A new show has debuted at Epcot, and it’s part singalong, part dance party, part trivia contest and part Spanish lesson. Plus it’s helping break in a significant Walt Disney World venue.
“Celebracion Encanto” can now be seen at the theme park’s CommuniCore Plaza Stage. It features music and characters from the 2021 film “Encanto,” the tale of a family in Colombia with a magical house. It also put a song about not talking about Bruno — written by Lin-Manuel Miranda — into an earworm and chart-topper.
Where to go
The outdoor stage adjacent to the new CommuniCore Hall is home to “Celebration Encanto.” You may read this as code for “wear sunscreen,” but theme parkers should be doing that anyway. The stage is covered, but the area where the audience stands is not.
CommuniCore Hall is part of the new-ish World Celebration neighborhood and the symbolic last piece of the “transformation of Epcot” puzzle. Visitors had previously seen the building’s triangle-heavy facade over construction walls. (Stylistically, think of it as Spaceship Earth and Journey to Imagination had a baby.) It’s just beyond the Walt the Dreamer statue added last year.
The show is available multiple times daily into the afternoon (show times on the My Disney Experience app), and a live Latin groove band takes over the space in the evening, Disney says.
What you’ll see and hear
The show begins with a pair of energetic hosts plus four “cousins” who are dancers and crowd-participation enablers. The action bounces between performances on stage and a big screen showing “Encanto” clips and lyrics. Audience members are also quizzed on their knowledge of the film and the Madrigal family.
Colorful props line the stage, which looks to be designed for flexibility (The show is only scheduled through Sept. 6). Spaceship Earth looms behind the performers.
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The group runs through a handful of “Encanto” songs, including “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which comes with arm-ography. A few children are recruited to help act out the lyrics, and they are assisted by the dancers who put them through the not-simple stage directions.
There are other crowd participation/dancing moments, steered mostly to children and “Look at me; I’m an influencer” types. Kids can shine at these times or freeze in the spotlight, though most were eager to show their muscles during “Surface Pressure,” the song where the strong Luisa character expresses weakness.
The show doesn’t dwell on the film’s plot, and it doesn’t have a beginning-middle-end storyline format, so it’s OK to be a little late or leave midstream. You’d get the flavor.
Near the end are appearances by the Bruno and Mirabel characters, which isn’t a meet-and-greet, but there’s a chance to dance with them.
What else is new and nearby?
• CommuniCore Hall is an indoor, flexible space. Look for its purpose to morph and to be tied with Epcot’s festival schedule. The Disney Parks Blog has said one of its roles will be “a place for guests to relax.”
• The building also houses a walk-up eatery called Festival Favorites. Its menu changes periodically, and this summer, it will offer “Encanto” treats, including a cheese-stuffed arepa and coconut tres leches.
• A new character meet-and-greet space called Mickey and Friends in part of the CommuniCore complex as well. Here, you can knock out three characters in a single stop, each with a different Epcot-inspired background. The queue features classic Epcot sights — the dismantled-in-transformation Fountain of Nations, the monorail, Dreamfinder — in a modern mural style.
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