As part of my invitation from Disney to preview its new Walt Disney World ride, Tiana's Bayou Adventure (see my post on that ride here), on Monday I was taken to see the new drone show, "Disney Dreams that Soar," that has been running since May 24. It runs every night (weather and wind permitting) at Disney World's shopping/dining/entertainment area, Disney Springs.
I'd seen video of the drones (below). The lights on the 800 drones move in perfect formation to form seemingly three-dimsnsional characters and objects that are actually animated, and the technology is impressive.
But the video does not capture how spectacular it is to see this in person. The brain (at least, my brain) fills in the space between the lights to sort of perceive the objects as solid. So when seen against the distant structures across the lake that serves as the show's stage, it looks like you're seeing truly massive things floating in the sky.
When Star Wars's Death Star suddenly appeared, it drew gasps among the audience, as you could feel as though this tremendous, imposing sphere was hovering over the lake And then when it's "attacked" and explodes, there were cheers of amazement.
In fact, seeing this with an audience really enhanced the experience because everyone was so vocal and emotive at each amazing turn of the show.
I really hope and expect that this will be the future of theme parks' nighttime shows. The drone shows are growing in size and complexity, and I'll bet that as technology continues to develop that will only increase. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of fireworks shows, for aesthetic and environmental reasons. This was the fist time I saw a night sky show that I wasn't looking forward to being over.
"Disney Dreams that Soar," will run through September 2. Here is Disney's official page for the show, and here is a link to a post from thedronegirl.com with tips on how to best watch the show.
And here is a shot of the drones awaiting takeoff in a test conducted in France.
