DO Look Up: Disney Flying Drones Over SoCal Ranch Leading Fans To Wonder, "Why?"
Many immediately point to something new for Disneyland, but the possibilities are nearly endless.
Locals of the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California have been noticing some strange behavior in the skies, and no it’s not related to 3I/Atlas.
What’s Happening:
- Residents and passersby through the Santa Clarita valley have noticed a number of Disney-themed images in the night skies.
- Drones have been launched featuring very clear Disney iconography and characters into the night, and with the Southern California proximity, many have already begun to assume it's for a new nighttime spectacular coming to the Disneyland Resort.
- Adding fuel to that speculation is that the drones are flying over a large parcel of Disney property in this area, the Golden Oak Ranch.
- Located just off the freeway, Golden Oak Ranch is 890 acres in size in the Santa Clarita Valley. Typically land used for filming with multiple backlots (Old Yeller, Toby Tyler, The Parent Trap, The Shaggy Dog, Follow Me Boys and more recently, The Santa Clause, Pearl Harbor, Princess Diaries II and the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films were shot here, among others), the relatively quiet and remote location could be used for this kind of testing as well.
- However, it’s that aforementioned freeway that surely got some eyes on these beautiful drones.
- Multiple videos are appearing across social media, some showcasing Genie from Aladdin, others showing off Gramma Tala (in her Manta Ray form) from Moana.
- When it comes to Disneyland, no new nighttime spectaculars have been announced, and the resort is currently in the midst of their high-profile 70th anniversary celebration - which highly marketed the return of Wondrous Journeys, Paint the Night Parade, and the new World of Color Happiness. All of which are expected to remain through (at least) the Summer of 2026.
- Some comments on the social media posts also have pointed out the characters seen in these videos, from Aladdin, Moana, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Fantasia, all featuring similar moments to those featured in the long-running nighttime show, Fantasmic!, at Disneyland. That show has been facing criticism from fans as of late thanks to its rather stagnant nature, especially with the lack of fire-breathing dragon in the finale.
- That said, previously Steve Davison, Vice President for Parades and Spectaculars at Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, has said that drones have previously been considered for World of Color at Disney California Adventure.
- While Walt Disney World has had several smaller scale (relatively speaking) drone shows at Disney Springs, drones are a huge part of the nighttime shows of Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, leading many viewers of those offerings to wonder why they haven’t done similar things stateside yet.
- Drones have also been used at the launch of new films and even Disney Cruise Line ships in recent years, as well as at fan conventions and expos.
- It is also worth noting that later this week, also in Southern California, the first Storyliving by Disney Community, Cotino, is having its grand opening ceremonies - with a man-made lake that would be a perfect location for a special drone show. Similarly, the Disney Destiny is currently on its way to its new homeport in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - where a similar drone show at its christening (similar to the Disney Treasure) may take place.
- Heck, this could even have been a private event at the ranch, as other commenters who claim to work there have implied it happens quite often.
- Disney has not made an official announcement on the drones, if they are testing or what the future of this might be.
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