Review: Disney California Adventure's "World of Color"

Disneyland's new light and water show "World of Color" is an emotional spectacle, and that's putting it lightly. I saw it two weeks ago, but I waited to write the review to see if time would cool my enthusiasm for the show. If there's anything I hate about travel writers, it's that sometimes we're quick to give reviews hyped up on the vacation experience. But you should know, everything I review here on the Yahoo! Contributor Network is done on my own dime at least two weeks after my experience. The same is true of my recent trip to Disneyland. So I've given myself adequate time to cool down and the show wasn't a gift in any way.

All that out of the way, I now feel comfortable telling you in my best credible voice...Disneyland's World of Color is absolutely breathtaking. I cried. It was so beautiful that I actually cried. Five years ago, when I saw Fantasmic for the first time, I'll admit, I teared up a little. I cry when I'm happy or inspired, and Fantasmic certainly made me feel inspired. There's just something magical about the fact that will all the strife and conflict in the world, theme parks are these little pockets of paradise where teams of hundreds of people come together to create something artistic. All those years of planning and engineering just to create something that families can sit down and watch together. Amazing. But I'm getting way off topic...

World of Color is like the museum version of Fantasmic, though it's really unfair to compare the two as they offer entirely different experiences. Fantasmic is a little bit stunt show, a little bit musical theatre, a little bit parade. World of Color is like a live version of "Fantasia" with its collage-based premise where the visuals are designed around music. It's artful, dignified, cinematic, and it even has a story arc. The simple way to explain it is to say that it's like the fountain show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Synchronized fountains and lights set to music. But Disney also uses a wide flat fountain of water as a screen to project film onto and that's where the show really takes off. That's not to mention the part of the show where hundreds and hundreds of bubbles fly into the audience. (If you have kids, this will be their favorite surprise of the show!)

Like many of Disney's theme park shows, World of Color isn't just the sum of its parts. It's hard for me to communicate the power of the show in a written review. Sure, there are synchronized fountains and light that can flash serene cool tones or fiery warmth in perfect time with carefully chosen music. But that's not what makes the show such a success. What makes the show an emotional experience is...well, allow me a geeky analogy.

You know that scene in "Return of the Jedi" where C3PO is telling the Ewoks all these epic mythical tales using sound effects? Well, we were the Ewoks and the Disney light and water show was C3PO. Disney starts with some arranged music specially written for World of Color, then moves on to music from several Disney films including The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas. But then the show takes a dark turn. In a bold, and some will say debatable move, Disney includes Mufasa's death scene almost completely in total from The Lion King. Though the film projected onto water with its dream-like quality is gorgeous, it's also powerful and intense at that size and with the loud surround sound. I scanned the audience when this was happening and children everywhere were gripping their parents and turning their faces away. It was...sad. Really really sad.

There's a ballad, "So Close" from the film Enchanted that takes a long time to show sad moments of Simba snuggling with Mufasa's dead body and for a moment it was almost too much, even for me as an adult. We then get some villains and the show picks back up with the idea that good always triumphs over evil. World of Color essentially has a three act story arc, just the way most movies do. This is what makes the show so emotional, the inclusion of true defeat into the story.

Of course, Disney ends it on a high note with lots of energy and a positive message. But World of Color has storytelling substance. It's actually teaching kids something, though I hesitate to say that because what Disney movies teach kids can be a flash point subject. (I think they are often over read, usually within the academic community. But then, I'm biased and obviously a fan.) But World of Color takes the typical, "You can do it!" message of many parades and shows and turns it up a notch to, "Bad things happen in this life, but you can overcome them." The message is decidedly more mature. But think about some of the films that made the most impact on you as a child, they were the ones that didn't patronize you or condescend. This show seems to reach to that same place of many of those childhood films.

World of Color is one to see if you make your way to Disney's California Adventure. Make sure to grab a fast pass early in the day if you want to get a good seat or snag a dinner package by making reservations at the Wine Country Trattoria, where you will get a meal and VIP seating for the show. We waited until the show that started fifteen minutes after closing (Check your park map, it will have updated show times, not all days will have this show option.) and it allowed us to stand in the very front of the seating area with a perfect and unobstructed view. If you live close and you want to have the best chance at a great view, try attending on a Sunday or a Monday off season so crowds will be lighter.

However, if you have very little ones that you know will be upset by the Lion King scene, pay attention and just have them turn away when you see Lion King footage start to play. But after the show, I didn't see any crying children. So you can bet even if it does upset them, it will be temporary.

World of Color is just as dazzling for adults, so go see it even if you don't have kids. It makes for a particularly romantic evening if you are there with your spouse. My husband and I were celebrating our five year wedding anniversary and the show was the perfect way to end our day of celebration.

Disney has truly topped itself with this show, and you should take the chance to see it if you ever have the opportunity. The best part about the show? It's no additional cost to your park admission.

I'll be posting video of the show soon for my web series "Theme Parks with Audrey and Jake", so if you still want to know more about the show, keep checking back.