Festival of the Lion King (or FOLK, as Cast Members call it) is a truly excellent production within Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland. The show retells the "legend" of the Lion King with key numbers from the classic film. The production makes use of large floats, unique costumes, and interesting specialty acts.
The show is a must-see while you are in the park, if only to give your feet a break and get in to the air-conditioning. The queue starts forming nearly 45 minutes before the show begins. If you want your pick of a seat, get to the line at least 30 minutes ahead of the show. Don't mind the stampede from the "rope drop" to the theater doors - that's pretty normal. I like to go for the top row, since no one else wants it, so I get some much-needed personal space for a while, along with a wall to rest my back against.
The show itself is great, with wonderful performers with all kinds of talents. I was a little disappointed that some of the arrangements seemed to be dumbed down a bit - high notes were brought down an octave, etc. Some of the performers seemed more than capable of singing the original version, while others... not so much. So I understand their need to make it a bit easier for all talents, but it also reduced the wow factor of the performance.
One thing I found culturally odd and took away from the performance: the audience didn't seem all that interesting in participating. They didn't really cheer, or yell, or sing along, or anything really. There was so much energy on the stage and the audience was giving so little back. It felt awkward for me; definitely different than performances of this show in the U.S.
At the end of the show, all of the floats comes to center and rotate around, so if you happen to be facing the back side of a float, don't fear: you'll have that photo op. The floats remain there as you exit. And a fun tip: Simba can hear you! Feel free to shout up to him and he might just respond (not vocally, but still).
I enjoyed the show, and highly recommend you take time out of your day to see it! read more