A few big announcement at the presentation formerly known as What’s New, What’s Next, now called “Around Our World.” Among the recap of recent changes at the resort including DCL, DVC, and Adventures by Disney, a sprinkling of new news was released. First news from… Read More »Walt Disney World Resort – What’s New Announcements
Festival of The Lion King is the number one rated show by guests of Walt Disney World. So when Disney decided to build Avatar, they had to move the show to a new location. That location is in Africa, makes sense, and will be in… Read More »Festival of The Lion King Theater Construction Update
Things are finally getting serious for the Avatarland expansion coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Last week Disney installed the portable offices for Imagineering and their contractors in a space over behind Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. But in order for construction of Avatarland to begin, Festival… Read More »Construction Update for Festival of The Lion King
Disney once famously refused to acknowledge that they were building a new Disney Vacation Club resort next to The Contemporary even-though the blueprints had leaked months prior and everyone who flew by on the monorail every day could plainly see a multi-story building going up,… Read More »Festival of The Lion King decamping to Africa in 2014
Construction walls have appeared in the corner of Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom where the show building and facilities for the park’s popular show Festival of the Lion King will be moving. In January, we reported on leaked plans for the move, but saw little… Read More »Construction Begins on new Festival of the Lion King Location
Due to a poorly timed illness, it has been more than a few weeks since I last visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But the recently reveal of plans to move Festival of the Lion King to a new location in Africa was all the reason I… Read More »Update from Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Back in August we had the news that the most popular and best rated show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and, quite possibly, on property, the Festival of the Lion King, was scheduled to move to a new location. The biggest open questions where when and where. We now know the where and it’s likely the when will come soon.
FotLK had to move to make way for Avatar, which will be coming to where Camp Minnie Mickey is now. Cast members were notified that it would shuttering early in 2013, but so far there hasn’t been much progress as to how the move would be made.
In paperwork filed with the Florida water district management agency, we now know that the FotLK theater will be moved to a new plot of land in Africa. It will be to your left as you cross over the bridge, behind the Tusker House restaurant. Imagineers have been spotted in the area taking a few measurements. So its possible work on fencing in and clearing the plot could begin any day now.
Read More »Festival of the Lion King Relocation Plans Revealed
I feel just a little possessive of Festival Of The Lion King, after all they’re using our floats. Yes, those floats from the greatest Disneyland Parade, The Lion King Celebration, are the stages the puppets sit on in FotLK. I can still remember the final day of the parade at Disneyland and am happy that I can now visit those floats at Disney’s Animal Kingdom whenever I want. But there’s a new rumor going around saying that circumstances could change.
The Festival Of The Lion King show has been the subject of relocation rumors practically since it opened in Camp Minnie Mickey instead of Africa, where it would seem to make more thematic sense. Elevation balloons were recently spotted over that section of the park. And while no ground has been broken, it was confirmed those balloons were some early planning for Avatar-land. With Avatar-land inching closer to reality, it looks like Camp Minnie Mickey is the likely candidate for Avatar.
I’m hearing from multiple sources that FotLK will soon be closing to prepare that land for the expansion. It has been assumed that the show would be moved to a location in Africa when that happened. However, no structure is currently being constructed. There could be a number of reasons for this. Disney could be planning to completely retool the show, they could plan to relocate the existing structure, or it could just be dancing away forever.
Disney has not yet announced the next refurb for FotLK, but my sources say it’s coming soon. I hope they’re wrong and that Disney would be building a new home for FotLK before closing it down to be moved. Since FotLK is the highest rated show at DAK, you would think they would do everything they could to keep some version of it running even during construction.
Just for old times sake, there’s a full video of the show below the jump:
Read More »Festival of The Lion King Making Way for Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom