One of my favorite topics of all – live Disney musicals! I love musicals. I’m a theater person, so I enjoy performing in them and watching them, especially when they’re Disney related. So I knew this was going to be a tough one to decide.
Kill: The American Idol Experience
It’s fine, but I have no strong desire to go back and see it. I liked Who Wants to be a Millionaire better, so I was sad to see that go. And I feel like American Idol has reached its peak and is now on the decline, so I’m guessing it won’t be too long before it feels outdated and irrelevant.
Refurb: Finding Nemo – The Musical
I definitely enjoy Finding Nemo. But there are certainly some things that I think could be improved here. For one, I think the show is a little long at 45 minutes. I would shorten it to half an hour. The music is also good but not great. Some of the songs are very good and some are just forgettable, so maybe replacing a few songs would spice it up a little. It’s not something I feel like I have to do every time I go, but I enjoyed it the two times I did see it.
Marry: Beauty and the Beast and Festival of the Lion King
I’m going with polygamy for this one. After all, if I love two things, who’s to judge and say I can’t marry them both? Beauty and the Beast is a classic. It’s like a mini version of the movie put into a 30 minute Broadway style show. It’s one of my favorite movies and they do such a good job with it. Something that really struck me when I went to Disney with someone who was going for the first time – by the end of our trip I think he was a little jaded /tired with Disney by having to wait in lines for everything. But then we went to see Beauty and the Beast, and it renewed the Disney magic for him. He said, “That was amazing. That’s really what I thought Disney would be about.” There’s something about that show that really has the Disney magic.
And then there’s Festival of the Lion King. Now, this is another one of my favorite movies but it’s very different from the Beauty and the Beast show. It has fantastic music in it, which helps. But the acts are just so cool! We love watching the Cirque du Soleil style stuff, and this is almost like a mini Cirque performance. How cool is it that you get to see acrobats, fire twirlers, and more all included with your park ticket price? I love the unique direction they took with this show and I think it’s really something special.
Do you agree or disagree with me? Which live performances would you kill, refurb, and marry?
It always confused me why Disney added Idol. It’s not popular anymore, it doesn’t make for a particularly inventive or even entertaining theme park experience, and Disney doesn’t own it so they don’t get synergistic promotion out of it. So….why? Millionaire was so much more fun! Plus it drew the locals in. Even if the TV show itself declined in popularity, it was still a great interactive experience! And everyone could be part of it, not just the three people who could kind of sing in the park that day. I think it would be cool if they brought it back but replaced the questions with nothing but Disney trivia…but maybe that’s because I would finally get to the 32,000 mark.
Oh my gosh, a Disney trivia version of Millionaire would be epic! And you make a lot of good points – Idol just doesn’t seem to work for Disney and I’m looking forward to them replacing it with something else someday.
I’m right with you on American Idol; I’d argue it was past its prime when the show opened. It’s funny to see you having Beauty and the Beast under Marry. That one seems to be on both ends of the spectrum for a lot of people.
I know, I was sad to see Beauty and the Beast getting killed! But it’s very special to me.
Nothing wrong with polygamy, lol (Watches behind me for haters waiting to attack)!
But yeah, the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast shows are epic! Now if they can only make a Disney live production of “Les Miserables”, then we’re all set!
It’s okay, I’ll back you up on the polygamy front 😉 And oh my lord, a Disney version of Les Miserables – now I would love to see that!
Polygamists unite, lol!
“Quasimodo, at last, we see each other plain. Monsiur Bellringer, you wear a different chaiiinnnn…..”
Kill: Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Ugh, I can’t stand this one. I find the talent substandard and I think it’s an embarrassment in a park with a show as amazing as BATB.
Refurb: Nemo. I agree they should cut songs or refurb it by making it a puppetry revue, with puppets/songs from other animal-centric Disney/Pixar movies. It’s too long and boring for me the way it is.
Marry: Beauty and the Beast. This is by far my favorite live show in Disney. The costumes, talent, and choreography are amazing. I love the music!
I’m right there with you – in fact, I completely forgot about Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I agree with you and there’s a good chance I would’ve killed that one if I had remembered it.
Idol is WELL in its decline. I barely even gave it a thought as I worked on this post.
Also, since this is half my show, I’m totally legitimizing your polyamorous relationship.
Haha thank you for the legitimization! I know there are talks of a huge overhaul of DHS so Idol better be in that category!