Photo of the Week: The Electric Water Pageant

I can only think of one show that last lasted since the early 70s in Disney World. The Electric Water Pageant. It's like the energizer bunny. Nearly 40 years of continuous shows. This photo was taken from high up on the Contemporary.

The Temporary Show That Never Stopped

Disney has a habit of cutting costs at the first sign of a week economy. You don’t need to tell that to the thousands who lost their jobs earlier this year. Beyond cutting jobs Disney cut Fantasmic, shot down the new Stich show after just a few weeks, and made thousands of other small adjustments to save money.

Typically if Disney labels something as “temporary” or in Disney terms “Seasonal” it means you better see it now because it could be gone in a couple of days.

There is one “temporary” attraction that was never shut down. In fact it’s been playing since 1971. I never viewed temporary as being a term of nearly 40 years but this is Disney we are talking about.

In 1971 you had the Magic Kingdom which might take you a day to go through. You could ride the Monorail. You also had the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. I bet someone will let me know but I don’t know if the Poly was even around in 71. Beyond that there wasn’t much. To make it more of a value Disney threw together a show and put it out there. At the time if you had told them the show would still be playing 40 years later I bet they would have mocked you.

The Electric Water Pageant has been playing every night in front of Ft. Wilderness, the Contemporary, and the Poly for nearly 40 years.

If you’ve never seen it, it’s a goofy light show set to some music. It’s so simple yet if it starts when you are there you will watch the entire thing. I don’t know what it is but there is some kind of magic to it.

Today we have special effects that the imagineers in the 70’s and 80’s couldn’t even dream about. I mention that because in entertainment there is a desire to improve on what you did, often ruining it in the process. Look at what happened to the original Star Wars. That’s just one example.

Amazing no one has tried to update the EWP. If someone did, they did such a good job that no one noticed. I say good job because the EWP is not something you update. When you get something right the first time, don’t mess with it.

Next time you are in Disney make sure to take a few minutes and check out the EWP. It’s a great way to end your day.

The Electric Water Pageant Video Posted

I have posted my video of the Electric Water Pageant.

The Pageant has been playing every night on bay lake almost as long as Disney World has been open.

This is a great show that I’ve seen many times. I remember seeing this show when I was a young kid on my first trip. My grand mother took my cousins and I to the beach at Fort Wilderness to watch it.

This edition was taken from high up in the Contemporary Resort in December 2008.

The video can be viewed HERE