Steve Davison is Lead Creative Executive of Parades and Spectaculars for

Walt Disney Creative Entertainment Disney Live Entertainment is the theatrical live entertainment production division of Walt Disney Imagineering, the design and development arm of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a segment and direct subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. H ...

, and is responsible for the overall creative direction of daytime parades, firework displays, and nighttime spectaculars at

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

worldwide. He created such shows as '' Believe... There's Magic in the Stars'', '' Wishes'', ''

World of Color ''World of Color'' is a nighttime show at Disney California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Conceived by Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, and designed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, th ...

'', and ''

Disney Dreams! ''Disney Dreams!'' was a nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. It was designed specially for the 20th anniversary of the park and ran until 24 March 2017 after which it was replaced by '' Disney Illuminations''. Conceiv ...

''.

Career at Disney

Davison began his career with Disney in 1981 as a

model maker A model maker is a professional craftsperson who creates a three-dimensional representation of a design or concept. Most products in use and in development today first take form as a model. This "model" may be an exacting duplicate ( prototype) of ...

for the

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

Entertainment Art Department under the supervision of former art department head, Clare Graham. After several years serving as a model maker, art director, and senior art director for the department, he was promoted to show director in 1997, where he began to work on entertainment creative development. In the same year he spawned his first big creation, " It's a Small World Holiday," which brought Davison into the spotlight. In 1999, Davison was approached to create a new fireworks show for the 45th Anniversary of

. Though having no prior experience with pyrotechnics, Davison created Believe... There's Magic in the Stars, the second fireworks show made for the park since

Fantasy in the Sky ''Fantasy in the Sky'' was the first fireworks performance at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, beginning in 1958 and running until 1996 (with short engagements in 2004 and early 2015). The show also appeared at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena ...

debuted in 1958. The show launched his pyrotechnics career. Davison's next attraction conversion was

Haunted Mansion Holiday Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal overlay of The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland that blends the settings and characters of the original Haunted Mansion with those of the 1993 film ''The Nightmare Before Christ ...

. His idea of "when holidays collide" generated controversy from both Disney management and Haunted Mansion fans, delaying the project's approval by several years. But like It's a Small World Holiday, it quickly became popular among guests after debuting in 2001. In 2003,

Anne Hamburger Anne Hamburger (born ) is an American theatre manager, producer and playwright. She founded En Garde Arts, was artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse and was also an executive at Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, producing musicals. Life and ca ...

, former executive vice president of

, asked Davison to join Imagineering as creative director for parades and shows worldwide, leading to his promotion to vice president, parades and spectaculars, in 2006. In 2015, Davison was announced at the unveiling of the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration under a new job title, lead creative executive of parades and spectaculars.

Works

Productions which Davison was responsible for the creation of include:

Disneyland Resort

*''

'' (and related show additions such as, World of Color: Celebrate, World of Color: Winter Dreams, World of Color: Season of Light, and World of Color: Villainous) *''

Disneyland Forever ''Disneyland Forever'' was a nighttime spectacular at Disneyland that premiered alongside the ''Paint the Night'' parade and '' World of Color—Celebrate!'' on May 21, 2015 as part of the park's 60th anniversary celebration. The show was produ ...

'' * '' Mickey's Soundsational Parade'' * ''

Light Magic Light Magic was a parade/street show that ran at Disneyland from May–September 1997. It was billed as a replacement for the Main Street Electrical Parade. At the time of Light Magic's closure, Disney officially stated that it would return in 2 ...

'' (Steve's first job for Art Director in 1997) * '' Believe... There's Magic in the Stars'' * '' Believe... In Holiday Magic'' * '' Disney's Eureka! A California Parade'' * ''

Disney's LuminAria ''Disney's LuminAria'' was a 2001-2002 fireworks show on Paradise Bay at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The show was short-lived, lasting only one winter season. The show design was similar to Illumi ...

'' * ''

Fantasmic! ''Fantasmic!'' is a nighttime show at Disneyland Park, Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, Audio-An ...

'' (updated version which premiered in 2017) * ''

'' * '' Remember... Dreams Come True'' * ''

Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams premiered on May 5, 2005 as part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in California. Conceived by VP Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, the parade celebrates the ...

'' * ''

Block Party Bash Block Party Bash was a hybrid stage show and parade that played at Disney California Adventure Park from 2005 to 2008. It was relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios in March 2008, replacing the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade. Show facts ...

'' * ''

Pixar Play Parade Pixar Play Parade was a parade at the Disneyland Resort. The parade features floats and characters based on Disney·Pixar films such as '' Monsters, Inc.'', ''The Incredibles'' and ''Toy Story''. In a first for Disney California Adventure, the f ...

'' * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'' * ''

Halloween Screams ''Halloween Screams: A Villainous Surprise in the Skies'' is a Halloween-themed fireworks show that is presented at Disneyland during the seasonal Mickey's Halloween Party event. Based on the similarly-themed, former fireworks show '' HalloWishe ...

'' *''

Paint the Night Parade ''Paint the Night Parade'' was a nighttime parade at Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and Disneyland. The Hong Kong version premiered on September 11, 2014, as part of the park 9th anniversary expansion. The Disneyland versio ...

'' * '' It's a Small World Holiday'' *''Mickey’s Mix Magic''

Walt Disney World Resort

* '' Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams'' * ''

'' * ''Festival of Fantasy Parade'' * ''Once Upon A Time'' * ''Harmonious''

Tokyo Disney Resort

* ''Once Upon a Time'' * ''Legend of Mythica'' * '' Jubilation!'' * ''

(

Tokyo DisneySea is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual proper ...

Version)'' *''Happiness is Here Parade'' *'' Disney Gifts of Christmas'' *''Dreaming Up Parade'' *'' Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland'' *''Believe! Sea of Dreams''

Disneyland Paris

* ''

(and related show additions such as, Disney Dreams of Christmas!)'' * '' Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams'' * ''

Disney Stars on Parade Disney Stars on Parade is the current parade in Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. The parade premiered on March 26, 2017, as part of the park's 25th anniversary celebration. The parade celebrates the discovery of the lands of imagination, repr ...

'' * ''

Disney Illuminations ''Disney Illuminations'' is a nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Park (Paris), Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. It opened on 26 March 2017 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park and replaced ''Disney Dreams!''. Based on Ignite the D ...

Hong Kong Disneyland

* ''

'' * '' Flights of Fantasy Parade'' * '' Mickey's WaterWorks''

Shanghai Disneyland

* '' Ignite the Dream: A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light'' * ''Mickey's Storybook Express'' * ''

Voyage to the Crystal Grotto Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is a Tow boat ride, tow boat ride that is currently operating at Shanghai Disneyland Park. The ride is the first ride to take riders inside a Disney castle and opened along with the rest of the park on June 16, 2016. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Steve Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people Disney executives Disney imagineers American designers