A giant Mickey Mouse crafted out of drones flying through the night sky made for not just an epic Bastille Day celebration over at Disneyland Paris — it broke a world record. Disneyland Paris has long been a leader in drone light shows. And in one of its more recent shows, put on by drone light show company Dronisos, the duo broke a Guinness World Record.
The record at hand? “Largest aerial display of a fictional character formed by multirotors / drones.” And the specific display? That was a spectacular, tricolor Mickey Mouse head made out of 1,571 drones.
The show occurred for the 2024 Bastille Day celebrations, which occur every year on July 14 to commemorate the start of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. Across France, celebrations involve fireworks. But at the Disney theme park just 32 kilometers east of Paris, celebrations incorporated drones too — and in particular a Mickey Mouse drone display.
About the record-breaking Mickey Mouse drone show
There are all sorts of drone-related Guinness World Records. There are even multiple types of Guinness World Records having to do with drones. For example, in May 2024, UVify set a record for most drones flown simultaneously when it put 5,293 light show drones in the air for a drone show in Songdo, South Korea.
But this particular Guinness World Record is tied to a “display specifically of a fictional character using drones.” And there’s perhaps no better fictional character to go with than world’s most famous mouse.
Here’s what Mickey Mouse looked like in drone form:
The specific Mickey Mouse, made out of 1,571 drones, was part of a broader drone show that incorporated 1,630 drones — including pyro-drones. (Yes, those are drones with fireworks attached.) Though, the show also featuring other famous Disney characters, such as the three fairies from “Sleeping Beauty” and Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast.” It occurred in the sky above Sleeping Beauty Castle, which also starred in the show with lights and projections.
According to Dronisos, which is based in Bordeaux, the Bastille Day display featuring Mickey Mouse took months of planning.
After all, it was a much larger ordeal than the nightly drone show that Dronisos usually puts on at Disneyland Paris. That’s Disney Electrical Sky Parade, which features about 500 drones. Many have called the nighttime display one of the best drone show in the world, to-date. Based on the iconic 70s parade, this show takes the iconic soundtrack of electro-syntho-magnetic music, remixes it and sets drones to fly into shapes of the original parade’s most iconic floats such as a train and Elliott from the 1977 film “Pete’s Dragon.”
Check out the Disney Electrical Sky Parade in YouTube video form, below:
What drones did Disneyland Paris use in the Mickey Mouse record-breaking show?
Dronisos partners with another French drone company, Parrot. Parrot makes drones including the Mambo, Parrot Bebop 2 and Anafi. Meanwhile, Dronisos bought the license from Parrot to modify those three drones and turn them into light show drones.
For example, Dronisos took the Parrot Bebop 2, which is an affordable consumer drone and remade it into what it calls the Zephyr. With a light added to it, the Zephyr weighs 650 grams (that adds about 150 grams to the original, 500-gram weight of the Bebop 2). Still, it can fly for about 15 minutes and in wind speeds up to 25 km per hour.
How to watch a drone light show in 2024
Haven’t yet seen a drone light show for yourself? You need to!
Are you a drone light fan looking to see even more? Whether you’re the former or the latter, check out my events page highlighting the top, public drone light shows to watch in 2024.
And guess what? I’ve actually only seen one drone light show so far in my life. That was a Star Wars show put on by American drone company Sky Elements over in Oakland, California after an A’s baseball game. But, that’s about to change. This August, I’ll be heading to Disneyland Paris to check out what the excitement over the Disney Electrical Sky Parade is about — with my own eyes! Disney Electrical Sky Parade runs nightly at the theme park through Sept. 30, 2024 (weather-permitting).
Or perhaps you want to put on a drone show for yourself? It’s becoming increasingly accessible. The Drone Blocks light show drone kit costs about $7,500 and includes 10 swarm drones, plus software needed to put on a mini drone show. It’s primarily designed for STEM classrooms. Though, it could even work for small-scale drone shows.
Meanwhile, Drone Dojo offers another kit priced per drone ($1,000 per drone). The Drone Dojo light show kit isn’t quite as easy to use on the outset, but has far more options in the way of expansion and customization.
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