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Super Bowl drones were Disney Springs twins

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COURTESY NFL

In this screen capture from video provided by the NFL, drones are used at the start of Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance on Feb. 5 in Houston, Tex. The drones are the same model used for a “Starbright Holidays” show seen nightly over the waterways of Disney Springs at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. from mid-November to early January.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lady Gaga performs during halftime of Super Bowl LI in Houston, Tex. on Feb. 5. She opened her performance with hundreds of drones hovering behind her in an American Flag formation.

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COURTESY DISNEY Drones used at the start of Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance on Feb. 5 were the same model used for a “Starbright Holidays” show seen nightly over the waterways of Disney Springs at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. from mid-November to early January.

ORLANDO, Fla. >> In the skies behind Lady Gaga at the beginning of her Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 5 were sights that might be familiar to Disney Springs visitors. Hundreds of drones hovered in the background, forming an American flag above Houston.

They are the same model — the Intel Shooting Star — that was used for the “Starbright Holidays” show that was seen nightly over the waterways of Disney Springs from mid-November to early January.

The Disney and the Super Bowl shows both used 300 drones for their aerial designs. At Disney World, they made holiday-inspired formations, including a Christmas tree and a dove. That production lasted for about seven minutes.

Intel says the Super Bowl performance was the highest the Shooting Star drones have flown. The company got a waiver from the FAA to fly its units at 700 feet. At Disney, the drones reached heights of 400 feet.

All 300 drones can be controlled by one computer and one drone pilot, Intel said.

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