Cast Members From Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ Star in Dedication of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Cast Members From Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ Star in Dedication of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Broadway takes center stage at opening of new Disney resort

Since opening its doors a few weeks ago, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has brought the romance and spirit of Africa to guests of the Walt Disney World Resort. On Tuesday, May 22, cast members from the Tony Award-winning, Broadway production of Disney’s “The Lion King” brought the distinctive sounds and rhythms of the continent to Central Florida as they took center stage in the official dedication ceremony for Disney’s newest resort.

Led by music supervisor/director Joseph Church, Sheila Gibbs (“Rafiki”) and four ensemble members performed the musical’s signature song, “Circle of Life,” in the grand lobby of the Africa-themed hotel.

And they had plenty of help, as a Central Florida performance choir, hotel employees and resort guests joined in the festivities.

The 50-member Seminole High School Choir from Sanford, Fla., accompanied the Broadway cast during the song, along with approximately 200 African cultural representatives and other employees from the resort.

In addition to the performance of “Circle of Life,” ensemble members Ron Kunene and Lindiwe Dlamini, both natives of Africa who have been part of “The Lion King” cast since its Broadway opening, read a poem entitled “Africa - We Thank You,” which was crafted by several of the resort’s cultural representatives.

The ceremony closed in equally grand fashion as leaf-shaped confetti showered throughout the massive lobby of the six-story resort and 100 paper birds swayed and fluttered on giant poles.

Recreating an African wildlife reserve, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge showcases the wonder and romance of Africa, from the hand-carved furnishings and the gourmet cuisine served in its three restaurants to the splendor of a 33-acre savannah around the resort where more than 200 exotic animals roam freely. Most of the hotel’s balconies overlook the vast savannah, putting guests within 30 feet of nearly three dozen species of mammals and birds, including giraffes, zebras, sacred ibis, bongos and Thomson’s gazelles.

Disney Imagineers visited more than 20 African lodges for inspiration and research for the 1,293-room resort, which opened April 16, 2001.

-- Posted May 23, 2001

Source: Company Press Release