Cirque du Soleil Chief Executive discusses reopening plans for Drawn to Life at Disney Springs

Apr 22, 2021 in "Cirque du Soleil"

New 'Drawn to Life' Cirque du Soleil show at Walt Disney World
Posted: Thursday April 22, 2021 10:25am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Cirque du Soleil Chief Executive Daniel Lamarre announced yesterday that several of the company's shows will return this summer in Las Vegas, but no date was given for "Drawn to Life" at Disney Springs.

"Drawn to Life,"  that was set to open in Spring 2020 at Disney Springs, and was just days away from opening when the COVID-19 shutdown began. Asked by the LA Times about "Drawn to Life," Lamarre said, "We should be able to open sometime in the fall."

We understand that limited rehearsals have been taking place among small groups of performers at the Cirque theater in Disney Springs.

This news comes in addition to Disney's January 1 "things to do in the new year" list, which listed Cirque du Soleil's Drawn to Life as coming later in 2021.


The show was originally planned to begin on March 20 2020, but was cancelled due to the arrival of COVID-19. Since then, Cirque du Soleil has gone through a turbulent period with mass layoffs and filing for bankruptcy. 

Here is the mention in the "21 Ways to Kick Off 2021 with Magic at Walt Disney World Resort" press release from Disney in January:

Get Excited for Even More Magic Later this Year – Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the new family-friendly attraction coming to the France pavilion in EPCOT, will debut in 2021. And the new Cirque du Soleil show “Drawn to Life,” coming to Disney Springs, will be a collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering. More details about these experiences and other excitement happening around Walt Disney World will be released at a later date.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

brb1006Jul 13, 2023

Cirque Du Soleil's Official Youtube Channel just posted this short 2D animation of the main characters from "Drawn to Life" today.

CompedJun 27, 2023

Can't be good sign for their capacity then... Even at $59, I'd not take the chance personally.

ToTBellHopJun 26, 2023

There’s a new deal for summer. Tix as low as $59!

WondersOfLifeJun 06, 2023

I'm so glad I wasn't working pirates when that happened 😂

cranbizJun 05, 2023

You figured out my secret. 2 funny stories. The first one was when we went on Pirates. Our line had a large number of Pooh sized guests and they all ended up in our boat. Everything went well until the boat got stuck at the chase scene. Eventually the ride needed to be shut down and maintenance came to free the boat. We all got out, the boat was freed up and we all reboarded the boat. We then floated the rest of the ride but with the audio shut off. All the audio except the donkey braying. We keep in touch still and every call has at least one hee haw said in it. I (and them) never looked at Pirates the same way again. The second did involve Small World. We were on it and had just entered the goodbye room and the ride went down but the audio was never shut off. 45 minutes later the ride track restarts but I now know goodbye in many different languages. Yes, those friends never want to be on Small World again.

MisterPenguinJun 05, 2023

Were you making them go on It's a Small World with you each time?

cranbizJun 05, 2023

So much like. When I was a CM, the people who sucked up to me for comp admission were the ones that I quickly figured out what they were up to and only got in once (if at all). My genuine friends were invited much more frequently and were known to politely decline once in a while.

WondersOfLifeJun 05, 2023

Mmmm. I'm sure you don't mean any harm by this post. As a former DCP employee, we will hate you even more as soon as we realize you're using us for discounts and perks. And we pick up on it fast. It was suuuuuuuuper annoying. Lol 😂 It should be "Ask your CM friends if they want to go see Cirque" instead of "Make some CM friends" But that's a discussion for another time.

DznyGrlSDJun 05, 2023

Make friends with your fellow castmembers. They are (finally) offering us a discount on the shows!

WondersOfLifeJun 04, 2023

Just saw the show with the updates. Fourth time seeing this show now. Holy guacamole it was great!! The new act with the feet tumblers was a lot more entertaining that the two guys that used to come out on stilts. Also, it wasn't just an added scene that has been changed. They updated a lot of the projections, such as the scene with the two people tossing each other on the high wheel. That same scene also added other elements I didn't recognize the first two times I saw the show. They also added MORE to what they already had. More interactions and scene bits during the Cirque acts to keep you engaged... I think I must have caught a very energetic cast. There was a group of high school or college boys of about 200 or so tonight. So I'm wondering if that sparked some energy up in the cast. All that said.... Very good changes and additions! Loved it even more! I've seen this show four times now... 3 out of those 4 are because I'm a children's theatre director. So I take my students to go see the show. It's fantastic!

PrinceCharming617May 13, 2023

I'm glad you liked it buddy.

SaucyBoyMay 12, 2023

There are some valid critiques of the show. However, Drawn to Life is the perfect example of how blending Disney IP into another world can work well. It seems both parties have taken steps to improve the show by adding new acts earlier this year. I am looking forward to seeing how it's evolved later this summer.

PrinceCharming617May 12, 2023

I had to comment, I couldn't leave this thread at 666 for replies. hahaha I've heard this show isn't very good from a couple of people. They've said It doesn't seem to have the magic that the other ones have had. I'll give it a chance with my good friend Mary Jane though, she always makes them better.