8 things to know about Drawn to Life, Cirque du Soleil’s new show in Orlando

You can buy tickets for Drawn to Life before arriving at Walt Disney World—it’s the best way to guarantee your seat. Shows on the weekends or holidays tend to sell out quickly, so plan ahead. On super busy weekends, especially those leading up to Christmas and July 4th, Drawn to Life has two showtimes. There really aren’t any bad seats in the theater, but we recommend sitting in the 200 sections so you can see everything happening on stage, in the aisles, and high above you in the air.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, Cirque du Soleil is also celebrating its own 50th production with Drawn to Life. The show has a cast of 62 artists from 15 countries with 10 unique acrobatic acts. Throughout the show, there are references to the storied history of Disney Animation; the four animators that befriend Julie on her journey represent Walt Disney’s core group of animators who are often referred to as the “Nine Old Men,” and the Dreams of Colors act pays homage to Mary Blair, a legendary Disney Animation artist.

Much of Drawn to Life relies on hand-drawn animations of classic and newer Disney characters like Baloo from The Jungle Book, Genie from Aladdin, and Baymax from Big Hero 6. In fact, new animations for each of these characters—plus many more— were created by Disney artists, and the artistry was led by Animation Director Eric Goldberg (best known for animating iconic characters like Genie). The team for Drawn to Life also worked closely with Disney’s theme parks, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Research Library, the Walt Disney Archives, and The Walt Disney Family Museum for research and ideas for the show.

Drawn to Life was originally set to debut in March 2020, but just days before opening night the coronavirus pandemic shut down Walt Disney World. During the closures, Cirque du Soleil and the rest of the show’s team were able to add in two more acts, bringing the total for the show to ten. The two recently added acts include a double mill (on full display during The Old Mill segment) and unicyclists (part of the Garden of Lines segment).

Taking kids with you to Drawn to Life? You might want to choose a seat close to the stage so you can catch an interactive pre-show. During this segment, a few kids are picked to go on stage during the show to draw a picture with some of the actors. When time is up, the photos are displayed to the crowd as everyone claps and cheers for each child’s picture. Let’s just say if we were still kids and this happened to us, it would be the highlight of our vacation.

The performers aren’t just acrobats—they’re also their own makeup artists. Part of the nightly routine for all performers is to do their own makeup. To learn the makeup routine, performers are given step-by-step instructions along with images to show what each step should look like. Once they know what they are doing, most performers can execute their look in about 45 minutes.

While you might be tempted to skip walking around the theater’s lobby as you rush to your seat, we recommend sticking around. The creative team behind Drawn to Life worked closely with Walt Disney Archives to display original Disney animation cells throughout the lobby while celebrating the history of animation. The displays can be viewed before or after the show, but we highly suggest taking a look beforehand since people will leave the show all at once.

Drawn to Life is historic for many reasons, but one that’s truly remarkable is that it’s the first time an all-female act has been featured as the finale. The show-stopping performance is called Swing to Swing, where Russian acrobats fly between two arcing swings. The act is meant to symbolize the energy and spirit of women and encourages Julie, the show’s main character, to finish her animation and say farewell to her father.