Festival of the Lion King
| Festival of the Lion King | |
|---|---|
| 250px | |
| Disney's Animal Kingdom | |
| Area | Camp Minnie Mickey (1998-2014) Africa (2014-present) |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | April 22, 1998 (Camp Minnie-Mickey) June 1, 2014 (Africa) |
| Closing date | January 5, 2014 (Camp Minnie-Mickey) |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | |
| Area | Adventureland |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | September 12, 2005 |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | Musical |
| Theme | The Lion King |
 Fastpass+ available |
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Festival of the Lion King, an original interpretation of the Disney animated film The Lion King, is a live stage musical performed in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida and in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland. The show uses songs, dance, puppetry and visual effects to portray a tribal celebration in an African savanna setting filled with lions, elephants, giraffes, birds, zebras and gazelles. In this theater environment, Festival of the Lion King is a traveling celebration presented by Simba and his friends (including a band of four human singers). The show is in the form of a revue, and not a condensed version of either the film or Broadway show. The show features Elton John and Tim Rice's award-winning music from the movie.
Contents
Disney's Animal Kingdom version
The show is presented inside an enclosed theater in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Guests sit in four sections, each designated with an animal name: Warthog, Elephant, Giraffe and Lion. These animals are represented by large puppets on four parade-style floats, which were originally built for Disneyland's The Lion King Celebration parade. Guests are asked to make a noise corresponding to their animal at certain times during the show and children are sometimes pulled out of the audience to dance. The show is hosted by four performers dressed in costumes inspired by traditional African dress. Each has a Swahili name: Kiume (meaning "masculine and strong"), Nakawa (meaning "good-looking"), Kibibi (meaning "princess"), and Zawadi (meaning "the gift").
The story of the movie is not followed, being replaced instead with a circus style show featuring music from the films. Acts include acrobatic 'Tumble Monkeys', an Adagio (acrobatics) featuring performers dressed as birds Maji and Moto (Swahili for water and fire), a fire knife hyena, and an ensemble cast of dancers, puppeteers, and stilt walkers. The cast also performs annually for the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade which is filmed at the Magic Kingdom and is broadcast on Christmas Day on ABC.
Relocation
Due to the construction on Avatar Land (based on James Cameron's successful film Avatar and its upcoming sequels) replacing Camp Minnie-Mickey (which was the show's original location). Instead of disappointing many fans by closing it forever, the show went into a several-month hiatus while Imagineers could build a new theater, the Harambe Theater, in an unused dense forest area in the Africa section of the park. When Camp Minnie-Mickey closed permanently on January 5, 2014, the area was ready for groundbreaking on January 10, 2014 to convert Camp Minnie-Mickey into Avatar Land.
Construction on the Harambe Theater was complete in May 2014. The show returned from its hiatus on June 1, 2014 in its newly built Harambe Theater location. This relocation was part of a wider expansion of Africa, which included a new path, restrooms, and new restaurant opportunities.[1]
Hong Kong Disneyland version
The show is featured in the "Theater in the Wild" in Adventureland. Similar to the theater setting in Disney's Animal Kingdom, guests sit in four different sections, each with an animal name: Warthog, Elephant, Giraffe and Lion. The show in Hong Kong has been arranged to a simplified version of the story of The Lion King along with the songs in the movie. The performance is mainly in English, but two actors dressed as monkeys summarize and translate Rafiki's lines into Cantonese in order to accommodate guests who do not speak English. Simplified Chinese subtitles, for Mainland Chinese visitors, are also projected onto the screens above each seating section. The show is presented to Simba by Rafiki (portrayed by a female actress, as in the Broadway musical) as a re-telling of Simba's life. Simba is represented by a large, elaborate puppet on a parade-style float decorated as a tribal-styled Pride Rock. The show does feature the same finale song as the show at Disney's Animal Kingdom, which features a medley of songs from the movie.
Soundtrack
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Clip from "Celebration Finale (Hakuna Matata/Can You Feel the Love Tonight/Be Prepared/I Just Can't Wait to Be King/Circle of Life)".
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| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
A soundtrack CD was released in 2001, titled "Festival of The Lion King (Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World)"
Tracklisting:
- Circle of Life - 1:40
- I Just Can't Wait to Be King - 2:40
- Hakuna Matata - 2:04
- Tumble Monkeys (Sing, Sing, Sing/Playmates/Snake Charmer/Caravan/Hakuna Matata/Yes! We Have No Bananas/Hawaiian War Chant) - 3:56
- Be Prepared - 3:00
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight/Circle of Life (Medley) - 4:45
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight - 2:28
- Celebration Finale (Hakuna Matata/Can You Feel the Love Tonight/Be Prepared/I Just Can't Wait to Be King/Circle of Life) - 3:45
- Circle of Life (Bows) - 0:34
- King of Pride Rock Circle of Life Reprise (Instrumental) - 2:34
See also
- Disney's Animal Kingdom attraction and entertainment history
- Hong Kong Disneyland attraction and entertainment history
References
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