In conjunction with its 30th anniversary, Disneyland Paris raised the stakes for their corner of the Marvel Universe. France’s home to Avengers Campus announced an exciting new show titled, Avengers: Power the Night. Combining impressive projection, drone, and pyrotechnic technology, the nightly show brings heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to life in the night. It’s a combination of images projected on the park’s Tower of Terror, drones lighting up the sky with symbols like the Captain America shield, beloved Disney fireworks, and music recorded in the Abbey Road studios. After ComicBook.com visited the incredible Marvel hotel and saw the Avengers Campus in Disneyland Paris, the show’s director, Ben Spalding, and its producer, Arnaud Feredj, shared some insights about the new shows.ย
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Running through May 8, the Power the Night event began on January 28 in the parks. The idea as a whole took three months to bring to life, once the final version was presented in mid-October of 2022. From there, overnight testing and creative minds were at work starting in November of 2022 for a launch in January of 2023. A team which started with 15 people grew to 60 as the production ran its course.ย
“Artistically, I really started working on this project in October,” Feredj explained. “I developed the artistic concept of this show from the idea of doing a ‘kiss good night’ show for the recruits (guests) of the Avengers Campus. A show that would leave them with an impressive last souvenir right before the end of their visit at Disneyland Paris. A show that is a celebration of the Marvel Super Heroes and in particular of their powers.”
For many hoping to see Shang-Chi and Iron Man light the sky, it is the visuals which might come to mind first. However, there is more to this show than the images soaring above Avengers Campus recruits. “Music is a fundamental component in a show,” Feredj said./ “It is above all the music that gives emotion to the different sequences of the show. It also gives the rhythm. We worked with a genius composer/arranger! Marco Marinangeli understood perfectly the intention, the emotion and the intensity wanted in each of the acts of the show. He rearranged the theme of each Avenger and composed rich and fantastic musical transitions! Then a childhood dream came true for me. With Ben, the musical producers and Marco (who was in the Los Angeles area) we recorded the music with an orchestra of over 70 musicians at Abbey Road! What an experience! And it’s a fact: this musical quality is felt from the first notes of the show!”
Who Designed the Avengers Drone Show at Disneyland Paris?
The duo of Spalding and Feredj culminates for quite a resumรฉ leading up to Avengers: Power the Night. Spalding became Production Manager at Disney Parks in 2007. In 2012 he produced Disney Dreams, before 2016’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show… with Mickey and Friends, 2017’s Disney Illuminations, 2017’s Disney Stars on Parade, and more. Feredj, originally a soloist singer, played the role of Master of Ceremony for 2008’s Winnie the Pooh and Friends, Too!. In 2009, Feredj joined Disney’s acting team. In 2015, Feredj would become Artistic Stage Manager and collaborate on Frozen Sing Along, Jedi Training Academy, and more. By 2017, he would take on the role of Show Director, working on Mickey’s Christmas Big Bandย Hoist the Flag, Mateys!, Magic Selfie Moments, and more.
All of their skills seem to be on display with Avengers: Power the Night. Everything from the music to the lights on the drones to the pyrotechnics is used to tell a story, the producer explained. The first of its kind drone show uses “almost all the Marvel superheroes,” with some fan-favorite being named outright. “Captain America, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch and for the first time at Disneyland Paris, Shang-Chi,” are all included, Feredj noted. “This allows us to reach the maximum of audience so that everyone can identify with their favorite character.”ย
Spalding detailed the partnerships required to develop the unique drone element of Power the Night. “Drone technology we have operated since March 6th of 2022 with Dronisos,” he explained. “We are pushing the boundaries on expectations and learn every day and have more and more ideas, the sky is the limit, It adds a new level of storytelling and the future is very bright.”
“In a show, technology should be as invisible as possible to always serve its story and the emotional arc,” Feredj said. “This is what we had in mind when we created Avengers: Power the Night! Technically, we push the limits of what is possible with choreography of 500 drones in 3D only. And on only 8’30 of show. It’s a real performance! The pyrotechnics have also been thought in a new way, with new angles of fire. But all this is done to serve the story. In this show, drones, lights, lasers and pyrotechnics are used to represent the powers of the Marvel Super Heroes. To represent their power, their strengths, and their complexity. Watching the show for the first time, we forget about the technical side and think only about the Avengers themselves. The collaboration with all the technical trades was exceptional on this show. It is a great pride and honor to be able to work with such talented, passionate, and exciting people to serve a story! “
Did Marvel Studios Collaborate With Disneyland Paris?
Of course, Dronisos were not the only partners on this ambitious endeavor. The team at Marvel Studios responsible for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the characters featured in Avengers: Power the Night collaborated with the Disneyland Paris team. “We have worked closely with the Marvel franchise,” Feredj said. “Using their IP is an honor. It’s been an incredible relationship and again totally unprecedented because we are representing their characters in this show in a new way. The characters are in 2D. They’re drawn. But they’re not comic book images. Nor images from the movies. It is a new artistic visual style. This collaboration led us to all surpass ourselves creatively!ย
At the moment, there are no official plans for future additions of new characters to the drone shows at Disneyland Paris or an expansion of this show into other Disney Parks around the world. Spalding is optimistic for a bright future, no pun intended. “Currently we are the only Disney Park in the world doing daily drone shows,” Spalding said. “I hope that the other parks and guests around the world get to experience this type of show. We continue in Disneyland Paris to innovate, and use the shies in different ways to add to our storytelling.”
Avengers: Power the Night is being shown nightly at Disneyland Paris. The show is scheduled to run though May 8, 2023!
