One thing that has been missing since the parks reopened last summer is many of the amazing entertianment offerings. Thankfully, Disney has announced the return of our absolute favorite show at Walt Disney World: The Festival of the Lion King!
From a Disney Cast Member;
Since reopening the Walt Disney World theme parks last July, we’ve taken a different approach to our entertainment, coming up with new ways to share the magic of the Disney characters. With cavalcades and flotillas continuing to delight guests daily, we are now turning our attention to bringing back even more entertainment with a responsible and thoughtful approach.
We are thrilled to be starting the process of bringing back to work more singers, dancers, technicians and other cast members, from one of the most popular shows at Walt Disney World Resort. Expected this summer, the Harambe Theatre at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park will host that fan-favorite troupe of musical storytellers, along with Simba and his friends, in a celebration of the incomparable “Festival of the Lion King.”
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When it returns, “Festival of the Lion King” will be presented in a modified format to be mindful of the current environment. There will be adjustments to the show on stage and backstage, including updates to choreography to allow for appropriate physical distancing. We’ll also adjust how the audience is seated, in line with other theater-based experiences at Walt Disney World Resort.
So, who’s ready to clap along with “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” thrill to the fire knife performance during “Be Prepared,” swoon over “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” and take in the joyous “Circle of Life?” It’s going to be an amazing celebration!
Adventure is out there! And you can go on your own Walt Disney World adventure with this new MagicBand inspired by Pixar’s Up.
This brown MagicBand resembles a wilderness explorer sash.
On one end of the MagicBand, Russell poses with his own Wilderness Explorer sash and Kevin in the background. The other end has several Wilderness Explorer badges, plus the iconic Grape Soda cap as a three-dimensional charm.
Djuan Rivers’ journey as Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has come to an end, as he has announced his retirement.
The news broke from fellow recent retiree, Imagineer Joe Rohde, on his Instagram account, praising Rivers as “a people person, warm, outgoing, plain-spoken and ready to laugh.”
Rivers became Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2014, overseeing projects including Pandora – The World of Avatar and the addition of nighttime offerings to make it a truly full-day park. This is the culmination of an over 30-year tenure with Disney, where he has served in such capacities as General Manager of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Vice President of Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs), Vice President for New Business Development of Disney Parks & Resorts, Vice President of Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii, and Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions for Disneyland Paris.
Planning your 2021 visit to Walt Disney World this January? You’ll want to keep an eye on your My Disney Experience App for the latest update in park hours. The Walt Disney World website currently shows park hours will be reduced for Magic Kingdom and EPCOT beginning this Sunday, January 10. Disney’s Animal Kingdom park hours are reduced beginning Monday, January 11. Disney’s Hollywood Studios park hours aren’t reduced until January 24. As you plan your vacation to the most magic place on earth, here are the current posted park hours for January, February and March.
Magic Kingdom:
January 7 – 9: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 8pm)
January 10 – 23: 9:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
January 24 – 31: 9:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
February 1 – 28: 9:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
March 1 – 20: 9:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
EPCOT:
January 7 – 9: 11:00am to 9:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 9pm)
January 10 – 23: 11:00am to 8:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 8pm)
January 24 – 31: 11:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
February 1 – 28: 11:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
March 1 – 20: 11:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
January 7 – 23: 9:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
January 24 – 31: 10:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
February 1 – 28: 10:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
March 1 – 20: 10:00am to 7:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 7pm)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
January 7 – 10: 8:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
January 11 – 15: 8:00am to 5:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 5pm)
January 16: 8:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
January 17 – 22: 8:00am to 5:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 5pm)
January 23: 8:00am to 6:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 6pm)
January 24 – 31: 9:00am to 5:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 5pm)
February 1 – 28: 9:00am to 5:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 5pm)
March 1 – 20: 9:00am to 5:00pm (Park Hop: 2pm to 5pm)
After four decades of creating memorable Disney Parks experiences, Joe Rohde, one of the most prolific Imagineers is marking his last day at Disney. But on his way out, he left the company a gift.
Joe Rohde shared this picture on his Instagram account, sharing a toast with his family to commemorate the day. He also expressed his ambitions for his life after Disney in the post:
“Well. This is it. I will be just Joe Rohde, creative guy, after today. I still plan to work some, but in new areas and new mediums, and I’d also like to just paint. I heard that the postponed Explorers Club expedition to Nunavut, way up north, is back on, so I can prepare for next August when that will happen. Since November when I announced my retirement from Imagineering, I’ve received lots of very nice congratulations and testimonials from people for whom my work has made a difference. That is gratifying and I’m very thankful to all. People have also warned me about feeling bored by retirement… but I truly have so many deferred projects that I know I cannot complete them all in any rational amount of time I may have. Books. Paintings. Sculptures. Plays. Chores. Expeditions, and time to spend with my wife Melody, whom I met when we were still in school and who has been with me through all of this huge adventure…and with my boys, now grown young men starting their own careers. As much as I have enjoyed my work, and the joy it has brought to so many…my family has always been my first and greatest love. Last night we all got together (only one lives off the Rohde campus right now) we raised our glasses and toasted. .. “Here’s to forty years.”
Meanwhile, Imagineer Zach Riddley shared the gift on his own Instagram account. To cap off his career, Rohde donated his pair of work boots, which he wore on every project he worked on, to The Walt Disney Archives. Riddley also mused on Rohde’s impact, sharing:
“Joe Rohde is many things – painter, historian, conservationist, Imagineer, mentor and – most meaningfully – a friend. And that friendship goes to my first days at Imagineering. I met Joe like so many – in the midst of a project. He and his team were working on the design that would become Expedition Everest. My first meeting with Joe he pulled out a clay model he was sculpting to show the team how the rock work of the mountain would be positioned, leading and teaching while his hands moved the clay around the wireframe of the mountain, balancing craft and budget in each movement. In that moment it was clear to me what made Joe such a special Imagineer – leading a creative effort with both sides of his brain at once.
In the years since I have shared many meetings and personal conversations with Joe. He always made time to connect and discuss our work and our world – and I left every one of those conversations with a greater appreciation for what our work brings to the world. And greater respect for what it means to lead teams by example.
Joe always followed his projects to the field. He led from concept to opening day, and fun fact that I learned just recently – Joe wore the same work boots for ALL of his projects, he’d just resole them when needed. That’s what you see in the pictures here – with names of each completed project scribbled on the side, capturing history in the making.
Joe has donated these boots – that touched the ground during some of our most iconic endeavors – to the Walt Disney Archives. They will preserve these boots for future generations of Disney Imagineers, fans and historians.
Thank you Joe for teaching us how to be better stewards of this world and how to create experiences that entertain, educate and inspire. No one can fill your boots, but we are ready to continue the legacy of curiosity and courage that defines your designs and teams.
I can’t wait to see what you do next my friend.”
Thanks to a close up, we can see some of the projects written on the boots, including EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion, Pleasure Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and related projects Asia, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, Expedition Everest and Pandora: The World of Avatar, as well as Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii.
