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View Full Version : Bellagio Water Show in DCA's Lagoon



jerhow
11-03-2003, 11:31 AM
If you've ever been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas or The Grove in Los Angeles, then you would have witnessed a very neat water show performance - where water jets are synchronized to music to create something very eye catching and pleasing to watch.

I've always wondered why DCA has never put something like that in their own lagoon. Talk about the perfect location for a HUGE water symphony that occurs throughout the day.

Seems like it would be a rather inexpensive way to give the park the "lagoon" show it has been looking for. Thoughts?

uberfrau
11-03-2003, 01:08 PM
now, I don't know, but I thought I had heard that the Bellagio show was actually quite expensive. The fountains/water cannons are very powerful, and hence can't be done cheaply without looking like well, something really cheap and lame.
(One website, and I can look up the link again if someone would like it - I dont claim it to be truly accurate - said the lake and the fountains cost $52million.)

Having said that with as much qualification as I can muster...

its still better than doodoo island.

NoCalDad
11-03-2003, 01:18 PM
Disney already has a cool "lagoon show". Maybe they could just bring Illuminations from Epcot to DCA.
Maybe it wouldn't fit the lagoon in DCA, but I'm sure the imagineers could fit in a "DCA sized" version.
I'd drive from No Cal to see that.

bandboy1985
11-03-2003, 11:46 PM
however, let's remember we already have a lagoon here, and it's also not in the middle of the desert, and there's pre-existing plumbing, hence, i see that 52 million sliced at least into quarters. plus the fact that the bellagio lagoon is more than five times larger than the dca lagoon, slice that into quarters again, and you're left with only...


6.5 million.

completely do-able!

merlinjones
11-04-2003, 07:15 AM
The Grove at Farmer's Market has a great small dancing fountain with Bellagio technology.

I'd like to see the Rocket Jets move back to the upper center of Tomorrowland where they belong and a dancing waters fountain like this placed at the entrance to Tomorrowland!

tod
11-04-2003, 09:07 AM
Originally posted by merlinjones
The Grove at Farmer's Market has a great small dancing fountain with Bellagio technology.

Although I haven't checked, I'll bet that it's the work of the former Imagineers calling themselves WET Design (http://www.wetdesign.com). I know they did the Bellagio.

(Parentheticaly, there is a beautiful little WET fountain in Las Vegas in the Embassy Suites on Paradise Road near the Convention Center. The Lovely Mrs. tod and the Little tods and I watched it for minutes on end, several times, when we stayed there once.)


I'd like to see the Rocket Jets move back to the upper center of Tomorrowland where they belong and a dancing waters fountain like this placed at the entrance to Tomorrowland!

Actually, there is a WET-style fountain at the entrance to Tomorrowland. A little to the left, to be precise...

And why not re-establish the waves that were supposed to be in the DCA lagoon in the first place, if I may ask?


--T
:fez:

Lani
11-04-2003, 09:55 AM
Disneyland already HAS a water show -- "Dancing Waters" used to be over at the Disneyland Hotel.

Part of what makes the show at the Bellagio really neat is that they do it all day, every hour. Each show is kind of short (lest people end up spending too much time outside instead of inside in the casinos), too. Like only 7 minutes or something.

...and I bet it takes a LOT of water pressure/electricity to do. Those jets are really powerful.

Demigod121
11-04-2003, 10:14 AM
Originally posted by Lani
Disneyland already HAS a water show -- "Dancing Waters" used to be over at the Disneyland Hotel.


Still is - next to the Sierra Tower, and I believe the show times are either 8 & 9 pm or 9 & 10pm.

-Demigod

jerhow
11-04-2003, 11:29 AM
I must be a prophet. In today's new Lutz article, he specifically references Bellagio-type fountain ideas being tossed around for the lagoon. :)

innerSpaceman
11-04-2003, 11:51 AM
The "Bellagio" fountain at the Grove cost a mere million. Since that's what the Disneyland Resort takes in every 86 minutes, I think they should put a small one at the entrance to Tomorrowland and a big one in the DCA Lagoon, and replace Dancing Waters with one while they're at it.:fez:

DBJ
11-04-2003, 12:27 PM
Wouldn't one of the problems be that the mist cast off from the fountains would head right into Screamin'?

Other than that issue, I think it is a great idea. If they added a dramatic lighting program at night, with water screens etc., they could get two new events at once one for day and one for night.

bandboy1985
11-04-2003, 04:38 PM
um, who cares if there's mist? sea-spray aerated adds to the beach flavor of the area- i'm from the bay area, it's the taste of the morning- fog!

the bellagio shows are also three minutes- very short, and are performed half-hourly.

surprisingly, little pressure is used due to WET Technologies' patented MiniShooter, MegaShooter and NanoShooter fountain heads. it's completely within the realm of possibility.

not meaning to hijack, but it would be cool to have fountains bracketing the entrance to tomorrowland, no? i believe the 1967 incarnation had some type of water feature, but i've never even seen pictures of it. this technology could be applied there, in the dca lagoon, and potentially even into the fantasmic barges.

it's great stuff! we want it now!

MansionMatt
11-05-2003, 08:46 AM
i love the ideas for the bellagio style fountains at DL. then eleven crooks could heist the park, and then stand wonderingly staring at the fountain before dispersing off into the night. :)

on a water-related note, is it true that dancing waters is through? my fiance and i went to see it on our trip to DL in summer of 2002...it was way too long and sorta cheesy in spots, but great to know it was still there, and fun to watch at least part of. it'd be a shame if one of those small cool plusses has gone the way of the dodo...

matt

tod
11-05-2003, 08:53 AM
Originally posted by bandboy1985
not meaning to hijack, but it would be cool to have fountains bracketing the entrance to tomorrowland, no? i believe the 1967 incarnation had some type of water feature, but i've never even seen pictures of it.

Yes, it did. Those silvery concave indentations at the Plaza end of the Adventure Thru Inner Space and Circle Vision buildings had fountains. They were redefined as planters in a drought/water shortage which I believe was in the early '80s, but I could vbe wrong about the date.

--T
:fez:

Demigod121
11-05-2003, 12:36 PM
Originally posted by MansionMatt
on a water-related note, is it true that dancing waters is through? my fiance and i went to see it on our trip to DL in summer of 2002...it was way too long and sorta cheesy in spots, but great to know it was still there, and fun to watch at least part of. it'd be a shame if one of those small cool plusses has gone the way of the dodo...
matt

If you go back a few posts, I did mention that it was still going....
(at least when I was there back in June....)

-Demigod

genenpet
11-05-2003, 12:45 PM
The best WET fountain is already at a Disney park IMHO - Fountain of Nations at EPCOT (not on the lagoon where Illum is). I prefer it to Bellagio. It's on a smaller scale, but super well synced (several of the Bellagio pieces have poor sync, and are just poor choices for synced shows).

The problem is that at EPCOT, very few people seem to spend any time watching the fountain. Infact, the same is true for Bellagio during the day in my experience.

Wonder if DCA would be the same way.

Finally, if you ever saw the shortlived Splashtacular, you'd have seen how poorly the WET fountains interact with live shows. Man was that a stinker... OK, let's not fault the technology, the show was a stinker at least... It might be a problem with the tech in general.

bandboy1985
11-05-2003, 12:47 PM
oh, those funky gold slab-painted monolith things?

hmm. those would definately look better with fountains instead of the dark greenery there now. you know, as a side note, what happened to the entrance to tomorrowland? what's up with those big, gold/bronze futuristic blocks? i totally get the purose they serve, but i completely disagree with them in principle. they're supposed to direct the eye up to the spinning, rotating part of the astro orbiter, and hide the load to the ride; but they make it so hard to get into tomorrowland, they're completely antithetical.

and maybe this would be an overage of aquatic effects, and i do tend to err to the grand in special effects, but i think it would be really cool to have the water bracketing the entrance, and shooting over in concetrated arcs, with those big, rocky outcropping bouders gone!

i seem to recall their presence in the entrance plaza to epcot, only silver.

mystycalchyk
11-05-2003, 02:13 PM
Originally posted by NoCalDad
Disney already has a cool "lagoon show". Maybe they could just bring Illuminations from Epcot to DCA.
Maybe it wouldn't fit the lagoon in DCA, but I'm sure the imagineers could fit in a "DCA sized" version.
I'd drive from No Cal to see that.


They DID have Illuminations for a small time. Of course it was cancelled the one night I (the self proclaimed "Kiss of Death for all Shows Disney") tried to see it. :rolleyes:

We are booking 2 dessert balconies for Fantasmic this year just to be sure to see it. EVERY YEAR for the last 5 years, its been cancelled when we are there and plan it. *sigh*

Donald Duck Dork
12-18-2006, 03:38 PM
The fountains of Bellagio are indeed very expensive just to operate, costing a mere 65 dollars each show just for the lighting, up to 200 to 300 dollars each show for the air compresors and pumps, and up to another 100 dollars for the 56,000 watt sound system... I know that the DCA lagoon is smaller but still this would be a very expensive show, the fountain effects would have to be toned down very low on nights of high wind because this would flood the whole area of DCA, Disney would also have to install a water heater to heat the lagoon such as Bellagio has, the water must be at least 78 degrees or else the water pipes will create snow balls and ice blocks in the nozzles and pipe from the air pressure escaping so quickly, this was also a problem at bellagio. The lagoon's water color would have to change to crystal clear or else the lighting effects would ruined by the blue die in the lagoon. The waves would have to be switched off each performance to prevent the water level from rising over the nozzles also. But the real reason why I think DCA doesn't already have a show like this, is because it is not deep enough, the Bellagio is only 5 feet deep by the spectaors, but around the whole fountain structure is a huge trench that is almost 25 feet deep, plus beneath the entire lake is a huge warehouse that stores all the air compressors, pumps, miles and miles of wireing, and all of the pump vaults. DCA would litteraly have to tear up the entire lagoon to build the underground wharehouse and make the lagoon compatiable for a Wet Design show, however there is an alternative show availiable called 'waltzing waters' which has dozens of effects and can be floated onto the lagoon daily or permantley installed on a submerged platform, Waltzing waters installed the Fantasy Waters show at DLH, this was a very small show at only 15 meters, but a 70 meter long show would be more suitable for the lagoon at DCA.

screamin4ever
12-18-2006, 04:29 PM
The fountains of Bellagio are indeed very expensive just to operate, costing a mere 65 dollars each show just for the lighting, up to 200 to 300 dollars each show for the air compresors and pumps, and up to another 100 dollars for the 56,000 watt sound system... I know that the DCA lagoon is smaller but still this would be a very expensive show, the fountain effects would have to be toned down very low on nights of high wind because this would flood the whole area of DCA, Disney would also have to install a water heater to heat the lagoon such as Bellagio has, the water must be at least 78 degrees or else the water pipes will create snow balls and ice blocks in the nozzles and pipe from the air pressure escaping so quickly, this was also a problem at bellagio. The lagoon's water color would have to change to crystal clear or else the lighting effects would ruined by the blue die in the lagoon. The waves would have to be switched off each performance to prevent the water level from rising over the nozzles also. But the real reason why I think DCA doesn't already have a show like this, is because it is not deep enough, the Bellagio is only 5 feet deep by the spectaors, but around the whole fountain structure is a huge trench that is almost 25 feet deep, plus beneath the entire lake is a huge warehouse that stores all the air compressors, pumps, miles and miles of wireing, and all of the pump vaults. DCA would litteraly have to tear up the entire lagoon to build the underground wharehouse and make the lagoon compatiable for a Wet Design show, however there is an alternative show availiable called 'waltzing waters' which has dozens of effects and can be floated onto the lagoon daily or permantley installed on a submerged platform, Waltzing waters installed the Fantasy Waters show at DLH, this was a very small show at only 15 meters, but a 70 meter long show would be more suitable for the lagoon at DCA.

You have no idea how expensive fireworks are do you? $500 to $1,000 per burst is not uncommon. Fountains at DCA would be great and I hope WET gets the contract.

BayAreaDisneyFan
12-18-2006, 04:33 PM
I'm pretty sure Fantasy Waters is defunct - I thought I read that here a long time ago, and when we were there this weekend I saw that there is some kind of ivy or weeds over-growing up the background screen - it looked kind of sad, like a ruin of some lost culture...

We used to really like that show - my son especially would go for the upclose view in hopes of getting soaked by the spray. It was one of those little things that made the hotel a more special place to stay. Probably too costly to maintain and run for the relatively small audience it drew.

Donald Duck Dork
12-18-2006, 04:56 PM
You have no idea how expensive fireworks are do you? $500 to $1,000 per burst is not uncommon. Fountains at DCA would be great and I hope WET gets the contract.

yes, but most of these shells are free to Disney now...

animalx
12-18-2006, 06:20 PM
Someone suggested moving Fantasmic over there but i think they should put something there along the same lines. I don't think it should be dancing water though. Maybe something unique which involves the newer Disney Characters. Maybe have a Scene where the characters from CARS drive really fast near the railing and spray those strollers that lineup for hours for such events.

JohnGar
12-18-2006, 08:12 PM
They DID have Illuminations for a small time. Of course it was cancelled the one night I (the self proclaimed "Kiss of Death for all Shows Disney") tried to see it.

It was called Luminaria and it was held the first Holiday Season in 2001 on the lagoon at DCA. During the day you could draw a picture at certain locations in the park and it would be used in the show that night. Very cool show. Not sure what the official reason it disappeared was. :confused:

As for the Dancing Waters at the hotel, when I was growing up in La Mirada, my parents used to take us to see the show at the hotel and then we would turn around and see the Disneyland fireworks. It was very cheap entertainment for 6 to 10 year olds. We loved it and still talk about 30 years later. When we went to the hotel last year (we actually were just this weekend but didn't venture over there), the area was still there and looking very clean. BRING IT BACK. :D

stan4d_steph
12-18-2006, 08:29 PM
Please do not dredge up old threads. If you wish to discuss a topic with older posts, please start a new thread and link to the older discussion. Thank you.