Were you around for Kitetails at Disney’s Animal Kingdom? It ran as a part of the 50th celebration, from October 1, 2021, until September 2022 in the Discovery River Amphitheater—the same place that hosted Rivers of Light. It featured massive kites of character favorites appropriate to the park, like Simba (here), Zazu and Baloo, flown by jet skis that pulled them across the water.
The whole thing had a sort of “controlled chaos” vibe, as the kites didn’t always land quite so gracefully. Everyone’s favorite part was watching them crash-land into the water or, better yet, the stands where they were sitting.
I guess it was never fated to last long given the unpredictability but I can’t remember another Disney show that brought more plain old fun and joy. It was just silly and didn’t take itself too seriously and we all loved every second. I’m glad it went down as such a cult favorite.
I’ve had this image in my back pocket for a long time and it’s been a long, long week and I just needed something silly and fun today. Thought you might too.
I took this with my 100-400mm zoomed all the way to 400mm, 1/200 second, f/6.3, ISO 640.