The Electrical Water Pageant is glowing a little differently on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. Our latest photos of the nightly show reveal noticeably cooler lighting across several of its floats, with the warm yellow tint of past years giving way to crisper colors. Disney hasn’t announced any changes to the classic water parade, which celebrated its 55th anniversary last month. We lined up our new photos with shots from previous years to compare.
Electrical Water Pageant Lighting Changes at Walt Disney World
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Side-by-side comparisons of the alligator, dinosaur, King Neptune, and patriotic finale floats.
- A look at how the whites and blues changed while gold tones shifted toward amber.
The Electrical Water Pageant has floated past the Magic Kingdom area resorts nightly since October 1971, when it first performed for guests during Walt Disney World’s Dedication Day. In 2021, the show debuted new scenes for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. While the anniversary updates have since left, the floats keep their familiar shapes, and the change comes down to the color of the light itself.
That shift from warm yellow to cooler tones is consistent with a move to LED lighting, which typically gives off crisper, more saturated colors than incandescent bulbs. We reached out to Walt Disney World to learn more about the apparent change and haven’t received a response.
The Alligator and Patriotic Finale Trade Yellow for White
One of the clearest examples comes from the alligator float. In earlier years, its teeth and the ring around its red eye glowed a warm yellow against the green outline. Now those same details shine bright white. That makes the teeth pop against the dark water and gives the whole float a sharper look.
The patriotic finale shows the change similarly. Each American flag used to alternate red stripes with cream-colored ones, and the blue field had a softer, lighter tone. In our new photos, the white stripes take on a cool, almost minty white, and the blue field shifts to a deep royal blue. From the shore, the finale now has a crisper red, white, and blue look.
The star clusters between the flags follow suit. Their white star now has a cooler tint. The blue star moved from a light sky blue to a richer, more saturated shade. Only the small red star looks about the same as before.
Deeper Blues for King Neptune and the Dinosaur
King Neptune’s float changed in a different way. The blue lights beneath him appear deeper and more vivid than in our earlier photos, while the green of his body stays close to how it looked before. His crown and the line of four seahorses at the end of his reins now glow a warmer amber instead of pale yellow.
The dinosaur shows a similar pattern. Its green body looks much like it did before, and the outline around its humps and long neck appears to have shifted from yellow toward orange. The blue eye on its head stands out more in the new photos, too.
Taken together, the update keeps every float’s familiar design while giving the show a cleaner, brighter finish. Without word from Disney, it’s unclear whether every float received new lights or just some of them. Viewing spots include the Polynesian Village Resort, Grand Floridian, Contemporary Resort, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness. If you catch the pageant at any of them, keep an eye on the whites and blues during the finale.
Here’s a “before” look at the same floats that we saw during the “half show” last night. We can see that the white bulbs seem to be a bit “warmer”, which means more yellow.
And here’s a look at the show from our viewing last night. The white bulbs are “cooler”, which means more white in this case.
Keep Reading
- Look back at how the pageant celebrated its 50th anniversary, including the story of the whale mock-up that started it all.
- See the all-new Electrical Water Pageant that debuted for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary, complete with personalized messages for each resort.
- Disney first revealed the Cinderella Castle finale float and new song that came along with that anniversary update.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!