World of Color: Season of Light

As part of the Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure, World of Color has been transformed into a brand new holiday show called Season of Light.  And unlike the previous two years' Frozen-overladen World of Color: Winter Dreams show or even the disappointing 60th Anniversary World of Color: Celebrate production, this show is a fantastic, wonderfully put together, awe-inspiring spectacle that really does justice to the full capabilities of the show and brings a warm holiday spirit to the hearts of those who watch the show.

Firstly, a disclaimer: There is a bit of Frozen in this show.  But just a bit, and really, there is a lot of all sorts of Disney movies in Season of Light.  The show does a deep dive into the catalog at points, bringing in scenes from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Lady and the Tramp, and other less massively popular franchises.  These scenes, however, are not really even the features of the show.  Instead, Season of Light weaves together various Christmas themes and scenes under the soundtrack of multiple classic (and some contemporary) Christmas songs, conveying motifs of family, love, care, and the holiday spirit.  "World of Color" doesn't even appear as a title card anywhere in the show.  It's just the vehicle for a wonderful and splendid winter holiday show.

Here are photos I took last Friday of basically the entire run.  Nearly five dozen pictures worth.  Enjoy!

The show opens with a flourish, immediately diving into seasonal choruses.

The spectacle of fountains and colors is openly on display.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?  Quite dazzling.

The lighting effects off California Screamin' are incorporated too. 

As are the laser effects and projections onto the Screamin' loop and Mickey's Fun Wheel Mickey outline.

The show moves into various cozy holiday scenes.

Yes, Olaf is there.  No, there aren't any Frozen songs performed.

The princesses symbolize the love and romance of the holidays.

Onto a sequence of presents and gifts.

Who doesn't love Christmas treasures? Like an adorable puppy?

The emotions of the season are also encompassed with Inside Out incorporations.

There's an entire segment devoted to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters' "Mele Kalikimaka," featuring Lilo and Stitch, of course.

"Feliz Navidad," featuring the Three Caballeros makes an appearance too.

Look at that, a World of Color Christmas tree!

My favorite part of the entire show is a sequence featuring hapless Goofy trying to rig a Christmas light show.

Set to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter," this spectacular two and a half minutes is an incredible feast for the eyes.

It's also a nice tribute to a similar segment at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios' now-defunct Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights.

Also, fire.

BIG FIRE!!

The mushroom of flame is amazing and gasp-evoking.

How to follow that high?  How about an ironically humorous "Blue Christmas" segment?

Sadness just can't seem to get that Christmas cheer.

And then, in an effort to make all of us sad too, the show proceeds to showcase heart-wrenching scenes from many of Disney's memorable movies.

And some with a more underground following too.

Hugs galore.

Great.  You just had to bring up Up and make us cry.

But love binds us all together.

And love can lift us up as well.

And so the show brings us back around to a crescendo.

Spectacular dancing fountains and colors and lights reclaim the holiday joy.

KAPLOOSH!!

What a scene!

"Joy to the World" reverberates as the bay picks up a post-show segment.  Sort of.

It's more muted in tone, but the fountains dance more vigorously than past post-shows.

And on Friday, the audience didn't really leave much.

It wasn't until this final refrain that the show really came to a close.

There is another actual post-show segment after this, but it's basically just the fountains on low, with cascading colors shining through.  And overall, an absolutely delightful show!