World of Color - Letdown?

[Pakytral]

Saw it for the first time this weekend, was expecting something along the lines of Fantasmic, but thought this fell way short. I was wondering, am I in the minority here or is there a lot of people that were initially somewhat disappointed by it?

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Nope, you are not alone. We were there during Thanksgiving week last year....I spent LOTSSSSS of time reading about it here, devising a strategy, bought the picnic, still waited about 45 mins for it to begin, etc.

I said it then and I still say it now: Don't care if I ever see it again.

Honestly, I can't believe I spent that much time on it. It's probably not fair, though, that I compare these things to Fantasmic at DW in 2002. Now THAT was pure magic and nothing has really come close since.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

We figure they offer fastpasses just to keep people showing up -- it's a competition that makes you throw logic to the wind, like bidding on ebay. We prefer Fantasmic.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I agree that Fantasmic! is amazing. World of Color is nice once or twice, but I could (have ) watch Fantasmic! over and over and over again!

However, the cool part, just like all things Disney, is that there's something for everyone. There are others who, true story, believe WoC is the better show. (Oh, Hydroguy...... )

I'm a Fantasmic! gal myself,
Dreams

 

[ArchOwl]

Well, it just goes to show that Disney has something from everyone. I love World of Color, seen it multiple times. Will almost always make the effort to see it. Saw Fantasmic from the dessert seating this year. Don't need to do it again. To each their own!

 

[Scribble Kitty]

The boyfriend had a similar reaction, something along the lines of "I waited this long standing around for a clip show? I've already seen these movies."

I really enjoyed it, except for our location with a giant pole in the middle of the whole thing. I've since watched the whole thing on youtube and feel I've gotten the whole experience.

I think it compared better to the fireworks shows then Fantasmic!

 

[Carmatts]

Personally I love the show and have seen it countless times, but I understand why some people feel let down by it. Depending on your level of disappointment it maybe worth a second viewing in the future. There are a lot of things I didn't see the first time and viewing it from different locations, I also picked up different aspects. The scope of it is huge, but there are a lot of little touches that are missed the first time around.

The comparison to Fantasmic is understandable but not fair. WOC has no story or live characters like F! It's more spectacle like the fireworks than a show. It's a string of vignettes or movie trailers in artistic form.

The crowd control problem and the lack of quality viewing locations is a real issue. In time I hope these are fixed.

The great thing about DLR is the variety of offerings they have and if you truly don't want to see WOC again, F! and the Fireworks are right next door.

 

[aan1701]

OP I am with you. Now I did enjoy World of Color very much. I think it a feast for the eyes. Saying that World of Color lacks something a show should have and that is a story line. I know the story of Fantasmic, it is told to you right from the start, to this day not one person has been able to tell me the story line for World of Color.

 

[Carmatts]

I agree that Fantasmic! is amazing. World of Color is nice once or twice, but I could (have ) watch Fantasmic! over and over and over again!

However, the cool part, just like all things Disney, is that there's something for everyone. There are others who, true story, believe WoC is the better show. (Oh, Hydroguy...... )

I'm a Fantasmic! gal myself,
Dreams

Ha I have the exact opposite reaction. I don't really care to see F! again, but could watch WOC over and over. Yes, I one of those who believe WOC is the superior show.

 

[nunzia]

I think alot of it stems from the experience you have surrounding your viewing. If you had to wait forever in holding pens and were herded into poor viewing areas and then had to wait forever until the show started and then couldn't see well since folks in front of you are tall and then 20 people raised their camcorders up and you saw their lights recording the whole time is far different than having a good viewing section, arriving not quite so early, sitting on the steps drinking your wine until the show starts then standing on the second step (not blocking those behind you) and seeing it at a good vantage point make it a much more enjoyable show.
Last visit we saw it three times. Once in preferred dining area which was great, once at the garbage cans exiting Little Mermaid ride (my new favorite no fast pass default area..super view of the projections) and once from VGC 6th floor viewing area (great different perspective) The show is really growing on me and I like it alot, but still nothing can beat Fantasmic

 

[HydroGuy]

Saw it for the first time this weekend, was expecting something along the lines of Fantasmic, but thought this fell way short. I was wondering, am I in the minority here or is there a lot of people that were initially somewhat disappointed by it?

You are in the majority.

See this poll Remember Dreams Come True, Fantasmic or World of Color? Which is your favorite?

I am in the minority who feel WOC is head and shoulders above Fantasmic. I do agree with PPs that one's experience with WOC has a lot to do with the viewing location. I managed to see WOC twice on one night - once from the very front wet zone and once from the very back fire hydrant - and it was amazing how different the show was from those two spots.

But Fantasmic is still the most popular among people on this forum at least.

 

[daannzzz]

We were both not super impressed with the production, partly due to the logistics of getting a good viewing location. Aside from the beautiful fountains the show seemed like a retread of many of the productions and attractions they have done I the past couple decades. Parts of everything from Animazement, and Fantasmic to Mickey's Philharmagic. World of color would be much better for us as a ten minute show done 4-6 times a night. We thought is was way to long with to many film clips.

 

[mrswh]

I like WOC as much as the next guy (OK, not as much as HydroGuy), but agree that it's not worth several hours of waiting to get the absolute best viewing spot. On our last trip we saw it for the second time (first time was summer 2010) and we enjoyed it just as much without the three hours of waiting around we did the first time around. I just don't think there is really anything (at DL) that is worth waiting three (or even two) hours for, so I could see how someone who spent a long while reading threads, coming up with a strategy, planning their whole day around WOC, and waiting for hours on end would be disappointed with the show. If you look at it as "entertain me" then yeah, it's some movie clips and colored water. But if you think about the logistics, creativity and technology that goes into it, it's pretty impressive. Maybe I am just a nerd. (Where is the nerd emoticon?)

 

[HydroGuy]

I like WOC as much as the next guy (OK, not as much as HydroGuy), but agree that it's not worth several hours of waiting to get the absolute best viewing spot. On our last trip we saw it for the second time (first time was summer 2010) and we enjoyed it just as much without the three hours of waiting around we did the first time around. I just don't think there is really anything (at DL) that is worth waiting three (or even two) hours for, so I could see how someone who spent a long while reading threads, coming up with a strategy, planning their whole day around WOC, and waiting for hours on end would be disappointed with the show. If you look at it as "entertain me" then yeah, it's some movie clips and colored water. But if you think about the logistics, creativity and technology that goes into it, it's pretty impressive. Maybe I am just a nerd. (Where is the nerd emoticon?)

To be fair, for the first show of WOC you do not need "several hours" to get a best spot. You need about 90 minutes. In the summer of 2010 it was closer to two hours when it was brand new. The second show can be much less than that.

In contrast, for the first show of Fantasmic you really need at least two hours to get a sitting spot where kids can see better and 3-4 hours to get the best sitting spots in the center. You can get a sitting spot for the second Fantasmic show with 30-40 minutes of waiting.

Fantasmic has the advantage of having many more good, relatively unobstructed viewing spots than WOC. And one's experience with Fantasmic is much less sensitive to viewing spots. Many of the effects in WOC appear different or are easily missed from different viewing spots. Not so much with F!

 

[JaibuJenn]

I absolutely loved WOC, but I still prefer Fantasmic mainly because I literally grew up watching it. My bf who did not preferred WOC. I will say our wait was awful though. We did the picnic deal thinking we were golden...kind of a rip off. We got to our line early and quickly learned our fastpass was not as great as we thought. Add the grandma who was holding a place for a family of 5 billion next to us and...well thank goodness we loved the show.

Will always prefer Fantasmic, but personally think WOC is spectacular in itself. Not going to lie..I cried a teensy bit. But everyone's different and I'm glad you at least gave it a shot!

 

[Albort]

I prefer the WoC over Fantasmic. I dont really like Fantasmic, ive seen both showed a billion times and Fantasmic got boring for me.

But it is people's preferences afterall. I took my parents and my uncle/aunt to see it and they were all very impressed with WoC.

 

[ktlm]

I wasn't even sure I wanted to bother with WOC....yeah yeah dancing water...seen it at the Bellagio in Vegas tons of times- so they added some video big deal. Maybe it was my total lack of expectation, but I was so impressed with it, that it actually brought tears to my eyes. I LOVED it! I wouldn't want to have to chose between it or Fantasmic. We really love the Peter Pan sequence in Fantasmic since we don't get that at WDW.

 

[DahliaRW]

You are not in the minority. We went our first night thinking that way we could go again if it was as good as everyone says. Got good spots. Thought the show was "ok", but not worth spending time to see again (and we were kind of bummed we wasted time to see it at all). Instead, we saw F! twice, spending hours to get a good spot for the 2nd time we saw it (first time we had the dessert box seating). That was totally worth it.

 

[larina]

Let me start by saying I love all the shows, but the fireworks just remind me of being a kid. My own kids love them. By default almost, they are my favorite!!!

I'm not big on the waiting around for the big shows like Fantasmic and WOC. First time we saw Fantasmic, my dad had to leave after a child we didn't know sat down in his lap (LOL) and wouldn't move until her mother physically removed her while she cried and clutched my dad (I'm sure they have a story). That was just too much for him, we met him later. It was a beautiful show, but not worth what we went through (what year did it start?) to see it so close. Would rather see it from further away, as we have since, and have a tiny bit of personal space.

We stayed at the PP in May with a view of WOC and it was incredible to see from there. My 8 year old got very sick (don't get me started) so we never watched the show from the actual park, but I can't wait to see it in December. Even from the room, it is amazing, and I think I might decide, after waiting in the crowd, that the room is my preferred viewing spot, with glass of champagne in hand The colors are amazing, even from 15 stories up, and the water aspect is just a beautiful addition.

That's my 2 cents, sorry you asked? LOL

 

[KCmike]

Was in same boat the first time and then we saw it again a couple of days later and was completely floored how much better it was. We sat in a better location the second time and found that some of the lighting and water effects in the seating area wasn't working. Get down to the railing if you can to get the full effect.