Sep 10

REPORT: ‘Festival of the Lion King’ at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Won’t See 2013

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The latest species on the endangered list to be highlighted at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort will be the Tumble Monkey, if reports are to be believed. A reliable insider has advised us that the gymnasts performing at the popular ‘Festival of the Lion King’ show located at Camp Minnie-Mickey have been put on six month notice (as of last month) and — to date — there have been no changes or amendments made to said job loss notification.

If this is indeed the case, it basically sets FOTLK for an early 2013 closing at the latest, lasting perhaps no longer than February (we were provided only with a rough timeline, not a specific date). Even so, it would be possible for the company to simply end the show and pay off the remainder of the contract should it determine to be more cost effective to do so.

The logical explanation provided for the end of the popular show’s reign (which has been a staple at the park since it opened in 1998) is that Camp Minnie-Mickey will be leveled in favor of ‘Avatarland’ which is expected to break ground in 2013. Most recently, reports have come in that ‘Avatarland’ is anywhere from stalled-to-canceled, but these reports mostly cite an IGN report which mentions only that the project is delayed, but even that arguably incorrectly culls its info from its own cited source, which effectively bases the rumor on nothing more than a combination of no concept art being publicly shared and (what amounts to) fanfic.

While The Walt Disney Company is being conspicuously mum on its plans for ‘Avatarland,’ it has seemingly been moving forward with the project, conducting balloon surveys and, of course, telling its current cast members their services will no longer be required soon.