Disney Shares Preview of The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure at Disney World

tanc21 hours ago

I saw this in person on the 7th and it was phenomenal. The effect they have that makes things sort of look 3D is very mesmerizing. The choreography was great, I loved all the puppets and costumes. Ariel was a great performer and then you have hunk Prince Eric come out. Great remake of the show imo and much needed over its predecessor.

Mr. Sullivan8 days ago

Speaking as someone with a theatre degree, I can bet you the change to her costume has little to do with modesty and everything to do with functionality. A general rule of thumb as that the more individual pieces a costume has, the more complex it is to remove. Connecting the pieces likely makes it easier for her to get changed when she needs to.

LittleBuford8 days ago

I think this is something of a false equivalence, and I wouldn’t frame it as you have.

FoodRockz8 days ago

Yet Tarzan still runs around the parks basically naked. Although maybe they're coming for him next. 👀

Figments Friend8 days ago

I agree, and that stagecraft is something I enjoy seeing. Projection tech has been somewhat ‘overused’ of late. -

flynnibus8 days ago

Some may feel the UV lights, lasers, water, etc were kind of dated - but I love great stage craft over just pure digital projections.

wannabeBelle8 days ago

Excellent review, I do look forward to seeing this when I get back down there!!! Marie

Figments Friend9 days ago

I saw two showings yesterday afternoon and evening in person at Studios. @wannabeBelle, you were interested in my review so here we go… In a nutshell - this Show is a excellent refresh and a great improvement to the previous production. It should be seen in person to really appreciate the full effect, as the way this is staged cannot be correctly captured by just watching a video. The intensity of the vibrant colors of the projected animation and stage lighting is striking in person as well. Looks fantastic. I went in completely ‘spoiler free’ and the surprises in the show were really nice touches. Colorful settings, very good puppetry, some interesting effects, and good staging of most of the scenes. Music was well done, as was the projection effects. Lighting too was very nice. There were several changes I liked, including Ariel’s new ‘swimming’ rig as well as the new staged scenes. Ursula has a much bigger part now, and I enjoyed the more fleshed out story. The one major issue I had was the transformation scene in which her tail turns into human legs. The previous production did this better as the audience clearly sees it happening in front of them on stage. Currently, a similar scene happens but this time her tail is concealed with a fog effect and it changes ‘unseen’. So some viewers might miss this important moment. A plus however is the added scene near the end of the show between Ariel and her father Triton. A nice sentiment there. My favorite part however was the cleverly staged climatic battle between Ursula and Eric. Very cool sequence of events that takes place before your eyes on stage. Whoever came up with the concept of staging this scene in this way should be applauded. It was the standout moment in the show for me, theatrically. I do miss that ‘wave effect’ from the prior version of this show that used fog effects and the laser. For those not familiar with the previous version, the ‘wave effect’ took place above your heads during two parts of the program to make the audience feel like they were literally under the waves. This is an entertaining upgrade and a welcome addition to the current line up at Studios. Happy to have this space active again after a long absence! -

gerarar9 days ago

This post confirms 48 performers for the show. From what I can count there’s 6 puppeteers on stage per show, plus 2 actors (Ariel + Eric). If divide that evenly that’s 6 sets of casts that rotate throughout the week. But there could be less puppeteers total for example which would increase the number of actors. This also doesn't include stage hands, techs, etc. that help make the production happen. Also the opening cast/crew jacket is pretty cool!

TheMaxRebo12 days ago

That was my reaction - seems a bit more interpretive vs literal fish scales, etc. with the light/projections on it I think it fits well, but is different than what is typically seen

Gusey12 days ago

I'd say a mixture. Voyage had the first 2 songs in the wrong order, Ursula, and a skip to the end montage. The new show tells the story better with extra beats, all in the correct order. Added elements include the sisters at the start, Kiss the Girl, the final fight scene with Ursula in the storm and no montage in sight

Comped12 days ago

It's had significant alterations from the first show, most notably an entire new song.

BrianLo12 days ago

I think it’s very fair to critique the queue. Question - since I won’t watch this fully not in person. Is this more of a full new show (my assumption); or is it Voyage of the Little mermaid with upgrades? And I realize that’s a pretty grey question considering the story beats can’t possibly change and the venue is the same.

Figments Friend12 days ago