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American Idol Experience Opens to Junior Performers for Limited Time Magic

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The Walt Disney Company has a long tradition of supporting youth performers, from the original Mickey Mouse Club showcasing some of Hollywood’s best talent to Magic Music Days giving school kids the chance to perform in a Disney theme park. For one week during its Limited Time Magic promotion, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is extending that idea to the American Idol Experience.

The age limit for performing at American Idol Experience has always been tied to the TV shows eligibility requirements. If the winner got a dream ticket they couldn’t use, that would make no sense right?

From August 12-18, Disney will have one Juniors Show, where contestants aged 6-13 can perform. They won’t get a dream ticket, but they will get an amazing experience.

The special taste of showbiz will begin with an audition in front of a Disney producer, just like the regular show. The three contestants chosen for the Juniors Show will get a Hollywood-style showbiz treatment including cosmetology, a vocal training session and walk-through rehearsal before taking the stage in front of the live audience. The three finalists will also get feedback from the panel of judges. It’s not mentioned if the audience will vote for a winner or if some other ending will be involved.

If your child wants to enter, we’ve included the list of songs choices below the jump. Better get rehearsing right away.

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Return of the Orlando Theme Park Wars?

Concept art for Star Wars mini-park planned for Disneyland Paris

Concept art for Star Wars mini-park planned for Disneyland Paris

Orlando in the 1990’s was bookended by stiff competition between Disney and its rival Universal Studios. When Michael Eisner got wind that Disneyland’s cross-town rival Universal Studios was preparing to open in Orlando as well, he rushed the mouse’s plans for its own studio theme park into production, even opening a whole year ahead of Universal. Universal returned the favor by firing back with Islands of Adventure, which contained rethemed versions of the Beastly Kingdom attractions Disney had cut from its Animal Kingdom project just a year earlier. Universal even hired a lot of the Imagineers Disney had just laid off to help make IOA a quality theme park.

And then things calmed down for nearly a decade. Disney kept churning out new attractions (Expedition Everest, Toy Story Midway Mania to name two) while Universal Studios was the forgotten step-child in a larger corporation that was dealing with ownership and financial problems. Eventually that got all sorted out and two things happened that turned around the fortunes at Universal Orlando Resort.

First, Universal got the theme park rights to use the Kuka robotic arm roller coaster that everyone was excited about at IAAPA in 2004. Second, it was able to convince Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling that they would be better caretakers for her story than Disney. The Kuka robocoaster win had something to do with that, but Universal was also willing to give Rowling final approval on nearly every detail. Disney would not.

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American Idol Candice Glover on her visit to Walt Disney World

Last week we saw a photo of newly crowned “American Idol” season 12 winner, Candice Glover, as she met Mickey Mouse. Now we get a short video of her talking about her experience on the show, her love of roller coasters, and what it was… Read More »American Idol Candice Glover on her visit to Walt Disney World

Newly Crowned Idol Candice Glover Visits American Idol Experience

Since 2009, once of the duties each new American Idol is to visit the Disney attraction version of the show and add their talent to some of the audio and video segments. Season 12 winner of American Idol Candice Glover dropped by yesterday. Here she… Read More »Newly Crowned Idol Candice Glover Visits American Idol Experience

Hyperspace Hoopla Highlights from Star Wars Weekends

I really thought this was one of the better Hyperspace Hoopla versions I’ve seen. So I went back through my footage and editted together a highlight reel from the 2013 show. I apologize for the sound distortion during parts of it. I’ll have to figure… Read More »Hyperspace Hoopla Highlights from Star Wars Weekends

Star Wars Weekends Rancor Photo-Op Assembly Timelapse Video

One of the cool new additions to the Darth’s Mall photo opportunity section at the 2013 Star Wars Weekends is this huge model of the Rancor that Luke Skywalker fought in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Here’s a fun timelapse video of… Read More »Star Wars Weekends Rancor Photo-Op Assembly Timelapse Video

Star Wars Weekends In Full Force at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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Just returned from an evening of fun at Star Wars Weekends over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I don’t have time to write a full report this morning, but here are a few highlights. I arrived to late for most of the festivities, but was able to get into Darth’s Mall and catch the new Hyperspace Hoopla. Lots of great merchandise this year, both for the event and fresh from Star Wars too. There was a 10-minute queue just to get in to the store, then if you wanted photos, special merchandise, or a D-Tech figure, there were even more lines. Crazy.

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Magical Detail Gone Missing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Part of what makes Disney so magical is the attention to detail. For instance, take Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there are a ton of little references to Disney movies and TV shows. Even if you don’t know what the reference is, it makes the experience richer… Read More »Magical Detail Gone Missing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios