What to expect at Atlanta’s Disney Animation Immersive Experience
Disney fans will feel the love for a 56-minute multimedia fix at the recently opened Disney Animation Immersive Experience in Atlanta.
Located at 159 Armour Drive, this experience provides attendees a mashup of 45 Disney movies going back to 1937′s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” all the way up to 2021′s monster hit “Encanto.”
“All our content is about wishing, hoping and dreaming,” said Dorothy McKim, an Oscar-nominated producer who has worked at Disney Animation Studios for 43 years and helped put together the experience. “That’s the theme of this show.”
The show features specific iconic musical sequences from Disney movies such as “Tangled” and “Pocahontas” sandwiched by montages focused on characters who are looking at the sky pondering the future, characters who are embarking on new adventures, characters who fly and characters who are villains.
Films such as “Zootopia” and “Wreck-It Ralph” that are not musicals are incorporated into the montages, McKim noted.
Since December, the Toronto-based company Lighthouse Immersive, in partnership with Disney, has been rolling out these immersive experiences in multiple cities including Toronto, Detroit and Boston. Atlanta is the 13th city and it includes the recent addition of “Under the Sea” from “The Little Mermaid.”
“We wanted that additional uplift,” McKim said. “Everybody loves that song. It fits perfectly before ‘Unfortunate Souls’.”
General admission tickets start at $29.99 with a slight discount if you buy four or more at a time. There are also premium and VIP tickets with extras like a Disney animation print and a rental cushion for existing fold-out seats in the room. You can buy them at lighthouseimmersive.com/disney/atlanta/. It’s open every day except Tuesdays.
McKim said the minimum commitment in Atlanta is three months and if demand is there, its stay will be extended.
Here are a few things to expect:
- There’s a room with a snack bar and tables where you can also take selfies in front of images from “Encanto” and “Frozen.”
- There’s a second room where you can learn about how Disney animates its films along with tables where you can draw some of your favorite Disney characters.
- The main room features the multi-sensory immersive experience. It includes the “Circle of Life” scene from “The Lion King” featuring Rafiki holding up baby Simba, the over-the-top “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sequence from “Encanto” and the magic carpet ride from “Aladdin.”
- There are two moments where bubbles come flying out into the room. During “Show Yourself” from “Frozen 2,” when the bubbles pop, a wisp of misty liquid rises up in the air.
- At different moments, the floor will be populated with stars, seashells or flower patches that react to footsteps.
- With the premium and VIP tickets, you get bracelets that light up in sync to the show itself, the same ones used during the Taylor Swift tour.
IF YOU GO
Disney Immersive Experience
Open every day except Tuesdays, ticket prices starting at $29.99. 159 Armour Drive, Atlanta. lighthouseimmersive.com/disney/atlanta/
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
