Festival of the Lion King is a theater in the round telling of the story of Disney’s The Lion King. It takes place in the Harambe Theater in the Africa area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The show uses music, dancing, puppetry, visual effects, and acrobatics to come together for a tribal African celebration. This is really a review of the music of The Lion King that shortens the story to around one-half hour.
The way the show is presented is fun in itself. There are four sections that the audience sits in. Each section represents an animal that also has a corresponding host. The four hosts are Kiume (meaning “masculine and strong”), Nakawa (“good-looking”), Kibibi (“princess”), and Zawadi (“the gift”). They lead the four sections that associated with four animals which include giraffe, a warthog, a lion, and elephants. This ends up being a part of the show and there is some audience participation with this.
The show is a wonderful highlight reel of the music of The Lion King and is a lot of fun with the various performers and characters that show up for the celebration. This includes Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa. Together, with the four human hosts, the music of The Lion King comes alive in this immersive and interactive performance.
Fastpasses are available for this show. If you aren’t able to get a Fastpass, there really are no bad seats for this show so just show up a half hour early and you most likely will get into the show.
What do you think of this show? What’s your favorite part? Let us know in the comments below!
