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Universal Orlando Cinematic Spectacular lagoon show to rival Disneyland Resort’s World of Color

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Posted on by Ricky Brigante 7 Comments
Brilliant fountains of water and vibrant lights dance across Universal Orlando’s lagoon at night during the Cinematic Spectacular, creating a dazzling show as iconic park buildings shimmer in the background.

Answer: This nighttime water spectacular features dancing colorful fountains and classic movie clips projected on to water screens, celebrating decades of filmmaking history. Question: What is Disney’s “World of Color” show? Not this time.

Universal Orlando has announced a strikingly similar nighttime show that will fill its Universal Studios Florida park lagoon beginning Spring 2012. It’s called Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular and both in description and in concept artwork, it bears more than a small resemblance to the show Disney premiered at the Disneyland Resort in June 2010.

The new lagoon show at Universal’s park in Florida has been officially described as:

“Narrated by award-winning actor and recent Golden Globe – Cecil B. DeMille honoree, Morgan Freeman, Universal Orlando’s brand-new nighttime show, Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular, will celebrate the most powerful and emotional moments from Universal Pictures’ most iconic films – all on cutting-edge waterfall screens within the Universal Studios lagoon and surrounded by colorful fountains and pyrotechnics. The experience will take guests on a journey through epic cinematic moments filled with heroes, horror, laughter, good vs. evil and triumph. The new show opens this spring, runs all summer and then on select nights through the end of the year.”

And with Universal Studios (the movie studio) celebrating 100 years of film history, the theme park has plenty of “epic cinematic moments” to feature in the new show.

Here’s the full announcement, featuring Jim Timon Senior VP of Entertainment for Universal Orlando:

Artwork for Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular reveals a rainbow of fountains, lined up within the Universal Studios Florida lagoon in the center of the park. At first glance, the similarities to Disney’s World of Color are uncanny and will surely have Disney fans chastising Universal for “ripping off” the idea.

Universal Orlando’s nighttime lagoon show lights up the plaza with vibrant fountains and dazzling beams shooting into the sky, while colorful reflections dance across the water, creating an unforgettable spectacle for guests.

Compare that artwoto our photo taken on opening night of Disney’s World of Color show:

world of color

But there are differences. Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular will feature movie projections on waterfall screens, dripping from large floating rigs. Disney’s show uses mist screens, blowing gallons of water into the air to form a thin “wall” to project onto. Disney’s screens are impressive in the way they appear and disappear seemingly from nothing, but it’s likely that Universal’s solid downward streams of water will result in a clearer, crisper image. Judging from the artwork, it appears that three of these screens will be set up in select locations in the lagoon at a variety of angles, ensuring that guests all around the park will have a good chance to see the show.

Brilliant blue fountains illuminate the night as E.T. soars across the moon on a giant screen, capturing that iconic Universal Orlando lagoon show magic and bringing movie moments to life for park guests.

Again, compare the screens in Universal’s artwork above to a photo from Disney’s World of Color below:

Immerse yourself in an unforgettable nighttime extravaganza as vibrant fountains and dazzling lights dance to music, with beloved animated characters projected onto screens and the iconic Mickey Mouse face glowing in the background—an experience reminiscent of Universal Orlando’s legendary lagoon show.

Disney’s World of Color show includes almost exclusively animated films, with the exception being clips from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” It’s a family show that’s designed to bring out the kid in everyone, pulling heart strings along the way. Universal’s show is likely to feature far more live action clips from its vast catalog of movies, such as E.T. shown in the artwork above. Given Universal’s history, the Cinematic Spectacular is also likely to feature more action, a louder score, and more edgy drama than Disney’s family-friendly spectacle.

Universal Orlando’s new lagoon show dazzles guests after the daytime parade, lighting up the night with brilliant blue water fountains and colorful lights that transform the entire outdoor area into a mesmerizing nighttime spectacle.

Universal’s show also appears to feature around 50 individual fountains, whereas Disney’s show has around 1,200, each individually motorized and computer-controlled.

We won’t know exactly how Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular stacks up against Disney’s World of Color until the new show debuts in a few months. But despite the obvious differences between the shows, no theme park fan will be able to hold back from comparing the two for their many inherent similaries. For now, Disney has not announced any plans to bring World of Color, or any similar shows, to its Orlando theme parks, though they did recently announce a new high-tech castle show for Disneyland Paris that uses many of the same elements. But until they do decide to add something like it to Walt Disney World, come Spring 2012, it will be Universal Orlando drawing fans to see their wonderful world of color.

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