Fountains at Bellagio

A couple years ago, two mad-scientist types known as Eepy Bird became an internet sensation by dropping more than 500 Mentos mints into 200 liters of Diet Coke with explosive results. Thanks to a scientific force called nucleation and some careful manipulation, the cola shot in the air like a geyser and danced around in ways resembling the world famous Fountains at Bellagio.

Fountains creator WET Design was so impressed by this hilarious tribute that they brought the creators Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz to their California-based office for a live performance.

"When I first saw it I thought it was just fabulous," said Mark Fuller, chief executive officer of WET Design. "It's very flattering."

Equally as flattering for Fuller is seeing the day-to-day reaction of Vegas visitors as they watch the actual Fountains at Bellagio.

"People laugh and literally cry when they see it," Fuller said. "I typically stand with my back to the fountains because I enjoy watching the expression of the crowd."

With several professionally choreographed musical routines and rushing water that soars as high as 460 feet from a total of 1,214 water-emitting devices, the $40-million, 8.5-acre lake is the most ambitious water feature ever created by WET Design. 

Each water show has its own expressive choreographed interpretation. The collection of 32 songs ranges from Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli to Elton John and Faith Hill. Visitors can enjoy three new shows including Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and the big band hit, Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood.” The free show has been celebrated in countless films, television shows, photographs and articles on Las Vegas.

"If you were to fly around the world today there is no other water feature you would see that has the same scope, same spectacle, same emotional impact," said Fuller. "We were very choreographed and prescriptive about how the water moves and how we tie that with the music. Nonetheless, the moment those water molecules leave those jets and loft themselves into the sky, they're completely subject to the forces of nature and the whims of the sunshine. Even if you see the same show, you never really see it twice."

Fuller believes it is this "marriage of the expressions of nature with the hand of man and machinery" that so mesmerizes viewers.

Speaking of marriage, the Fountains at Bellagio is a prime destination for proposals and weddings. Just ask Bill Mayers, assistant manager of operations for the fountains.

"I personally proposed to my wife on the second of February last year to Elton John's 'Your Song" on the center outlook," said Mayers. "I got a resounding, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes' -- that's five yeses to one question."

Bellagio also offers a wedding package on the Terrazza di Sogno (Terrace of Dreams), an Italian balcony overlooking the fountains. The water soars to the sky at the moment of the couple's first kiss.

And there are a lot of drive-by weddings.

"A chapel will put everybody into a limousine and pull up in front of the fountain," Mayers said. "They'll throw open the door and the minister will jump out and the groom will jump out and the bride will jump out and they'll rush to one of the outlooks and do the ceremony right there."

With its diverse and ever-changing lineup of musical numbers, from show tunes like "One Singular Sensation" to the evocative "Con Te Partiro," couples don't necessarily know what song they're going to get.

"[One] Christmas, I saw a couple get married to Madonna singing 'Santa Baby,'" said Mayers, laughing.

Mayers and a staff of 37 work behind the scenes seven days a week, 365 days a year to maintain the show, which begins every 30 minutes between 3 and 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes until midnight on weekdays (shows begin at noon on weekends and holidays; times may vary due to daylight saving time). Along with cleaning the fountains, the crew works with several different types of shooters, compressors, purification equipment and a fog system that is so intense it could literally blanket Las Vegas Boulevard "and turn Paris (the hotel across the street) into London, in less than five minutes," said Fuller.

The fountains only use about 10 percent of the water that was used by the Dunes Hotel golf course it replaced. Through an agreement with the Clark County Fire Department, the water can be used at the department's discretion to fight a nearby fire or for another catastrophic event.

The computerized program that runs the fountain show automatically cancels or scales it down based on weather conditions. But apart from a three-day period in 2004 when the Bellagio had no power and the occasionally prohibitive weather, there have only been a handful of times that the show has not gone on.

One of the windiest nights in the Bellagio's history took place during the hotel's black tie opening ceremonies in 1998. Despite the whipping wind, the fountains were run full blast."

"The comment was made: 'Well everyone gets to be baptized,'" said Fuller. "It was a pretty memorable opening."

-- Aleza Freeman