Cassie and Andrew have been reviewing Disneyland’s 60th anniversary entertainment lately.  Today, they are reviewing World of Color – Celebrate.  Enjoy!

Andrew – Hello Cassie! I guess to start, where did you see World of Color – Celebrate from? Did you have a FastPass for it?

Cassie – I watched World of Color in the far right section (think, close to Goofys Sky School.) We did get a fast pass for The Yellow Section, but we didn’t end up needing it at all because the show was actually really empty. It was a cold, slow, Tuesday evening. How about you?

Andrew – We watched it twice. The first time we were in the splash zone, closer to Ariel’s Grotto. The second time we were a little closer to center stage but still in the splash zone. I think we had the blue fastpass but I’m not positive. I obviously enjoyed being a little closer to the center, as the projections were easier to see.
I think we’re both big fans of Neil Patrick Harris, in general. What did you think of his narration?

Cassie – I was about to ask you the same question! And yes, I adore Neil Patrick Harris. He is an incredible entertainer and always has such a bubbly, theatrical presence! I also know he loves going to the parks with his adorable family. I thought he was a great asset to the show, and the perfect choice as a narrator.
What (if any) parts of World of Color disappointed you?

Andrew – I thought Neil Patrick Harris was a great choice for narrator. I do think the show overused him slightly but that’s no fault of his own.
I actually think World of Color 2.0 had quite a few flaws. I did love parts of it (we’ll get to that in a minute) but the show as a whole seemed really choppy to me. It didn’t flow well. I thought using nearly all of ‘Let it Go’ was a ridiculous choice and was easily my least favorite part. I thought the Star Wars part was a bit of an odd choice too.

Cassie – I definitely agree with Let it Go being a poor choice. Having seen the Disneyland Forever fireworks show use the entire frozen sequence already, I was irritated that WoC felt the need to add the full song as well. Additionally, I have always found the projections in the mist to be very hard to see. Every time I’ve ever seen World of Color I’ve found this to be true. I may be super picky in saying this, but it takes away from the show a bit for me. I love so many elements in WoC, but the mist projections always fall short for me.

Andrew – I can see where that would bother some people, though I’ve never had much issue with it. Back to ‘Let It Go’ really quick… I think we both thought it worked in Disneyland Forever. Why did it fail here?

Cassie – For me, like I said, at this point it just seemed like an overkill. Pretty sure I turned to Alex, rolled my eyes, and said “oh here it goes again.” Frozen has taken over SO MANY aspects of the parks, that I can’t believe they included the full song in BOTH shows. These shows are supposed to showcase the history of Disneyland over the past 60 years, and yet the very modern and very new Frozen got a vast majority of air time.

Andrew – I think that definitely played a large part for me too. The other aspect is that nothing special happened during Let it Go. In Disneyland Forever there was snow and the song was slightly shorter. In this it dragged on and nothing happened aside from the fountains getting higher.
Enough about the bad though! What did you like about it?

Cassie – I loved the nostalgic parts of the show! I was most interested in the Steamboat Willy clip and the parts with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I also felt the most cathartic and excited when Walt Disney was mentioned. I loved the clip of him at Disneyland in the 1960’s.

Andrew – I agree that was great. I basically loved the beginning and the end. Loved the soundtrack and the use of the Bob Dylan cover (Forever Young). I thought the look back at the first Disney animation was great, as you mentioned. So were the parts about Disneyland attractions (I loved the Tiki Room part).
Did you like this version of the show more or less than the original version?

Cassie – I liked the new version of World of Color more, mostly because it was something different! I’d seen the old version so many times before, it’s nice to see it mixed up and new. I hope that they regularly update World of Color, evolving as time goes on.
What advice would you give to someone seeing World of Color for the first time?

Andrew – I didn’t like this version nearly as much but I agree that it was nice to see it updated. This seems like a show that shouldn’t be extremely tough to update so I hope that it keeps evolving.
My advice would be to not be afraid to get a little wet. I find that standing in the section below (that warns people about getting wet) offers much better views and is a lot more fun. You aren’t going to miss having a wide-angle here, I don’t think, as long as you can see the projections on the water. They do a good job of spreading out the fountains and fire, so you won’t miss out on that.
My other piece of advice would be to stay long after the show. There is a really enjoyable post-show where they play a couple of songs and the fountains are still running. There was a great ambiance to this and this was a great time for photos. Most everyone left and we could get as close as we wanted. That might have been my favorite part of the whole thing.
What is your advice?

Cassie – I would also urge people to stand in the “you may get wet” section. You WON’T get soaked but you WILL have an amazing view. I would also say to come prepared. Obviously getting a fast pass is a great idea, especially if you come with little ones who won’t be able to see over the heads of others. There are other elements that may make World of Color even more fun for you. I like to grab a hot cocoa or a beer before the show. Alex likes to have some popcorn! Another fun element to have for WoC is the Mickey Ears that light up with the show! I’ve always thought that was a fun extra experience that people really love!

Andrew – Absolutely! Any other thoughts on the show?

Cassie – Overall, WoC is super impressive and there isn’t anything else like it! I will definitely need to see it from a different angle next time, and keep an eye on this show for years to come

Andrew – I agree the technology keeps advancing and making this show unlike anything else. I think the actual production is more of a mixed bag. The imagineers hit an absolute home run with Disneyland Forever and Paint the Night, this show didn’t flow nearly as well and felt like too much of a commercial at times. I still loved parts of it and thought the nostalgic portions were excellent. It’s absolutely worth seeing, but it’s not in the same class as Disneyland’s nighttime spectaculars.