It’s no secret that Epcot is looking to pump up the level of characters in the World Showcase. Just last year, a new Beauty and the Beast sing-along attraction was announced for the France pavilion, which will play in addition to the Impressiones de France film and will likely debut sometime this year. And of course, there’s the 2020 debut of “A Celebration of Disney Music,” which is a new nighttime entertainment offering replacing IllumiNations that aims to show how Disney music inspires people around the globe, and will feature a multitude of characters from Disney movies like Hercules and Moana.
And though we don’t have exact dates for the opening of those two new shows, Disney has confirmed that another new show based on a popular animated movie will be coming to the World Showcase in the very near future just in time for the Epcot International Flower and Garden festival to kick off in just a few weeks…
A new, musical Coco show is coming to the Mexico pavilion on March 8
Image:Disney
Though rumors last year seemed to hint that Disney was considering overlaying the current Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride attraction with characters and music from the Pixar film Coco, Disney instead refurbished the front gallery of the Mexico pavilion to a Dia de los Muertos exhibit featuring the characters from this movie and allowing guests to learn more about this holiday. And while this exhibit was a smart use of this IP, it looks like the Coco infusion hasn’t quite stopped yet.
Beginning on March 6th, a new show will be performed in the outside area of the Mexico Pavilion that will tell the story of Coco in a whole new way. For this new show the Mariachi Cobre group will be joined by a pair of Folklórico (traditional Mexican folk dance) dancers who will perform to the music of the film, pulling everyone into the story of the film. Miguel himself will also appear in the show in the form of a whimsical, hand-crafted puppet who will come to life along with the dancers as the music from the film is performed.
This new entertainment offering will not be replacing the traditional Mariachi Cobre show
Image: Disney
This new Coco-inspired show will be performed daily this spring, but if you are concerned about the future of the original Mariachi Cobre show, you don’t need to worry as this group will continue to play traditional mariachi music several times throughout the day. Though there probably won’t be as many showtimes for the older show, at least it is still being offered alongside this new option for right now, which is definitely good news for fans.
This new show will probably be around for the foreseeable future
Image: Disney
Though the opening of this show will coincide with the beginning of the Epcot International Flower and Garden festival, we anticipate this show will likely be sticking around the World Showcase for the foreseeable future as Disney continues to rebrand this part of Epcot as a hub for Disney characters. Of course, if the show proves to be unpopular Disney could pull it from the schedule early, but this would seem like an unlikely occurrence given the popularity of the Coco film and its natural integration in the Mexico pavilion.
Though rumors about a Coco overlay for the boat ride in Mexico didn’t ever come to fruition, it looks like this Pixar favorite is still growing its presence at Epcot, with the Remember Me exhibit in the pavilion gallery and this new show, opening in just a few weeks. And looking to the future, it has also been confirmed that Coco will be a big part of “A Celebration of Disney Music”, opening next year. Though this may seem like overkill for this one film, Coco is one property that fits right in with Disney’s new vision for the World Showcase, and we’re not surprised to see it represented more around this park. However, what will be really interesting is to see how other pavilions change and add characters as Epcot continues to change in the coming years.
