Disney World Cutbacks & Entertainment Changes
We’re back with a Walt Disney World news & rumors update, this time with cutbacks to the Citizens of Hollywood, Rafiki’s Planet Watch going seasonal, Pirate Tutorial ending, and the demise of Move It! Shake It! Street Party at Magic Kingdom.
We’ll start with that last bit of news first; the Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party will have its final performance on December 1, 2018, per reports from Entertainment Cast Members. Following this, a new Magic Kingdom dance party will debut in early 2019.
What’s not so certain is what the replacement street party will entail, but one rumor points to it being themed to Mickey’s 90th birthday. This seems incredibly plausible, as the floats already look like presents and minimal effort would be required to freshen up the current party and market it as something “new” after a couple months of its absence.
If Walt Disney World goes that route with the “new” street party, it seems likely that the look of floats will emphasize birthdays (generally) and the focus on Mickey’s 90th would be minimal–maybe a banner on each float that can easily be removed once the 90th festivities end.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I hate Move It! Shake It! I routinely have referred to it as the “Move It! Shake It! Whatever It! Roaming Noise Festival” on the blog. This street party is incredibly loud–to the point that it’s audible from other lands–and Main Street is a miserable place to be while it’s performing. Suffice to say, this was one cutback that I was downright excited to hear.
I should have known that I could never be so lucky, and shortly after the rumor popped up, so too did the follow-up that there’d be a new incarnation of the roaming noise festival starting in early 2019. I’m not surprised. This street party seems popular with guests, and you could say it livens up Main Street with an interactive character offering that’s relatively low budget.
Now, before the angry comments come in defending the roaming noise festival because your “kids love it!” I want to note that I don’t hate the very premise of such a street party. As with dance parties, I think there’s a way to offer such entertainment in a way that’s “not awful.”
What bothers me is that Walt Disney World touts the importance of attention to detail and thematic excellence while a bunch of plainly-designed boxes on wheels blasting contemporary pop music at obscene volumes has been deemed “good enough” for nearly a decade. The only thing separating this roaming noise festival from something out of a carnival in the corner of a Wal-Mart parking lot is the characters.
There was a time when Walt Disney World created temporary parades designed to run a single summer with far more lavish details and impressive scale than this sad little street party. What’s even more disappointing is that I know there were far more ambitious proposals (including a Victorian-themed one complete with carousel-style floats for the characters like the one pictured above), but the cheaper approach won out.
If the plan is to run this new street party for another ~5 years, I really hope more is invested into making the floats and props at least moderately ornate. It doesn’t need to be as lavish as Festival of Fantasy, but it shouldn’t be county fair caliber, either. Walt Disney World can do so much better, and guests deserve as much.
Next, more sad news in that the Citizens of Hollywood will be scaled back yet again, just in time for the new fiscal year! The Dorma Nesmond, Paige Turner, Dara Vamp, and Officer Prime Brody characters have all been eliminated by Disney. The performers themselves posted in the Citizens of Hollywood Facebook group that their last days will be September 29, 2018.
We’ve written in multiple blog posts that the Citizens of Hollywood are one of the best things about Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and one of the last bastions of the original park’s heart and soul. We watched their performances on a number of occasions on our trip earlier this month, and each time they were great (and drew a sizable crowd). It’s tough to single out any of these four as the best, because they all are so adept at making guests’ days in different ways.
It’s hard to see this as anything but a way to cut entertainment expenses, especially as these are all veteran Cast Members, ahead of the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It’d be one thing if this were a one for one tradeoff for some roaming aliens in Galaxy’s Edge.
I still wouldn’t be okay with it, as I love the Citizens of Hollywood, but I’d understand it. However, this is occurring over a year before that land opens, and while Disney’s Hollywood Studios is still woefully short on things to do. As we’ve noted, Galaxy’s Edge is going to draw a ton of people to DHS, and those new guests are going to need other things to do. It’s disconcerting that Walt Disney World thinks that, rather than scaling up entertainment offerings, cutting back is the appropriate approach.
Another cut in time for the start of the next fiscal year is Rafiki’s Planet Watch, which WDWMagic.com user Rteetz is reporting will go seasonal beginning on September 30, 2018. This will include all character meet & greets and the Wildlife Express Train.
“Seasonal” at Walt Disney World is a fairly nebulous term, but we’d expect Rafiki’s Planet Watch to return for Christmas and New Year’s weeks and spring break season, at minimum. Often, going seasonal portends an attraction’s permanent closure.
On that same date, Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial in Adventureland at Magic Kingdom will end.
Note that almost all of these rumors stem from Entertainment Cast Members working in these areas who have been given a heads up that their shows (etc.) will be eliminated. It’s entirely possible that there’s more to come, especially if budgetary decisions are still being made.
It’s also possible that budgets are being reallocated, meaning we have the negative news of cuts first, followed by announcements of the new entertainment via official channels coming soon. Personally, we are not holding our breath on that one, though. Walt Disney World has a history of trimming operating expenses when construction costs are high, and our expectation is that a lot of these cuts are about that. Time will tell, and we’ll keep you posted on other cuts (or additions) as they leak out or are announced.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of these Walt Disney World entertainment (and other) cuts? Are you sad to see another reduction to the Citizens of Hollywood, or do you not really care about this streetmosphere? Are you optimistic about a replacement for the Magic Kingdom street party, or pessimistic like us? Any thoughts on other news or rumors here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We are only fans of the Harry Potter sections of Universal. But, this past spring we were there to watch my sons band perform, and in just the half hour or so we waited, “Lucy and Ethel”, Scooby, and I don’t remember how many other characters came over to our bench (yes I said bench-because they have them there), and messed around with my husband.
A few minutes later the Scooby van and characters show up and did a cute show, and then a troupe of dance performers. All probably within an hour. It was awesome!
Not sure where you see a lot of that anymore at Disney (and with benches to boot)!
It’s nuts if you look at the pay scale of these performers at Disney and what an infinitesimally small amount they must contribute to the budget, but bring such joy.
One of our first “this is just magic moments”, years ago was when a guy comes by with his trash can and a broom, then another shows up, etc. and starts with the most amazing cute little performance, I think at Epcot. It sealed the deal for us, albeit not a crazy big ride or huge investment, but “magic”.
This may be unpopular ( after reading previous comments), but I have aways felt that most of Rafiki’s can be seen at any zoo. I guess I just always have higher expectations for Disney! With that said, if the rumors for a Zootopia themed area is true (and if Disney actually puts money into it), this would be a better utilization of that space hands down!!!!
None of these cuts bother me in the slightest.
Although I can certainly understand and respect why people would be sad about the Citizens of Hollywood.
None of these cuts bother me in the slightest.
Although I can certainly understand and respect why people would be sad about the Citizens of Hollywood.
I can only hope that this means the cannons on top of Pirates will start firing off regularly again, now that they won’t be interrupting Captain Jack anymore.
Sadly I haven’t been to Rafiki’s Planet Watch (RPW) in over 5 years since Animal Kingdom has plenty of attractions/shows to do now and the park is so big to navigate around where we havent had time to revisit RPW.
I dislike MiSi. Although I enjoy character interactions, the garbage pop music is loud and obnoxious. It ruins the ambience of the MK. I wouldnt mind if it was more uptempo versions of famous Disney park songs. The only show I loathe more at the MK is “Text Me Merry Christmas” at the Christmas Party.
I love the free advice ladies in Hollywood Studios!!!
Please Disney reconsider, they are so funny and entertaining.
The entertainment is one of the big reasons my family visits Disney yearly.
So bummed about Rafiki’s. My 14 year old and I spent several hours there this week watching procedures and we were already planning our Animal Kingdom days for the future to include more time at Rafikis’
Our family doesn’t like the obnoxious noise of the Move It Shake It thing either! Totally destroys ambiance while shopping quietly on Main Street. Little ones plug their ears! From a distance, it sounds like something fun is coming, but it’s always overly intrusive. Hopefully the new iteration is geared for those who do not require maximum stimulus to their senses to think something is fun!
It started at least two years ago when they started stripping the Equity street performers from EPCOT. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised the Citizens of Hollywood lasted this long considering how long ago the Ziti Sisters and the World Showcase Players were terminated.
I, too, am bummed about the Citizens of Hollywood. We love their shows. Each time we see one starting, we plant ourselves there for a lot of fun and giggles. I don’t ever remember seeing the same show more than once, either. I love the costumes and the entire cast is wonderful. It saddens me that they won’t be around for my next trip in March.
One less reason to visit HS. Disney’s new motto must be, ‘Charge more, offer less’. We were on the fence about HS for our October trip. This information clinched it for me, no HS. Even when Galaxy’s Edge opens, you won’t find me there. At least, not the first year.
We booked Coronado Springs for October. Despite the ongoing construction, I’d rather spend the day at their pool than waste a day at HS.
Just watched Move it Shake it for the first time this visit and enjoyed it. I’ve never seen a Citizen, and I think they’re plenty of animals in AK. So I’m on bummed about Move it Shake it. It was a great way to interact with TS characters.
I am very sad to hear of Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We were only planning on doing Rafiki’s, Pandora and Africa during our Nov trip and my about to be 3 year old will definitely miss out on the things to do there (especially the meet and greets and petting zoo) and my older daughter loved seeing the animal enclosures and watching veterinary procedures.
Could it be that they are getting rid of these positions due to Galaxy edge, they’re just doing it now because numbers are looking low for the next year? A lot of people that I’ve talked to said they are holding off until Galaxy edge opens to plan their next trip.
We finally got around to touring through Rafiki’s Planet Watch/Conservation Station for the first time this summer after skipping it the previous trips out. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a nice break from the rest of the park. Best part was overhearing two kids around 10-years-old, I’d say, say that it was the most fun part of AK and that they could stay there all day (this being the petting zoo area). Made me smile. So I’m sad but I understand. Glad we got to see it.
I am really disappointed about Rafiki’s Planet Watch being unavailable . We will be there with our 2 year old this fall and there is already so little that young children can do at Animal Kingdom! Only 3 rides they can go on by my count being under 38”. Riding the train and petting the animals was always a highlight for our older kids when they were that age. We were considering a second day at AK but will definitely not do that now.
I heard a rumor that rafiki’s planet watch was going to be transformed into a zootopia themed area. Is it wrong to feel optimistic that that is the reason for it’s closure?
The friend I’m taking with me on my next trip in November will be disappointed to hear that Rafiki’s Planet Watch will not be open. She is an animal lover and that was one of the things she was looking forward to seeing. It was a nice, quiet, and educational spot that my kids enjoyed when we went.
Disney, stop taking away educational opportunuties for kids and adults as well as attractions when the parks need more, not less.
That’s a bummer!! We LOVE seeing the Citizens of Hollywood every time we go! It just makes the experience, they are always funny and just puts you in the era of the main street.