Up until 7th September Disney’s Music Festival takes place at Disneyland Paris. We were lucky enough recently to experience all this festival has to offer, and now we’re sharing that with you – so you can plan to make the most out this seasonal event!

What’s the Disney Music Festival?

As the name suggests, this event is a music festival – but without the mud, excessive drinking and terrible toilets! (Well at least mostly…) This event aims to celebrate Disney music in all its forms with live performances that are taking place all around Disneyland Park.

The event allows people to experience different styles of music in the company of live musicians, singers and Disney characters. At the end of the day all the different performances come together in a big finale in the Hub.

Alongside the musical performances there are decorations, new snacks to try and merchandise. And an incredibly catchy theme song too, ‘Viva la Musique‘.

So let’s plunge into the different acts.

Mary Poppins and the Pearly Band

Summary: This performance features Mary Poppins and Bert, as well as a live ‘pearly band’ of musicians. The band perform songs from the films, while Mary Poppins and Bert circulate around the area saying hello to guests, as well as dancing along to some of the songs.

Location: This performance takes place in the Gazebo in Town Square, near the Main Street railway station.

Tips and tricks for enjoying the performance: Mary Poppins and Bert circulate around the crowds on all side of the gazebo, so you don’t need to be on a particular side to be able to see the performance. Also unlike most of the other performances – which take place in the afternoon – Mary Poppins performs at regular intervals throughout the morning. You can even see a performance during Extra Magic Hour – a great bonus for Disneyland Paris hotel guests!

Minnie’s Marching Band

Summary: Minnie comes out on to Main Street with a full marching band, who play an array of Disney classics, and perform some nifty dance routines to boot! Minnie’s costume is adorable, and the band very talented. And they encourage singing along – particularly to ‘Viva la Musique’!

Location: Minnie and the band enter Main Street from Town Square, and then head up Main Street for their performance before returning back down the street at the end.

Tips and tricks for the performance: This is one of the most popular shows so expect Main Street USA to be busy whenever it’s on! If you wait near where Minnie and Co enter and leave Main Street the crowds will be a lot less, but you’ll miss some of the performance sadly. If you just want to listen to the music grab yourself a snack at Market House Deli, take a seat in the outdoor seating area, and enjoy yourself!

Goofy’s Imaginary Orchestra

Summary: Goofy’s always dreamed of being a conductor, but when he arrives at the Castle Hub there’s no orchestra! Not deterred by this seemingly apparent major problem, Goofy conducts not only an imaginary orchestra but the fountains around the castle too, working up to a classical performance of ‘Viva la Musique’. (Seriously the song will be rent free in your brain for the rest of your life by the end of the festival!)

Location: Goofy performs on the Hub stage just in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, with the fountains around the castle involved in the show.

Tips and tricks for the performance: The best view of the fountains and the complete show is from the top of Main Street USA side of the Hub. However, if you want to watch Goofy himself then we found the entrance of the castle a great spot! Just be aware though you’ll be next to the fountains and may get sprayed! (Great on a hot day, not so great on a chilly one). Because of the fountains being involved in the show, the entrance to the Dragon’s Lair just to the left of the castle entrance is closed during each performance. You can still access it though from within the Castle, or the path to the far left to Fantasyland (as you look at the Castle).

Miguel’s Fiesta Latina

Summary: Miguel from Coco comes out to perform with a live Mariachi band, as well as some dancers, and some dancing skeletons! (Think more colourful like in Coco and not creepy as in Phantom Manor). During the show a number of songs from Coco are performed, as well as other Mariachi tunes. At the end some children from the audience are allowed to join in a dance.

Location: This is the only show for the Music Festival in Frontierland. It takes place on a stage just inside the Main Entrance of the land, on the side overlooking the water next to Big Thunder Mountain.

Tips and tricks for this performance: This performance is around 15 minutes long and there’s no shade where it’s performed, or seating (although little ones were encouraged to sit on the floor at the front of where the audience stands). All that being said it’s worth it as this is one of the best shows in the Festival! The band is incredible and the dancers super-talented. (The band gave us true Mariachi Cobre vibes, for any Epcot folks out there!) The show is quite popular so we’d recommend getting there at least around 10 minutes before each performance, if not earlier. The show does form a a bit of a bottleneck in Frontierland when it’s on so worth bearing in mind as you move through the land. If you think your little ones will want to join in the dancing at the end of the performance make sure they’re sat or standing at the front!

Timon’s Matadance

Summary: Join Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu from the Lion King with some live drummers and a group of dancers to learn the Matadance – the spirit of Hakuna Matata in dance form! Essentially this performance is mostly one big audience participation opportunity, with people (mostly kiddos but some adults got involved too) invited up in groups to learn a dance routine.

Location: This show is in Adventureland, opposite one of the bridges to Adventure Isle (on the path through the land if you were walking from the land entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean).

Tips and tricks for this performance: Matadance is a lot of fun if you want to get up and boogie. The character of Timon and puppets of Zazu and Pumbaa (look out for the ‘fart cloud’ from the latter!) are a lot of fun, and the musicians and dancers talented. If you’re not in the mood for dancing though we don’t think this is a performance to prioritise from the festival. It’s location in Adventureland is very hot so on warm days slap on the sunscreen and make sure to stay hydrated! The show also causes some delays in Adventureland so it might be worth planning other routes to through Adventureland if you’re in a hurry to get somewhere. (Across Adventure Isle is probably your best bet).

Moana and her Musicians

Summary: Moana and two drummers come out to play and dance, and to say hello to folks in the audience and encourage them to follow along with some dance moves. Really this is a group meet and greet with some musical touches!

Location: In Adventureland, on the path down towards Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. It’s not a massive space, for some reason Disney seems to have put the most popular characters in the smallest spaces!

Tips and tricks for viewing this show: Unless you have a little one who wants to meet Moana and follow along with the dancing, or you’re a massive Moana fan, we don’t rank this show as the highest – mainly because it’s always so slammed and it’s not the most entertaining of the shows (although Moana and the drummers are talented!). It does cause a massive bottleneck in the area so we don’t recommend trying to get Indiana Jones during show times! If you are really keen to see this show, we’d recommend getting there early – probably over 30 minutes early to stand a chance of being near the front. Encourage little ones to sit on the floor at the front, they’re more likely to be able to interact with Moana there. And bear in mind that in France Moana is called Vaiana, so don’t be surprised to hear her called such!

Musical Meet-up with Rapunzel and Flynn

Summary: In the back of Fantasyland, Rapunzel and Flynn come out to a small group of live musicians who play music in a medieval style. Rapunzel and Flynn dance to some of the songs, and during others take time to say hello to folks who are in the audience. As the name suggests, this is more of a meet-up than a show, although the music is pretty cool! (And being able to see Flynn in Disneyland Paris is a rare treat too).

Location: At the back of Fantasyland, between the Princess Pavilion and the Old Mill Snack stand. Like Moana, Disney have for some reason chosen to put one of the most popular characters in the smallest of spaces!

Tips and tricks for viewing this show: We were never actually able to get good photos or footage of this show because it was always utterly slammed with people! It’s really popular so aim to start staking out spots over 30 minutes in advance, perhaps 45 minutes or more if you really want to be at the front! Rapunzel and Flynn do sign a few autographs and pose for some photos with those at the front of the crowd, as well as doing some pretty dances to songs from the film (and ‘Viva la Musique’ of course!) As with other show areas there’s no shade or seating so come prepared!

Donald and Daisy and their Accordionist

Summary: Also in Fantasyland join Donald and Daisy with a live accordionist who performs a number of Disney tunes while Donald and Daisy dance, interact with the audience and make each other jealous! There’s a touch of audience interaction, particularly when both of the ducks try to pick someone from the audience to waltz with in an attempt to annoy each other!

Location: Opposite Pizzeria Bella Notte, next to the path that runs between Fantasyland and Discoveryland (and where the parade enters the park each day).

Tips and tricks for viewing this show: Donald and Daisy are in a much more spacious spot than many of the shows, so you can normally turn up 10-15 minutes before showtime and get a decent spot. This is certainly a cute show and a must for Donald and Daisy fans! Adults with social anxiety should probably note that it was adults they were looking for as dance partners in the performance we saw, so those with social anxiety should probably lurk at the back of the crowd! (We can neither confirm nor deny that’s what we did…)

Disney Music Hits Concert

Summary: Have you ever dreamed of Chip n Dale performing as Daft Punk? Then boy do we have the show for you! Seriously, this is actually a short concert with a live band and 5 live singers, who perform medley’s of Disney songs from throughout the years. Later in the performance Chip n Dale come out to do some DJing while the singers dance with some members of the crowd, ending in a sing-a-long finale of the festival’s anthem ‘Viva la Musique’.

Location: In the Hyperion Theatre, inside the same building as Cafe Hyperion in Discoveryland. To sit in the main audience you need to enter the show through doors down towards the entrance of Star Tours (also where you need to go for the Stitch meet and greet).

Tips and tricks for viewing this show: This show is held inside in a seated theatre. Hallelujah! We were able to enter the show about 10 minutes before show time with our Priority Pass but we were seated towards one of the far sides of the seating, so for a prime view you probably want to turn up at least 20 minutes before show time. This show was one of our favourites of the Festival – the singers are awesome and they perform a great array of Disney hits! If you think little ones (or you!) may want to dance with the singers during Chip n Dale’s DJ set then try to sit at the end of an aisle for easy access. This show is a great one to know the song ‘Viva la Musique’ in advance of because singing along is encouraged! And don’t hurry off too quickly when the show ends because you might receive some from M&Ms. If you time your meal right you might be able to sit in Cafe Hyperion to eat while watching the show! We did notice people standing in the Cafe and blocking the view from the tables though so this might not be guaranteed as a great view.

The grand finale

Summary: Once a day (at 7.30pm during our visit) there’s a grand finale held in the Hub area around the castle. This show draws together all the acts from the Festival. All of them get a chance to perform some of their music, and then at the end Mickey comes out to conduct all the singers, dancers and the audience in singing, you’ve guessed it, Viva la Musique! This is a very joyful and uplifting show and well worth seeing if you can. It is also very popular though!

Location: The bulk of the action takes place on the stages in the Hub at the top of Main Street, with dancing around the Hub. Some of the acts also parade up and down Main Street at the start or end of the show.

Tips and tricks for viewing this show: For this performance you’ll want to get there early – think over 35 minutes or more early (perhaps an hour for a really prime viewing spot). The ideal place to watch is where you can see the stages and the castle, so towards the bottom of the hub. In this area is the viewing set aside for the differently-abled folks with Priority Pass. We watched from here (arriving about 40 minutes before the show). We hung at the back of the area to avoid blocking the view of any kiddos or folks in wheelchairs but still had a pretty good view, so it’s worth using this area if you’re eligible. If you’re less bothered about the show itself but want to see the characters they all head down Main Street after the performance so for a less crowded spot stand towards the bottom of Main Street. We do think the show is well worth seeing though!

Meeting Stitch

Another plus of the festival is the ability to meet Stitch – kind of.

Stitch appears in a meet-and-great dressed as Elvis in Discoveryland. He doesn’t have a show although does perform for a little bit during the finale! The only way to meet Stitch is via a virtual queue on the Disneyland Paris app which you access when in the park. Virtual queue spots are dropped a couple of times a day and are very tricky to snag (honestly I think it may be easier to meet the REAL Elvis!). If you have any die-hard Stitch fans though then trying to meet him will be worth the stress, and at least with a virtual queue you won’t need to wait for hours to do so, providing you grab a spot!

And the rest…

Alongside the shows and characters, the Festival offers some other things:

• Decorations – there are a lot of decorations for the Festival on Main Street USA. In the other lands, festival banners mark where the performances take place.
• Snacks – There are a number of snacks throughout the park themed to the various acts of the music festival. It’s worth researching them in advance to decide which ones you’d like to focus on. We recommend the Tic / Chip Brookie in Market Street Deli – chocolate and hazelnut! Avoid the Tac / Dale one though – it’s meant to be Pistachio but tasted to us like perfume.
• Merchandise – Of course Disney had to release some merch! In shops around the park you can find a t-shirt, keyring, magnet, cup, mouse ears, lanyard and themed cuddly toys. You can also find themed cups / sippers and popcorn buckets.

Final tips

Here are some final tips from us for enjoying the festival:

• Listen to ‘Viva la Musique’ in advance – you’ll hear this song everywhere during the festival and they’ll encourage singing along! You can purchase it on many streaming platforms, or listen to it on YouTube. Note – there’s French and English versions – you’ll often hear a mixture of both in the parks!
• Planning to see the shows – if you’re set on seeing all the Music Festival acts be prepared to spread it over several park days. Most of the acts only perform in the afternoon and show times often clash. You might be able to do it in one day with luck, low crowds and a lot of planning! But it would be essentially your entire park day.
• With the exception of the Hits Concert, all the performances are outdoors and can get rained off – Decisions won’t be made to cancel up until close to show times, because Disney will be hoping the shows can happen as much as you will! On wet days we wouldn’t recommend staking out spots for a long time in advance of shows as it might end up being for nothing.
• Many of the show spots are exposed without any shade – so on sunny days wear sunscreen, stay hydrated and before and after shows retreat indoors!

So there we are, our full coverage of Disney Music Festival! We think this is a great addition to the park and really enjoyed it. If you’d like to see samples of the acts then make sure you watch our YouTube video below.