Festival of the Lion King to close in January

[DCTooTall]

Darn Avatarland. For some reason I've always thought it was universal who did attractions like this- un disney related lol. I'm excited for avatarland, of course, but what about FotLK?!?!?! lol

Wwweeeeeelllllllllllllll.... To open up that can of worms, Even if you give credit to all the Pixar movies created when Disney's only real relationship with the company was the film's distributor...

Some attractions based off properties that have no connection to Disney outside the parks:

Star Tours (And Star Wars Weekends)
Indiana Jones (Stunt show in Florida, Ride in Cali)
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Multiple movies within the Great Movie Ride
Muppet 4-D (Now a Disney Property, but the Muppets were still Jim Henson when the show was introduced)
Power Rangers (Since Discontinued)
Teenage Mutant ninja Turtles (Also Discontinued)


.... Disney has just as much of a history of using Licensed properties within their parks as Universal. In Fact, I'd almost be willing to say their history of doing so pre-dates Universal's since Star Tours was introduced in the mid-80's. [Before Universal Florida, and I believe hollywood at that time still featured only things with direct Universal ties, but I could be wrong]


The Moral of this story? This isn't the first time Disney has used an outside IP within the parks.... and for the most part, They've had a pretty impressive track record of creating quality attractions with that IP.

 

[cigar95]

And for the first 20 years or so of Disneyland, existing Disney properties were mostly limited to Fantasyland. Some things, like Pirates and Haunted Mansion, were original developments that eventually came to be associated as "Disney". Others, like Tom Sawyer Island, came from other sources.

The idea of everything built in the parks being a tie-in to an already-existing Disney franchise is a fairly recent phenomenon.

 

[Robo]

You *are* going to tell us, right?

But then, where would I get to sit?


You can figure out the show's "center-point/focal point" if you just take a moment to think about it.

 

[ashleyrm]

Well, I'm glad I found out that they are planning on closing FoTLK in December for (hopefully) a hiatus. What will those tumble monkeys do with all that free time?

Seriously, am headed down next week for a quick three day solo trip and may have to go see it 2 or 3 times to get me through the shut down. My all time favorite show!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Well I know one thing I'll be doing in AK on my Nov. trip now. Seeing FOTLK.

I really like that show and hope they will bring it back to AK someday.

 

[Royal Consort]

I had to SIT through Avatar, now they want me to WALK through it?!


I think it's a James Cameron thing. I didn't enjoy Titanic.
I'm sure Disney will do a great job, it just doesn't capture my attention as a franchise. Best of luck to them though.

 

[mickeyspal07]

Man, that's strike 2 for Avatarland in my book.

I'm with you

 

[chefmb]

I just gasped when I read the title of this thread. FOTLK is one of my all time favorites! I am glad I'll have a chance to see it in December! I hope they do relocate it.

 

[Bellabully]

Sad, I haven't made it to the show ever and planned on seeing it in April. Here's hoping for a postponement or delay of some sort

 

[Starclassic]

This is my absolute favorite WDW show and we're going in February...

 

[mickeyspal07]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I just don't get the Avatar thing.

I'm pretty sure your in the majority here I just don't understand what compelled them to do this 1. It's definitely NOT a children's movie 2. It hasn't stood "the test of time" for ex. star wars has been around for like 20-30 years, it has a strong fan base and probably will for quite a while, whereas avatar has been around for 4 years and has nowhere near the fan base of star wars. 3. AND THEIR TAKING MY LION KING AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!! I know their rebuilding it but who knows how long that will take

 

[Micca]

I have a feeling this show is too popular to just shut down. Maybe for a short time? I'm no Avatar fan, but I do have a bit of Lion King burnout. Maybe they could freshen the show just a bit. Last few times I thought the costumes could use a refresh.

Seriously, I don't think there's much to worry about. They can't just ditch the Lion King. It's a huge gem in the Disney crown.

 

[bytheblood]

This is such sad news! I love Festival of The Lion King!! What does Avatar have to do with Disney anyway??

I agree.

 

[everythingALICE]

So disappointed! Going in early January and really hoping that it's still up and running when we visit. This show is great - I don't understand why they don't just wait until the new spot is ready to shut that venue down? It seems Avatarland has been in the works for while now, you'd think they could have gotten a jump on relocating FOTLK.

 

[Jubilee]

I'm pretty sick of FOTLK as I can probably recite it all by heart, but it has a great energy to it and my kids love it. That said, while I liked the movie Avatar, I don't think this is a good idea at all. I already barely get to AK throughout the year and this won't persuade me whatsoever.

Back to the drawing board, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyNic]

I just gasped when I read the title of this thread. FOTLK is one of my all time favorites! I am glad I'll have a chance to see it in December! I hope they do relocate it.

I did, too! I love FOTLK. It is on the top of our list of things that my mom and I want to show my sisters in September.

 

[PDJPrinceCharming]

It's a shame to lose FOTLK as it's always an enjoyable show. But honestly it's my second favorite in AK. Now if we lost Nemo instead, there would be problems.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

I'm glad I stumbled on this post. We will be there in 6 days so I guess I'll make sure we don't miss it. My 2 youngest have only seen it once.

 

[Orreed]

I am a bit surprised by this. Animal Kingdom has less offerings than the other parks. I would think they would build a new theater before they closed this one.

 

[pigletto]

I had to SIT through Avatar, now they want me to WALK through it?!