Disney World Adds & Removes Entertainment
There’s good and potentially bad news about Walt Disney World entertainment–especially characters and streetmosphere–as performers return to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios while others have been quietly removed from WDW’s website. In this post, we’ll cover what’s returning and presumably ending, plus commentary about the likely motivations for the changes.
Let’s start with the good news, as several meet & greets quietly returned to Walt Disney World over the weekend. In Magic Kingdom, there are several character greeting locations that are now back in action. At the front of the park, Snow White is now meeting guests outside on the Town Square Theater Porch. Inside the theater, Minnie Mouse is now back meeting with Mickey–with both characters appearing together in the 50th Anniversary outfits.
Back in Fantasyland, Peter Pan roams around–bringing a bit of what makes spontaneous Disneyland character appearances so special to Florida. He’s usually between the Sword in the Stone and the extended queue of Peter Pan’s Flight. Finally, Aladdin and Jasmine are now appearing together at the Agrabah Bazaar in Adventureland.
All of these are relatively significant developments that could bode well for both other meet & greets and character dining experiences. As has been noted in other posts on a few occasions, we’ve heard that Walt Disney World is currently experiencing a ‘princess shortage.’ This is one big reason why meals with face characters–Akershus, 1900 Park Fare, Bon Voyage Breakfast, and even the normal Cinderella’s Royal Table–have yet to return.
While casting requirements vary, we’re nevertheless a bit surprised that the above meet & greets would return before the aforementioned meals. The latter directly generate revenue, whereas the former are more supporting players, for lack of a better term. They’re not dedicated meet & greet locations, just locations in Magic Kingdom where characters have historically appeared.
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there are a couple more character developments. Star Wars Launch Bay returned without fanfare, a week earlier than previously assumed. With this, Darth Vader is now back in DHS for the first time in over 2 years. Meanwhile, Chewbacca is apparently making intergalactic flights throughout the day, appearing on both Batuu and Earth.
In other DHS entertainment news, Walt Disney World has updated its website to indicate that the Green Army Drum Corps will soon be returning to Toy Story Land. Currently, these drummers march during the Pixar motorcade, but they previously marched around the land with high-energy performances and drum sequences. It’ll be interesting to see whether the motorcades stick around with more characters returning and entertainment moving back to the lands.
The potentially more significant story than these characters and performers returning is the changes made to DisneyWorld.com over the last couple of weeks. In a series of quiet updates, Disney has removed several pages that previously listed “temporarily unavailable” entertainment offerings at Walt Disney World.
Additionally, there’s no longer a landing page for all of the “temporarily unavailable” entertainment acts and experiences. Instead, the links to various entertainment offerings now show an error page with Stitch or redirect elsewhere on DisneyWorld.com.
Here’s a rundown of the entertainment that no longer exists on the official Walt Disney World website:
Animal Kingdom
- Pandora Drummers – Swotu Wayä
- Pandora Rangers
EPCOT
- British Revolution
- Jeweled Dragon Acrobats
- Serveur Amusant
Hollywood Studios
- Citizens of Hollywood
- Jedi Training Academy
- Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!
- Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Magic Kingdom
- Citizens of Main Street
- Main Street Trolley Show
- Meet Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Tea Party
- Meet Gaston at his Tavern
- Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
Offering commentary to this news is tricky. It should go without saying, but the official website status is not necessarily conclusive of reality. If it were, Stitch would constantly be eating anything and everything. Joking aside, we would’ve seen Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM for each of the last two years. Conversely, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party would not have returned. And yet, we didn’t and it did.
I’m actually surprised that Walt Disney World didn’t remove or hide many of these pages from public view long ago. It’s a bad look for prospective vacation planners to see so many things marked as “temporarily unavailable.” It thus might make sense to take down pages for anything without an internal target date for returning.
Speaking of internal target dates, another factor could be Walt Disney World’s goal of being back to normal by the start of the next fiscal year on October 1, 2022. The company wants to be at 100% or as close to it as possible, with that date as the deadline. It doesn’t mean that’ll be achieved, but it’s the goal.
One way to make that easier to accomplish is simply moving the goalposts. If certain things are removed from the “temporarily unavailable” list, they don’t count towards the target. That doesn’t mean those things or something substantially similar can’t still return at a later date. This has happened already to some extent–in the days before closing, several World Showcase entertainment acts were retired, only to be brought back last fall and this spring.
I suspect that’s at least partly what’s happening here. Perhaps I’m being overly optimistic, but I have a hard time believing anything on the Magic Kingdom list, specifically, is gone for good. The Main Street Trolley Show and Citizens are iconic; although it wouldn’t be the first time Walt Disney World eliminated something beloved by fans, it just seems unlikely in this particular, high-profile case.
Then there are the meet & greets in Magic Kingdom. Gaston is a guest favorite, Tinker Bell has a dedicated location, and Alice in Wonderland–or someone from that film–makes sense near Mad Tea Party. Bringing back Snow White but none of those just doesn’t pass the smell test.
There’s a good chance many of the removed pages are permanent cuts, though. Voyage of the Little Mermaid was rumored to have been gutted two years ago; it’s the type of thing that seems likely to have returned by now if at all. Same goes for Jedi Training Academy–although I’ll never understand why that guest-favorite is gone. I also don’t get the decision to not bring back the fireworks shows while Fantasmic has been on hiatus, but since that has not happened, it probably won’t ever occur.
The Citizens of Hollywood have been “shrinking” for years, so that one being permanent wouldn’t be a shock–although it would be incredibly disappointing. They gave so much life, humor, and old Hollywood charm to the front of the park.
Nothing on the Animal Kingdom or EPCOT lists would be a major surprise. At least a couple of those World Showcase acts had their contracts terminated back in March 2020, so this isn’t really “new” news on that front. It’s just that their pages have finally been removed.
As for the acts in Pandora – World of Avatar, also not a surprise. The drummers brought energy to the land and the mech suit dude was good, weird fun. Neither were particularly memorable and iconic, and Animal Kingdom has long cycled through entertainment acts. (In the last several years, the same is true of World Showcase.)
Assuming those lists except Magic Kingdom are mostly accurate, they’re nevertheless concerning. We’ve written versions of this same editorial countless times, as Walt Disney World has had a penchant of cutting entertainment for several years…pretty much since the start of Chapek’s tenure as head of Parks & Resorts. Not to blame him both then and now (these decisions are below his pay grade now), but the timing lines up.
Our commentary commonly fixates on the dangers of Disney cutting too much fat from budgets to the point where they “hit bone.” At its best, Walt Disney World is more than the sum of its parts. It’s the little moments, the ambiance, the live musicians, the way everything just feels alive that, cumulatively, defines a trip even if you don’t actively notice at the time.
First-time guests may not be able to put their finger on exactly what resonated or made them feel happy at any given moment, but it’s all of this, in its totality. First-timers who fall in love with the parks and become lifelong fans are not doing so because they view the parks simply as a collection of rides. Live entertainment and the little “unnecessary” things are part of what makes the parks feel lived-in, and those acts you might walk past seep into your mind and do move the ‘guest satisfaction’ needle.
While this hasn’t been true the last couple of years, it has historically been the case, and is what made many of us lifelong Disney fans. (It’s also why there is currently a considerable difference in atmosphere between Disneyland and Walt Disney World.)
In past years, we’ve expressed significant concern that Walt Disney World would make such aggressive cuts at times of record attendance growth and profits. If that is how Disney reacted to unprecedented prosperity, how bad would things get when the country entered a recession and Disney felt an actual “need” to further reduce costs to meet profit targets?
You might say that the last couple of years offered an answer to that. Or that Walt Disney World is preparing for exactly that by eliminating some of the “temporarily unavailable” entertainment. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that during the Great Recession, the company actually expanded entertainment as part of the “Summer Nightastic” campaign to lure fans back to the parks.
There are also some patterns worth addressing from pre-closure years. For several consecutive years, entertainment cuts were made in the lead-up to the new fiscal year. That would be followed by official news in October about a bunch of new entertainment beginning early the next year. That was sort of the pattern, with Disney coasting through the fall with less entertainment, before a spike in Christmas-time offerings and fresh additions at the start of the following calendar year.
Although not totally analogous since nothing is technically being cut from what exists in the parks right now, it’s relevant if the new fiscal year is a significant date for entertainment and other normalcy at Walt Disney World.
Ultimately, it won’t surprise us if these “temporarily unavailable” offerings being removed from the website never return. It’s no secret that Walt Disney World now aims for constant growth, and is beholden to each quarter’s financial results–and beating prior quarters. If the numbers fall short, every department is asked to reduce spending to help buoy the numbers. This is irrespective of ever-increasing hotel and ticket prices, the removal of guest perks, new upcharges, etc.
We’ve witnessed the results of this several times over the last few years, in everything from entertainment cuts to reducing ride capacity in the off-season to reducing staffing throughout the parks. It’s short-term thinking for a business unit that should be more fixated on long-term health. It’s as if Walt Disney World is teetering on the precipice of insolvency, even as the company boasts about how per-guest spending is hitting record highs. Charging more and offering less might be one way to achieve short-term targets, but there are certainly long-term negative consequences to that approach. Here’s hoping that’s not what’s happening here, and Walt Disney World continues to restore entertainment, while adding new offerings to kick off the second year of the 50th Anniversary festivities.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of these Walt Disney World entertainment additions and removals? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about WDW restoring “temporarily unavailable” entertainment now that it’s been removed from the website, or think that’s irrelevant? Worried that Walt Disney World might never get back to 100% in terms of entertainment? 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!
I have been coming from New Jersey to Disney World since it first opened and have been there at least 50 times! Usually go EVERY year. I wish EVERYONE, Worldwide would ALL just do some type of BOYCOTT of NOT going !!
They are just getting Ridiculous with All their changes, Price increases, etc. We all Loved the VOYAGE Of THE
LITTLE MERMAID Show in Hollywood Studios, and the BRITISH REVOLUTION in EPCOT !! It was bad enough when they got rid of the Entertainment in CANADA that was there for years !! When is All of this going to STOP !!??
We used to come Every year for the FREE DINING ” BOUNCEBACK ” Offer, but I think after our next month’s AUGUST trip, we will STOP going Until they realize how much all these changes are NOT liked by mostly EVERYONE and start to bring back the DISNEY WORLD that everyone USED to love !!! Seems they really Don’t CARE what CHANGES their customers DON’T LIKE, they just want to make More Money with PAID Fastpasses, NO Airport Transportation, Price increases for food, hotels, – just about everything, and doing away with So Many things that all people liked for many years ! POOR Walt Disney is probably turning over in his grave seeing the way they are RUNING such a great place for ALL people.
My hope, because I’m unwilling to think otherwise, is that Jedi Training Academy is ending only to be reborn. Maybe it will move to the stage in Galaxy’s Edge with new branding like “Black Spire Rebel Recruitment”.
That would be great. I’ll keep my fingers crossed with you.
Yea Citizens of Hollywood were all but gone before Covid, yes that is a shame, Hollywood Studios used to be my favorite park, 10 years ago, every year since to much has been removed to the point where we’re out of the park by 1 pm if we go at all.
If you never went to Hollywood in the past you have no idea how much it’s changed, in my opinion for the worst.
The Citizens of Main Street gone as well, along with some Disney classics, and I won’t even get into the reasoning behind reimaging of Splash Mt.
Doing Christmas season for the first time this year and after 22 consecutive years (including covid years) of Disney vacations enough is enough, 3 of us this December with the Very Merry party $4000 + , 6 nights , and we haven’t bought a slice of bread yet to eat ,( no DDP ), 10 years ago 5 of us 10 and over $2000 with meal plan ,no Fast Pass no this , no that, this is gone ,thats gone, 36 magic bands 72 Disney cards later, this December we’ll say goodbye,,,
Sorry I needed to vent
First they came for my Adventurers Club,..
This broke my heart. I got to experience it only once. It was wildly popular, but that doesn’t seem to matter.
Let this essay be a wake-up letter all Disneytouristblog readers sign and send to Disney. Citizens of Hollywood, Unite!!
Tom do you know if there’s anyway to meet Flynn rider from tangled in any of the parks?
Hi Luke! Flynn is unavailable for meet and greets, though he is on the Tangled float in the Festival of Fantasy parade in Magic Kingdom. Hope that helps!
Well when, in all honesty, has Disney listened to what the customers (I don’t fell like a guest anymore) wanted (i.e. night time parades). They do as they darn well please and everyone can take it or leave it. All the parts that made Disney that magical place we couldn’t wait to visit are gone. It’s become a shell of it’s former self. I truly hope, after the covid revenge trips to Disney, that it comes back to bite them in the butt.
In terms of rationale, perhaps WDW feel they’ve added enough substantiative new rides to keep the parks full that the incidental entertainment, maintained through the relatively stagnant 2010s, can be dialled back?
Not to say I agree with the strategy (as people come for the rides but return for the atmosphere) — but I can imagine a “zero sum” view prevailing.
(And of course the JAMMitors aren’t going anywhere — why get rid of a group that generates huge amounts of noise with minimal staffing… no offence intended, I know others love them!)
There’s definitely historical precedent for this type of perspective.
You joke, but I wonder if “decibel level” is a determining factor in an entertainment act’s popularity–and ability to keep guests occupied. The loudest entertainment acts often seem to draw the biggest crowds.
Return the Muppets!
Your commentary in the article is sobering. Do you see the “quality” pendulum swinging back in the long run? I mean, outside of lingering shutdown/labor effects, or whatever macroeconomic headwinds may be coming. Longer term – do you think the Disney magic (including attentive customer service and the types of entertainment listed in the article) might be stronger or weaker in five/ten years?
Total guess, but I could see new entertainment being used as a “gapfiller” to help draw people in the coming years when there won’t be major new attractions to promote. This is what Disney used during the Great Recession, and it worked reasonably well. It’ll have to be entertainment on a sufficient scale to be marketable, though. I also think the trend of reducing Equity entertainment will persist.
As for customer service, I have no clue. That really depends on the labor market, employee burnout, expansion of the College Program, and how bigger picture decisions negatively impact CMs. It’s impossible to foresee how all of that plays out. I’m not particularly optimistic, especially with so many additions to Central Florida (including but not limited to Epic Universe).
Tom, I’ll take the “good news” part of your response and hope for the best. Disney will absolutely need something to promote in a few years. Thanks for the response and the article.
Chapek is a great numbers guy, no doubt, BUT WDW is a legacy company that has prioritized guest experience and generational loyalty over short-term profits, playing the long game. Yes, WDW is a for-profit company, and always has been. Right now, it feels like the C-suite and board are putting short-term profits over guest experience and legacy – a short-sighted decision that will have long-term consequences.
Nooooo!! Not jingle bell jingle BAM!!! One of my favourite Christmas shows and the dessert party to go with it.
I get cutbacks but with the castle not getting decked out in its usual Christmas frozen lights and now this amazing show going I hope my Christmas visit this year is not going to feel very underwhelming
It’s definitely the little things that keep me coming back to Disney year after year. We skipped last year but the year before we did go. The only thing I really remember was one of the maintenance guys drawing an image of Mickey Mouse on the pavement with water. It was unexpected and cool. That’s why I go…
#bringbackthemuppets
I share your concerns. I agree with this 100%. The little things absolutely make a difference. It helps to to encounter something unexpected at the parks – to not have to wait in line for everything, but to happen across some entertainment that makes you laugh and smile. It makes the parks come alive! For example, a friend mentioned to me one time that the highlight of their day at Animal Kingdom was watching DeVine. I had told them about Everest and all kind of things they can do at Animal Kingdom beforehand, but that little surprise made their day!
Agreed The bottom line at higher guest costs will be an overall negative. I fear the “upholding of Chapek ” is Disney not listening to guest what a shame
You’re so right. It is the little things that make the magic. People ask me all the time why we go so often and what’s so special and there’s just not an easy, specific answer. It’s just felt off the last few trips. I feel like we are renewing our passes just for fear they won’t be available when we want them. We’ve made the call not to renew when this pass ends. We’re DVC so we will go again and I’m hoping absence will make the heart grow fonder.
I agree 1000% with the importance of the magic and atmosphere that these entertainers provide!! We are one of those families that fell in love with Disney when our children were little based on two such experiences:
1. My oldest daughter had just had her BBB makeover into Snow White and we raced over to watch the afternoon parade. Snow White spotted my daughter in the crowd, ran over to our side and made little heart hands and blew her a kiss. Sounds simple but we saw happy tears and our trip was made!
2. Second, my youngest daughter was selected to participate in Enchanted Tales with Belle as the beast. She was 3 at the time and had an “impressive” roar. Cue show time and she had a little stage fright. Belle knelt down and gave her a little encouragement and she let out the biggest roar she could muster!
Again, thousands of people have these stories but they are simply magical memories to our family, based on two sweet, kind princesses.
Disney should realize these entertainers are worth their weight in gold and I would rate those interactions just as important as any new ride to many families. It’s why we go to Disney and not Six Flags!
Thank you for sharing that. What a sweet story! I love Snow White, too!
Another excellent article, Tom.
Our family went to WDW in 2019 and early 2021 and had fantastic experiences (particularly 2019!)
We were “hooked”!
We have small children, so we keep looking at the calendar for our next visit. BUT every time I price it out and it is outrageously expensive, along with what I’ve heard through various sources about the current experience being basically “pay a lot more for a lot less”, I pump the brakes.
I have to wonder how many people like our family are sitting on the sidelines, worried about going back to a place that won’t meet our high expectations from previous wonderful trips and paying more to do so! I definitely think we are part of the “long term” impact of these decisions…
Wow, those are some devastating cuts if they don’t come back. In particular, I can’t imagine MK with out the Main Street trolley show. Your repeated comments on the “little things” are definitely true. I remember one of our trips participating in a magic trick with Jack Diamond and my daughter getting a little keychain from him. I don’t have the same vivid memory of riding TSMM that trip.
Too bad I am already a Disney-addict or I would be long gone from being an annual pass holder. But it is too late for me. I am a raging liberal and Disney’s fix on capitalism is what broke my heart. But as I said, I cannot stop now.