Several years before the turn of the millennium, long-time Disney entertainment consultant Don Dorsey was brought on to be involved in the development of a new type of fireworks. Disney’s new environmentally friendly “air launch” technology would use compressed air instead of black powder under the shell, and it was Don’s job to help the team understand the creative possibilities. After all, Don had been involved with Disney as early as 1975’s patriotic America on Parade, immediately followed by an update of the illuminating Main Street Electrical Parade.
A few years later, when Don was asked to develop an all-new Epcot show for the millennium using the new technology, Don’s mind skyrocketed with ideas, and he settled on the idea of telling the story of Earth… in just 12 minutes. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth officially premiered on October 1, 1999, and for 10years has been lighting up the faces of audiences from around the world.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, Don reflected on the creation of the show and shared some secrets behind it.
IN THE BEGINNING…
The wise and powerful-sounding narrator, the first voice you hear in the show, is Jim Cummings, who is also the current voice of a very little brain, Winnie the Pooh, as well Tigger and even the Big Bad Wolf. “I was looking for grandfather, Indian chief, international, your conscience… I was looking for some voice that could embody this idea without being any of them,” Don says. “It just had a marvelous feel to it, exactly what I had hoped for.”
Following the narration, the grandfatherly voice blows out all the torches around the lagoon. That goosebump moment was not originally in the script, but blew into Don’s head during the recording session.
SEEING FIREWORKS
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth premiered the most accurate precision fireworks in Disney history. “They created a little computer chip that carried an electrical charge, and on that computer chip is a little circuit that has a timer,” Don notes. Thanks to that chip and variable air pressure, the timing accuracy and the height accuracy allow creative teams to reach new heights.
Both the air-launch and computer technology are necessary for Reflections of Earth‘s opening effect— when a shooting star darts by and explodes. The secret to that stellar effect is using two firework shells. While the sideways firework goes by, appearing as a shooting star, a blossom firework is launched. With air-launch technology, the firework leaves no trail as it rises to the precise height of the shooting star headed in from outside the berm, blossoming at the exact moment they meet for an electrifying effect.
“It was one of those big finger-crossing moments when we said, ‘All right, this is how we’re going to try to do it.’ And it actually worked,” Don laughs.
IN TUNE
Here’s a secret about the show’s music that Don lets out of the treasure chest for the first time. Originally, Hans Zimmer was going to do the music. The Academy Award®-winning composer provided the score for films such as The Lion King and two of the Pirates of the Caribbean blockbusters.
Due to scheduling conflicts, Hans was unable to work on the show, but suggested Gavin Greenaway. Don, who had never heard of Gavin, still remembers the moment when he received a package in the mail with Gavin’s proposed score. “I’m shaking as I get this thing, thinking, ‘Is this just going to be a horrible moment or is there promise here?’ I put in the CD and started playing the music and I teared up because it was good, it was exactly what we needed.”
The Reflections of Earth music ended up winning an Emmy® award. But wait, Emmy awards are given to music in television, not in laser, light, water, and pyrotechnic theme park spectaculars. ABC liked the music so much they used it for their coverage of the millennium, for which it won the Emmy, and they continue to use it on various occasions to this day.
The finale song, “We Go On,” needed lyrics to accompany Gavin’s music. Don, who had never written lyrics before, took on the task, inspired by an event that took place during the production of Reflections of Earth. One of original producers that he was working closely with was taken off the project and put on another. “I called him from the Dallas airport and we were having this conversation. I said, ‘I know how disappointed you are and I’m extremely disappointed, I’m mad, I’m frustrated… but we go on.’ It wasn’t until I had hung up and had gotten back on the plane that I’m ruminating on this idea of “we go on” and listening to the music and going, ‘Oh, you know what? That is the millennium message! No matter what… we go on.'”
LET THERE BE LIGHT
The colorfully lit water fountains in Reflections are an integral part of the program. During the history of the world when vegetation is coming, the fountains turn green and slowly grow. For the campfire sequence, the water becomes a single jet that’s fire orange.
Since the fountains only allow four colors of lights, the colors used inReflections are lavender, mint, pumpkin, and lagoon. “We came down to four colors that would allow us to create the most interesting looks on the fountains that we hadn’t used before. In previous fountain shows we used yellow, green, red and blue. We wanted to do something different so we picked four new colors we could also match with pyro.”
Unique color lighting wasn’t just limited to the fireworks and water. The rooftop searchlights around the lagoon also project the colors so that even the smoke is not typical white, but lit in the same color as the pyro displays.
BEAMING WITH LASERS
There was not a lot of call for lasers in the concept of Reflections of Earth. “There’s no reason to really do it but it’s sort of an expectation that they’re going to be in the show. People talk about it as a laser show.”
When the decision was made to include lasers, it created its own challenges. Like everything else, the lasers couldn’t be the same old lasers. Don said, “If we’re going to have them in the show then we can’t have blue/green. That’s not in our color palette, that’s not appropriate. That’s old school laser.” So for the first time in Epcot history, full color lasers were installed.
WE GO ON
The “We Go On” finale video segment seen on the 360-degree cylindrical globe video screen features people of various ethnic backgrounds coming together. “The whole setup for the show is we’re sitting around the fire telling stories, passing on traditions and that is what we wanted to show in this video,” Don observes. “It’s almost a show within a show, symbolic of all the people at Epcot from all these different countries, gathering around the fireworks to share this moment. I wanted to kind of put that inside the ball.”
Although that short segment runs only about a minute, to ensure authenticity, over a period of two days, about two hundred people came in to audition in their native costumes, and were asked questions about their heritage.
Next, a whole day of filming ensued. The few actors that were selected were actually filmed in front of a real fire bar. Although flickering light might have created the same effect, it was just another detail added to ensure the greatest quality in authenticity.
Because the final video had to fit inside the various shapes of the continents, Don watched through cardboard masks that he placed over the video monitor. “That was probably the most nerve-racking day was making sure that we had on video what would work for the finale.”
SYMBOLIC FINALE
Near the finale of Reflections of Earth, the video globe opens up to reveal a single burning torch as a symbol of achievement, success and pride. That torch, together with the 19 torches now lit around the lagoon, represent one torch for each century of 2,000 years.
Reflections of Earth concludes by physically displaying a “thousand points of light” in fireworks. Don assures that, “A thousand is important so we counted the number of balls in each firework. I also wanted to light up the audience so that you could actually see all the people which is why that’s an all white moment. Now you suddenly become aware, you can see everything, it’s almost like daylight.”
10 YEARS LATER
Ten years after the show has premiered, it continues to ignite excitement and enjoyment at Epcot. “I’m very pleased that the show has stood the test of time and continues to satisfy viewers,” Don says proudly. “Certainly, in terms of an impact, I’m very, very proud of the impact that we’ve been able to have and the number of people that we’ve reached, and hopefully have been able to give them a connection to their place on the planet.”