.

[fireworks crackling]

[♪ epic music]

[narrator] The dazzlement of Fantasmic
wows park guests at Disneyland

and now at Disney's Hollywood Studios too.

But Fantasmic isn't the only show
to have graced Anaheim.

Right next-door to Disneyland,
at Disney California Adventure Park,

something new was lurking in the depths.

In 2010, Walt Disney's vision
of bringing a film-like experience

to Disney park nightlife
reached a new height,

where a groundbreaking


immersed viewers
in Disney's cinematic history.

[crowd cheering]

And it was all thanks to this guy.

No, wait, hang on, that guy!

In 2005, when Bob Iger became the new CEO,

Disney made a number
of exciting acquisitions,

like Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.

But Bob wasn't only focused
on movie studios.

In 2007, he ordered a major overhaul
of Disney California Adventure Park.

Disney California Adventure
had traditionally been a park

that closed around 7:00 o'clock
in the evening.

[crickets chirping]

[owl hoots]

So, the desire was to also give
those guests a kiss goodnight as well.

[narrator] And who better to do that
than fireworks expert Steve Davison?

We had fireworks at Disneyland
and the park wanted to do

something in the lagoon.

[narrator] But this time,

Steve would have to be
a little more fluid with his plans.

"Why don't we do a fountain show?"

So I'm like, "Okay."
Know nothing about fountains.

So we just go out
and we start to research it.

[narrator] And as ideas flowed…

We decided to do
the world's biggest color fountain.

[narrator]
Steve and his team put together the pitch

for the Wonderful World of Color,

which was not to be confused with…

the Disney television program
from the 1960s,

that took its name
from the newfangled fact

that television had begun broadcasting
in color.

A bit of color magic will fix it.

[Walt] Bippity, boppity, blue.

[narrator] So, why not call the new
colorful lagoon show World of Color?

And so we ran with that.

[narrator] Straight to Bob Iger's office,
where, of all the colors,

-Steve was most concerned about…
-[cash machine dings]

…green.

I never thought it was gonna sell.

It's too expensive.

[narrator]
But after showing Bob the plans…

The big question from him was, "When,"
so then the real work starts.

[narrator] Water work.

The team tested fountains,
just like this one, and this one,

oh, and don't forget about these bad boys,

and devised a way to hide them
in the lagoon, all 1,200 of them.

Basically, if you drain Paradise Bay,
it goes to 14 feet at the base.

[narrator]
Where they set some massive tables.

Three platforms that are built
on man lifts that go up and down.

These are the platforms
by which we attach all of our equipment.

[David] Our power, our data.
We have projectors.

This is where they live.

[narrator] And these platforms
are more than just surface level.

Under every single table
is a giant warehouse of electronics.

[narrator]
All of which can be raised and lowered!

During the day, you wouldn't even know
there's a show here.

[narrator]
But, of course, there is a show here.

A show known for dazzling audiences
and puzzling its creators.

When we were looking
to design the fountains,

there was no road map for this.

[Steve] You start to learn things
very quickly,

like if you turn on all the fountains
you're gonna sink the platform.

[narrator] And even
when it's just some of the fountains…

The distribution of weight,
sometimes it has them a little off-kilter.

So suddenly, we're adding weights
to certain parts.

[David] We're talking about
weights you lift,

weights you might find in a theater.

[narrator]
The team also had to deal with currents.

Electrical, that is.

[Steve] Oh, look,
we only have so much power.

We can't run the entire system at once.

[narrator]
But of all the challenges there are

to running one of the world's
largest fountain shows,

the biggest one might come as a shock!

We love the way the water looks,
but water gets into everything,

so one way we protect our equipment
is by using things like silica packets.

[David]
These are the packets you find in shoes.

These are the packets that you'll find
in certain food products.

[narrator]
And the water truly did go everywhere,

because wider than a football field,
and taller than a four-story building,

the World of Color mist screen
sprayed a backdrop

for some of Disney's most famous imagery.

But when the team planned
on limiting the projections

to animated characters only…

His live action figures don't read well
in water.

You know you can't read.

[narrator] This made one character
particularly animated,

so he took his grievance up
with Shelby Jiggetts-Tivony, who is…

The vice president of creative
and advanced development

for Disney Live Entertainment.

[narrator] Right! So, what did Bob say?

He said something like,
"What about pirates?

Why isn't pirates in the show?"
[chuckles]

-Oh, bugger.
-[narrator] But instead of jumping ship,

Steve had a plan.

The entire piece shows Jack Sparrow
in two places,

but the rest of it is all water and fire.

[♪ dramatic music]

[Steve] And it was taking that theme
that was so powerful

and just creating
kind of this pirates battle with it.

That exuberant, orchestral score
just took everything up to 11.

[narrator] And when Bob Iger saw it
for the first time…

[crowd cheering]

[Steve] He loved it! He cheered.

He's like, "Wow, see?"

[narrator] In the days before
its public premiere in June 2010,

many in the extended park's family

got to see the finished World of Color
for the first time.

[Steve] We had a imagineering night

for the imagineering families
to come and see it,

and one of the original imagineers,
Bob Gurr, came up to me,

and I'd never met him before,

and he goes, "Are you Steve Davison?"

I said, yes.

He goes, "I'm Bob Gurr,

and I just wanna tell you,
Walt Disney would be proud of you."

He said, "Walt would love this.

You have taken a medium
and transformed it.

He would be so excited to see this today."

I think out of anything
that anyone's ever told me,

I think that's probably been
one of the most beautiful,

because, I mean,
he worked with Walt Disney all the time,

and to get that comment from him
really meant a lot to me.

[narrator] World of Color
continues to light up both skies and eyes

at Disney California Adventure Park,

where, in 2023, a brand-new fountain show

debuted for Disney's 100-year anniversary.

And in 2021, Walt Disney World in Florida
had a milestone of its own

as it prepared for its 50th anniversary.

To celebrate the occasion,

it was decided that a new
nighttime spectacular was in order.

But what would it be?

What if we did a Disney concert?

[narrator] Ah, yes, of course, a concert,

because Disney and music go hand in hand,
or voice in ear,

and being lead on the project,

it was up to Steve Davison to decide
what kind of concert it would be.

What if we did a Disney concert,

but we did it
through the eyes of World Showcase?

[narrator] Epcot's World Showcase,
a vast promenade

highlighting 11 different nations
from around the world

all encircling a 40-acre lagoon.

We could then go back
and have those cultures now,

bring that music back to us
from their point of view.

[narrator] Of course.
A stirring ode to global oneness

through the unifying language of music.

Steve's show was already shaping up
to be something--

No, it's not my show,
it's not their show, it's our show.

That, for it to work,
we all need to work in harmony together.

[narrator] Harmony!

Fitting, considering
that when the Disney creative team

had to pick a name for the show…

We came up with Harmonious!

When you think about harmony,
it's about music coming together

and intertwining it together,
and it's us, right, so harmony us.

Harmony us.

Us coming together,
celebrating our different cultures,

but also respecting that we are all one.

[narrator] And although it may be
a small World Showcase, after all…

Harmonious was a big undertaking.

…in every way, starting with the venue.

World Showcase Lagoon
is not an insignificant body of water,

let's say that.

[Gary] The Epcot lagoon
is the largest body of water

for any of our theme parks
across the world,

so we had to make the show
in that same scale.

[narrator] After all,
with over a mile of coastline…

uh, lagoon line,

that's a whole lot of front row seats
for a center stage of sorts.

And so our team's invented, uh,
a barge technology.

[narrator] Uh, barge is putting it mildly.

Each one of these massive vessels

is a fully-loaded multimedia complex
unto itself.

[♪ quirky music]

Take this one, for example.

This has 360-degree video going around it.
It has a wall that moves.

[Steve] It has scenery that comes out.

It has fountains. It has moving lights.
Pyro.

[narrator] Let me guess,
there are moving arms too?

There are moving arms in the show.

[narrator] Of course there are.

They're over 55 feet in length,

and that's what Steven uses
as our dancers, right,

they're our live components in the show.

They were able to, in one situation,

they may be emulating the lamp
from Aladdin,

to, uh, a palm tree
that's in, uh, Jungle Book.

So we're able to use those

through lighting and fountains,
and lasers here.

Was used them as our moving cast,
if you will.

[narrator] After years of preparation,

Harmonious made its premiere
in September 2021,

just in time for the Walt Disney
World Resort's 50th anniversary.

Everyone gather around World Showcase.

[♪ whimsical music]

You start to hear the chants
of our different films.

The opening of the Lion King,
the mermaids singing, um, Moana,

all started to come together
as one, big, uh, beautiful piece

being sung
by all these different pavilions

from around the world,

and we start to bring the songs

that were inspired by those places
around the world

back to us from their point of view.

[narrator] And while the ending
of the Walt Disney World Resort's


has since brought Harmonious to a close,

the message of this epic spectacular
still rings just as true.

It's really about giving you a sense
that the world is connected culturally,

we're all people,
and we care about each other.

[narrator] Be it Harmonious

or any nighttime spectacular
that came before,

it's clear that with every passing year,

the nighttime spectaculars
of the Disney parks

are getting more and more spectacular
all over the world,

including Disneyland Paris,

where they've taken
nighttime spectacular technology

to brand-new heights.

The Disney Illuminations show
is a wonderful show

that takes place projected on the castle.

[narrator] Before the show each night,

guests are treated to Disney D-Light,
a state of the art drone show.

Where the number 30,
for our 30th anniversary,

appears in the sky.

[narrator] And it's spelled out
by more than 150 independent drones.

Each drone is individually programmed.

[Ben] It doesn't know
what the other drones are doing.

[narrator] And it takes a team of four
to keep these bots buoyant.

[in French] We verify that they are turned
on, in working order, and fully charged.

[narrator] And so,
with guests' hearts full of wonder

and the drones' batteries full of charge,

the sky comes alive.

[Stephane in French] All of a sudden,
the sky behind the castle lights up.

And the reaction from the guests
once it's underway

is "Wow," every single time.

[Stephane]
It's beautiful and their eyes go wide.

It has that effect on the guests
every time.

You know, drones is kind
of the new frontier,

in terms of the… the technological
live entertainment toolkit.

[narrator] Disney drones might be
the new kids on the block,

but the good news is,
there's plenty of space in the skies

to share with their more fiery neighbors.

What's a Disney spectacular
without fireworks?

[narrator] Exactly!

No matter
what new technology is developed,

something about the classic firework show
seems to capture our hearts.

But even for fireworks,
there's always room to grow.

[Rebecca] Over the years,
from the very earliest fireworks

up to the present,

the science of fireworks
has changed so dramatically.

[narrator]
Mickey's flare has been outshone

because now computers run the show!

Now, fireworks are done
in a very sophisticated way.

We use electronic systems
that basically go to each and every shell,

and we can now launch a shell
and probably have it hit

within, uh, 10 frames of a second.

In the early shows,
we would basically go and draw them.

[Steve] So they'd come in
and they would just take markers

and they'd say, "Oh, this a mine
and it would go to a gold glitter,

but we want it to be red and blue
to a sparkle."

Now, all that has accelerated to the point
where we're now doing full CGI.

We can now go and take a shell,
we recreate it in CGI,

and now I can actually do an entire show

and show it to you
before we ever sh**t one shell,

and it'll be probably 90 percent accurate.

[narrator] And now, the classic air show
has a lot more air in it.

A researcher in the development group
came up with the idea

of launching the fireworks
with compressed air,

like a big potato cannon.

[Ric] Each shell is in its own tube
and it can be fired up

exactly at the moment you need it to go.

The amount of pressure can tell
exactly how to go

and you can aim the tube
to do exactly what you want.

I can now take shells and position them
where I want them in the sky.

[Ric] This is the technology
that allowed a big Mickey shape

to show up in our firework shows.

[KC] First of all,
it's a safer way to launch the pyro,

and it's also a quieter way
to launch the pyro

because you don't have
the, uh, concussion mortar.

Which suddenly transformed everything
because suddenly we had no ground smoke.

[narrator] Well, there's usually no smoke
without fire,

but now there's fireworks without smoke?

One of the things about ground smoke
is that if you don't have any wind

your whole show just starts to disappear

because you just have this swell of smoke
surrounding everything you're at.

[narrator] Today's fireworks
aren't just clearer, they're also cleaner.

A new technology
we have called nitrocellulose.

Nitrocellulose is a new way to make colors
of the different comets

and the different colors
that you're seeing in the sky,

but it's done with a product
also that doesn't use black powder.

It changes the formula,

so you're getting rid
of a lot of the smoke

that used to be in, uh,
traditional fireworks.

[narrator] From fireworks to waterworks,

Disney's nighttime spectaculars
have always found new ways

to tell their stories.

But one show in particular
has truly risen to the moment.

On June 18th, 2022,
a brand-new nighttime spectacular

illuminated the Hong Kong sky
for the first time.

And to call it "Momentous"
would be accurate!

Momentous is a nighttime spectacular
in Hong Kong Disneyland

unlike any other show
we've put into any of our castle parks.

[narrator] Over five years in the making,

this nighttime spectacular
is the prodigious product

of Disney Live Entertainment
and imagineering teams

in both the United States and Hong Kong.

But just like any of Disney's
most memorable spectaculars,

it all began with an idea.

When you first set out
to create a spectacular,

what you really need
is a mission statement.

For Momentous,
it was "Live the moment, love the memory,"

and what resonated with us most
was paying homage to the mentors,

those who guided you along your journey.

[narrator]
The story presented by Momentous

draws upon decades of Disney lore,

and in telling that story,
the Momentous team drew

from the dazzling history
of nighttime spectaculars,

combining all the most popular features
into one magnificent show.

Lights, lasers, projections, animation,
pyro effects, and water effects.

[narrator] And to serve as the backdrop
for this symphony of the senses,

the team chose the iconic
Castle of Magical Dreams.

It's a fascinating thing to be
designing a spectacular

around an icon
that has not yet been built.

[narrator] Well, there was a castle,
but it was due for some sprucing up.

And both those projects
were kind of moving simultaneously.

[narrator] Which presented
the Momentous team

with a unique opportunity.

We were able to custom craft the castle
and the effects.

[Tom Williams]
That gave us the opportunity

to really incorporate
the elements to the show

in that amazing castle
that you see out there.

[narrator] And for Momentous,

the key element would be
projection mapping.

[James] There was a lot of communication
between us and the design team

who was working on the castle

about how the projections may work
upon their structure.

[♪ whimsical music]

[imagineer] We were helping to make sure

that our textures of the castle
were really refined,

so that when we projected
the Momentous show,

we were getting, uh, a clean and…
and good projection.

[creative executive]
So not only were we able to create

this beautiful new structure that had,
you know, locations for pyro,

for lasers, for lighting,

but we also added water elements.

Some of the best fountains that we have

in any of our theme parks
around the world.

In addition to that we had mist screens,
that are more of a fountain nozzle effect,

that allowed kind of a softer,

more out of focused thing
in front of that.

[narrator]
And when it came to the waterworks,

the Momentous team didn't just build
their show around the castle,

they also built the show on it.

[Michael] We were able
to install big water jets

actually on the castle itself.

[pops]

And the combination
of those different elements add,

not only this level of depth
that give us different types of services,

to light, to project on,
or to tell story with.

[narrator] The story of creating Momentous

was written with the pen of technology
and the ink of innovation.

As the sun sets each night
on Hong Kong Disneyland,

park guests gather to witness
a brand-new story

that tells a tale as old as time.

Momentous is about a life's journey.

[James] You're born,
you grow, you get old,

and along the way,
you make all these wonderful memories.

But something that we represent
in this show,

which is unusual, I think,
for a lot of Disney shows,

is the idea of loss.

[♪ dramatic music]

[Michael] It's a theme in Disney movies
for loved ones to pass away

and how we persevere and come over that.

We've all lost somebody important
in our lives.

We've all going on this journey together
through our lives.

[music director]
This show packs a lot of heart.

It reminds us to love
and cherish the memories

that we have with our families
and friends.

And that's the beauty of the show,

is that it encourages you
to embrace emotions.

[♪ solemn music]

[narrator] On a dark night in 1957,
a single fuse was lit at Disneyland.

[fireworks crackling]

The ensuing fireworks display
lasted only about five minutes,

but it sparked an idea
that's lasted a bit longer.

[Bob Weis] There's an uplifting optimism

that Disney has been able to sustain
since Walt's time,

and I think these nighttime spectaculars
are the cap on that.

[narrator] For 65 years,
Disney's nighttime spectaculars

have illuminated both skies
and imaginations,

adding a new chapter
to the spectacular saga

with each passing decade.

And while new ideas
and advances in technology

have provided unique ways
to tell the Disney story…

Whether it's a parade or a firework show,
or a water spectacular.

[narrator]
The goal has always been the same.

[Jeanette] What we wanna do is give you
that one last opportunity

at the end of your day for perfection.

[Michael] Coming together
and standing shoulder to shoulder

with people and experiencing
this profound moment of pyrotechnics

and storytelling, and music.

[narrator]
But it's so much more than that.

The nighttime spectaculars
are a celebration of jubilation.

A time to reflect on a day like no other.

[Jeanette] It leaves you feeling
that sense of wonder.

That's what we want our guests
to leave with.

[narrator] As the skies come alive

with the bittersweet feeling
that the end is nigh,

you can almost hear Walt's words echo
across the night sky.

[Steve] "This is our kiss goodnight."

Did he actually say that?

[narrator] Uh, yeah, okay.
In any case, the sentiment is clear.

We wanna tell you
we love you on the way out.

[narrator] Leaving just one thing
left to say, good night!

[♪ closing theme music]