Fantasyland Theatre, formerly Videopolis, is the name of a outdoor

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. Located in

Fantasyland Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ...

, it functions as a venue for various shows. In 1995, the location was renamed to Fantasyland Theater. In 2013, it was renamed to the English-classic spelling, Fantasyland Theatre, with the opening of the venue's most recent show ''Mickey and the Magical Map''.

Predecessor

The original Fantasyland Theater (different spelling) opened in 1956. This theater showed Disney cartoons and Mouseketeers of ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

'' featured short films. In 1981, it shut down in preparation for construction of the revamped Fantasyland and was then replaced with Pinocchio's Daring Journey.

History

Videopolis opened on June 22, 1985, a short distance to the west of

It's a Small World "It's a Small World" is a water-based boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks worldwide, including Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California; Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida; Tokyo D ...

. During the day, the theater was used for theme-park shows, but in the evening, it was used as a

dance club Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

with

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s. It featured 70 video monitors that displayed music videos and/or live feeds that allowed guests to watch themselves. The venue included a

snack bar A snack bar usually refers to an inexpensive food counter that is part of a permanent structure where snack foods and light meals are sold. Description A beach snack bar is often a small building situated high on the sand. Besides soft drink ...

called "Yumz" opening on June 19.The Disneyland Encyclopedia, by Chris Strodder, 2008. via The theater was featured in the television program of the same name on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

. Filmed live at Videopolis, the show broadcast concert performances from an array of

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

bands and singers including

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

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, Tiffany,

Glenn Medeiros Glenn Alan Medeiros (born June 24, 1970) is an American former musician, singer, and songwriter who achieved chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is best known on the national and international music scene for his 1987 global s ...

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will ...

, Pebbles,

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, and The Jets. The dance club concept was abandoned and closed on November 26, 1989, after several high-profile gang-related incidents. Videopolis was then converted for exclusive stage-show use. Disneyland was successfully sued on two separate occasions by members of the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...

in 1985 due to dancing between the same-sex being prohibited at the club. The policy was dropped in 1985. The

Children's Miracle Network Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

Telethon also made use of Videopolis from 1982 to 1993. The show's hosts included singer and ''

The Dukes of Hazard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'' actor John Schneider,

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and p ...

, ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

'' co-host

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, impressionist

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, Olympic Gold Medalist

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, and

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series '' Solid Go ...

and Billy Davis Jr. On January 29, 2020, the Videopolis dance club was briefly revived for the Disneyland After Dark: 80s Nite event. In October 2020, it was reported that Mickey and the Magical Map along with Frozen Live at the Hyperion at Disney California Adventure would not return when the parks reopened (which eventually happened on April 30, 2021). On December 9, 2021 it was announced that the Fantasyland Theatre will reopen in 2022 hosting 2 shows that will move from Disney California Adventure to Disneyland. "Celebrate Gospel" will run in February on multiple dates while "Tale of the Lion King" will open in Spring 2022.

Disneyland Paris

Discoveryland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions ...

Disneyland Park Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

, stands Videopolis; a large complex housing the Videopolis Theatre and the Hyperion Café counter service restaurant. It features one of the largest props in the resort: the Hyperion airship.

Shows

As Videopolis

* ''The Magic of Christmas'' (Christmas Seasons 1985 – 1988) * ''Sing'in' Dance'in' Heigh Ho'' (1987) * ''Circus Fantasy'' (1988) * ''Show Biz Is'' (1989) * ''One Man's Dream'', a celebration of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

(December 16, 1989 – April 29, 1990) * ''Dick Tracy in Diamond Double-Cross'' (June 15, 1990 – December 31, 1990) * ''Plane Crazy'', with characters from ''

TaleSpin ''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of '' The Disney Afternoon''. It features characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature ''The Jungle Bo ...

'' and other

Disney Afternoon The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney Tel ...

shows. (March 15, 1991 – September 1991) * ''Mickey's Nutcracker'' (Christmas seasons 1991 & 1992) * ''

Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage ''Beauty and the Beast'': Live on Stage is a Broadway-style musical at the Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. It is based on the 1991 animated film ''Beauty and the Beast'' and opened o ...

'' (April 12, 1992 – April 30, 1995)

As Fantasyland Theater

* ''The Spirit of Pocahontas'' (June 23, 1995 – September 4, 1997) * ''Animazment - The Musical'' (June 18, 1998 – October 21, 2001) * ''Minnie's Christmas Party'' (Christmas Seasons 2001 & 2002) * ''Mickey's Detective School'' (2002 – 2003) * ''Snow White: An Enchanting Musical'' (February 2004 – September 2006) * ''Disney Princess Fantasy Faire'' (October 2006 – August 2012)

As Fantasyland Theatre

* ''Mickey and the Magical Map'' (May 25, 2013 – October 9, 2020) October date is the official notice of closing. The final performance coincided with the closure of the Disneyland Resort due to COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders. * '' Tale of the Lion King'' (May 28, 2022 – Present)

Television

* During the 1991 and 1992 holiday seasons, ''Mickey's Nutcracker'' was televised on the

. * In 1998, some of the live segments of ''

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, C ...

Live at Disneyland'' were televised on the

in Australia. * In 2022, April season, Party Gustavo Live at Disneyland were televised on the

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 ...

in Australia

References

{{Disneyland Amusement rides introduced in 1985 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Disneyland Fantasyland 1985 establishments in California