Backstage at Disney: Inside the secret control room for World of Color

Read more: cnet.co/1Ma88WX
The World of Color show at Disney's California Adventure combines innovative water fountains, video projections on a giant mist screen and music. CNET's Brian Tong got a tour of the secret control room to see what it takes to put on the nightly spectacular.
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[@TheCrazyCoasterKid]

The most interesting part is at 1:54 when he says "initiate cues." I had no idea the show was cued/run live scene by scene. I thought it was a straight run from the computers.

[@LightJockey]

It's obviously not, everything's timecoded like you said or you'd notice lots of differences between each run. Also no human being could keep up with all those cues 😂 but operators are needed to stay behind the consoles anyway just in case something unexpected happens, and also to accomodate specific requests via intercom, like: exclude fountain X, adjust this cue for the day, etc.

[@JonathanGrahamVideo]

I'm pretty sure the cues are automated to timecode. But they have the ability to do the cues manually for testing/programing ect. But they would pretty much have to do it to timecode for the show I'm sure.

[@CharlesReinmuth]

I have so many questions for this guy, as a audio/visual engineer. I wish I could be on that tour and talk with the incredible people who run everything.

[@christianshauntvideos6728]

Charles Reinmuth yeah I've always wondered how they keep the graveyard scene in the haunted mansion on sync. I think this is even more complex.

[@RobertTheHaunter]

0:20 Even Disney has a random garbage folder!

[@MemerManStan]

lol, I see it

[@dannyrodriguez8679]

How did you see that????

[@MemerManStan]

it called "Random crap that w..."

[@MattTube]

So up my alley! My dream job. I love creativity that meets engineering! So awesome, So me.

[@kelseylikesicecreamandbatm6098]

Brian described tech nerds perfectly.We do like blinky things

[@kelseylikesicecreamandbatm6098]

Kelsey Menges Bryan? whoops,sorry bro.:p

[@pinhead35]

Kelsey likesicecreamandBatman HELL YEAH WE DO

[@kma198199]

....and this is why tickets are 100+ each these days!!

[@Bingoclips878]

It's costs a lot for all that stuff I have a friend whose says Disney is evil but there the best of the best and that's why their expensive

[@pinhead35]

kma198199 yep Disney just got two more of those control boards which are MA2's, they cost $55,000 new

[@mateorincon3448]

Great interview but I wished they talked more about the audio setup

[@andreavigano6070]

my dream job, thanks for sharing!

[@smallbluemachine]

Spared no expense! Top of the line!

[@pinhead35]

Constantly updated too!

[@Bingoclips878]

That button troll part was the only thing Bryan has every done that was funny

[@CrazyRandomDOGO]

Think you got enough MA consoles?

[@bassface8980]

Tbh only 5 ma consoles for 1 section in disneyland all of the rides and stuff are based off much smaller console

[@Bingoclips878]

Stop making me want to go to Disneyland

[@CHGOfficial512]

They use GrandMA2 to control fountains? Nice

[@op6883]

0:25 the lighting, Consol he is using called a grand M A 2 full size lighting counsle

[@brianfoster6334]

MA2 not MA3

[@E233ful]

One MA2 full size for Lighting One MA2 full size for Fountain One MA2 light for Video And One MA2 full size I don't know what it's for, maybe the additional lights LED lights on the rollercoaster. And 7 NPUs. Maximum parameter avilable: 57344

[@op6883]

Im assuming all the lighting counsels are interconnected

[@E233ful]

@@op6883 I think not, all different sessions. Because MA only takes the maximum parameter count on the largest console, in this case, either one MA2 full size and 8192 parameter, then add the NPUs on top of it. Since the show is massive, and we don't know how much DMX channel is occupied by one moving head fountain, I think they really require that much parameter(maybe the MA2 light just use for cue video so not that much are used), so they spread out different control to different console and sessions and just run on the same timecode to look like they are interconnected.

[@op6883]

Good point

[@PKNeoHaseo]

Michael Jackson has a room like this at his NeverLand Ranch.

[@NNAAWWTT]

Yo imagine hearing the sound of SYNCHRONIZATION thru the sound system it freaking brutal

[@bassface8980]

Ouch

[@guillaumelalonde7945]

Good reference

[@nicolea2839]

Control room? I thought the show was controlled by real magic

[@LightJockey]

Time to make the switch to GrandMA 3, Disney 👌😎

[@natewurgler6134]

No bc the MA3 has more functions.

[@bassface8980]

No reason tho , they probably wont move to ma3 software , programmers would hate them if they do

[@LightJockey]

​@@bassface8980 Yeah, FOH is definitely their least concern rn with all the water damage they got lately

[@callofmariocoinops]

He should've trolled everyone by just mashing all the buttons

[@CollectorOfThings]

+Te Amasin Spoderman the master was down anyway

[@maritzagarciaespinoza289]

Kimali Bennett ñ

[@pinhead35]

legoset0 I bet they left the GM down because they knew he would touch something

[@mr.commentboi3707]

Kimali Bennett the show would be a joke show then, and would get very low ratings.

[@bassface8980]

@@pinhead35 or locked dmx output /ma button fix

[@dennisthebrony2022]

I can also tell that this room is right beside Mickey's Fun Wheel!

[@pinhead35]

It’s actually hidden right behind cars lamd

[@JesusisKing2000]

@@pinhead35 it’s actually below the pier by the entrance to the bridge

[@KingChevy239]

I'm 25, live in Florida and never been to Disney World

[@djokawari1]

Tyler M Disney World is like the third-world version of Disneyland.

[@sadmancho]

djokawari You have it backwards. Disney World is way better than Disneyland. There is so much more to do and see.

[@papas0918]

Sadman Chowdhury Disneyland Was made before Walt Disney World

[@jared1804]

Ok.. Thank you for telling us?

[@Figro2025]

1:06 is that splash mountain???

[@Gkh_lx]

lots of GrandMA 2

[@jamesrowe5431]

i noticed that

[@freddyspaghetti1055]

Did you see the NPU's? That's a really big network!

[@jamanak6457]

thought I might see you here lol

[@elivonk4311]

@@freddyspaghetti1055 The Number of parameters must be insane!

[@bassface8980]

@@elivonk4311 i dont get why , the fixture count doesn’t even reach to 4 universes but idk if they run the fountains actions off dmx if yes that might reach 10-12 universes

[@ceecrb1]

Hippotizers!

[@blakebelladonna6847]

THAT WAS AN ETC ION WITH A 48 FADER EXTENTION 😰😰😰😰😰😰😍😍😍😍

[@andrewmurtagh5065]

Blake Belladonna Looks like it's all run on MA2

[@pinhead35]

Blake Belladonna which part I know the spectaculars don't use ETC's all I know is the stage show's use them

[@pinhead35]

Blake Belladonna Disneyland's firework system just installed an MA2 and Fantasmic is getting the MA2 also. Frozen uses an ETC EOS Ti and Festival of the Holidays is using an ETC ion with no fader extension

[@naiyahp]

No one controls the show. 😐😐😐😐

[@BRMakesStuff]

"We developed".... lol

[@smallbrandproductions6906]

Disney did develop the fountains

[@BRMakesStuff]

Nope. I can take you for a tour of my company and show you who developed them.

[@bassface8980]

@@smallbrandproductions6906 nope there is a lot commercial moving fountains that can be bought for cheap

[@samguetzlaff4708]

3 Grand Ma consoles!!!

[@nobodynull4085]

Sam Guetzlaff 5 total used, one for redundancy and another for mains control

[@pinhead35]

Yep! Backstage in the entertainment building there’s MA consoles everywhere

[@djdsf]

CNET homieust have been sad there's no Apple products in there ..

[@bassface8980]

Like why , apple doest produce stuff for those applications , maybe in the creative section like where all the content is made there is probably a lot of apple computers besides much faster pcs for 3d work

[@ronaldorams]

Yawn, I’m still waiting for holograms to finally come out