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Start Date
12-6-2025 9:00 AM
Description
This paper explores the relationship between the in-park theatrical productions staged within Disney’s theme parks and Disney Theatrical Productions. It argues that overlaps between these two types of production offer a form of ‘spatial transmedia’ (Williams 2020) and that in-park theatrical productions of such shows (especially those versions of popular animated films such as Frozen or The Lion King) function as a form of transmedia ‘gateway’ to the productions within theatres on Broadway, in London’s West End, or across global stages (Bádue 2024).
The paper focuses on two examples within Disneyland Paris’ Walt Disney Studios Park (WDSP); firstly Frozen: A Musical Invitation, a walk-through experience where guests move between different ‘sets’, on their journey towards seeing Queen Elsa. Secondly, it examines the Mickey and the Magician stage show that offers a mix of iconic songs and performances from a range of Disney musicals, functioning as a form of ‘Jukebox Musical’ that allows audiences to ‘participate in new pleasure by drawing out impressions on their favorite old songs in the past’ (Seo and Lee 2014: 188).
The paper thus draws on work on transmedia storytelling and spatial transmedia to examine the affordances and challenges offered by Disney’s corporate synergy between its films, theme park spaces, and theatrical musical productions. It builds on this work to explore primarily how this works in practice in terms of the strategies that Disney employs to lead guests from one experience to the other, and how the different experiences offer forms of ‘spatial transmedia’ to the audiences.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Rebecca, "From Theme Park to Theatre (and Back Again): Spatial Transmedia and the Disney Musical" (2025). Theme Park Music and Sound. 1.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/tpms/2025/thursday/1
From Theme Park to Theatre (and Back Again): Spatial Transmedia and the Disney Musical
This paper explores the relationship between the in-park theatrical productions staged within Disney’s theme parks and Disney Theatrical Productions. It argues that overlaps between these two types of production offer a form of ‘spatial transmedia’ (Williams 2020) and that in-park theatrical productions of such shows (especially those versions of popular animated films such as Frozen or The Lion King) function as a form of transmedia ‘gateway’ to the productions within theatres on Broadway, in London’s West End, or across global stages (Bádue 2024).
The paper focuses on two examples within Disneyland Paris’ Walt Disney Studios Park (WDSP); firstly Frozen: A Musical Invitation, a walk-through experience where guests move between different ‘sets’, on their journey towards seeing Queen Elsa. Secondly, it examines the Mickey and the Magician stage show that offers a mix of iconic songs and performances from a range of Disney musicals, functioning as a form of ‘Jukebox Musical’ that allows audiences to ‘participate in new pleasure by drawing out impressions on their favorite old songs in the past’ (Seo and Lee 2014: 188).
The paper thus draws on work on transmedia storytelling and spatial transmedia to examine the affordances and challenges offered by Disney’s corporate synergy between its films, theme park spaces, and theatrical musical productions. It builds on this work to explore primarily how this works in practice in terms of the strategies that Disney employs to lead guests from one experience to the other, and how the different experiences offer forms of ‘spatial transmedia’ to the audiences.