Any ideas why Lion King is in CMM?

[walt-sent-me]

My family and I saw Festival of the Lion King not long after it opened in AKP. In fact I seem to remember that is was not an enclosed theater, though the structure that is there now provided roofing and a performance space. Does anyone know why they chose Camp Minnie-Mickey instead of Africa to place the FOTLK show? Was it because they needed a draw to that area of the park? Do you think having that show there creates a problem for re-themeing that area into a different land....as some of you seem to think Beastly Kingdom ought to go there?

 

[Monty]

I suspect it was available, convenient space.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I believe it goes back to the so called area known as "Beastly Kingdom." (For more information about BK, use the search tool or check online.) Anyway, Camp Minnie Mickey was meant to be a temporary area, a "place holder" if you will until the much more elaborate phase two Beastly Kingdom area opened. BK was suppossed to be where CMM is today.

Anyway, Festival of the Lion King was meant to be a temporary show for this temporary land. CMM, while only meant to be temporary, still needed some kind of attraction to get people into the area. FotLK was the answer. Little did Disney know it would become so popular with guests. In fact, the show first debuted in an open stage area (it had a roof, but wasn't completely enclosed). As the show gained popularity, the stage area was enclosed and new seating was added. I'm sure Disney realized that a locatin closer to Africa would be more fitting for the show's context, but for now, its doing its job by bringing people over to CMM.

 

[krankenstein]

I heard it was meant to be temporary just like CMM. After BK was cut they needed to add attractions to the park to give guests more to do. The show was kind of thrown together, utilizing the floats from the old Lion King parade at DL. It added an additional, cheap attraction to a park that needed it. Once the park opened the show proved to be hugely popular, hence why the theater was later enclosed.

Edit: hpyhnt1000 beat me to it.

 

[walt-sent-me]

I didn't know that the set pieces were parade floats from DL. that's interesting to find out...thanks krankenstein. But do you guys think having the show there now foils plans to make that area BK as so many people believe it will someday be? I was at the show on August 1st and thought it was up-to-snuff. The aerial piece for "Can You Feel" seemed especially well executed. Following the show one of the ushers escorted a few people backstage, and I wondered if maybe it was the female's last performance. Off topic, I know. If the show had to be relocated to Africa to redo the area as a new land, where could the show possibly be moved to...is there room without setting it down in the middle of the safari? Now that would be something.

 

[darthjohnny]

The Festival of the Lion King is almost like a campfire jamboree in a sense. So I think it works in Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Plus, back when Animal Kingdom opened, CMM was pretty much where the Disney character attractions were. I can imagine a ton of people complaining that if Festival of the Lion King was ever put in Africa, that they would be complaining that character themed attractions don't belong in that land.

 

[Jasonflz]

They can always move it to the Theater In The Wild in future years. Speaking of which, why is that in Dinoland?

 

[BuzzComplexCM]

They can always move it to the Theater In The Wild in future years. Speaking of which, why is that in Dinoland?

I was just going touch on that too. I work at Finding Nemo -The Musical and I always wondered why that was in Dinoland. I guess it pretty much comes down to where they have the space and what they have the greenlight on.

When I work the attraction, the outside positions, I also love when the guests ask me, "Where is Dinoland?" I have to bite my tounge from saying, "Dude, you're in it!"

 

[hardcard]

To clarify... Camp Minnie Mickey was designed as a TEMPORARY area.. it's fate has been akin to the toon town area in MK.. FOTLK was supposed to be a temp show, and the theater was built as such.... A few years after AK was built, and it was obvious that FOTLK was not going anywhere fast, they enclosed the building, upgraded the cooling and A/C systems for the structure, and installed a bigger sound and light system in the newly enhanced structure..

Camp Minnie mickey resides in the previously-planned-to-be-entrance-for-beastly-kingdom..

With the closing of Pocahontas, and a few other changes in Camp Minnie-Mickey, I anticipate we'll see a huge renovation/expansion of this area... I'm sure FOTLK will be included in these plans, and perhaps even a little attraction called Journey to the Center of the Earth..


Just my 2 cents..

 

[kcw]

Following the show one of the ushers escorted a few people backstage, and I wondered if maybe it was the female's last performance.

Were those people sitting in one of the front rows? Most likely they just knew someone in the show, so they were going meet up with them and take pictures or whatever. Any performer can have guests like that, it doesn't need to be their last day or anything

I can imagine a ton of people complaining that if Festival of the Lion King was ever put in Africa, that they would be complaining that character themed attractions don't belong in that land.

Most likely, if they ever moved FOLK in order to make room for BK, the character greetings wouldn't go with it. They're pretty much just space fillers, and there's plenty of other places in the park they could throw characters

 

[darthjohnny]

Most likely, if they ever moved FOLK in order to make room for BK, the character greetings wouldn't go with it. They're pretty much just space fillers, and there's plenty of other places in the park they could throw characters

I was just refering to the show, not the character greetings.

 

[walt-sent-me]

Yes, we were there when the theater was open-aired...and I recall it being hot - probably due to there not being air conditioning. (We thought that too about Chester and Hester's - or vice versa - over in Dinoland which is still not air conditioned.)

I don't know how they would make FOTLK fit into the Beastly Kingdom idea, but as one responder commented - what does Finding Nemo have to do with Dinoland? Of course, beast could be interpreted as lion and there ya have it. It just doesn't fit with the images I'd have in my mind as far as Beastly Kingdom goes.

 

[Jasonflz]

FOTLK could be moved to Africa as someone else said.

 

[4 Park Central]

They can always move it to the Theater In The Wild in future years. Speaking of which, why is that in Dinoland?

This one is actually kinda interesting - if you ask anyone that worked on the DAK project you will be told that it isn't technically in DinoLand. Originally Theater in the Wild was to be the only flexible theater space that could show non-animal productions and from a master planning POV that was the best spot for it. However it needed to go on the guide maps as part of DinoLand.

 

[4 Park Central]

My family and I saw Festival of the Lion King not long after it opened in AKP. In fact I seem to remember that is was not an enclosed theater, though the structure that is there now provided roofing and a performance space. Does anyone know why they chose Camp Minnie-Mickey instead of Africa to place the FOTLK show? Was it because they needed a draw to that area of the park? Do you think having that show there creates a problem for re-themeing that area into a different land....as some of you seem to think Beastly Kingdom ought to go there?

Actually this spins off of a thread that I created:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=337318

I had always believed that to be correct but that Tales from the Laughing Place magazine interview with Rohde said the following:

"Just as Dino-Rama! satisfied the need for humor Camp Minnie-Mickey provided an appropriate home for the Fab Five and their friends. The five-acre land was conceived DURING CONSTRUCTION as it became quickly apparent that attendance had been under-projected and that it would be inappropriate to locate Mickey and Minnie in any other land of the park. The district was originally designed as a bridge between Safari Village and the planned-but-never-approved mythical and legendary creatures' area (the oft-cited Beastly Kingdomme). Therefore the architectural reference of the Camp needed to also link in the two lands and the imagineers settled for an Adirondacks-themed concept (the upstate New York region is immensely popular for hiking and recreation on its 3,000 lakes). The land also doubled the park's entertainment offering with Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends and the Festival of the Lion King."

Basically Joe said that Camp Minnie-Mickey wasn't temporary.