The day is FINALLY here!
Festival of the Lion King
Much of Disney’s live entertainment has been suspended since the parks reopened last March. But at the beginning of the year, we got some BIG news: Festival of the Lion King was returning to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! We followed closely as the show prepared to return in a modified format, and now the time has come. The “new” Festival of the Lion King debuts for its soft opening TODAY!
As we mentioned, this IS a modified show. That means the experience won’t be quite the same as before! First of all, the show has a new name: “A Celebration of The Festival of the Lion King.” And some changes, according to Disney, include adjustments both onstage and backstage, choreography changes to allow for social distancing, and changes to how the audience is seated.
The “Old” Festival of the Lion King!
Of course, we had to check this all out for ourselves! So we went to see the show during its soft opening!
Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King!
It felt great to line up at The Lion King theater again! And this time, we are actually going into the theater, and not to Kilimanjaro Safaris…
The Lion King line
As with other theater shows at Disney World nowadays, they’re cutting down on group sizes. This means seating inside the theater is limited, and in order to go in, you MUST have your whole group together, and you MUST stay together.
All parties must stay together
This also means four people maximum per sticker in the line, which means larger groups will get split up. A Cast Member is standing by with a clipboard to ensure parties are together… .
Cast Members ensure all parties are together
There is also no eating or drinking in the theater.
Waiting to enter…
As we lined up and made our way into the theater, we were SO excited to wave at Cast Members, who were clearly as happy as we were!
Reunited!
We’re inside the theater again! How we’ve missed this!
Waiting for the show
When we made it inside the theater, we noticed that every other row is closed…
Every other row is closed
…and benches have certain sections blocked off as well.
Certain sections are blocked
They can sit four in most sections, which is why parties are restricted to that size.
Parties of four
We also learned that the official — and full — reopening of the show is May 15!
We’re SO happy this show is back! If you’ll be in Animal Kingdom soon, make sure to stop by and watch it. We’ll continue to keep you posted on the progress of live entertainment in the parks!
Read More About the Festival of the Lion King’s Return!
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Are you excited to watch Festival of the Lion King again? Let us know in the comments!
The post PHOTOS: Festival of the Lion King is BACK For a Soft Opening Disney World! first appeared on the disney food blog.