Lion King at AK compared to Broadway

[bigAWL]

Our summer vacation has us going to WDW and Washington DC this year. We already have tickets to see the Lion King at the DC Kenedy Center (the broadway show). We'll be going to WDW first. Is it worth it to see The Festival of the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom beforehand? Are they similar? If you've seen them both, can you tell me what are the major differences in the two shows? My girls (4 and 6) enjoy the Lion King movie, but they are not fanatics by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Robo]

Our summer vacation has us going to WDW and Washington DC this year. We already have tickets to see the Lion King at the DC Kenedy Center (the broadway show). We'll be going to WDW first. Is it worth it to see The Festival of the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom beforehand? Are they similar? If you've seen them both, can you tell me what are the major differences in the two shows? My girls (4 and 6) enjoy the Lion King movie, but they are not fanatics by any strech of the imagination.

WDW's FotLK is nothing at all like the Broadway show.

The DAK version is a variety show that features acrobatics, fire-eating, arial ballet, and other "spectacle-type" productions. No telling of the LK story any any way.
The Lion King characters are either elaborate puppets (Pumba and Simba) or walk-around characters (Timon). They are typical "Disney characters."

The Broadway show is a re-creation (re-telling) of the story of the movie.
The characters are portrayed by visible actors who have stylized masks...
not typical "Disney characters" at all.

Both shows feature songs from the film (Broadway offers some new songs, as well) but they are extremely different.

You can enjoy BOTH shows with little "cross-over" in the productions.

 

[Lynne M]

Oh, there's no similarity at all! The only similarity is that they're both inspired by the Lion King movie.

Festival of the Lion King is definitely worth seeing, it's only about 20 minutes long and features an assortment of songs from the movie and acrobatics. Lots of fun.

 

[tinkandpan]

They are very different IMO. The songs are different, and in AK there is no story per se. It is more cirque de soleilesque with acrobats and fire throwers etc. It is more audience participation towards the end as well. It was a terrific show and we all left the AK show thinking that FOTL was worth the price of admission. The Broadway show is terrific as well- you will love them both.

 

[Robo]

Oh, there's no similarity at all! The only similarity is that they're both inspired by the Lion King movie.

Festival of the Lion King is definitely worth seeing, it's only about 20 minutes long and features an assortment of songs from the movie and acrobatics. Lots of fun.

Just to be clear.
The FotLK at DAK lasts 30 minutes.

 

[inmyis]

I've seen both - NY for the broadway show - the Festival is so wonderful, my 16yr old son had to see it 2x in one day. I would not say that for the broadway show. The festival is a true staple in our vacation, we have seen the festival about 8 times in the past 6 months!!

 

[Lynne M]

Just to be clear.
The FotLK at DAK lasts 30 minutes.

Oops, sorry for the misinformation. I'm really bad at guessing times, I should have looked it up.

 

[cissy]

We have seen both as well. Did not take our DD's 4 & 6 to the Broadway show and I am glad we didn't. It had some scary (IMO) parts to it and it was very long. However, the AK show is a lot of fun and was a highlight for our DD's.

But as everyone has said, they are completely different types of entertainment. Don't miss the Nemo and Birds of Flight shows at AK either! HAVE FUN!!

 

[mmorizio]

I also prefer the Festival of the Lion King to the Lion King on Broadway. In fact, I prefer the shows at WDW that do not simply re-tell the story from the movie, but do something new with the music and the characters. That's one of the reasons that FotLK has always been one of my family's favorites.

If you are interested in seeing a few scenes from the show, I have a video that you can watch be clicking the link below. Or you may just want to wait to see it live. Have a wonderful time at WDW.

 

[bigAWL]

Thanks for the info everybody.

We have seen both as well. Did not take our DD's 4 & 6 to the Broadway show and I am glad we didn't. It had some scary (IMO) parts to it and it was very long. However, the AK show is a lot of fun and was a highlight for our DD's.

More scary than in the movie? Maybe more intense due to it being live? Maybe I should prepare my girls a bit. Can you describe the scenes?

Has anyone taken small kids to the broadway show? With positive results?

 

[Manda]

On this last trip, we made it to Festival of the Lion King for the first time. We saw the Broadway show in 2003. I had never read anything about it and made the false assumption that it would be like the stage show I'd seen. I was a little disappointed just because I went in thinking it was something else, but for what it is - it's a good show and worth the time. My four year old DS liked it a lot. I was worried about him going into the show because I think the actual Broadway show would have been a little too dark and intense for him at parts. This was a much better show for him. But I liked the actual musical better.

 

[Manda]

More scary than in the movie? Maybe more intense due to it being live? Maybe I should prepare my girls a bit. Can you describe the scenes?

Has anyone taken small kids to the broadway show? With positive results?

I was pregnant with son when I saw the Broadway show, so I don't have any actual experience with a child there. But my son is pretty sensitive, so I think he would be a little nervous during some of it. I don't think it's really any worse than the movie, except that it's all right there in your face and loud - moreso than watching the DVD at home, ya know? And it's more "real" since it's actual people up there instead of drawings. That being said, if I had the opportunity, I would take him. I'd just make sure to sit next to him with an arm around him so I could sense when he was bothered by something and could chat with him a little. The first 10 or 15 minutes are just amazing and I know he'd love that.

 

[eliza61]

Thanks for the info everybody.



More scary than in the movie? Maybe more intense due to it being live? Maybe I should prepare my girls a bit. Can you describe the scenes?

Has anyone taken small kids to the broadway show? With positive results?

My kids loved the broadway play but we waited until the kids were at least 7 y.o. The hardest part is that it is long and of course entails kids being some what quiet for 2 hours. We took them for the saturday matinee, where there tend to be a lot more kids. My kids didn't think it was scary but it did get sad. Remember Mufasa dies and the play shows that. How small are your kids? On broadway tickets are $100 pp. and they will ask you to remove a kid that is overly loud or can't stay seated for the entire act. There is an intermission. Not sure how it works in DC.

 

[CrazedDisFan]

We did see Lion King in Toronto 5 years ago. It was the highlight of a fantastic weekend. I would love to see it again, however the showings in my area immediately surround a trip to Disney World for us. I just can't justify the expense of show the same time as a Disney trip. (If we didn't have 2 weeks off unpaid from work, it would be fine.)

With that said, FOTK at Animal Kingdom is wonderful. The two are not similar in production styles.

I see no problem in seeing both within the same time frame and if I could, I would be buying tickets for the Broadway version the night before we go to WDW.

 

[babs711]

The Broadway show is truly amazing. I think you can catch some clips of it via youtube.com. The music, the theatrics, the props...everything. It's truly one of the most amazing Broadway shows I've seen. I loved the Festival of the Lion King also. But they're nothing alike. The FotLK is more fun and lighthearted and good for young and older kids. The Broadway show is a broadway show...although colorful and exciting. I have no doubt that my five-year-old son would have done fine. But he was a Lion King nut at the time. It just depends on your particular child.

 

[t_catt11]

I've seen the Broadway show (excellent, by the way), and also seen Festival of the Lion King twice - they are nothing alike. Festival of the Lion King is an absolute can't miss, IMHO.

 

[Luv4Disney]

The show at DAK is one of our faves! We should be seeing The Lion King on Broadway soon (had tickets to see it in November but the strike ruined it for us) so we'll see how we like that one!

 

[SammieG]

i took my 3 yr old son to see the lion King broadway show (well the london version)... which exactly the same as broadway.. and he was bored. He spent most of it lying on the floor in front of the my seat! It was way too old for him.

he wasnt scared, but he is quite brave, but i think there are a few bits like the hyenas that are a lot more scary than the movie.
Its an amazing show.. ive seen it three times, but much darker than the film.

The opening scene itself is worth tha seat price.

We like FOTLK too... but its very different..

 

[jessrose18]

I spent a lot of money on the broadway tickets, and enjoyed the AK version much more! I can't wait to go back and see it.

 

[thumperjr9]

FotLK at Ak is wonderful. I'm sure your girls will love it.