The late, great Walt Disney, one of the most influential artists of all time, continues to shape popular culture 58 years after his passing. His creative legacy is everywhere—in Disney’s animated and live-action films, TV shows that captivate on screens big and small, the rides and attractions of Disney Parks, and on theatrical stages worldwide, where Disney on Broadway has become synonymous with musicals both comforting in their familiarity and bold in their theatricality.
Disney has been creating Broadway shows for just 30 years (current smashes: Aladdin and The Lion King), but a visit to Walt Disney World confirms that theatricality has always been part of the 100-year-old company's DNA.
Some of the earliest attractions Disney himself created are pure theatrical magic—like the Carousel of Progress he designed for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, billed as the “longest-running theatrical production in the world.” This ride guides audiences through a nostalgic journey with an audio-animatronic family in the early 1900s, 1920s, 1940s and today. Equally iconic are the blissfully escapist treats It’s a Small World and the Enchanted Tiki Room—all three feature original songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers of Mary Poppins fame.
Even Disney’s newer attractions—while undoubtedly more outwardly “thrilling” than these midcentury classics—are never straightforward carnival rides. Like any great stage production, the best attractions combine unforgettable characters, stunning design elements and emotional resonance. When those elements come together in modern roller coaster hits like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle/Run, the effect is dazzling and, in their way, unexpected high art. It's no wonder these must-see experiences bring fans back to the parks repeatedly.
Every winter since 2017, the artful legacy of Disney is celebrated at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, running through February 24 at Walt Disney World. This popular destination brings together artists and Disney fans for interactive art attractions, creative photo ops, animation classes from pros, colorful cuisine options, meet-the-artist storefronts and—maybe best of all—the Disney on Broadway Concert Series, featuring a starry lineup of Broadway headliners performing favorite Disney musical theater songs.
“This feels like the Super Bowl of Disney on Broadway,” says Jelani Remy, a former Lion King and recent Back to the Future star, who is performing alongside Frozen alum Caissie Levy, the Olivier-nominated star of Next to Normal, in the series through January 30. “It’s a truly magnificent event for the fans, but also for us.”
The series features many more delightful Disney star pairings—Patti Murin and John Riddle, Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) and Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King), Michael James Scott (Aladdin) and Kissy Simmons (The Lion King), and finally, Rodney Ingram (Aladdin) and Kara Lindsay (Newsies). This lineup offers a chance to see beloved Disney songs performed by the actors who brought them to life on stage—and perhaps to hear a few unexpected gems as well.
With these incredible performers headlining over the next four weeks, Walt Disney World feels more Broadway than ever. But park-goers can always enjoy a variety of musical theater offerings. In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!, a charming 25-minute musical adaptation of the Pixar classic by Frozen’s Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, features wonderful puppetry and heartfelt tunes (as well as Broadway vets including Jared Bradshaw, Grant Norman and Lindsay Northen). Also in the park, Festival of the Lion King presents a revue-style celebration of The Lion King with live singing, acrobatics and puppetry.
At the nearby Disney Springs, the original Cirque du Soleil show Drawn to Life offers an unexpectedly moving exploration of animation as an art form, blending Disney’s iconic artistry with jaw-dropping Cirque performance elements. This collaboration celebrates the timeless magic of Disney storytelling, redefining how you view a pencil or a scrap of paper on an artist's desk.
Back at EPCOT, the Disney on Broadway Concert Series stars perform three 30-minute shows per night on the open-air stage of the America Gardens Theatre in the American Adventure Pavilion, offering ample opportunities to expose Disney's stage magic to new audiences strolling through the countries of EPCOT.
“You know, these Disney songs… they’re bangers!” laughs Patti Murin, Broadway’s original Anna in Frozen. “They’re powerful songs, so it’s a big sing, but we really do get a lot of time to rest, recuperate and take care of ourselves, too.”
Michael James Scott, an Orlando native who takes a leave from his nine-year run as the Genie in Aladdin every year for the series, agrees. “We’re giving you the best of Disney on Broadway! So it’s like eleven-o’clock number after eleven-o’clock number. And we start our shows at 5:30PM… for theater folk, that’s early! It’s a real shift for us vocally, physically and how we prepare.”
Both Levy and Murin—Broadway’s iconic Frozen princess duo—have made the Festival of the Arts an annual vacation with their husbands and kids, mixing showtimes with family time.
“We got to meet Elsa and Anna in Norway yesterday,” Levy shares. “My son can’t help himself. He’s so proud of his mom for being the original Elsa on Broadway that he tells everyone, including Elsa and Anna in Norway. They knew already, but they stayed in character beautifully!”
Many of the original costumes that stars like Levy and Scott wore on Broadway are on display at Once Upon a Stage: 30 Years of Disney on Broadway, an exhibit that is also part of this year's Festival of the Arts. The beautifully curated event also features puppets, set models, props and information on indispensable behind-the-scenes players like Aladdin tailor Maria Sanchez and quick-change dresser Ritchy McFadden Cauldwell.
"I’ve been begging to come to this festival,” says John Riddle, who memorably played Hans in Frozen. He had to turn down a previous invite because he had just started a run as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. “I was like, ‘Can I go to Disney?’ And they were like, ‘Are you crazy?’"
After a late-night rehearsal at EPCOT, Riddle shares he found himself marveling at the surreal beauty of Spaceship Earth illuminated in the stillness of the park. “Can you believe this is our work right now? Walking through EPCOT at two in the morning? It feels pretty cool.”
For performers and fans alike, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is a testament to Disney’s enduring ability to merge magic, art and theater. It's clear that Walt Disney’s creative legacy continues to dazzle and inspire on every stage imaginable.
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