who.what.Ren: Festival of the Lion King | Disney Happiness Project

We've come to the end of the first week of my new year-long project! If you haven't read my previous post explaining what the project is, you can read it here! I will always post the picture of my journaled page at the end of the post, so keep on reading for a look at this week's!

For those of you who didn’t know, my time spent working at Disney was spent at Animal Kingdom. On a pretty regular basis, I was asked questions about when the next showing of Festival of the Lion King was, or where it was located. For the first 6 months or so of my time down there though, the show was actually closed for refurbishment.

I had to disappoint many people and tell them the news that the show wasn’t currently running (at the time). I actually always wanted to answer their question of when the next show was with a sassy “um… sometime in July…maybe!” but I never did, don’t you worry!

I even met a woman who travelled down to see the show because she was on the team that opened the show (hello there, I want your job!). So many people were interested in seeing this one show. What makes it so special?

I will admit that I was a little disappointed when I initially came down and knew it would be months before I could see the show because it was on my bucket list of to-dos. I accepted that fact though, and carried on.

See, I knew that I had seen the show before. I didn’t remember much of it from when I was a kid though. I remembered it being in a roundish (it’s a word now) auditorium, there was something involving a trampoline, and a display of many bright colors. That was all I could remember from seeing it as a kid, and I hadn’t seen it in the many years between that first time and just a few months ago. I also remembered fanning myself with the park map because it was sweaty hot, which is what hot and humid Animal Kingdom will do to you!

As a DAK (Disney's Animal Kingdom) cast member, when the new theater was finished, I was able to get a look at it during one of my lunch breaks. Sitting in the finished Harambe theatre was quite exciting! I knew I would get to see the show again very soon.

A few days after it reopened, I was able to go on one of my days off. I’m 20 years old, but it was like a 5 year old took over my body. I sat there with my camera in my hand debating if I wanted to try and take pictures, watching the show through the lens of my camera, or just sit there and soak it all in. I’m happy to say I went with the latter. My face was beaming with a smile the entire time. I joined in for all of the parts requiring audience participation, and even those that didn’t, haha! I can’t help but sing along!! I went to see Festival of the Lion King many more times before I moved back home.

This past week, I was in Florida for less than 48 hours. I am incredibly grateful for the chance I had to be there even if it was ridiculously brief! I really hoped my time back in Florida visiting would include some Disney time, and it sure did! I had an amazing day with two of my Kali River Rapids coworkers and friends where we hit 3 of the 4 parks. I am so pleased with the amount of things we accomplished in the one day we had.

Our time at Animal Kingdom was spent surprising old coworkers who didn’t expect me to just show up randomly in line, which was really fun, and made me feel extremely loved. Our visit to DAK would not be complete though without a visit to good ole Harambe theatre. It was a must-see for me. I have missed the show in my life. Julie, Kaitlyn, and I went and sat in the lion section because where else would you want to sit when you knew King Simba would be present? I mean, come on.

After the show, I finally purchased my very own copy of the show’s soundtrack. I now listen to it every time I drive anywhere in my car. It is crazy good! Track 8 is AH-Mazing.

So why does this show mean so much to me? It is 30 minutes of adventure. It is an escape from the theme park atmosphere and life beyond the parks. Essentially, the show is a celebration. I leave feeling so positively energized. The show makes me feel grateful for life. It is so lively! My memories of the show as a child were not wrong, but I didn’t appreciate fully what the show really is and was back then. I love sitting in the audience, watching a performance, but at the same time really feeling a part of it.

The show comes with some of the Lion King’s main themes. Hakuna Matata, anyone? Yeah, it’s a good one. The show reminds me that even though there is darkness in life, we can create light. It teaches me to rejoice in moments of triumph and take hold of my dreams. It teaches me to be prepared for the bad times, but know that a colorful life may be just around the corner. I’m quite a serious person at times, and this 30 minute show allows me to shake it off and enjoy life, and enjoy this moment, because it is what I have right now. The past is the past; it is just a memory now. Why should I let that bother me and weigh me down still? I just need to learn from it, and live in the now. Easier said than done, and it has become quite a cliché in our society, but it is still an important one.

(L-R) Me, Julie, and Kaitlyn

Asante sana, Festival of the Lion King. (Meaning “thank you very much” in Swahili. I didn’t look that up, I actually knew it, thank you very much! Haha or should I say asante sana :D) I know now why people asked me every day for months when the next showing was, and why they wanted every one in their family to see it. It is a special show. Please go see it if you have the chance. It really is a show for everyone and I think it can teach us all something different. Even just the message that it is okay to celebrate life and experience joy makes it quite the worthwhile spectacle in my book.