If you have marveled at Epcot’s Fountain of Nations, Leapfrog Fountains, and upside down waterfall, then you have enjoyed the creation of Imagineering’s Mark Fuller. After the creation of these water features Mark, along with Imagineers Melanie Simon and Alan Robinson, left Imagineering and formed WET (Water Entertainment Technologies) in 1983. WET has made over two hundred water creations around the world using not only water but fire, fog, ice, and lights. Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn wanted Fuller to create something spectacular for the Bellagio in 1998. The most ambitious WET creation was designed - the Bellagio Fountains. In October 1998 the dancing water show debuted in the eight-acre lake in front of the hotel. Millions of visitors, couples, lovers, and families have stopped to watch the fountains in the last 25 years. Danny Ocean’s eleven casino heist members stood outside the fountains in the 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven watching the “Clair de Lune” water ballet.

The Fountains of Bellagio are contained in Lake Bellagio, a 375,000 square foot manufactured lake of clear water sourced from underground wells. The fountains are choreographed with music and lights to entertain on-lookers with a free show every thirty minutes during the day and fifteen minutes at night. The fountains stretch more than 1,000 feet and can launch water 460 feet into the air. About thirty trained divers maneuver underwater to service all the nozzles featured in the show. There are 4,792 lights, 183 speakers, and 1,200 water emitting devices. The control booth, 100 feet above the water, activates over 30 shows during the day. Giant air compressors can launch up to 36,000 gallons of air at 500 horsepower per show.

Mark Fuller graduated from Stanford in 1978 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He was skilled in creating a perfect tube of water using laminar flow technology. Regular falling water will have molecules spray out in different directions. With laminar flow technology the molecules are siphoned using steady pressure to create a cohesive tube-like flow of water. Mark built a fountain like this in Salt Lake City and it won an award from the American Institute of Architects. The Leapfrog Fountains at Epcot’s Imagination pavilion use this technology to “leap” streams of water from one pad to another. Mark Fuller was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Themed Entertainment Association in March 2010.

WET Design holds over sixty patents in fountain, lighting, and water control. They had their first extensive project in 1986 with the design of a waterscape at Fountain Place in Dallas, TX. One of their patents was for water appearing from openings in the fountain’s surface. In the early 90s WET produced many creations throughout Asia. In 2009 WET created its largest water feature with the Dubai Fountain. Its lights can be seen from space and 200 miles away. WET co-produced the show The Big Brain Theory, Pure Genius on the Discovery Channel where the winner of various engineering challenges got a one-year contract at WET and $50,000.

Also in Vegas, WET created: Riviera Splash Show (1985), Stardust Hotel jumping fountains (1987), Embassy Suites fountain (2000), Bellagio Conservatory fountains (2003), volcano at the Mirage redesign (2008), five different fountains for the Las Vegas City Center (2009), La Rêve show at the Wynn Las Vegas (2014), and the esplanade at Wynn Las Vegas (2016).

Elton John released “Your Song” on his self-titled second studio album in April 1970. Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to the song and Elton John composed the melody. The lyrics were written by a 17-year-old Bernie, so it has a youthful innocence to it. He said he wrote the lyrics after having breakfast on the roof of a London music building, where Elton worked as an office boy. The song was released as a single in 1971 and became #8 in the US charts. When Elton John came to America for the first time he played “Your Song” at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles.

REFERENCE:
WET Design: https://wetdesign.com/creations.html#...
Bellagio Las Vegas - About the Fountains: https://bellagio.mgmresorts.com/en/en...
MGM Resorts Behind the Fountains:    • Bellagio | Behind The Fountains | Epi...  
Secret Stories of Walt Disney World, Jim Korkis, 2015, Theme Park Press
Extra Secret Stories of Walt Disney World, Jim Korkis, 2018, Theme Park Press
“The Story of ‘Your Song’ by Elton John”, Smooth Radio, Tom Eames, June 23, 2023: https://www.smoothradio.com/features/...