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This news broke over the weekend from D23, but there’s only so many stories we want to highlight at a time on That Park Place. So apologies for being a bit late getting to this one:
Walt Disney World Resort is bringing back some of the missing entertainment gone since the pandemic reopening.
First up, Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is returning to its greatly refurbished amphitheater. The show is expected to have a new sequence, likely at the cost of removing the Pocahontas segment that has been part of the narrative. Expect to see this return in Spring of 2022.
“Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” is taking place of the Nemo musical, but it’s more of the same in the same building. WDW Pro has reported the change, while ostensibly to put the show in the Finding Dory timeline, is actually being done to lower the number of required live performers. Still, most guests are unlikely to notice the loss, and the big musical hits from the prior show are returning.
Disney has announced they’re keeping the “cavalcade” mini-parades even when new parades start up. New parades are expected to be smaller than in the past (at least for the remainder of the 50th), so the the cavalcades should help balance that out a bit. Speaking of new parades, there’s still no mention of the nighttime parade Disney had planned for Disney World prior to the pandemic, so there’s a good chance that’s been totally scrapped at this point.
Overall, the return of live performers is a great thing, even if it’s still not going to be at pre-pandemic levels.
That said, Universal Studios Orlando seems to be returning to full live performances a bit faster… but with a string attached. While The Grinch is now meeting fans without a mask on, all performers in Grinchmas are wearing masks, and it does seem a little odd to watch a stage performance in which you can’t see anyone’s facial expressions. But if this is what it takes to get a show fully staffed and performing again, baby steps I suppose:
