New Details: Disney KiteTails 50th Anniversary Show at Animal Kingdom
Disney KiteTails is a new show coming to Animal Kingdom for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. This kite entertainment will take the magic of nature and Disney storytelling to new heights, “immersing everyone in a gala performance of color and movement.” This post shares more details, concept art, a video sneak peek, and everything we know so far about this new anniversary show.
As a reminder, the “World’s Most Magical Celebration” will kick off on October 1, 2021 and last for 18 months during which time Disney Enchantment is slated to be shown (and perhaps beyond). The event will be celebrated at all four theme parks throughout 2021 and 2022. You can read everything that’s officially announced and rumored for the festivities in our Ultimate Guide to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
To our knowledge, Disney KiteTails is the “biggest” thing coming to Animal Kingdom for the the anniversary celebration. The only other things are Beacons of Magic on the Tree of Life and possibly some of the critter Disney Fab 50 character statues. Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios seem like they’re doing a lot less for the festivities than Magic Kingdom and Epcot…
As for Disney KiteTails, the show is set to happen several times daily at the Discovery River Theater, near DinoLand U.S.A. As you make your way into the outdoor amphitheater, you’re joined by a team of performers bringing with them a colorful collection of oversized props and kites.
These kites are adorned with Disney animal friends from “The Little Mermaid,” “a bug’s life” and “Finding Nemo.” Original, worldbeat arrangements of favorite Disney tunes fill the air, and the excitement builds toward the launch of an impressive show of kites over the lagoon.
As Disney KiteTails begins, watercraft zoom into view, pulling with them dynamic kite trains and enormous, three-dimensional kites depicting familiar characters from “The Lion King” or “The Jungle Book.”
From one performance to another, you may see Baloo the bear dancing in the sky or Zazu the red-billed hornbill chasing after Simba.
These character kites are of all shapes, sizes, and styles. Some as large as 30 feet in length are inflated by moving through the air, allowing characters like King Louie or Timon and Pumbaa to soar like never before. (Pumbaa is not exactly known for his soaring!)
Here’s a video showing some Disney KiteTails rehearsals:
Officially, Walt Disney World is referring to KiteTails as a “daytime activation” (who talks like that?!), which means it’s probably not a lengthy or large scale show.
Think of it as akin to a cavalcade, as compared to a fully fledged parade. At least, that’s our expectation based on the video.
With that said, I’m cautiously optimistic about Disney KiteTails. I’m keeping in mind that it’s probably a short diversion and the production quality might be middling, so it’s not like my expectations are off the charts.
For one thing, I’m amused by puppets and kites, and am easily impressed by colorful objects that dance in the sky. That’s not sarcasm.
For another thing, it’s heartening to see Walt Disney World announce the debut of entertainment that’s performer-heavy and isn’t projections.
I know that’s a really low bar, but given all of the entertainment acts that still haven’t returned to Walt Disney World, this is nice to see. Even if this is still a relatively modest production, at least it’s something different–with actual human performers engaging guests.
Third, Animal Kingdom has an excellent track record with puppets and kite-like objects.
We’ve been singing the praises of Merry Menagerie for a while, which featured life-size artisan-sculpted puppets that included reindeer, foxes, polar bears, penguins, birds, seals—and probably other critters we missed. It debuted for the Christmas season pre-closure, and didn’t return last year.
This was an underrated gem that didn’t get nearly enough attention because Walt Disney World fans overlook Animal Kingdom. Merry Menagerie was far from a lavish production; it resonated because the puppeteers breathed life into those woodland critters. Something similar is possible here.
While Disney KiteTails will obviously be very different, it seems like a similar idea with guests “immersed” among the puppeteers and kite operators. (And who knows, maybe this is a precursor to Merry Menagerie returning?!)
About the only downside of Disney KiteTails that immediately jumps to mind is that the (former) Rivers of Light amphitheater is unshaded and gets really hot during the middle of the day. We spent some time there last summer when it was a Relaxation Station and to see the flotillas, and we couldn’t last more than ~20 minutes in there. At least Disney KiteTails is debuting in October, when the weather should be more pleasant, though.
If Walt Disney World really wants to go all out on the puppet fun, it’d be awesome if they brought out the Carnivale Sky Puppets that served as a pre-show for World of Color at DCA. I’ve finally accepted the harsh reality that Paint the Night isn’t coming to Walt Disney World anytime soon, but a cavalcade of light-up night puppets would be a decent consolation prize!
Failing that, maybe Disney could light these kites on fire (a la Epcot Forever) post-sundown to provide some nighttime pizzazz. It’d be a fun addition for the World’s Most Magical Celebration, and might solve Animal Kingdom’s problem with keeping guests in the park after sunset.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the Disney KiteTails entertainment for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary? Excited for new puppets and kites, or does this sound unimpressive to you? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration? 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 adore kites and am really looking forward to this! I think children will also enjoy the “activation” a lot as well. I fly kites on the beach when I get to go and they always put a smile on everyone’s face. Yay for more smiles in my favorite WDW park!
Paint the Night was one of our favorite parades in Disneyland. If it’s still in storage in CA after emptying all those storage buildings near the resort I guess it’s staying there for yet another “last chance to see the show”!
The Merry Menagerie knocked it out of the park with its tasteful artistry, designs that fit in well with its surroundings, and talented puppeteering. The giant inflatable bird thing that is shown here looks ridiculous, like maybe it should be part of the Macy’s parade. The puppeteer-operated animals look a little better. Is this a different crew running this? The overall aesthetic seems off. I’d like to be proven wrong when I visit next year, however.
Seriously, do they realize how insane it makes them sound to call this “a daytime activation” as opposed to, you know, “a show?”
Back in my day, a “daytime activation” was called “afternoon delight.” There’s a song about it and everything.
As someone who’s had too many “kite fails” to count, I know that the key element to every successful kite flying experience is wind. I’m guessing all of these kites are planned to be pulled (e.g., by jet ski) to be kept aloft? I’m not overly familiar with typical Orlando wind conditions but I’d assume there are going to be days with very little wind and other days with very high winds — and both extremes could cause potential issues with a show like this, I’d imagine. Maybe they’ve found clever ways around this but it’s hard to envision a scenario where this show isn’t sporadically canceled (or at least scaled back) due to wind conditions.
I thought this looked cool from when they first announced it, and I still do. Not every new thing has to be a major spectacle. This is making good use of human performers, not to mention use of that otherwise empty theater (though I hadn’t thought about the impact of the sun there). A nighttime show would be nicer (I’m a sucker for those) but this sounds like a fun little diversion in a park that could use some more of those.
I just want it open the last week of September, or barring that, have interesting kites for sale before the launch date.
@Tom Bricker. Hi Tom. Love your posts. However, I have been having trouble reviewing the comments for each post. You have these new pop up ads on your site, and whenever an ad pops up, it brings me to the top of the comments section again. I am not sure if that is just an issue I am having, or if that is something other readers are experiencing as well. I figured I would let you know, and am hopeful there is some solution. Thanks!
My wife and I have a self inflatable box kite that we have taken to beaches all over the world and as a result have met a lot of really nice local people even if we could not talk (more than limpingly with them) we could smile and laugh with them.
I was really impressed with the Zazu inflatable kite and wonder if one (maybe not quite that large) would fit as a standard entry in our luggage.
I really enjoyed the video (we have seen the ‘Lion King’ in four different cities) and am looking forward to seeing the show (and watch it grow over time). This is something (the inflatable kites) that I would purchase for myself and my grandkids for them to start their own traditions.
Obviously, I like kites.
Found another video. Not impressed
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Xq4-XoGvM
“Failing that, maybe Disney could light these kites on fire”
That’s an underrated gem of a way to close an article right there.
I saw that video, but rather than being impressed I just couldn’t stop laughing at what looked like a seagull dressed as Zazu being dragged around by it’s beak. These seem like something that will be much more charming in person, but I had a lot of trouble taking the video as seriously as the people in it. Really, I just wish they’d bring something World Of Color ish to the lake for a nighttime spectacular. However, the kites with the music seem like they’ll be fun for short periods in the day (for every season except Summer anyway.)
I agree with you on the special appeal of human performers vs. projection, etc. It’s like a live orchestra rather than a DJ. I hope to see this show.
Not on the subject, but did you do an Orange County COVID post today? I’ve found your weekly posts valuable as we weigh whether to reschedule our October trip! Thanks for your excellent writing!
Merry menagerie was so much fun. The animal came alive and the performer sort of disappeared into the crowd with you. Just like the really great ventriloquists become secondary to the puppet.
these look really cool, already an upgrade from rivers of light. though agree on the heat of the day issue- shade canopies needed…
“I’ve finally accepted the harsh reality that Paint the Night isn’t coming to Walt Disney World anytime soon,”
sad trombone 🙁 PTN is so amazing and they so desperately need a night time permanent parade at wdw. i’d rather see the daytime cavalcades be then ew daytime version and have a permanent nightly parade instead.