Go see Finding Nemo the Musical

“Even if you’re not a show person go see Finding Nemo the Musical in the Animal Kingdom. It is AMAZING! Well worth the wait in line.”

I have a confession to make: I hate going to shows at Walt Disney World.  I really do.  And I have no excuse since I do a lot of community theater, so I love acting, but when I’m at Disney the last thing I want to do is wait in a line then sit in a packed theater and watch a show that might last an hour and take away from my precious, precious ride time. This sometimes leads to minor quibbles in the parks since Adam loves shows. I dread heading to Disney Hollywood Studios because I know he’s going to want to go to every single damn show they have–and they have a lot!

So the first time we saw the line for the Finding Nemo the Musical show at Animal Kingdom (dammit Animal Kingdom, I thought you were SAFE and showless!) I said “Absolutely not.”  For one thing, the line stretched out past the entrance to Dinoland USA and there was still like 45 minutes before the show!  But he promised to buy me one of those Mickey-Ear ice creams (he knows my secret weakness) and so I relented and we got in line.  The line was not very pleasant, it was pretty hot, but I was glad that the show was actually inside and air conditioned.  The benches were just simple, long wooden ones that weren’t really comfortable but we scored prime seating by not following the crowd and sitting to the left of the aisle that comes off the stage.  

Let me say that the theater is brilliantly built.  In the front to both sides of the stage they have these bubbles protruding that have animated waves on them.  Every so often, a certain little fish appears then flits off again, causing children to scream out, “NEMO!” and point.  But of course once their parents look, he’s already gone.  It was super adorable.

Then the show starts.  And I am loathe to admit it but I was entirely enthralled the whole time!  For those of you that have seen the Lion King on Broadway (or wherever it was touring) it was just as breathtaking as that.  The actors were fantastic with the puppets, they come out into the audience, it’s just….magical.  It was so great I bought the soundtrack when we got home!  Not only that, but the next time we went to Disney, I was the one that demanded we go see Finding Nemo the Musical!  And the next time we go, we’ll definitely go see it again.  It really is that good.  

Finding Nemo the Musical is easy to miss unless you’re paying attention: head towards Dinoland USA from Everest and it’s to your left after you cross the bridge.  If you ever wonder why people are standing behind the ropes there, that’s why and you should get in line!