Everyone has a favorite Disney Parks show. Maybe you’re consistently wowed by Indiana Jones’ explosive stunt spectacular, or maybe Belle’s over-glittered ballgown gives you nostalgic 90s flashbacks during the finale of Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage!. Perhaps you have a special fondness for the princess power ballads of Mickey and the Magical Map or have gained a new appreciation for the calming lotus floats of Rivers of Light.
Whatever your preference, the point of these rankings isn’t to tell you what your favorite Disney show is or should be. It’s to determine which Disney Parks production does the best job of combining innovation, special effects, and longevity. Will it be the phenomenally-crafted Frozen – Live at the Hyperion or the eternally-popular Festival of the Lion King? What about the endearing puppetry of Finding Nemo – The Musical? Let’s find out.
(Note: A few parameters were applied to these rankings: Shows are only listed from Disneyland or Walt Disney World and all feature live players. Those that depend heavily on character/audience interactions (Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple), exclusively feature Audio-Animatronics (Country Bear Jamboree), or lack a clear storyline (fireworks and parades) have been omitted, as they’re too different to compare fairly. These rankings solely reflect the opinions of the author and do not represent those of Theme Park Tourist.)
14. Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire (Magic Kingdom)
Image: Diana Kelly, Flickr (license)
Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire is fine for what it is—a simple stage show that spotlights the latest Disney princesses with a song and a dance—but it’s not breaking any new ground or showcasing any special effects we haven’t seen before. And it’s not going to stick around as a permanent feature of Disney entertainment, either… at least, not if it goes the way of Dream Along with Mickey.
13. Rivers of Light (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
Image: Disney
Perhaps part of the problem with this show is that it was hyped up for so long before it made its debut. It’s not a bad show, per se, but simply the victim of high expectations. That said, it does get a few things right, making creative use of luminescent lotus floats and vivid water projections to achieve a kind of Fantasmic!/World of Color hybrid. Like Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire, however, it’s difficult to see this becoming a can’t-miss classic.
12. Red Car Trolley News Boys (Disney California Adventure)
Image: Jeff Kern, Flickr (license)
Speaking of creative shows, this little homage to turn-of-the-century newsboys is as original as they come. The seven-member cast utilizes one of the Red Car Trolley ride vehicles to set the stage, further grounding the show on Buena Vista Street as they transport guests to California’s Roaring Twenties (through period-specific songs and dances, that is, not magical ride vehicles). While the newsies’ musical revue and acrobatic dance moves are impressive, there’s little to suggest that this is the best Disney has to offer. The News Boys may be fixed characters in Disney California Adventure for years to come, but the small scope of the show and lack of special effects leaves them toward the bottom of this list.
11. Voyage of the Little Mermaid (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Those who grew up watching this production will undoubtedly return to it with rose-colored glasses. On the surface, it’s an engaging stage show with impressive effects (like a 12-foot-tall Ursula puppet) and may even stretch its lifeline further than the 26 years it’s already racked up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The only issue here? The entire show feels a little dated, especially given the 3-D and CGI capabilities of Disney’s other productions.
10. Storytelling at the Royal Theatre (Disneyland Resort)
While the Royal Theatre alternates two different shows per day—currently, it’s Beauty and the Beast and Tangled—we’ll lump them in together for this list. There’s not much to see in the way of special effects, but repertory players Smythe and Jones combine candid humor with innovative reenactments that are enhanced, rather than hampered, by their minimal set design and prop usage. It’s also a fairly flexible setup than can be easily changed to feature the newest Disney princesses; for example, the Royal Theatre offered a limited-time engagement for the stage show Frozen in 2015.
9. Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage! (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
There’s something undeniably fun about Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage!. Perhaps it’s the peak 1990s feel—the show doesn’t look like it’s received a single upgrade since the newest iteration debuted 17 years ago—or the way human-sized versions of Lumiere, Chip, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts try to pivot around the stage. There aren’t any special effects to be seen here, just glitzy costumes, classic songs, and entertaining choreography (the highlight being an upbeat “Be Our Guest” performed with enormous cutlery). It may not be the most innovative show in the parks, but it still manages to hit all the high points of one of Disney’s best films.
8. Finding Nemo – The Musical (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)
Where the Voyage of the Little Mermaid feels dated and worn, Finding Nemo – The Musical proves that not all puppetry-based stage shows are relics of the past. It offers audiences a fresh perspective on a beloved Pixar classic (remember how Finding Nemo wasn’t a musical?) and uses colorful lighting and animated effects to bring the entire ocean to life within the theater. Assuming Disney continues to plus this show as it ages, it should be a staple of the park for decades more.
7. Mickey and the Magical Map (Disneyland Resort)
Image: Disney
It’s a testament to the quality and ingenuity of Disney Parks shows that a production this spellbinding is left this low on the list. Mickey and the Magical Map does a fantastic job of blending animation with a traditional, high-energy stage performance, using tiered platforms to transform Mickey into his CGI self and back again. While much of the story is used to highlight various Disney characters—King Louie, Sebastian, Stitch, and Tiana, among others—it also finds new ways to fuse classic songs and moments in a way that feels original. (Case in point: a three-princess power chorus of Pocahontas, Mulan, and Rapunzel that steals the show every time.) Given the high rate of turnover at the Fantasyland Theatre, however, the show’s creativity and limited but tasteful special effects may not be enough to keep it there on a permanent basis.
6. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
We’ve been throwing around the term “original” pretty loosely here, but Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! truly is one-of-a-kind. Where else can you watch stunt performers dodge enormous boulders, stage fights atop moving aircraft, and detonate an explosives-filled Jeep? Not only is it jaw-dropping to watch, but the show is technically impressive as well, featuring a computer-controlled system that guides the performers through a variety of live events and allows Disney to keep the stunt spectacular exciting and up-to-date. It’s also the longest-running show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, at 29 years and counting, and has well established itself as a hallmark of the park.
5. Fantasmic! (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Image: Disney
Water projections, floating stages, fireworks, and a fire-breathing animatronic dragon? What more could you want from a Disney show? Fantasmic! keeps Mickey Mouse at the center of its 30-minute pyrotechnic drama as his imagination runs away with him, culminating with a fiery battle against the menacing figure of Maleficent herself (in dragon form, of course). Like others on this list, though, the show could benefit from a retooling of its floats and live-action sequences—including a choreographed fight between colonizers and Native Americans that hasn’t aged well at all.
4. World of Color (Disney California Adventure)
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
What World of Color lacks in a cohesive storyline, it more than compensates for with magnificent displays from thousands of colorful musical fountains. The specs for this show are astounding in and of themselves: a 19,000 square-foot projection area and almost 1,200 fountains capable of shooting streams of water an estimated 200 feet into the sky. Over 20 Disney and Pixar films are showcased on the screens, bringing to life iconic, touching, and thrilling moments amid an array of water, fog, and fire effects. The nighttime spectacular been a highlight of Disney California Adventure since its inception in 2010, and given the numerous changes it’s survived from season to season, will continue to play a prominent role in the park as Disney expands its oeuvre.
3. Frozen – Live at the Hyperion (Disney California Adventure)
Frozen: The Broadway Musical officially made its debut this month, but avid fans of the 2013 film don’t need to trek to New York City to enjoy a Broadway-caliber show. Frozen – Live at the Hyperion boasts one of the sleekest and best-designed productions in any Disney Park, with impressive puppetry, an enormous rotating staircase, a 2,200 square-foot LED backdrop, and all of the cheery ensemble numbers and angsty power ballads that enlivened the animated film. (Elsa’s instantaneous transformation during “Let It Go” is worth the price of park admission alone.) After Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular enjoyed a 13-year run at the Hyperion Theater, it’s not difficult to imagine that Frozen will find similar success here, provided that Hollywood Land isn’t too overrun by Marvel properties in the future.
2. Festival of the Lion King (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more beloved Disney Parks show than Festival of the Lion King. That alone doesn’t earn it top billing on this list, obviously, but it’s easy to fall in love with the vibrant display of multicolored costumes, iconic Lion King puppets, and incredible fire twirlers and acrobats that sing, dance, and fly around Harambe Theater. Better yet, this show doesn’t try to recreate either the 1994 animated blockbuster or the hit Broadway production; rather, it’s imbued with the energy and heart of its source material while bringing something totally unique to the table (er, Pride Rock) and proving that you don’t need cutting-edge special effects to captivate audiences.
1. Fantasmic! (Disneyland Resort)
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
I know, I know—Fantasmic! already made the list! But there are quite a few differences between the Walt Disney World and Disneyland stagings, enough that we think Disneyland deserves to be set apart in these rankings. Almost everything about the Walt Disney World version of the show holds true here: the 50-foot-tall mist screens, pyrotechnic effects, fireworks, and 45-foot animatronic dragon are as awe-inspiring as they sound. Coupled with the intimacy of the seating arrangements around Rivers of America, where the show is staged, the audience is brought into the heart of Mickey’s fever dream as they are alternately sprayed by the mist and warmed by the dragon’s fiery breath. Add to that the fog effects and floating magic carpet during the Aladdin sequence and the newly-refurbished Black Pearl overlay on the Sailing Ship Columbia, and it’s clear why Disneyland’s Fantasmic! stands a cut above the rest.
Disagree with our rankings? Did we leave off your favorite Disney show? Let us know in the comments below!
