This is my favorite show at Disney World and one of my favorite attractions. I've seen it many times and would be very sad to see it go. As a birder I am very interested in seeing the different birds from around the world and I do think that repeatability is pretty good as the birds regularly change and every show can be a little bit different. My wife and I saw it again yesterday (I wasn't kidding that we like this show) and one of the white doves came back when the Harris Hawk was flying over the audience, which was pretty dangerous so the CM kept telling it to go away, which was funny. Even the same birds change over time; I've seen Baby Elvis, the King Vulture that Guano Joe wants to land on his finger, grow up in the last couple of years and change its plumage from black to white. They'll soon have to find another baby bird, because it now has most of its adult plumage.
At the end of the show yesterday they asked some of the audience to stay to have a new bird get used to the crowd. I've seen this a few times; they play part of the intro music and a bird comes out and has to fly or walk somewhere and then go back stage. Yesterday it was a Violaceous Turaco and they are teaching it to come out of a hole, fly up to the wall on the right, then fly back to the left and go into another hole. The first time it came out it flew straight into the hole, skipping the wall. The CM explained that they only use positive reinforcement to train the birds, so when it went straight into the hole it still got a treat, but only some dry pellets, which is not its favorite. After a reset they tried again and this time the Turaco did the right thing, so it got a nice plate of papaya and other fruits after disappearing in the hole. I love seeing these things.
I would be surprised to see them still training new birds if the show would close at the end of the year. I am wondering if the show will be renamed and changed now that the park has a new ride with a very similar name. I can imagine that guests may get confused between
Flight of Passage and
Flights of Wonder.
They also recently refurbished the theater, adding the new roof. The front still looks weird and unfinished though, with the large brown blocks. Maybe they'll make a new entrance with the new name of the show? I don't mind if they change the story, as it's been the same now for so long, but I'm really hoping that it will remain a bird show.
There's a couple of Guano Joe's that they use, with this guy being the best, IMO
I absolutely agree, this Guana Joe is the best! We always hope to see him when we're there.
He is my favorite cast member along with this Eric the Historian:
