BAY LAKE, Fla. – Walt Disney World is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1.
During the World’s Most Magical Celebration, Disney’s Animal Kingdom will debut the all-new daytime show “Disney KiteTails” at the Discovery River Theater.
News 6 recently sat down with one of the creators to hear more about the new show.
See the entire interview above.
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“Disney Kite Tails is a gala performance of color and motion. So, what I mean by that is that our Disney storytelling has the ability to soar like never before,” said Lindsay Vrab, technical director at Disney Live Entertainment. “Our Discovery River Theater at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will come alive throughout the day with dynamic performances, colorful props and kites, some even the size of 30 feet long, as our guests are able to let their imaginations soar along with us.”
Guests will sit in awe as elaborate, three-dimensional kites of Simba, Zazu, King Louie, Baloo and so many more take flight.
“I think when you think about the World’s Most Magical Celebration, you know, what’s more magical than seeing a Disney character or a Disney friend flying in the air above you, right? It goes back, it harkens back to the legacy of Walt Disney and just being able to do new things and keep moving forward and that is something I definitely think we are accomplishing with Disney Kite Tails,” Vrab pointed out.
Some of the kites are described as being 20, to even 30 feet in length.
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“Our soundtrack is a wonderful world beat version of some of your favorite existing Disney soundtracks, so, if you think of the songs that you already know and love from ‘The Lion King,’ from ‘The Jungle Book,’ even from movies like ‘The Little Mermaid.’ They’ve been reimagined in a way that not only fits the show but definitely fits the feel and the theming of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” she said.
Back in August, Disney shared behind-the-scenes video of the kites in action along with testing in different locations.
“We did do a lot of testing for our kites to make sure that not only are they going to fly but that they fly in a way that supports our storytelling. So, we have a large creative team and a large production team that did some flying on land, we’ve obviously been doing some flying on water at the theater. We also went out to the beach for a day to make sure that in windy conditions we could still fly the kites,” Vrab described.
The all-new show will utilize only half of the Disney River Theater. Guests will enter and sit on the theater’s south side closest to Dinoland U.S.A.
“Once you enter the theater, any seat is a good seat but the middle gives you the biggest you know, biggest view of the lagoon,” Vrab explained. “We also have multiple performances throughout the day so if you walk by and you see the kites flying -- it’s OK, there there are more times to see the show. We also have entertainment happening in the house prior to the main event that happens multiple times throughout the day.”
Disney has yet to release the official showtimes for the new show on its calendar beginning Oct. 1., but Vrab commented saying it all depends on when sunset happens.
“It’s like a dream come true so working with this team in particular, on this particular show, it’s, it’s always very exciting to breathe life into something brand new for our guests, and it’s wonderful to be able to collaborate with such creative team members that all brings such, such talent and skill to the table so that we can tell stories in ways that we haven’t done that before,” Vrab concluded.
Click here to learn more about the new show and Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.
To all who come to this happy corner of ClickOrlando.com, welcome! Walt Disney World is counting down to its 50th Anniversary, and so are we. With 50 days until 50 years, we are taking a daily look back at the past, how Disney’s opening shaped Central Florida’s present and a peek at what’s in store for the future.
We’re also looking to hear your memories of Walt Disney World: What do you love? What do you miss? What are some of your magical moments? You can share them with us by sending us an email and we’ll post them all for everyone to enjoy. Some might even be featured during our News 6 TV coverage of Walt Disney World’s 50th.
Here’s to dreaming, and here’s to another half-century of The Most Magical Place on Earth!