PHOTOS: Umbrellas Installed in Animal Kingdom’s Discovery River Amphitheater
Throughout the history of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests have gathered on the shores of Discovery River to take in the park’s nighttime entertainment.
Whether The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic, Rivers of Light, or KiteTales was being performed, Animal Kingdom’s nightly extravaganzas have always taken place on the water.
Rivers of Light. Photo: David Roark
To facilitate these shows, Disney created the Discovery River Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat venue arranged into two villages, one near Expedition Everest and the other near DinoLand.
The Abandoned Amphitheater
While Disney’s Animal Kingdom has not had a show since KiteTales closed in 2002, the amphitheater has remained open to guests.
Now essentially a large seating area, the Discovery River Amphitheater has undergone several changes over the past few years, including the removal of the KiteTales dock.
New Umbrellas Have Been Installed
When visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom today, we were intrigued to see that umbrellas have been added to the Discovery River Amphitheater near Expedition Everest.
The new coverage not only protects the area from rain but also provides guests with some much-needed shade.
A look at the new umbrellas.
But Why?
While it is interesting that Disney has added more shade to the Discovery River Amphitheater, it is also somewhat confusing.
As Animal Kingdom has not had a nighttime show in years, the area is infrequently used.
With construction on Tropical Americas set to continue for at least another year, it is hard to see a new show debuting anytime soon.
So, for now, it appears that Disney simply wants to provide guests with a little more protection from the elements.
As always, be sure to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to update you on all the news coming out of Walt Disney World.
