Five years after “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a brand-new show based on the animated classic has opened. Guests can now see “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” in Animation Courtyard. WDWNT was among the first guests to watch the show and now bring you Tom’s honest review.
Spoiler alert for “The Little Mermaid,” by the way.
“The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” Background
In 2020, everything at Walt Disney World Resort closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though most attractions returned in some capacity over the next few years, “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” never reopened.
The stage show debuted in 1992, three years after “The Little Mermaid” was released in theaters. At the time, it was a great cutting edge with laser effects, a water curtain, and puppetry. By 2020, it was dated, although we still enjoyed our nostalgic visits. (Watch our video of “Voyage of the Little Mermaid.”)
Despite its closure, a new “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” billboard was installed in September 2020, and a “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” 30th anniversary pin came out in 2022. In 2023, Disney began surveying guests about the show’s possible return. Finally, in December 2023, they announced a new “The Little Mermaid” show, still based on the 1989 animated film, set to open in fall 2024. They also said the theater in Animation Courtyard would be refreshed.
Disney said at the time, “As part of our continued investment in the Parks experience, Disney Live Entertainment has been dreaming up innovative ways to bring new life to the beloved story of Ariel’s journey to be part of the human world. When it opens, the show will feature stunning new set pieces, cutting-edge effects, and a bold new design that captures Ariel’s imagination and emotions through her unique view of the world around her.”
The show was ultimately delayed and did not premiere until May 2025. In December 2024, the old “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” marquee backdrop was replaced — then promptly torn down a month later. A brand new marquee was installed this month.
“The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” Review
We had no expectations for this show. When Disney announced it, many fans had the thought, “Really? A Little Mermaid show to replace a Little Mermaid show?” It’s not that our expectations were low; they were just nothing.
The new marquee is beautiful, but the queue left something to be desired. It has those same fish standees and the same faded, framed screenshots from the movie on the walls.
The old waiting area inside is mostly the same, except they ripped all the props out. Why? Now it’s just a big, poorly lit room. At this point, we were worried about the show.
In the theater, there’s a beautiful new proscenium. It frames the stage with waves of blue and green.
The proscenium features painted and 3D details straight out of Ariel’s grotto. Lyrics from “Part of Your World” are across the top in subtle lettering.
The lasers are gone, and their old holes are all sealed up.
Before the show starts, a seaweed “curtain” is across the stage. We thought it was real before the show started. It’s actually a projection. That technology has gotten so crisp that it now makes for cool, convincing effects.
We did like that the show begins with an announcement by King Triton’s seahorse herald, projected onto the screen.
That said, we aren’t fans of screens and projections, so we were worried (again) when the show started with one big projected sequence. King Triton appears in his seashell carriage, and then Ariel’s sisters perform “Daughters of Triton.”
The animation is good. It’s created using Unreal Engine 4, the same technology behind Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. It’s so realistic, there are sometimes near-seamless transitions from the digital world to the physical.
The physical world does, thankfully, appear after “Daughters of Triton.” Ariel comes swimming across the stage in a cool moment. The next song is “Part of Your World,” and the performer we saw had incredible vocals. That’s what you expect from Ariel, but it’s still worth praising the actress. We were tearing up and got goosebumps.
This reminded us why it’s important to still have “The Little Mermaid” on stage. It’s a quintessentially Disney story. People come to the parks and expect to see Ariel singing “Part of Your World” live. It’s actually kind of sad that such a classic moment doesn’t exist at all of the Disney resorts.
This also shows that Disney realizes not everything new has to be based on their newest movies. They have an incredible catalog of films like “The Little Mermaid” that stir up emotions. Yes, new movies should have a presence in the parks for promotion — it’s something even Walt Disney did (Sleeping Beauty Castle was built four years before the release of “Sleeping Beauty”). But there is a back catalog of movies that mean so much to people and are reliable.
Other examples of this phenomenon include the new “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After,” which features villains from the ’50s and ’60s. Also coming soon to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is Monstropolis, based on the 24-year-old “Monsters, Inc.” Even the new “Cars” area coming to Magic Kingdom is based on a series that began in 2006.
Back to the show. We had another “oh no” moment when Sebastian appeared digitally on screen, but he was quickly replaced by a physical puppet to bring the audience into “Under the Sea.”
This was one of the amazing sequences from “Voyage of the Little Mermaid,” leaving guests wondering how the fish appeared as practical puppets, but the puppeteers themselves remained invisible. That effect has remained, but is done in a way that makes it feel new, with enhancements from the projections.
Projection-wise, there is a lot of color and a lot of movement throughout the show. It could be seen as overuse, but it will work for younger guests, and adult audiences still get moments of technical marvel.
The color, light, movement, and animation during “Under the Sea” complement the performance. It’s a tremendous sequence, and we think guests will respond to it now the way they responded to the original 1992 number.
For the most part, the show appears to have kept the same amount of staffing from “Voyage of the Little Mermaid,” maybe just a couple fewer people. It’s also kept the same number of physical sets and props, albeit all rebuilt. The projections just add to the scenery and action.
The Ursula puppet is phenomenal. It feels like the 1992 puppet just built with modern technology. This is what works well for those of us with nostalgia for the old show. So much of that show’s DNA still exists, just surrounded by all the cutting-edge staging technology available today.
Not every piece of tech used is necessarily new, but it’s used in ways that makes it feel fresh. This is the real Disney magic — human touch combined with tech used in ways you’ve never seen before or that makes it feel brand new.
The “Kiss the Girl” sequence is new for this staging, which means a new series of puppets that look straight out of the ’90s. There’s an innate charm to them. It’s the charm of a cartoon and the charm of classic Disney. This is a mix of the old Walt Disney World and the new.
We adore the “Kiss the Girl” scene and it’s a welcome addition to the show.
The show stealer, technologically speaking, is the battle. There are moments where the stage goes dark and then quickly lights-up again and you’re left wondering, “How did they got over there so quick?”
It’s a phenomenal finale combining the digital and real.
The finale has all the heart and warmth of the old “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” ending with, once again, new technology. Triton appears (he and sometimes Ursula are created digitally thanks to motion capture) and realizes that he has to let his daughter go.
She magically transforms and you get a big emotional finale.
It’s refreshing to say such positive things in an honest review. Disney Live Entertainment is back in a big way. A few months ago, we got the impressive “The Tale of Moana” stage show on the Disney Treasure. Last week, we saw the new “World of Color Happiness!” that hit on our feelings. Now we get this “Little Mermaid” show that blew our lack-of-expectations out of the water. It’s a marvelous remake of the original with fresh new tech, fresh musical numbers, and incredible talented performers.
What makes Disney entertainment so different and powerful is their incredible library of music that you know and love. Seeing it performed on stage hits you emotionally in a special way. This is the edge Disney has over their competition.
If you love the old show, you’ll find everything you loved and more in “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.” Guests who never got to see the old show will be wowed. For a long time, Walt Disney World management did not let entertainment be on the cutting edge. We’re glad to be back to an age where they can do things bigger and better than ever.
All the money and passion was on the stage, so we don’t care about the weird queue updates (or lack thereof). Kudos to the team. They put on a tremendous performance.
Watch the video version of Tom’s review below.
Watch our video of the “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” below.
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