Disney Prepares for New Show as Voyage of the Little Mermaid Signage Comes Down at Hollywood Studios

Jan 22, 2025 in "The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure"

Gallery / 4 Photos
The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure Construction January 2025

Posted: Wednesday January 22, 2025 1:22pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The marquee signage for Voyage of the Little Mermaid has been removed from the front of the theater building, marking another significant step in preparing the space for The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, a fully reimagined theatrical production set to debut in summer 2025.

The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure Construction January 2025

Voyage of the Little Mermaid entertained guests for nearly three decades, from its debut in January 1992 until its closure in 2020 during the pandemic shutdown. Since then, the theater has remained dormant, with Disney announcing plans for the new The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure in 2024.

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid Marquee seen here has now been removed

The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure concept art

The exterior updates are part of a larger refurbishment project to prepare the theater for the upcoming show. According to Disney, The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure will feature stunning new set pieces, cutting-edge effects, and a bold reimagining of the classic story, complete with fan-favorite songs like Part of Your World and Poor Unfortunate Souls.

The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure concept art

A construction permit filed earlier this year indicated work on new signage, with Design Communications Ltd. assigned to the project.

While the original Voyage of the Little Mermaid holds a special place in the hearts of Disney fans, The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure aims to deliver a refreshed experience for a new generation of parkgoers. Rehearsals for the show are already underway, with an official opening set for summer 2025.

The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure concept art

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CompedSep 09, 2025

I would guess it's likely for cost reasons, why many of these characters aren't getting their proper voice actors in the parks... Well, in Pat's case it's an open question if she even has a replacement cast yet, but others have no real excuse to be honest!

Disney AnalystSep 09, 2025

Bring on the King Triton face character with abs! Let's goooo!

LittleBufordSep 09, 2025

It would work in the intro (and look miles better), but Triton returns for the final scene to transform Ariel into a human. For that scene at least, he would have to be an animated figure, since he is shown interacting with both Ariel and Eric.

Disney AnalystSep 09, 2025

I meant just in the opening number with the sisters. Kinda like they already do with Triton behind the curtain. Do it all behind the curtain in silhouette. Have the empty shell facing the audience rotate it around as the curtain opens to reveal the empty shell to the imaginary audience behind the curtain. I don’t think there’s any puppets in the opening?

LittleBufordSep 09, 2025

Having now seen the show (I didn’t watch any videos before my visit), I think I was wrong. The difference in the top seems to have something to do with the new swimming effect they’ve introduced—the tail needs to connect differently to the actress to make the effect possible.

LittleBufordSep 09, 2025

I don’t think that would work well, as the animations interact with the human cast and puppets. They should use whatever technology they used for PhilharMagic.

Disney AnalystSep 09, 2025

They should just do silhouettes or something.

LittleBufordSep 09, 2025

I was able to see this twice last week. Unlike most people here, I adored the old version, so this reboot had a lot to live up to. I thought, overall, it was a worthy successor, with some real enhancements, especially Ariel’s swimming effect and the montage when Eric is confronting Ursula. But the animated Triton and sisters are just unbelievably bad—shoddier even than the animated Figment you see on the current version of Imagination. It made so sense to me given that the other animated figures, including Ursula (in those sequences where she is represented in two dimensions), looked fine and integrated really well with the puppets and human actors. At least it’s a problem that can be easily fixed, should they choose to address it (which I hope they do).

discosAug 14, 2025

So based off the behind the scenes motion cap pic Disney shared, to my ears it sounds like the actor in the photo is the singing and speaking voice of Ursula in the show. This specific CM did a bunch of equity roles on property, most recently as one of the hosts in the Encanto sing along show at Epcot. If you hear a clip of her normal voice you can hear her in Ursula. Even Jafar and Hades in the Villains show at DHS are current WDW Equity CMs.

AylaAug 14, 2025

Raise your hand if you are the least bit surprised.

WondersOfLifeAug 14, 2025

Neither. They just need to add more LL experiences in Hollywood Studios to justify that moneyssssss.

WondersOfLifeAug 14, 2025

I'll actually argue the latter and say the showing I saw was completely full. (Not vouching for it, it's not my favorite thing. But it does fill up.)

WondersOfLifeAug 14, 2025

The removal of extra technological elements like the waterfall curtain, laser effects, and the mist/laser ceiling, I think was a loss. I believe they should have kept those elements and ADDED the elements they DID add to the show. ...But yes, the embarrassingly bad animation is 2/3rds of the problem, because it is such a critical asset to the show. They need to fix that.

DisoneAug 14, 2025

I recently saw this and thought it was definitely an upgrade from the prior version. While I do miss the lasers and the mist effects, the animation did not bother me. I guess I need to go back and look at it a second time because apparently it's horrible animation but I honestly didn't notice. Overall I found the show to be much more compelling than the original. I would have had Ariel sing a quick reprise of part of your world as the finale but I overall did not have a whole lot of qualms about the show.