Inside the show
The scenes
The current production tells a single love story rather than a string of circus acts — these are the stages it moves through, without giving away how any of them end.
- Opening
The floor disappears
The show's recurring trick opens the night too: the stage sinks away and the pool rises in its place, the cue that the story is about to start.
- The Magic Garden
A stranger crosses into a kingdom
The reimagined storyline follows a courageous traveller who enters a realm he doesn't belong to, setting up the rescue the rest of the night is built around.
- The Aquarium Cage
Princess Aani, held by the Dark Queen
The production's antagonist keeps Princess Aani inside a setting the show calls the Aquarium Cage — one of several named locations the story moves through on its way to the finale.
- Future City
Aerial acts over open water
Dancers and aerial acrobats work above the pool as the story pushes into a setting the production calls Future City, part of a company that draws performers from more than 30 countries.
- Finale
The full company, on and in the water
A new orchestral score carries the company's largest number, staged across both the stage floor and the water it's just finished flooding.
Some City of Dreams packages include a meet-and-greet with performers — worth checking for if meeting the cast matters to your group.
Why the pool makes the night
A stage built to flood
The pool that wasn't there a minute ago
The Dancing Water Theater's floor is a working stage machine. Melco's own account of the technology names hydraulic elevators and advanced water systems that turn dry ground into a pool holding roughly 17 million litres when it's full — more than five Olympic swimming pools, inside a single theatre.
Franco Dragone's theatre, fifteen years on
The original production, created by Belgian director Franco Dragone, opened in this theatre on 17 September 2010 and ran for almost a decade — close to 4,000 performances, seen by an estimated 5 million people, and a 2012 Thea Award for outstanding live spectacular along the way. Melco Resorts bought the show outright from Dragone's own company in 2019. Dragone died in September 2022, two years after Covid-19 had already closed the theatre.
A new director, not a remount
When City of Dreams reopened the show in May 2025, the job of rebuilding it went to Giuliano Peparini, working with producer Our Legacy Creations under an idea Melco's Lawrence Ho first commissioned back in the 2000s. The company kept the theatre and the water; the story, choreography, score and stage technology are new.
The seats and the stage
The seats and the stage
City of Dreams prices this show across several seating categories, from Gallery up to Golden Circle, with a separate VVIP Box sold outside general admission — GetYourGuide shows you whichever categories are open for the date you choose.
Several categories, one show
City of Dreams prices this production from Gallery through to Golden Circle, with a separate VVIP Box sold outside general admission. The categories GetYourGuide actually offers you are whichever are open for the date you pick on the calendar.
What changes between categories
Every category watches the same stage and the same pool from the same 270-degree auditorium — the difference between them is distance from the water, not which part of the show you see.
Ways to sit, one pool
Ways to sit, as GetYourGuide shows them
| Category | What you get | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery | City of Dreams' entry-level category on its own price list, when GetYourGuide has it open for your date. | A first visit, or anyone happy to take whichever category comes up. |
| Grand | A mid-priced category, one step up from the entry tiers on the same price list. | A couple or small group who want a better seat without paying for Golden Circle. |
| Premium | A higher-priced category on the operator's own list, below only Golden Circle and the separately sold VVIP Box. | A celebration where the seat is part of the occasion. |
| Golden Circle | The top category GetYourGuide can offer through this listing — City of Dreams' VVIP Box sits above it but isn't part of this general-admission ticket. | Anyone who wants the closest standard view on offer. |
Not sure how close Golden Circle actually sits? Open the listing on GetYourGuide ↗
Getting to Cotai, and when to arrive
Getting to Cotai, and when to arrive
From the Macau peninsula
City of Dreams runs a free shuttle bus linking the resort with the Macau Border Gate, Taipa Ferry Terminal and Macau International Airport, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge port and the Hengqin border, with buses roughly every 10 to 30 minutes through the day and evening.
From Hong Kong
The Hong Kong–Macau ferry (TurboJet or Cotai Water Jet) crosses from the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan in about an hour; the Cotai Water Jet specifically lands at Taipa Ferry Terminal, a few minutes from City of Dreams on the same free shuttle network.
Arrive before your session time
Treat your booked time as an arrival time rather than a curtain time — some City of Dreams packages add a meet-and-greet with performers beforehand, and City of Dreams runs this ticket on its own calendar of dates and sessions rather than a single nightly slot, so pick the exact one you want when you book.
Planning a night at Dancing Water
Planning a night at Dancing Water
A Dancing Water night, step by step
From the free shuttle to Cotai to the last bow, here's the shape a night at the Dancing Water Theatre tends to follow.
Read this Dancing Water guide →the production, outlinedThe scenes, without the spoilers
What the current House of Dancing Water actually moves through, scene by scene, without giving away how the story ends.
Read this Dancing Water guide →how the stage worksThe theatre and the water stage
The Dancing Water Theater is built around a working pool rather than a fixed stage floor — here's what that actually means for the room you'll sit in.
Read this Dancing Water guide →gallery, grand, premium or golden circleChoosing your seat category
City of Dreams prices this show across several categories rather than by individual seat — here's what actually changes between the ones GetYourGuide can offer you.
Read this Dancing Water guide →ferries, shuttles and the border gateGetting to Cotai from Macau and Hong Kong
City of Dreams sits on the Cotai Strip, a short free shuttle ride from both the Macau peninsula and the Hong Kong ferry terminals.
Read this Dancing Water guide →children, groups and celebrationsFamilies and groups: ages and timing
What the operator's own age policy allows, and how a night at the Dancing Water Theater works for a family or a larger party.
Read this Dancing Water guide →FAQ
Dancing Water: the questions people ask
Is this the original House of Dancing Water or a new show?
Neither exactly — it's the same theatre and the same pool, but a reimagined production. The original Franco Dragone show ran 2010 to 2020; the current version reopened in May 2025 under a new artistic director, with a new story, score and staging.
What's the story about?
A courageous stranger crosses into a kingdom that isn't his to rescue Princess Aani from the Dark Queen, told through aerial acrobatics, diving and dance over a pool that forms out of the stage floor.
What's the difference between the ticket categories?
City of Dreams prices this show across several categories, from Gallery up to Golden Circle, with a separate VVIP Box sold outside general admission. GetYourGuide shows you whichever categories are open for the date you pick; every category watches the same production from the same 270-degree theatre, so the difference is how close you sit.
Can I bring a young child?
One child under 2 can enter free with a paying adult, as long as the child doesn't take up a seat of their own. Unaccompanied minors aren't admitted.
Can I get a refund if my plans change?
No — this ticket is non-refundable once booked, so confirm your date before paying.
How do I get to City of Dreams from Hong Kong?
The Hong Kong–Macau ferry takes about an hour to Taipa Ferry Terminal, a few minutes from City of Dreams on the resort's free shuttle.
How do I get there from the Macau peninsula?
City of Dreams' free shuttle bus runs between the resort and the Macau Border Gate on the peninsula side, as well as Taipa Ferry Terminal and the airport.
What time should I arrive?
Treat your booked time as an arrival time: City of Dreams runs its own calendar of dates and sessions rather than one fixed nightly slot, so pick the exact one you want when you book. Some City of Dreams packages add a meet-and-greet with performers beforehand, which is a further reason not to cut it fine.
More of Cotai after the curtain
Pick a night at the Dancing Water Theatre
Other Macau nights GetYourGuide lists nearby, shown here on their own terms.