BAY LAKE, Fla. – How many wonders can one attraction hold?
Starting Tuesday, guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios can enter the newly-revitalized Animation Courtyard theater for the long-awaited reimagined “Little Mermaid” stage show.
“The Little Mermaid—A Musical Adventure” replaces “Voyage of the Little Mermaid,” which closed in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
[’Sea’ a glimpse of “The Little Mermaid—A Musical Adventure” in the video below]
On Friday, Disney shared new footage and photos of the musical that features new set pieces, cutting-edge effects, and new design.
“We really wanted to honor the classic animated feature and we really, really took our inspiration from the art style and the magical effects that you saw in the original film except this time we brought it to 2025 and we took advantage of all the technology that we had in our arsenal," said Katrina Mena Rick, Senior Creative Producer for Disney Live Entertainment’s Visual Media Production.
The show also includes musical numbers inspired by songs such as “Part of Your World,” “Under the Sea,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and “Daughters of Triton.”
The video includes stage adaptations of familiar film scenes, character actors, and an impressive Ursula animatronic.
Shortly before a special preview showing on Monday, Disney Legend and the original voice of Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”, Jodi Benson, made a surprise appearance and joined the audience.
Benson spoke to News 6 about all the nods the new live show has to the 1989 animated film.
“I’m so excited to mix the live action with the animation, I thought that was breathtaking. I love that they added ‘Kiss the Girl’ for this new show, said Benson. ”And I just love, every time I get to hear all the music, it’s just glorious. So I’m just so excited, so excited about our new show.”
Had the privilege of watching The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After with Jodi Benson in the audience, and interview her after the show. 🧜♀️🔱👿🪞 pic.twitter.com/ZOwzyxzfy7
— Haley Coomes (@Haley_Coomes) May 27, 2025
“The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure" isn’t the only show debuting on May 27; that’s also when “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” takes over the Sunset Showcase theater.