CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED IMMERSIVE DISNEY ANIMATION MAKES ITS LONDON, ONTARIO DEBUT JUNE 3

Following a celebrated world premiere in Toronto in December 2022, and a subsequent rollout in an array of U.S. cities in 2023, Lighthouse Immersive’s critically acclaimed Immersive Disney Animation will see its London, Ontario premiere at a 25,000-square-foot space located at 100 Kellogg Lane.

Developed in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Immersive Disney Animation was called “jaw-dropping” by Axios, “awe-inspiring… perfect for all ages” by the Toronto Guardian, “a peek behind the curtain that you would just never otherwise get” by the Boston Globe, with Elite Daily remarking, “you really feel like you’ve stepped inside your fave film.”
Tickets start at $34.99 and go on sale May 4th (pre-sale May 2nd) lighthouseimmersive.com/disney.

Guests may sign up for Updates & Offers through the Priority Access sign up from April 26th – May 2nd lighthouseimmersive.com/disney/london/
“Immersive Disney Animation has proven so popular with audiences that we are opening a second Canadian venue in the nation’s largest entertainment venue, 100 Kellogg Lane,” said Corey Ross, producer and founder, Lighthouse Immersive Studios. “And while we expected a positive reception, we have really been blown away by just how incredibly excited audiences are with this experience, a testament to the timeless legacy of Disney Animation’s worlds, stories and characters. We’re elated to bring this production to London just in time for summer holidays.”

Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has joined forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions (including The Original Immersive Van Gogh, which never travelled to London, but opened in over 20 cities across North America) to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Audiences will feel like they’ve entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.

“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” said Ross. “And it has been quite a nostalgic rush seeing those films come to life in our venues across North America. I’ve grown up with these characters and worlds since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience. Our team has created something truly special here.”

The creative team for the Immersive Disney Animation is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018 -The Shape of Water) who said, “As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways, and to show them something that they have never seen before. Using the new technology that the immersive experience offers is exciting, but it’s important that it not interfere with the emotional investment that Disney fans have in the characters and storylines that audiences have come to cherish. This groundbreaking approach that Lighthouse Immersive Studios has created does exactly that by giving the viewer the sensation that they are actively sharing the space with the characters they most love from the Disney Animation library. Most of our guests have seen these films multiple times, but they tell me that they feel as though they are seeing them in an entirely new way, and that was always our goal.”

Mexico City-based Cocolab worked with Dale and the Creative Legacy team at Walt Disney Animation Studios to develop the program for Lighthouse Immersive Studios. Special Projects Producer Dorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated, Get A Horse!) is spearheading the project for Disney Animation.

“Having been a part of Disney Animation for over 40 years, I truly consider this one of the great joys within my career, partnering with Lighthouse Immersive to bring our characters, stories and films to audiences in thrilling and new ways,” said McKim. “Watching the joy and delight the show brings to audiences is what dreams are made of.”

Beyond the unparalleled projection design that Lighthouse Immersive is known for, Immersive Disney Animation is further enhanced by expansive environmental design by Lighthouse Immersive’s Global Creative Director David Korins (Tony Award®-nominee whose credits include more than 20 Broadway shows including Hamilton, and an Emmy Award® for Grease Live).

Additional interactive features within the projection show include responsive floor projection design that moves with the audience and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and based on the audiences’ movements through the galleries. In a particularly show-stopping moment, the Gazillion Bubbles special effects team fills the 500,000 cubic feet of galleries with bubbles.

Ross captures the excitement both Disney and Lighthouse Immersive feel for the project as he describes how it begins: “Just imagine journeying through Zootopia with Judy Hopps, diving to the ocean floor with Ariel, flying on a magic carpet with Aladdin, and stepping into Casita with Mirabel and the family Madrigal. This is where the Immersive Disney Animation takes you.”
Collaborating with Lighthouse Immersive is the Creative Legacy team of Walt Disney Animation Studios, helping bring their library of films to audiences in a manner never before experienced.