''Disney Junior – Live on Stage!'' (originally ''Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!'' until 2011) was a live show attraction featuring puppets of characters from

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...

's popular television programs, located at three Disney theme parks:

Walt Disney Studios Park Walt Disney Studios Park (French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through i ...

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

at the

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (D ...

and

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

History

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Prior to ''Disney Junior – Live on Stage!'', the theater was the Soundstage Restaurant from the park's opening date until November 14, 1998; the restaurant featured sets over the years from ''

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

'', ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'', and '' Aladdin''. Following that, the theater hosted ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...

– Live on Stage'' from June 7, 1999, until August 4, 2001. That show closed to make room for ''Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!'', which opened on October 1, 2001, featuring returning characters from ''Bear in the Big Blue House'', as well as new characters from ''

Rolie Polie Olie ''Rolie Polie Olie'' is a computer-animated children's television series produced by Nelvana and created by William Joyce. The show focuses on a little robot who is composed of several spheres and other three-dimensional geometric shapes. The s ...

'', ''

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

'', and ''

The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; th ...

''. In April 2005, the show replaced ''Rolie Polie Olie'' with ''

JoJo's Circus ''JoJo's Circus'' is a stop-motion animated television series created by Jim Jinkins, David Campbell, Lisa Jinkins, and Eric Weiner and produced by the Canada-based Cuppa Coffee Studios and Cartoon Pizza. The series was written by Douglas Woo ...

''. A re-imagined version of ''Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!'' opened in March 2008, with some new characters from ''

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American interactive computer-animated children's television series which aired from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Disney Television Animation, it is the first computer-a ...

'', ''

Handy Manny ''Handy Manny'' is a CGI-animated children's television series that premiered with its first two episodes consecutively on Saturday, September 16, 2006, originally as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney block. On Valentine's Day 2011, th ...

'', ''

Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The ser ...

'', and '' My Friends Tigger & Pooh''. The show was renamed in March 2011, following the rebranding of

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televi ...

, replacing ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'' with ''

Jake and the Never Land Pirates ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' (titled ''Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' for the fourth season and associated merchandise) is an American animated musical and interactive preschool children's television series shown on Disney Junior ...

''. In January 2013, the show replaced both ''Handy Manny'' and ''Little Einsteins'', respectively, with ''

Sofia the First ''Sofia the First'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series. The show follows a young peasant girl named Sofia (Ariel Winter), who becomes a princess after her mother marries the king of Enchancia. Episodes focus on her adv ...

'' and ''

Doc McStuffins ''Doc McStuffins'' is an American educational computer-animated children's television series created and executive produced by Chris Nee (an Irish-American who was an associate producer for international versions of Sesame Street) and produced ...

'', when it was revamped again. Disney Junior – Live on Stage! closed on September 1st, 2018. On December 21, 2018, the Hollywood Studios version was replaced by a new show named ''Disney Junior Dance Party!'' (formerly, ''Disney Junior Play and Dance'' in 2020–21), featuring characters from ''

Mickey and the Roadster Racers ''Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures'' is an American CGI-animated preschool television series that was broadcast on Disney Junior. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series is the successor to ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse''. Originally ...

'', Sofia The First (which was eventually replaced by ''

Vampirina ''Vampirina'' is a computer-animated children's television series created by Chris Nee. Based on the ''Vampirina Ballerina'' series of books written by Anne Marie Pace and published by Disney-Hyperion, the series was announced in March 2016 and ...

''), ''

'', and ''

The Lion Guard ''The Lion Guard'' is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 film ''The Lion King''. The series was first broadcast with a television film titled ''The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar'' on Disney ...

''. On October 10, 2020, the show replaced ''The Lion Guard'' with '' Mira, Royal Detective'' during the takeover.

Disney California Adventure

The California version of the show follows the same pattern as the Florida version. Before ''Disney Junior – Live on Stage!'', the theater was originally home to the ABC Soap Opera Bistro from the park's opening date until November 3, 2002, which featured dining areas that are replicas of the sets from '' All My Children'', '' One Life to Live'', and '' General Hospital''. Due to its unpopularity, however, the restaurant closed to make way for ''Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!'', which was essentially the 2001 edition from Disney's Hollywood Studios (then known as Disney-MGM Studios), before being updated over the years up until the transition of Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior. In 2013, the show was updated with segments based on ''

'' and ''

'' TV series from Disney Junior channel. On May 26, 2017, the California version was replaced by a new show named ''Disney Junior Dance Party!'', featuring characters from ''Mickey and the Roadster Racers'', ''Sofia the First'', ''Doc McStuffins'', and ''The Lion Guard''. On October 15, 2021, the show was updated with ''

'' and replaced ''Sofia the First'' and ''The Lion Guard''.

Walt Disney Studios Park

When ''Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!'' first opened, it was essentially the 2008 edition from Disney's Hollywood Studios. Despite its name change at the time of the block's rebranding, the show itself had not been updated for unknown reasons. In April 2019, it closed to make way for the new interactive show "Disney Junior Dream Factory", which opened on July 1, 2021.

2011–13 Version

With the name change of Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior, the show also changed its name, this time to ''Disney Junior – Live on Stage!'' The ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'' segment was replaced with a segment based on ''

''.

2013–18 Version

The ''Handy Manny'' and ''Little Einsteins'' segments were replaced with segments based on ''

'' and ''

''.

Meet and Greets

Outside the theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios, there are meet-and-greet areas for

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

and the titular characters from ''

'', ''Fancy Nancy'' and ''

''.

References

External links