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Health & Fitness

Walt Disney World Entertainment - My Review

Or "what I did on my summer vacation"

I don't recall which Walt Disney World guide book included the opinion that one could buy a ticket to a Disney Park and have a great day without ever getting on a ride. The implication is that there is enough dining, shopping and entertainment on the property to get your money's worth. While I would never skip the rides altogether (and I even go on some rides that I would never set foot on outside of WDW because I don't want to miss out,) I would have to agree that the live entertainment is well-worth the time that guests need to invest in seeing all of them. Everything mentioned in this blog is included in the (expensive) price of a ticket and I have included information gleaned from various Disney websites.

The show I wouldn't miss during previous visits to Animal Kingdom was Festival of the Lion King. Billed as being as "big as Broadway," the theater in the round space is filled with the jungle and most of the characters of the beloved film, as well as four wonderful singers in magnificent costumes that lead each of the four sections of the audience. "A kaleidoscope of colors floods the stage with colossal puppets, dazzling dancers, regal stilt walkers and thrilling acrobats" makes for more of a pageant than a show with a storyline, and it clearly can't compete with seeing The Lion King on Broadway, but it definitely is thirty minutes of fun in an air-conditioned theater.

On my most recent trip, I tried to see every one of the live productions and I dragged the teen along. In Disney's Hollywood Studios, we went to see Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage in an outdoor but covered theater. The “tale as old as time” in this lush stage performance featured human characters dancing in beautiful costumes and many characters in Disney-style character costumes. This production features some of the beloved vocal talents from the hit film. Vocal performances by Robby Benson as the Beast, Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts and Jerry Orbach as Lumiere add a special touch to this elegant musical production. Only two of the actors wore a microphone; most were lip-synching. It hits the highlights of the story and is the perfect length for young ones.

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My son the keyboard player insisted that we stop on Main Street to watch Casey's Corner pianist. This playful pianist bedazzles you on a mirrored piano with his impressive repertoire. JAMMitors at Future World East in Epcot are four guys playing on metal garbage cans. This faux clean-up crew in crazy hats breaks it down as they drum with some unlikely utensils and my young drummer tried them out as they were packing up. When he was done, some tourists applauded and one of the JAMMitors said "You're hired." Talk about a dream job.

Some interactive shows are billed as rides although one simply sits in the theater. "Turtle Talk with Crush" in Epcot's The Living Seas is an intimate 15-minute conversation that is a chance for kids to ask a question of the righteous turtle. "Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor" is placed rather arbitrarily in Futureworld in the Magic Kingdom. Since the atmosphere in the comedy club is very improvisational, each show is a slightly different experience. In true comedy-club style, the comics love to engage the audience, so there is a good chance that one may become part of the show, as we did both times we attended. An added value of this show is that guests can text their favorite joke before the lights go down and it could be used in the show!

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We saw two different performances of Streetmosphere groups of actors in Hollywood Studios and during one of them, one of the actresses riffed on the shorts my son was wearing. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough to be the first young person to answer a trivia question and win a dream Fastpass. We had to admire the performers working in the Florida heat in full costume and wigs. Also working in the sun in the Italy section of World Showcase is an improv group called the Ziti Sisters—a comedy troupe of five women dressed in vibrant red costumes who share the culture of Italy through their music, dance and flamboyant humor. Over in England, we enjoyed a band playing lots of Beatles covers in a gazebo amid the gardens.

The nighttime spectacular "Fantasmic" was as impressive and crowded as ever and "IllumiNations Reflections of Earth" around World Showcase in Epcot doesn't include a single Disney character and never gets old. Nor does the brightness of the vintage "Electrical Parade" in the Magic Kingdom. The fireworks in the Magic Kingdom are called "Wishes" and includes a human Tinker Bell that flies above the crowd.

"Flights of Wonder" in Animal Kingdom is an impressive bird show that we saw for the first time and enjoyed both the aviary and human members of the cast. "The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!" gives a behind the scenes look at the life of stunt performers and includes lots of  fire in the process. "Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps" in front of the American Adventure in World Showcase reminded us of New England and the a capella concert of the eight-member "Voices of Liberty" under the dome of  the colonial building impressed the Chamber Singer next to me. We also stopped to hear several live musical performers of widely different genres scattered throughout Downtown Disney while walking to the video game heaven that is DisneyQuest.

We went to enjoy The Voyage of the Little Mermaid in her own indoor theater in Hollywood Studios twice, but the second time was to take refuge during of a severe thunderstorm. This 15-minute version of the movie follows her adventures as it recreates selections from the Disney animated classic, using large and colorful puppets, live performers, special effects and movie clips. Like Beauty and the Beast-Live, if one knows the movie, one can follow along easily enough. The best parts of this show include when it rains in the theater, the black light puppetry, the huge Ursula puppet and the effects with lasers and humidity to make you feel like you are "Under the Sea."

My new favorite is a show that I saw for the first time. Finding Nemo - The Musical is based on the hit award-winning Disney•Pixar animated movie. It stays true to the plot of  the heart-tugging tale of the overprotective clownfish father Marlin searching for his lost son and retains the humor, the heart and the beloved characters like Dorrie and Crush. What it adds are original musical numbers that take their cue from lines from the movie including "Just Keep Swimming" and "Go with the Flow."

Finding Nemo - the Musical involves a number of Broadway's best. Did I mention that the 14 original songs were composed by Robert Lopez, who won the Tony Award for Avenue Q, and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote the a cappella musical Along the Way? (This is the first time that Disney has taken a non-musical animated feature and transformed it into an original musical production.) Tony Award-winning director Peter Brosius directed it, with Michael Curry, who designed puppets for Disney's successful stage version of The Lion King, serving as leading puppet and production designer.

Performed on a stage flanked by big bubbles, the musical numbers shimmer with wondrous underwater effects created with innovative lighting, dynamic props and animated projections. Real bubbles fall from the ceiling of the theater and huge jellyfish puppets appear in the aisles. The turtle Crush is a puppet the size of a VW Bug, and the head of the 22 foot tall pelican Nigel nearly reaches the roof.

The puppeteers are cleverly camouflaged, yet they deliver outstanding performances in concert with their colorful cohorts. The characters come to life through an array of puppetry styles, including rod, bunraku and shadow. In the style of Avenue Q, they act and sing along with the puppets, but these are pretty special puppets....and actors.

Anne Hamburger, executive vice president of Creative Entertainment for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, calls the Nemo performers "quadruple threats." "Not only do they act, sing, and dance," she says, "but they have become expert puppeteers. It's quite an accomplishment."

I guess I forgot where I was for a second when I gave the performers a standing ovation at their curtain call. I was pleased to see that Disney allowed the crowd to acknowledge the hard work of this amazing cast; without a program, I am unable to credit them by name.

Some of the youngest members of the vacation audience did not make it to the end of the 40 minutes, but vigilant and spotlighted ushers helped them to leave at times when they would not interfere with the performance that was taking place around the theater. I recommend going to the earliest performance of the day when there were some empty seats available at the end of the rows; the later shows are uncomfortably packed. But do not miss it!
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