Festival of the Lion King to close in January

[jcemom]

At first I thought the Avatar project was rather stupid. Now that I've considered it for a while, I think it might work. At first, I was pretty much only thinking about the movie connection, and I haven't ever even watched the whole movie. It doesn't hold my attention long enough for me to sit through the entire thing. But now, I'm thinking about how it actually LOOKS, the foliage and the creatures, the general conservation message, and I think that could work very well at AK, if Disney does it right. I think I can enjoy the theme, the overall look of the area, without enjoying the movie.

I'm willing to at least keep an open mind and wait until I see it for myself.

 

[dsnygrl21]

Does anyone know a specific date as to when in January FOTLK is closing?

 

[DCTooTall]

Does anyone know a specific date as to when in January FOTLK is closing?

Officially this is still just a rumor and Disney hasn't announced anything. As such, any dates you hear right now are going to be conjecture.

(For the Test Track Refurb, Rumored close dates even from knowledgable sources weren't entirely accurate and Disney waited until almost the last possible moment to announce it's closure.)

 

[fuzzlekins]

NOOOOO!!!!! The Lion King show is the best thing about AK! This really stinks b/c we're going in Feb. I couldn't care less about Avatar. Didn't see the movie and never did understand the hoopla - looked kind of dumb to me (no offense to those who liked it). Lion King is rather classic and pretty synonymous w/ AK. Avatar - not so much. What are they thinking??

 

[garjanjones]

Boo. We saw it for the first time this past summer, and thought it was amazing! Hopefully the close is temporary, and they'll reopen it at a later time.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Planogirl]

Way too often Disney closes or changes something that's good to make room for something new. I wish that they could sometimes do both. I hope that FOTLK comes back elsewhere. It truly is an excellent show - probably the best at WDW.

 

[Figment1990]

REALLY not happy about this. We love FOTLK. We also do not love Avatar (politely speaking). Closing FOLTK for any reason would be sad, but especially so because of Avatar.

Hopefully it really will re-open elsewhere. What a great, high-quality show featuring one of Disney's most successful and classic movies - to lose it would be a great shame.

 

[gusdmh]

My family's first time at Disney World, and first show was Festival of the Lion King. And now it's being taken away for a boring movie about tall, blue humanoids vs giant robots. Not cool at all.

 

[Disco]

It's fitting I guess depending on whether James indeed did steal the IP for the plot or not. One stolen work to replace another...

 

[jmm476]

My family's first time at Disney World, and first show was Festival of the Lion King. And now it's being taken away for a boring movie about tall, blue humanoids vs giant robots. Not cool at all.

The movie had robots it in?! Another reason to never see it and mad about Disney "partnering" with James Cameron. I dislike most of his movies that I've seen.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I see this crop up a lot. I think Avatar & AK go together well - the 'moral' in the movie is about looking after our planet, conservation yadda yadda yadda, the same message as AK, and a message Disney has always pushed.

And no, I'm not an Avatar movie fan - I bat for the Star Wars team

a kindred spirit!

 

[pwdebbie]

WARNING *** RUMOR *** WARNING *** RUMOR

I heard today the "probable" relo spot for FOTLK
. . . between Tucker and Safari there is a gap
. . . the theater would be tucked back (offset) into the gap
. . . this will relocate the "lion show" into Africa

WARNING *** RUMOR *** WARNING *** RUMOR

I wanted to repost this for any one that started reading this thread in the last week and may have overlooked this post. I am hopeful that all is not lost and FOTLK will indeed still be there for us to watch in the future.

 

[zulemara]

I wanted to repost this for any one that started reading this thread in the last week and may have overlooked this post. I am hopeful that all is not lost and FOTLK will indeed still be there for us to watch in the future.

yes this is what I originally reported on in my first Rumors blog I think. I can't remember, but that is also what I've heard. If it closes in January, it would seem it's so they can move it. Why they can't keep it open until the new place is ready, I don't know, but that's how Disney works.

 

[GrahamOrlando]

As of yet there has been no official statement from Disney and to be honest, Cast Members are not unduly worried about the future of FOTLK.

Surveys show that FOTLK is one of the most popular venues in the AK, so even if the current location is to be closed, I think it's highly likely that it will simply be relocated. In this event, I doubt there will be any downtime between location moves - that's if it even moves at all.

FOTLK cast are continuing as always, with a constant turnover of performers. There has been no indication that there are any plans to terminate the show and auditions are continuing as normal when vacancies become available.

 

[pwdebbie]

As of yet there has been no official statement from Disney and to be honest, Cast Members are not unduly worried about the future of FOTLK.

Surveys show that FOTLK is one of the most popular venues in the AK, so even if the current location is to be closed, I think it's highly likely that it will simply be relocated. In this event, I doubt there will be any downtime between location moves - that's if it even moves at all.

FOTLK cast are continuing as always, with a constant turnover of performers. There has been no indication that there are any plans to terminate the show and auditions are continuing as normal when vacancies become available.

I fully expect to see FOTLK next April. Yep, that's my plan.

 

[EEs*Mommy]

Thanks for posting. It didn't make sense to me for them to shut down completely. But Disney does not always make sense. We will be there in early Feb and my youngest is very excited to see it for the first time. Even picked a Lion King dress for our AK day. I'm going to hold out hope it's there and deal with it if it isn't.

 

[Merida DunBroch]

I fully expect to see FOTLK next April. Yep, that's my plan.

Concurred. I love FOTLK. If it's gone, well, I *would* deal with it, but AK just wouldn't be the same. It'd be a downgrade for sure. Especially since I'm not particularly into the safaris! :/

 

[wbk]

Since WDWMagic is reporting that the Avatar project has been postponed, does it follow that FOTLK will continue its run? Hope so.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Since WDWMagic is reporting that the Avatar project has been postponed, does it follow that FOTLK will continue its run? Hope so.

I hope so, too! I'm taking DGS8 to WDW in March and I know he would love FOTLK!

 

[DCTooTall]

Since WDWMagic is reporting that the Avatar project has been postponed, does it follow that FOTLK will continue its run? Hope so.

Wow.... talk about a Meta.... A rumor influencing another Rumor, thereby starting a Rumor.


WDWMagic's report that the Avatar project is delayed, is based off a report on another website saying that it's been delayed, which is turn is based off another blog site saying they think it's "been delayed due to creative differences" for the SOLE reason that no concept art has been released yet.

In other words.... It's an EXTREMELY flimsy rumor based purely on speculation and nothing even remotely fact or source based. To be perfectly honest, considering from what I recall hearing Imagineering was surprised by the announcement almost as much as everyone else was, I'm not in the least bit surprised we haven't seen any concept art. A year really isn't that long of a time to go from signing the agreement papers, to getting the creative people together, deciding on a direction to go creatively, working out details as far as a look/feel, getting the concept art of those ideas drawn up and agreed upon, and then releasing said concept art to the public.