It’s official, Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular is out of the Hyperion Theatre at Disney California Adventure and a Frozen-inspired production is moving in in summer of 2016. The final curtain call for Aladdin will come on January 10, 2015 after nearly 14,000 entertaining shows.
When I lived in Southern California, I would frequently make a point of viewing the Aladdin musical at DCA. It had amazing on-stage talent, great pacing, and The Genie. It was the wise-cracking Genie who added that extra something – improvisation – that made the show watchable over and over again.
Golden Horseshoe Revue ran for over 50,000 shows, so it’s not unheard of for Disney to let a show run. A large part of that show’s success was the way improvisation led to repeatability. So it’s not out of the question that Disney could have let Aladdin run for many more years. But someone decided it’s time has come. Now if you want to see an Aladdin musical you’ll have to head to Broadway or book a berth on the Disney Fantasy. (There’s also a school production licensed by Disney. SO maybe put the show on yourself?)
I have faith that Disney Imagineers and its entertainment department will do right by Frozen and Disneyland resort guests. You’ll see all the elaborate costumes and set changes the Hyperion Theatre was designed to enable. Plus there will be a large dose of Disney magic.
“Our stage production of ‘Frozen’ will stay true to the heart and soul of the film,” says Dana Harrel, Portfolio Creative Entertainment Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Anna and Elsa will carry the audience on an emotional journey that includes show-stopping production numbers and a few unique theatrical twists. We can’t wait for everyone to see it!”
There’s no doubt that Frozen is a massively successful property for Disney, so I’m not surprised that park management wants to find a way to put it in all it’s resorts for the long term. I am a little worried that Anna & Elsa might have overstayed their welcome, but then I look at the huge crowds that turned up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the Frozen Summer event and realize while the fervor may have died down, the movie’s fans are still out there.
With a Frozen musical on the way to Broadway and now one coming to Disney’s theme parks, it will be interesting to see if the two development processes intersect. Traditionally, they remain separate, but the kernel of the idea for Disney Theatrical was inspired by the success of Beauty & The Beast stage show at Disneyland. So you never know, some of the new songs destined for Broadway might debut in Anaheim first.
What are your thoughts on a Frozen musical coming to DCA?
I really liked the Aladdin show at DCA. Aladdin’s presence in the park is fairly small, so I think it worked really well. Always had large crowds.
I love Frozen, but I think branching out and allowing other films to have a presence in the parks is a better way to go. I am sure the show will be great, as all Disney Parks shows are impressive.
My favorite show to catch in CA. I will miss the spontaneity and topicality of Genie in Aladdin. That really made it special. Not sure how they can shoehorn that into Frozen. Genie was the perfect place for it in Aladdin… there isn’t really a character that can pull it off in Frozen. I will miss Aladdin.
I’m guessing that end date’s supposed to be January 2016.
Any chance this will let the Muppets take their space back?
Interesting given the big push that’s happening in the Disney Store with Aladdin merchandise and subsequent media push that will happen with the Blu-ray release of Aladdin in October.
This is harrowing news. :(
Will definitely miss the show. The cast was excellent and besides Genie wisecracking it was memorable. The singing voices as Disney does was top notch. Unfortunately I won’t make it for the final curtain call. It just happens to be on my birthday. Sad to see it go. But I welcome Frozen to Cali. Maybe Elsa can help the water problem there.
Utterly atrocious. I can’t be the only one sick of the constant Frozen-ization of all things Disney. I hope attendance for this show is awful. Why don’t they (and I shouldn’t put it past them) just create a “Frozen land”, dump all related activities and shows there and leave the existing stuff alone? It KILLS me that I will never be able to take my kids on Maelstrom at Epcot.
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