'Festival of the Lion King' back at Disney's Animal Kingdom complete with Tumble Monkeys and Flying Bird

Jul 16, 2022 in "Festival of the Lion King"

Gallery / 5 Photos
Tumble Monkeys returns to Festival of the Lion King

Posted: Saturday July 16, 2022 8:50am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Tumble Monkeys and flying birds are back at the Harambe Theatre as the 'Festival of the Lion King' makes it full return to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Tumble Monkeys returns to Festival of the Lion King

The modified 'A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King' closed on July 4 with the full 'Festival of the Lion King' show resuming today. Showtimes are 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm. Lightning lane access is available via Disney Genie+, along with a regular standby line.

Tumble Monkeys returns to Festival of the Lion King

The tumble monkeys are a team of acrobats that adds a lot of energy to the show and are especially popular with the younger members of the audience. Although the show is once again called by its original name, the audience participation elements are not back in the show but may return later.

Watch the video below to see the Tumble Monkeys in action.

The return of A Festival of the Lion King in May 2021 was a significant moment for Walt Disney World's entertainment department and its return to the parks followed the pandemic closures. Although in a modified format, it was the first time that large numbers of guests were indoors for a show.

Tumble Monkeys returns to Festival of the Lion King

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gerararSep 28, 2024

Big thread bump! I recently noticed that the last of the Covid-era physical distancing choreography has been removed from the show, restoring the original choreography. This is mainly noticeable in the finale during the first Can You Feel The Love Tonight reprise – the animal dancers are now touching hands and close with one another again. This removed the (imo) awkward moves, especially during the "The world for once in perfect harmony" part when they weren't touching hands lol. This change happened sometime in the past 2 weeks, judging from multiple livestreams of the show. Best guess is the week of 9/15. Before: After: Livestream of new choreography (9/23): Livestream of old distanced choreography (8/8): I would say the show is now pretty much restored back to its original show. Only thing is that there are still 2 dancers missing, but this seems to be a permanent cut from the show, now 3 years later.

SirwalterraleighApr 20, 2023

…only took 3 years…they’re cranking now

JohnDApr 20, 2023

Bumping again. So I saw it today. The entire show appears to be back including stilt walkers and children marching around the theater with a narrative change. After the children dance around the theater, singling out one child with Timon saying and pointing, "You were perfect, especially you!" was removed. This was not related to health but was clearly a narrative change. I get the impression what was done previously is not coming back.

mm52200Dec 16, 2022

Stilt walkers being there some days and missing others is due to staffing. No crowd interaction still.

RSoxNo1Dec 16, 2022

Sorry to thread bump but wanted to update people here. I could be mistaken but in late November the stilt walkers weren't part of the show, but they were definitely there a week later. They are also not doing the animal sections or having kids come around as part of the finale as of early December.

RSoxNo1Jul 21, 2022

Love to see this show back to it's former glory.

Figments FriendJul 17, 2022

Great to have the entire Show back! ✨ -

SplashJacketJul 16, 2022

Absolutely fantastic show. The enthusiasm by the performers and guests was extremely evident. The tumble monkey segment is fantastic. Way better than I remember and I have always loved it. Returns the show to its full glory. Acrobatic can you feel the love tonight is equally amazing. The sign language interpreters did an amazing job. Phenomenally talent and animated!

UnbansheeJul 16, 2022

Beauty and the Beast dropped physical distancing some time ago https://blogmickey.com/2022/04/beauty-and-the-beast-live-on-stage-begins-return-to-new-normal-removes-physical-distancing-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

jrhwdwJul 16, 2022

Another First Day, another Standing Ovation!!! GREAT JOB AK/TDO!!!! Now all we need is the normal BATB & F!

wdwmagicJul 16, 2022

'Festival of the Lion King' back at Disney's Animal Kingdom complete with Tumble Monkeys and Flying Bird https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/festival-of-the-lion-king/news/16jul2022-festival-of-the-lion-king-back-at-disneys-animal-kingdom-complete-with-tumble-monkeys-and-flying-bird.htm

wdwmagicMay 25, 2022

That was my thought exactly.

Zummi GummiMay 25, 2022

I really hope it’s not because they don’t want to pay the cast the overnight “premium” for those rehearsals, but it wouldn’t shock me if that were the reason.