Disneyland has announced that the “Tale of the Lion King” stage show will return May 28, playing in its new location at the Fantasyland Theatre.
The last permanent resident in that space was “Mickey and the Magical Map,” which never returned after the COVID-19 pandemic kept Disneyland’s theme parks closed for more than a year. The theatre will be an upgrade for “Tale of the Lion King,” which last ran in the summer of 2019 on a stage along the Paradise Bay lagoon in Disney California Adventure.
Disney did say on its official Parks Blog that the show will be “an all-new presentation,” without specifying whether that means any major changes to the 2019 show. The broad strokes appear to the same, with the premise being a traveling troupe called “The Storytellers of the Pride Lands” will tell the story of Simba, including new arrangements of “Lion King” songs.
To match the returning show, the nearby Troubadour Tavern will reopen with menu items inspired by “Lion King.”
May 28 is also the return date of the “Fantasmic” nighttime show, which has been absent from Disneyland’s Rivers of America since the pandemic began.
Alongside those returning, permanent offerings, Disney announced two temporary additions as part of its celebration of Black Music Month in June. From June 1 through July 4, Disney California Adventure will feature “daily live music celebrating Black music genres from Doo-Wop to Motown,” according to Disney, including the a capella group Philly Phonics.
During those same dates, Downton Disney will host the “Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” exhibit, which first debuted at Walt Disney World’s Epcot in 2021.