Canadas Wonderlands Starlight Stectacular

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDzhqUgX5ok&feature=player_embedded

A really great way to use wonder mountain to their advantage. A really neat part of this video is at 2:20 a dragon pops out of the mountain, and when you ride Thunder Run (which travels through the mountain) You see a dragon out of the corner of your eye if you know where to look. It's one of those things that until someone shows you it wouldn't be noticed.

PS. CW is drilling footers any day now :)

I'm speechless.

This is still a Cedar Fair park, right? :)

^ Wow, consider me shocked too. :) This is a really cool way to use the mountain, and well done to boot. I had assumed Starlight Spectacular was just Christmas lights and inflatable Peanuts like the other parks, to the point that I didn't even click the link the first time I read this thread.

I hate to say "me too," but, me too. I can't believe they actually commissioned something like this at a Cedar Fair park. It certainly reminds me of the show at Magic Kingdom, but this is pretty solid. The crowd sounds very impressed. Some of it is some trippy cheese, but overall, I dig it.

Wow, that's freaking awesome! Count me in the "I can't believe this is a CF park" boat. Can we please trade the Christmas lights on the Frontier Trail and that awful show they do on the projection screen at CP for something like this?

I wish... maybe CP could show it on their flat, flat, midway! The lift hill of Mean Streak? The side of the Hotel Breakers? Mayflies and bedbugs could crawl out of the windows during the scary part...

I sat in total awe watching this show - totally original and site specific, and it looks like it must of cost a pretty penny to produce. I have a feeling the lucky Torontians (?) will have this show to enjoy for a number of years. I'd keep it around, anyway, right on thru the 35th anniversary.

Another park that could easily do this kind of thing is Fiesta Texas, with the perfect "screen" ready to go. Last time I was there they had the standard laser show all about Texas, of course, but that's been a number of years ago. I don't know what they feature now.

Technical question if anyone knows - from where and from what kind of device do this projections originate? From where we sit in the video it looks seamless, but so huge. I wonder if several projectors are used and how obtrusive it might be during the day hours.

Cool as hell. Makes me want to go and get that passport.

It's good, but to be honest, i was getting bored with it, but i finished watching anyways. It needs some energy!

Yeah, I agree, the show needs editing.

The projection is probably some flavor of high definition projector. The magic happens when the animators use their software to calculate how far each pixel is from the projector, so they can account for the fact that it's not a flat surface. So the animation is modeled in 3D and corrected for the surface it will be projected on.

^ Ah, very interesting. I was wondering why the depth of the mountain features seemed to disappear when they wanted it to. Or rather, I figured there was some compensation going on, but wasn't sure how it was done.

The best starlight show at a cedarfair park that I have seen, has been at worlds of fun.

Having not seen Worlds of Fun's version yet, the most impressive we've seen is at Knott's Berry Farm. Very imaginative with lots of great little character details and just overall strong showmanship. The music works kind of like a stationary parade with an underlying rhythm and varying melodies as you pass through each area. Comic Strip Lane at Islands of Adventure does something like this and it's a nice touch.

It's impressive how much latitude each park apparently has with the Starlight idea. Some parks really take the ball and run with it like Knott's and Canada's Wonderland whereas others are much more passive with their approach.

International street is done up with the typical frontier trail treatment... But its really well done. For those who have never visited the main entrance is covered with beautifull spruce and birch trees... I was kind of upset when I heard they would be covered with lights at night. But I must admit it is really well done. The fountains also have a nice light show where they react to the music playing. Overall it is really well done.

PS. FOOTERS ARE BEING POURED!

DKNY6363 said:
...But its really well done.

...But I must admit it is really well done.

...Overall it is really well done.

You make it sound so well done, really. ;)

I'd prefer if it were rare.

^^ OUCH man! I got called out. lol

^ I would have to say it's rare in the sense it's not like the rest of starlight spectaculars.

\PS Going to wonderland tonight to watch this show for the first time, and check out the FOOTERS.

I'm lol-ing too. Call me out sometime. Get me back. It's fun.

Is it very well done or only kind of medium well? :)

So I just saw the show... It was well done. ;)

In somewhat related news vortex was FLYING tonight.

They could really do a good show now that they have the infrastructure... this one started off great... then, well, they forgot a storyline. Anyone know how tall the mountain is? I would guess it's 2 or 3 separate images blended into one based upon my experience working on shows on castles (which is 8 images blended into one.)

I would guess about 125 feet. My reasoning is that Vortex is 90 feet. The top of Vortex's lift is the top of the wallable portion of the mountain, but the peak is slightly higher. I can remember when I was a kid driving down the 400, before all the development in the area. You could see the mountain before anything else, clear as day. Now you can only see Behemoth, and windseeker on the drive up. You can't see the mountain until you get inside the park.