Paint the Night Facts and Numbers
Published: May 17, 2018 / Last Updated: May 17, 2018 / By: Arvid Bux
Now that Paint the Night is back at Disneyland Resort with daily shows at Disney California Adventure Park, it is time to share some amazing facts and mind blowing numbers with you.
Paint the Night By the Numbers
- Including the video screens, the parade contains more than one million sources of light.
- The 500 strobes used in the parade are a custom lighting product developed by Disney.
- “Paint the Night” requires more than 200 “universes of control” to operate everything from the video presentations on the floats to the lights on individual costumes.
Paint the Night Float Facts
And now some facts about the different floats:
“You Can Fly!” – Tinker Bell and Peter Pan
- The Tinker Bell float is 40 feet long, with 44 universes of control and, including video screens, more than 850,000 points of light.
- Power and control for Tinker Bell’s lighted costume come from the float itself. Tinker Bell’s shoe poufs are lit by fiber optics.
“If I Didn’t Have You” – Mike and Sulley from “Monsters, Inc.”
- The “Monsters, Inc.” float is 11 feet wide and 21 feet long, and it glows with nearly 17,000 points of light.
- The five animated doors on this float are more than nine feet tall with 40 individual LED video panels. They were created in collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios.
“Life is a Highway” – Lightning McQueen and Mack from “Cars”
- The “Cars” unit features everyone’s favorite Piston Cup Champion, Lighting McQueen, along with Mack and DJ.
- At 54 feet long, Mack is the longest vehicle in the parade, with 28 moving lights.
- Mack’s design features a 3D display that creates exceptional depth of image. The display contains nearly 27,000 individual orbs.
- Almost 2,000 feet of LED “neon” helps bring this float to life.
“Under the Sea” – “The Little Mermaid”
- King Triton stands over 12 feet tall.
- “The Little Mermaid” float is 32 feet long and 11 feet wide.
- There are nine fish, eight flowers and more than 250 blades of grass.
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – “Toy Story”
- Slinky Dog scampers along, with Woody and Buzz Lightyear holding on for the ride.
- The 10 spinning disks rotate at 120 RPM and are programmed with custom video content.
- The float is 32 feet long, and Slinky’s ears are 18 feet tall and 11 feet across.
“Beauty and the Beast” and “At Last I See the Light” – Disney Princesses
- Belle’s video screen contains more than 500,000 pixels, presenting scenes from “Beauty and the Beast” as well as floral graphic imagery and starry night skies.
- In addition to color-changing programmable ribbons, Belle’s dress has 40 custom-designed jewels and the most decorative lighting caps of any float.
- The float is 26 feet long and the rose alone is 17 feet tall.
Mickey Mouse & Friends Finale
- The Mickey Mouse float is 31 feet long, has 40 universes of control and more than 10,000 points of light.
- Mickey “conducts” the finale of the parade from 12 feet above the street.
- Joining Mickey Mouse, and appearing on a series of smaller whirling parade vehicles, are Goofy, Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse. Each whirling vehicle shines with 352 points of light custom-designed for the character on board.
- The spiraling kinetic sculpture on this float is 14 feet tall and seven feet wide. It contains nearly 7,000 individually programmable LED pixels.
Your Favorite Paint the Night Float?
Which Paint the Night float is your favorite? We love the Fab 5 in the finale, but the Disney Princesses float sure has a special place in our heart!