Disney KiteTails at Disney's Animal Kingdom to permanently close

Sep 14, 2022 in "Disney KiteTails"

Disney KiteTails Lion King show
Posted: Wednesday September 14, 2022 12:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney KiteTails at Disney's Animal Kingdom will have its final showing on September 30 2022 and will then permanently close.


The show originally opened alongside Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary on October 1 2022, and was converted into a walk-by experience in May 2022. The performers inside the theater were removed, leaving just the large jet-ski-powered kites flying over the water.

Watch the video below for a look at the show. (4K YouTube).

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    Agent H19 days ago

    Nah that’s Epcot

    jeanericuser00121 days ago

    Always nice to see a dagger buried in kitefails. A shame they are taking away a prime nesting spot for birds in the area but I guess it could not be helped. Some times I wonder if they should do with this area what they are gonna do with rivers of america. The space is pointless at this point and converting it into an attraction space might give disney enough space for something really interesting.

    wdwmagic23 days ago

    I'm guessing these were falling apart and had to be removed. They were rather temporary looking, and thrown up quickly, so more than likely not intended for long-term use.

    Squishy23 days ago

    TTA9428 days ago

    You would think especially this summer they would want to put something in there even if it’s temporary.

    aladdin200728 days ago

    It's unfortunate as the park could really benefit from something, why they don't just do a retooled version of Rivers of Light Ill never understand. They have the theater and prior infrastructure in place. I mentioned in another thread about the starlight parade that sometimes they try to be too high tech and it just doesn't work, less is more. And lately too many things have been backfiring on them.

    TTA9429 days ago

    Sure would be nice to have some show there for this summer but I’m pretty sure we would have heard about it by now.

    gerarar29 days ago

    That entire dock was specifically built for KiteTails. Now just the top square-ish piece remains. From July 2021: https://blogmickey.com/2021/07/construction-begins-for-disney-kitetails-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/

    WorldExplorer29 days ago

    Was that KiteTails specific? I thought it was meant to look like generic theming for a boat dock and was there before KiteTails.

    gerarar29 days ago

    Big thread bump! But the old KiteTails infrastructure in the lagoon was recently removed. Majority of the dock/barges was stripped out and theming removed and replaced. Before: After: You can see where the extended dock used to connect with the bare-unthemed parts in the third picture above. Source and more:

    ToTBellHopOct 28, 2022

    This is the only way:

    brb1006Oct 28, 2022

    What about King Louie and Baloo taking a nap?

    MisterPenguinOct 28, 2022

    When will Kitetails be back? It was a family-favorite for weeks and weeks. Can't wait to someday bring my grandkids to see Kitetails and see the same shocked look of horror on them when Simba crashes head first into the stands, just like it was for me!

    brb1006Oct 28, 2022

    I forgot that Kitatails is closing in a few days.... really tells you how WDW's 50th Anniversary offerings was executed. Here's a live look at WDW's 50th Anniversary Campaign as it's getting closer to it's conclusion. Spongebob Laughing = Iger/Chapek What a complete joke WDW's 50th Anniversary Celebration turned out to be compared to Disneyland's 50th and 60th Anniversaries. Disney's 100th Anniversary ("100 Years of Wonder") starting next year better make up for this.