There’s nothing quite like a nighttime spectacular show at Disney Parks. Using combinations of fireworks, lights, and water, nearly every Disney Park has some special way to give you a “kiss goodnight.” But Disneyland Paris may have just put the domestic Disney Parks to shame with an epic drone show that is reportedly the biggest one Europe has ever seen, and yet somehow we still don’t have any drones at all at Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
Over the weekend France celebrated Bastille Day, a patriotic day of celebration in the nation, and Disneyland Paris, which has been using drones regularly in its nighttime spectaculars for some time, upped its game big time with a show that utilized 1,495 drones above Sleeping Beauty Castle, the largest show of its kind on the continent, and it looked incredible.
It looked so amazing that one has to ask the obvious question. Why have drones not been added to any of the shows at Walt Disney World? It needs to be done, and it needs to be done soon.
Some U.S. Theme Parks Are Already Using Drones To Great Effect
It would be one thing if Disneyland Paris was ahead of the U.S. Disney Parks because Europe is just ahead of the U.S. using this form of technology in theme park shows. But there are already parks in America using drones as part of their shows. I recently visited Dollywood for the first time and the current Summer Celebration fireworks show includes drones. They create some fairly simple images, but there were a lot of drones, so the images were huge.
It’s not only major U.S. theme parks using drones. I also visited Charlotte, NC’s Carowinds amusement park, and even that nighttime show included drones alongside traditional fireworks, though that park certainly had fewer of them than Dollywood. But even the smaller show was something special that really added to the overall experience.
Having seen drones in person now, I love what they can add to night-time spectaculars, and that means we're well past time for Disney World, and maybe Disneyland, to add them to the evening’s entertainment. At Disneyland, there could potentially be some zoning issues with the city of Anaheim, but if those can be overcome, drones can potentially be used to add to fireworks shows, and even be used when wind conditions mean fireworks can’t.
But Walt Disney World should have no such issues. The land surrounding all the Disney Parks is just more Disney land, so there’s nobody standing between Walt Disney World and drones being included. Disney World is usually where we see the cutting edge of technology but the resort is behind the curve on this one.
Drones Have Been Rumored To Be Part A Future Epcot Show For Years
The fact that we have yet to see drones at Walt Disney World doesn’t mean there isn’t necessarily interest. There have been rumors of Disney World nighttime spectaculars adding drones for some time. Specifically at Epcot, ever since the end of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth was announced as ending, it’s been suggested drones were coming, but both the stopgap show Epcot Forever and the 50th anniversary show Harmonious, debuted without drones. Harmominous only had massive barges that a lot of people hated.
It’s still possible we could see drones at Epcot before the end of the year. Among the new Disney World attractions that are coming this year. We know we’re getting a new nighttime spectacular there at some point later this year. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, a new show is coming. Unfortunately, all we’ve seen of it is concept art, so it’s far from clear what the show will be or how it will be displayed. Still, it’s possible.
On Monday it was officially announced that Epcot’s 100 Years of Wonder celebration would begin September 22, and while no specific mention was made of the new nighttime show, one has to believe that it will debut on or around that same date. Perhaps when we do learn more about it, we’ll learn that drones will be included. One can only imagine what Disney’s creativity can bring to this technology. Others have used it to great effect, maybe Disney can really raise the bar for the industry.
