A closeup look at Disney KiteTails now playing at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Oct 06, 2021 in "Disney KiteTails"

Gallery / 41 Photos
Disney KiteTails Lion King show

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Posted: Wednesday October 6, 2021 9:54am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney KiteTails made its debut at Disney's Animal Kingdom this past week as part of "The World's Most Magical Celebration."

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

Taking place in the Discovery River, with seating in the DinoLand side of the theater originally built for Rivers of Light, the show last for 20 minutes, including a pre-show with a kids' parade.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

The show features various kites depicting familiar characters from "The Lion King" or "The Jungle Book," including Baloo, Zazu, Simba, King Louie, Timon and Pumbaa. There are two separate shows, with one featuring the Lion King, and the other featuring the Jungle Book - you do not see both sets of kites in the same show.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

Watch the video below for a look at an entire performance of Disney KiteTails. (4K YouTube)

Six jetskis are used in the show to pull the three large 30ft long kites above the water.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

In addition to the water-based kites, there are performers on land at the front of the theater flying smaller kite and wind catchers.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

An interesting part of the show is the rather heavy landing of each of the large kites, directly into the Asia seating section.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

Click the gallery to see more pictures from Disney KiteTails.

The show officially made its debut on October 1 as part of "The World's Most Magical Celebration" at Walt Disney World. Showtimes ware currently 11:15am, 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 3:15pm, 4:15pm, and 5:15pm daily.

Disney KiteTails Lion King show

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Agent H21 days ago

Nah that’s Epcot

jeanericuser00122 days ago

Always nice to see a dagger buried in kitefails. A shame they are taking away a prime nesting spot for birds in the area but I guess it could not be helped. Some times I wonder if they should do with this area what they are gonna do with rivers of america. The space is pointless at this point and converting it into an attraction space might give disney enough space for something really interesting.

wdwmagic24 days ago

I'm guessing these were falling apart and had to be removed. They were rather temporary looking, and thrown up quickly, so more than likely not intended for long-term use.

Squishy24 days ago

TTA9430 days ago

You would think especially this summer they would want to put something in there even if it’s temporary.

aladdin200730 days ago

It's unfortunate as the park could really benefit from something, why they don't just do a retooled version of Rivers of Light Ill never understand. They have the theater and prior infrastructure in place. I mentioned in another thread about the starlight parade that sometimes they try to be too high tech and it just doesn't work, less is more. And lately too many things have been backfiring on them.

TTA9430 days ago

Sure would be nice to have some show there for this summer but I’m pretty sure we would have heard about it by now.

gerarar30 days ago

That entire dock was specifically built for KiteTails. Now just the top square-ish piece remains. From July 2021: https://blogmickey.com/2021/07/construction-begins-for-disney-kitetails-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/

WorldExplorer30 days ago

Was that KiteTails specific? I thought it was meant to look like generic theming for a boat dock and was there before KiteTails.

gerarar30 days ago

Big thread bump! But the old KiteTails infrastructure in the lagoon was recently removed. Majority of the dock/barges was stripped out and theming removed and replaced. Before: After: You can see where the extended dock used to connect with the bare-unthemed parts in the third picture above. Source and more:

ToTBellHopOct 28, 2022

This is the only way:

brb1006Oct 28, 2022

What about King Louie and Baloo taking a nap?

MisterPenguinOct 28, 2022

When will Kitetails be back? It was a family-favorite for weeks and weeks. Can't wait to someday bring my grandkids to see Kitetails and see the same shocked look of horror on them when Simba crashes head first into the stands, just like it was for me!

brb1006Oct 28, 2022

I forgot that Kitatails is closing in a few days.... really tells you how WDW's 50th Anniversary offerings was executed. Here's a live look at WDW's 50th Anniversary Campaign as it's getting closer to it's conclusion. Spongebob Laughing = Iger/Chapek What a complete joke WDW's 50th Anniversary Celebration turned out to be compared to Disneyland's 50th and 60th Anniversaries. Disney's 100th Anniversary ("100 Years of Wonder") starting next year better make up for this.