just curious,what happened to the fireworks?

[m-tinkerbelle]

hi!

last friday the weather was windy and they cancelled the fireworks, which bummed us but didn't surprise us. then they cancelled them again on saturday, and they were crossing fingers on sunday. we finally got to watch them on sunday!
but i'm wondering what really happened, sounds to me that the wind wasn't the only reason since the weather was pretty good on saturday and sunday

anyone knows what happened? i asked a couple of CMs but they were all mentioning the weather. one of them confessed that he had no idea of why they cancelled it on saturday

just curious here

 

[skiingfast]

The wind can easily cancel them. A slight breeze down at the ground may be more brisk at the high level the fireworks go up to.

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

I know there was a heavy wind advisory Saturday night, so that was probably it. Sometimes it doesn't feel windy down on the ground, but it's bad higher up.

 

[mabdallah]

This happend to my DH and I last time we were at the park. (2008). We made the mistake of waiting to our last day to actually see the fireworks in front of the castle and had the perfect spot and they were canceled. So you are lucky you were able to see them. Lesson learned watch the fireworks the first night in case they might be canceled.

 

[mrswh]

We were there over the weekend, too (Thursday - Sunday), and didn't get to see fireworks at all. Friday was crazy windy so I wasn't surprised, but Saturday, as you said, it didn't seem windy at all. I have heard the same as the pps in the past though - sometimes the conditions up higher are worse. Glad you got to see them on Sunday night. We were already gone by then (though there were plenty of "maybe we should stay one more night" comments to go around).

Oh well, I guess we need to go back!

 

[Minuet888]

things are a lot windier up in the sky and those fireworks are timed and placed precisely. Especially the fall out area, too much wind and a firework can go astray or the fall out are gets moved and people can get hurt
I'm sure it truly was just the wind

 

[cmwade77]

Bottom line is safety first. The wind on the ground is not a good indication of if there will be fireworks, I have been there on days where there is a lot of wind on the ground, but the fireworks still are able to go off because there are lighter winds up high. (This is extremely rare though and I don't think I have seen this with the current show).

In addition, the fireworks show that they are currently performing is much more wind sensitive than many others, sometimes modifications can be made, such as not having Tinker Bell fly, limiting the fireworks off the castle, shortening the show, etc. but in many cases they can't accomplish this and end up having to cancel due to weather related reasons.

On Saturday, it may have also been related to the bomb scare in the morning. The bomb scare could very well have delayed them getting the fireworks ready, as they may not have known where else something might be and would want to make sure the area is completely safe before handling explosives that are dangerous enough by themselves. Remember these have gun powder inside of them, yes it is less than traditional fireworks, as these are launched by air power, but they still must have the gun powder in them to explode and light up.

 

[CanadianDisneyDad]

As per cmwade77 the main thing is safety.

On our cruise (they also do firework on the cruise, teh only cruise line that does) I had a long chat with a Senior staffer who knew more about them than I did.

I always assumed they explode in the air and all is safe but was I wrong . While they down blow up in the air embers and possiabily unexploded gun powder does float down to the ground.They have to look at things like wind speed but also wind direction. So the wind may nto have been too bad but it the upper wind was blowing from the north then it puts all the embers on the crown south of the castle.

But hey you did get to see them!!

cheers

 

[pixiewings71]

It was the wind, the winds were pretty high last weekend, both days. Higher up they are even stronger so the fireworks are cancelled.

 

[Minuet888]

As per cmwade77 the main thing is safety.

On our cruise (they also do firework on the cruise, teh only cruise line that does) I had a long chat with a Senior staffer who knew more about them than I did.

I always assumed they explode in the air and all is safe but was I wrong . While they down blow up in the air embers and possiabily unexploded gun powder does float down to the ground.They have to look at things like wind speed but also wind direction. So the wind may nto have been too bad but it the upper wind was blowing from the north then it puts all the embers on the crown south of the castle.

But hey you did get to see them!!

cheers

yup the embers and gunpowder coming down and the area that it comes down in is called the fallout area. It is primarily backstage but also close to the monorail track which is why the monorails don't run close to the fireworks show.
In fact I recall a choir parents of mine (a total you know what) costing us return trips to Candlelight. This was December 2002 and my choir had the honor of being selected to sing in Candlelight. We were backstage primarily and it was time to leave and the bus parked area is the fall out area and our bus couldn't leave because i had a parent making a scene because she didn't meet up with her daughter when and where she was suppsoed to. I saw her daughter meet up with her father and sister and told the parent this and she was all "no I'm not leaving off this bus until i see my daughter) and the cast members were trying to get her off because they couldn't start the fireworks show until we left and it was now time to start the show and Disneyland does NOT like to start late! It wasn't until I finally convinced her to call her husband and other daughter to verify this (I don't know why she didn't do that first or why she refused) but finally she and the rest of us left but the fireworks show started almost 10 minutes late, the next year we were not selected for Candlelight and I absolutely know it was because of that parent which is a damn shame because her daughter was a senior adn wasn't even in the choir that next year. Now adays Candlelight is so full that they just invite the choirs that participated last year back the next year. Candelight though is quite stressful for both students and the director.

But yah that is the story of the fallout area

And as I mentioned in my previous post the wind is much more intense higherup than on the ground.

Do they still use the animatronic flying Dumbo in the show or is it just the flying Tinkerbell?

 

[m-tinkerbelle]

thanks for the replies and the information!
i realise i don't know much about fireworks
as for the show, we saw the flying tinkerbell... you're saying it's an animatronic tinkerbell? we were wondering how they did it and if it was a "she" or a "he" as i read in some rumour sites XD

we were lucky we got to see the fireworks. we sat too close to the castle but we still could get them on video and enjoy them
my original idea was to take photos with a tripod on friday, to record them on video on saturday and finally enjoy them on sunday without having to worry about an lcd screen but i realise we were lucky

i was stunned that they had cancelled them because after all fantasmic has fireworks and also "the magic the memories and you" show and none of them were cancelled but now i understand a bit more, thanks a lot!

 

[pixiewings71]

Tink is a real person, the Dumbo is animatronic. They use him during the fireworks when they play Baby Mine.

 

[RENThead09]

Tink is a real person, the Dumbo is animatronic. They use him during the fireworks when they play Baby Mine.

Ummmmm.... I believe that Dumbo is NOT an animatronic.

 

[Disney Dreams]

...as for the show, we saw the flying tinkerbell... you're saying it's an animatronic tinkerbell? we were wondering how they did it and if it was a "she" or a "he" as i read in some rumour sites XD...

Umm, no, Tink is a real person.

Tink is a real person, the Dumbo is animatronic. They use him during the fireworks when they play Baby Mine.

Half right. Dumbo is real as well.

Ummmmm.... I believe that Dumbo is NOT an animatronic.

Correct.

- Dreams

 

[AndyLL]

I was there and saw a couple of shells go off about an hour early. I was not surprised to hear the announcement a little bit later that they were canceled.

I was glad to see them Sunday... in December when they had issues like that they were canceled for several days.

ANdy

 

[Disney Dreams]

... in December when they had issues like that they were canceled for several days.

ANdy

December was a different, unusual issue. There was a cast member injury that led to the fireworks not occurring for a week (I think? longer?). If you Google it, you can find news articles.

- Dreams

 

[m-tinkerbelle]

Umm, no, Tink is a real person.


Half right. Dumbo is real as well.


Correct.

- Dreams

of course!

 

[AndyLL]

December was a different, unusual issue. There was a cast member injury that led to the fireworks not occurring for a week (I think? longer?). If you Google it, you can find news articles.

- Dreams

It was a premature firing of shells that lead to the injury. It happened more then once ( the premature firing ) and ohsa supposedly forced them to stop until they figured out why it was happening. ( or Disney called them in depending on who you read )

 

[bumbershoot]

A tip for when the fireworks have started....look UP (instead of up and out towards the castle). Watch and see what the smoke is doing. If it's drifting quickly, expect that the fireworks will stop soon.

 

[Minuet888]

They fire the fireworks before the show to test how the wind is.
They need to notify whomever because they are using airspace. not just airspace for airplanes landing at nearby airports but also medical helicopters landing at nearby hospitals. (Or helicopters doing any photography or filming etc.)

I never said TInk isn't a real person I think someone mis-read something. I wasn't sure how they do Dumbo as I haven't seen it yet.
The flying Tink has been a real person and has been happening for decades becasue I am 34 and when I was a small child (like 5 or 6) we used to take summer trips to Disneyland and I specifially remember seeing Tinkerbell flying. It was the thing we looked forward to all day and the highlight of the night (and the trip)!