The American Idol Experience
| The American Idol Experience | |
|---|---|
| Park | Disney's Hollywood Studios |
| Land / area | Echo Lake |
| Type | Live singing competition show |
| Opened | February 14, 2009 |
| Closed | August 30, 2014 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering
|
| Status | Closed |
The American Idol Experience was a live attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida, based on the television series American Idol. Park guests aged 14 and over could audition during the day, perform before a live theatre audience in a compressed version of the television show, and compete in a daily finale. The winner received a "Dream Ticket" giving front-of-the-line access to a real American Idol regional audition. The attraction opened on February 14, 2009, and closed on August 30, 2014.[1][2]
History
Disney announced the attraction on February 7, 2008, licensing the format from the television show's producers, 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia. It needed no new building: it moved into the park's Superstar Television Theater on Echo Lake, the theatre that had originally housed Superstar Television and later the ABC Sound Studio and Doug Live!, and had lacked a permanent show since 2001.[3]
Preview performances ran in the weeks before the grand opening on February 14, 2009, which was marked by appearances from Idol host Ryan Seacrest and several past winners of the television series. The attraction then settled into a daily rhythm of preliminary shows and an evening finale for more than five years.[1]
Experience
Would-be contestants first sang privately for a Disney producer. Those selected were coached, given hair and make-up treatment, and sent on stage in one of the day's preliminary shows, each staged to mirror the television programme: a host, three judges offering praise and pointed criticism in the familiar styles of the TV panel, video packages introducing each singer, and keypad voting by the audience of more than a thousand guests.[2]
Each preliminary winner returned for the final show of the day, where the audience again voted to choose one overall winner. That winner received the Dream Ticket — described at the time as a kind of ultimate FastPass — entitling them to bypass the queue at a regional audition for the television series, subject to the show's age and residency rules; younger winners could hold or transfer the ticket.[1][2]
The pipeline produced real results. More than 2,000 Dream Tickets were awarded during the attraction's run, and several holders reached the televised stages of American Idol — including three finalists in the show's thirteenth season who had first been discovered through the attraction.[3]
Closure and legacy
In June 2014 Disney announced the attraction would close in January 2015; in August the date was brought forward, and the final shows played on August 30, 2014. Disney described the closure as part of its continuing review of entertainment options, and gave no fuller reason.[1][3]
The theatre was renamed the Hyperion Theater and became the permanent home of For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, which moved into the building on June 17, 2015, after first playing at another theatre in the park during the 2014 Frozen Summer Fun event. The American Idol Experience remains a distinctive experiment of its era: a theme-park attraction whose prize was not a souvenir but a genuine, if long-shot, route onto national television.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The American Idol Experience. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Idol_Experience
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Yesterland. https://www.yesterland.com/idolexperience.html
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Disney Extinct Attractions: The American Idol Experience. Laughing Place. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2018/03/15/disney-extinct-attractions-american-idol-experience/