Festival of the Lion King

Florida Guide > Animal Kingdom

The Festival of the Lion King, at Walt Disney World’s theme park Animal Kingdom, has to be one of the most colourful of all their live shows and audience participation is fully encouraged, especially with the children. It was inspired by Disney’s animated film The Lion King. You won’t need to worry about arriving early as all the seats have wonderful views, just don’t leave it too late in case the theatre becomes full and they have closed the doors.

The theatre seats one thousand guests at time and there are a few performances throughout the day. Everyone sits on tiered metal benches in one of the four sections surrounding the stage. You will find yourself in either the elephant, the giraffe, the warthog or the lion section and be prepared to impersonate the animal family to which you now belong! The show lasts for approximately thirty minutes and as it is under cover and air-conditioned, it provides a nice rest for tired feet and a welcome break from the sun in the middle of summer.

I do not think that it would be an exaggeration if I were to liken the Festival of the Lion King to a Broadway show. The performers, the costumes, the music, and the atmosphere all contribute to what I can only describe as fantastic family entertainment.

As the show begins four enormous moving stages appear from the four corners of the theatre in between each of the four seating sections. One of the stages features an animated twelve-foot high Simba sitting atop Pride Rock, another is a swaying giraffe, the third one is an elephant spraying water from his trunk and finally a jungle stage featuring a talking Pumba and Timon.

Four amazing singers dressed in incredibly colourful tribal costumes sing songs from everybody’s favourite movie The Lion King. One of my favourite parts of the show is when the tumbling monkeys perform their acrobatic tricks to the song “Hakuna Matata” followed by an aerial display performed by two giant “birds” to the song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.

The finale features fifty performers for a medley of Lion King songs. As we left the theatre at the end of the show I could hear many guests still singing the songs!

The Festival of The Lion King is located in the Camp Minnie-Mickey area of Disney' s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Children and adults alike will enjoy this spectacular and energetic show. It is definitely not one to be missed!

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