Drones finally come to a Disney theme park but Walt Disney World will not be the first

Jan 25, 2022 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Tuesday January 25, 2022 11:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disneyland Paris will be the first Disney theme park to incorporate drones into a nightly show as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations.

200 drones will be used as part of the Disney D-Light show, which serves as a pre-show to the main Disney Illuminations show. The drone segment has been developed alongside specialist drone show company Dronisos based in Bordeaux France, which interestingly also has a presence in Orlando Florida.

Disney has long been developing drones for shows in the parks, with both EPCOT and Magic Kingdom strongly linked with their use. News of Disney developing drone technology for use in nighttime spectaculars surfaced back in late 2014 with the filing of various patents relating to their Flixel system that used drones to carry a projection surface.

Unfortunately, Walt Disney World's 50th, which saw the debut of two new nighttime shows, Disney Enchantment and Harmonious, did not bring drones to the parks as hoped.

Walt Disney World did produce the limited run drone show Starbright Holidays at Disney Springs for the 2016 holiday season, produced in association with Intel and its Shooting Star drone product.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

mrfloMay 08, 2022

Does anyone know what this D23 (virtual) event will be? D23 & Walt Disney Imagineering Present Magical Milestones: Celebrate 30 Years of Disneyland Paris Sounds very similar to the DLP panel with the Imagineers on April 12th. I would love to see a European D23 Expo or more events in DLP.

DCBakerMay 06, 2022

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2022/05/disneyland-paris-lights-up-the-eiffel-tower-for-30th-anniversary-celebration/

montydysquith-navarroMay 03, 2022

Here's the official b-roll of Disney D-Light (version 1) and a short featurette on the preshow's music:

RobbiemApr 13, 2022

I remember the UK version with Pat Sharpe and Matthew Kelley

Animaniac93-98Apr 13, 2022

Remember Oct 1 when fans lined up for hours before opening to get into MK and...nothing happened?

marni1971Apr 13, 2022

That was the US version, right?

britainApr 13, 2022

Thank you, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith!

Max FanApr 12, 2022

Hello Everyone, today we have a surprise for the 30th anniversary day ! 20 cameras, 7 visits, 5 days of post-production, synchronization of 6 audios... This is THE ultimate video of Disneyland Paris' 30th anniversary show, "Dream…and Shine Brighter!". Parade - 00:35 Show - 06:50 The 20 point of views in the video :

ToTBellHopApr 12, 2022

Joyeux anniversaire!

EvilgidgitApr 12, 2022

Happy anniversary, everybody.

marni1971Apr 12, 2022

Yep

LittleMermanApr 12, 2022

Thanks for posting! Was this the live stream from today?

DCBakerApr 12, 2022

You can watch the 30 Years of Disneyland Paris with the Imagineers here -

marni1971Apr 12, 2022

It’s one of those days to soak it all in and not plan on doing much (except avoid covid) - and to feel sorry for the unaware first time visitors.