Disney theme parks in Florida, France, Japan and China have all boasted nighttime spectaculars featuring aerial drones with Dumbo, Peter Pan, Baymax or Iron Man flying through the skies as soaring soundtracks entertain spectators below.
So why has Disneyland been so slow to adopt the latest in nighttime spectacular technology?
ALSO SEE: Disney nighttime spectaculars to get more aerial drone shows
Disney’s latest drone light show took to the skies above Disneyland Paris to promote “Captain America: Brave New World” that premiered over the weekend to $192 million at the global box office.
The limited-time Marvel show was in addition to the new “Disney Tales of Magic” nighttime spectacular that debuted in January with a fleet of cutting-edge drones at Disneyland Paris.
“Magic in the Air” at Tokyo Disneyland, “Find Your Super Power: Battle in the Sky” at Hong Kong Disneyland and “Disney Dreams That Soar” at the Disney Springs outdoor shopping mall at Walt Disney World all rolled out last summer with aerial drones playing a key role in the new nighttime spectaculars.
Disneyland is bringing back a fireworks show and nighttime parade plus a new “World of Color” water show as part of the park’s 70th anniversary celebration — but a drone light show is not in the plans, at least through the summer of 2026.
Disney has launched drone shows in Southern California — just not over the Anaheim theme park.
Marvel Entertainment hosted a “Deadpool and Wolverine” aerial drone show in July during Comic-Con 2024 in the skies above San Diego.
Disneyland’s SoCal rivals have added flying robots to nighttime spectaculars as well — at Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld San Diego and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Disneyland’s drone drought could soon change.
Walt Disney Imagineering Vice President for Parades and Spectaculars Steven Davison spoke last summer about Imagineering’s pioneering work creating drone light shows during a D23 panel at the Anaheim Convention Center.
“You’ll see a lot of this coming and in very clever new ways,” Davison said during the D23 panel. “I’ve seen the newest versions of drones and where they’re headed. It’s beautiful. It’s spectacular. They’re really jumping into this. We’ve just hit the beginning of it and where it could go.”
ALSO SEE: Disneyland once planned to use aerial drones in ‘World of Color’
Drone light shows work as a great alternative to fireworks for telling stories during nighttime spectaculars, according to Davison.
“It’s one of those things where you start to look at a technology like fountains or fireworks or lights and you say, ‘Oh, what if we did this with it?’” Davison said at D23. “And out of nowhere, you transform something into something that no one had ever seen before.”
ALSO SEE: Where Disneyland could add a nighttime drone show
Where could Disneyland and Disney California Adventure add a nighttime drone show? The nightly fireworks shows, “Fantasmic,” “World of Color” or over Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus are just a few of the obvious options.
Disney has filed patents for cutting-edge drone concepts — including drone-controlled puppets and 3D drone displays that mimic fireworks shows.