If you have ever wondered how Disney magic works, let's uncover six Disneyland hidden control rooms and how these locations can increase your Disney Magic!
Another way to know if the fireworks are cancelled is to look at the top of the Matterhorn. You can see a dark square at the top. That’s the open door that tinker bell comes out of. If the door is closed and turns white, they are cancelled. The door is closed about 10 minutes before the announcement is made.
Wow, thank you. This is really helpful to know because on my last trip to Disneyland, the fireworks were cancelled and it was my first time at disneyland coming from florida. So that was kinda sad.
Sword in the Stone is operated by a handheld controller that looks like a garage door opener, held by a plain clothes entertainment lead standing in the area. No secret control room. I know, I was the guy with the handheld. Next story!
I am fascinated by this. Can you share the guidelines you were given about when to use and not use the controller? I assumed it might be a rule that you not use it for adults. Or is it just up to the individual cast member?
Watched this video yesterday and went to Disneyland today, and during the mixed magic fireworks, we noticed the fireworks stopped during the Coco scene. Then noticed a white balloon, then another, then a 3rd all released from the fireworks launch area. The balloons seemed to go mostly straight up, but they definitely stopped launching fireworks and got no finale. Thanks Brickey, for letting us know why we kept seeing balloons. We picked a spot in front of small world asked a cast member if it was OK to be where we were and she said we “may” be asked to move due to wind. Seemed like there was little to no wind, but they pulled the plug mid show. So glad we knew why. Again- Thank You Brickey for all your hard work!
Got to do some work around the control rooms years back. CalOSHA made Disney raise height of guard rails and barriers on many of the roofs. We had to take old wood steps and platforms out that techs use to check conditions.
I remember my last day at Disneyland in 2006 went and watched the fireworks in front of the castle Remember dreams come true! (Best Disneyland Fireworks show! I have my reason why it’s the best) after the show, went over and watch fantasy before the show started we were in front of one of the lighting rigs this guy came over rip open a rock 🪨 pull out the remote to bring the tower down so the spotlight guy went up and do his thing I’m still shocked about that today
The green light for the sword in the window is just a status light that the system is on. It’s there to confirm to the cast member that the system is functional. The actual triggering is done with a wireless controller by the cast member.
Great content. Hiding the mechanics of everything is the very best part of the magic trick that is Disneyland. I got to visit the control room for World of Color through a professional development conference opportunity for live entertainment techs in 2011. It was both amazing and surreal to see the control board and the several small rooms worth of servers.
I feel so smart after watching this fun video. They might be control rooms, but it still feels very magical to me. I loved this little peek into how the magic happens. Thank you, Brickey!
Often Merlin is on stage getting a child to pull the sword out, with a remote control in his pocket. The green light in the window is a confirmation it's triggered. 5:36
I'm exactly like you, just one performance of Fantasmic in that control room is one of my lifetime dreams! I was watching Halloween Screams from there one time and I even asked one of the cast members who operated the show if I could go up there, and they told me that unfortunately, only "special" individuals can go, but he would have taken me up if that wasn't the case. All of the lighting, sound, fountain, fire, laser and operation cast members who operate all of these nighttime shows are severely underrated. People just think that someone turns on the program and it runs automatically, but it takes countless months and hours to program every microsecond of these shows. Thanks for the video!
Just wanted to give a what's up and thanks for everything shout out. My son Peter Parker and I live in AZ but try to get to Disneyland 8-10 times per year. We were just there last weekend and had a blast. Big crowds but still had a memorable time. Yesterday 2/19 got SOAKED at Universal Hollywood, it was crazy. I have lived in southern California and cannot remember such a downpour. Our pants and socks and shoes were totally soaked! LOVE your videos, such awesome content!!!!!
Great video! For some reason I always thought the ballon was released closer to the castle. Now knowing where it is released from explains why I could never see it 😅.
Such an original, informative and entertaining video! Around 1900 there were +/- 45 states, so the era-accurate flags also mean they aren’t “official”. I’ve always wondered how they hide the security cameras too? I’ve never managed to spot one
A quality 3mp surveillance camera can be as small as a golf ball, and pretty easily hidden. A 16mp camera can be placed far enough away you would never see it.
I'm not gonna read through all the comments to see if anybody else posts this out, but you got a few things wrong in this video and somethings right. The first big thing you got wrong was world of color. The room you pointed out is where the stage manager sits to call the show. All the technicians running the show are running it from a highly secured room backstage in a building. The control room has six control stations and is right next to the server room where all the Contant is stored, and I know this to be true because I've been in that room backstage. I also believe you're wrong about the control location for the firework show. It's actually closer to the hub I won't say exactly where, but if you were a professional in this industry, you know where to look because it's where you'd want to be for that show. I would also say for fantasmic at least as of the last time I saw the show several years ago the actual show show caller/stage manager is sitting on a temporary control cart, which is rolled out near the center tower. I believe that station also houses the safety officer for all the Pyro and fire effects as you would want that person to have a really good view of everything to maintain safety for the production. But other than that a great video.
You are the closest yet. There are actually multiple pyros operator positions on most shows as they have to be line of site. There are at least three for the main fireworks in different locations each covering different sections of the show.
Former guest relation CM here. The second floor of the Lincoln theater is where PBX( old school phone operators) are and a control room for fireworks and anything that happens in Main Street
Didn't know about the control room for the sword in the stone. Cool! I'm totally going to watch the fireworks from the intersection next time. That's such a brilliant point you made!
I didn't know that the sword in the stone was still operational! I've only ever seen it back in the days when they did the Merlin shows and pulled a kid up from the audience. So, it is just a random thing now? That's neat.
I’ve mainly seen the balloon get released on the left side of the castle but mainly because my family likes to secure a spot ring in front of the castle
Something I always wonder about is the music during parades. How did they know when to switch music paired with one float to music paired with another float? Is it timed? Do they do it manually? Sensors as floats go by?
The space above the Disneyana ("the bank") store was originally where the park switchboards were located! I don't recall exactly when the switchboards were relocated, but it was sometime around DCA was constructed.
I was lucky enough to do the dessert buffet party in the 90s on Disney balcony when it was the museum. One of Parties best party one of the best views of all time my favorite view centerpoint one down from the control booth!
Just like always, an amazing video! Can confirm the location of the 2nd hidden control room. As a CM years ago I had to go in that area to confirm and make a report on some very un-"Citizen of Disneyland" like behavior by one of the guests. Love how amazing these videos are coming out! 1313 Ride or Die!
Wow! Amazing content! Video packed with a lot of information I didn't know, all contained in this one video. I've learned more in this video than other content creators with one video! The incorrect flags I knew about because they're up all year long due to them not being real flags, so no need to take them down, but I didn't know that as to detect wind speed and direction for fireworks as well. Thanks again!
Control rooms for visual attractions which need to be monitored to operate them are usually above ground. These are also observation rooms for security purposes. Control rooms which are pretty much automated, operating the attractions, may only need a babysitter. They are located in or under the attractions and are never visible to the park guests. There are also "backstage" passages where security and cast members can get to any place in the parks without having to deal with crowds. Now, at Disney world, it was built on top of swamp and marshlands. Tunnels and passages were built first and then buried. Disneyworld was built on top of them so that any part of the parks can be accessed almost immediately. The control centers are located in rooms along the passages.
As a kid, we always went on Fireman’s Night. The place was almost dead and we had free rain of it. Then over the years everyone realized how great it was to have their own night and figured out how to get tickets. Slowly it because more and more busy and there was nothing special about Fireman’s Night anymore. (Btw. My Dad was LACoFD. He’s retired now)
I'm a former Disneyland cast member. "Front-of-House" means anything guest-facing or visible from within the park. "Back-of-House" is anything that is hidden from guests and that only cast members interact with. In the case of the firework show control room, I guess Brickey called it "Front-of-House" because it is within sight of guests and directly controls the show, as opposed to an off-site recording studio where they prepare the music for a new show, for example.
In the entertainment industry, the term 'front of house' refers to the location where the sound is mixed during a concert or live performance. Typically, this is located at the center of the event space. However, Disney has a different definition of 'front of house'. As someone who spent two decades in the music business, I am familiar with these industry terms and their meanings.
the control room for all the audio in the park is right above Bank of America top right corner room. I have been in there. Back in the 90’s they controlled the main street electrical parade from in there amongst other things
I can confirm that the stage manager booth for the fireworks is on top of the old Kodak building. Or at least it was. I had a friend of a friend who was an imagineer and he gave us an informal tour. He was part of the team that programs all light shows, so probably a reliable source.
Personally, my fave spot to view the fireworks is from the jacuzzi of the Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel, which is just on the other side of Ball Rd. behind Toon Town. It's amazing! Car alarms going off! Ash falling everywhere! Dogs and cats living together! Oh, the humanity! 🤣
One of my first satellite feeds I had coming in to the satellite relay center in NY was a live feed at 5am EST from Disneyland I remember clearly seeing the Mickey ears on the Ferris wheel all lit up
I always figured the second story was either facades or secret apartments. I should’ve guessed some of them would be control/security rooms. I guess since I’m mostly east coast all the control rooms would be underground (since the park is really on the second floor).
If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.
Just to clarify some miss information about flag code. There is nothing wrong with displaying the flag 24/7 and there are actually many places that display the flag for 24/7 without any needed permission. So Disney doesn't need to do anything to make them "not real flags."
Dang, Brickey, you are rooting through the nitty AND the gritty these days! I love it! I will admit, though, that during my park trip last October, my first in over 20 years, I missed some of the magic and I diagnosed myself with Disney over-smartyosis, the condition caused by, well, knowing too much about the Disney parks! The culprit? Why, you, Mr B, and your fantastic YT ilk, stuffing my all-too-complicit face with crispy reality nuggets that flush the glitter from my system! Any suggestions for regaining the wide-eyed wonderpuss I once wore while giving quarter to the pince-nez know-it-all you've helped me become? Asking for a friend...
The balloon method is pure genius! If a guest spots the balloon, they'd just think another guest accidentally let go of their balloon. I wonder if they use similar methods in Paris?
Actually based on ent. costuming and Talent availability for shows can be cancelled on a whim it’s not security or just control rooms that stop performances it’s can be a multiple issues and factors of show not coming together.
@@HeyBrickey there is a small control box at the roof of the building and that’s how they check the wind flags. There is a video as well of the control room on RU-vid. If I find the video I will post the link
I didn't want to add something about the what I've heard regarding the flagpoles at the Disney parks. He's also serve a another very important function as one would probably know California is known for a lot of thunderstorms. Apparently the flag poles are also well disguised lightning rods. And yes there are ways of actually doing this and it's not just protecting flagpoles themselves they can provide protection for other things if they're already there. If you have a high enough lightning rod you can actually protect a fairly substantial area. Also years ago farmers that would have had windmills working at one time would often leave a windmill structure in place even if it's no longer being used to provide lightning protection however there is really no evidence as to if this is effective but it was something that was done back in the day And if you've ever seen those balls or other ornaments on the lightning rods actually call are terminals for proper terminology by the way. At one point those were not strictly decorative the idea behind them was if one was missing or damaged the system should be inspected. It was kind of a inspection indication the idea of being if there's a lightning strike it would possibly break that or damage it indicating that the system had taken a lightning strike. Interestingly enough for lightning protection systems there are counters that can indicate how many strikes the system is taken. You'd be surprised at high rises and even things like the Empire State Building and such how many lightning strikes a year these structures are exposed to. The thing about lightning is not ever striking twice in the same place totally untrue. And in fact the lightning you see is actually composed of two separate events the point at which the bolt initiates by the way is the opposite of what most people believe coming down from above start from the ground. The return stroke is what you really see it's actually the second portion of this. If you're interested look up step leader in regards to lightning. Also there's a very interesting book on Disney World fascinating facts once I remember the title I'll get this in a future comment many people out there would probably enjoy this not sure if it's still in print got it years ago
You missed that there’s another control room above the Opera House. It’s “Audio Control” used to control parade audio and tracking. Up in that area used to be where the bank of live telephone operators sat. Heh. I know KC too.