Gi-Tar Dan — Former Show · History & Timeline

Former Show · the memorial record

⚰ Permanently closed · Mar 11, 2016operated 18 years · 1998–2016

This show is gone, but its history stays documented — the full lifetime log is below.

Show history

the lifetime record

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2016

◆ Latest milestone

RefurbishmentMar 11, 2016#

Gi-Tar Dan performed his final sets outside Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch and left Disney's Animal Kingdom permanently.

Pre-COVID closure, so the March 2020 shutdown trap does not apply. Four sources agree on 2016-03-11: WDWMagic (posted Thursday March 10, 2016) - "Gi-Tar Dan will be leaving Disney's Animal Kingdom this week, with his final performances on March 11 2016. You can catch his performances at Rafiki's Planet Watch, with show times of 11am, 12pm, 12:45pm, 1:50pm, 2:50pm and 3:50pm"; Laughing Place's next-day farewell giving March 11, 2016 as his last day; WDWKingdom's present-day page, re-verified this pass, "This attraction closed permanently on March 11, 2016"; and The Mouse For Less on March 14, 2016, "Gi-Tar Dan is no longer performing at Disney's Animal Kingdom." No source shows a return, and no successor act was named - WDWMagic's editor wrote in the article comments, "I would expect no direct replacement."

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
UpdateMar 8, 2016#

A fan news site reported that the Gi-Tar Dan act appeared to be cut from Disney's Animal Kingdom, with a last performance expected Friday, March 11, 2016.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2014

Area UpdateJan 5, 2014#

Camp Minnie-Mickey, where Gi-Tar Dan had performed for most of his run, closed to make way for Pandora - The World of Avatar, and the act continued outside Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Both cited sources state the land's closing date explicitly: Wikipedia, "The area closed on January 5, 2014, and was replaced by Pandora - The World of Avatar"; Walt Dated World, closed "on January 5, 2014 to make way for Pandora." WDWKingdom supports the new location: he "was typically found outside of Conservation Station in Rafiki's Planet Watch." KennythePirate corroborates the move: he "entertained guests in Camp Minnie Mickey for many years before being moved to Rafiki's Planet Watch."

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2013

UpdateDec 23, 2013#

A Walt Disney World news roundup reported that Gi-Tar Dan would be relocated to Rafiki's Planet Watch as Camp Minnie-Mickey prepared to close.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2012

UpdateJul 10, 2012#

Disney's official panelist site answered that Gi-Tar Dan was still appearing in Camp Minnie-Mickey on a Monday-through-Friday schedule of six sets at 11 a.m., noon, 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
1998

New1998#

Gi-Tar Dan was performing as a roving improvising guitarist in and near Camp Minnie-Mickey in Disney's Animal Kingdom's opening era.

Year-only by design; no source documents an exact debut, and the sentence deliberately says he was performing by this era rather than that he began then. Laughing Place's 2016 farewell says he performed for "almost 20 years" and that the writer first met him "in the late 90's", which brackets a start no earlier than the park's April 22, 1998 opening. Walt Dated World independently places the act in Camp Minnie-Mickey: "The performer Gi-Tar Dan, who would improvise songs using an amplified acoustic guitar, could often be found performing in or near Camp Minnie-Mickey."

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes

Questions & answers

When did Gi-Tar Dan open?

Per the documented record, Gi-Tar Dan at Animal Kingdom opened in 1998.

When did Gi-Tar Dan last close for refurbishment?

The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Gi-Tar Dan is dated Mar 11, 2016: Gi-Tar Dan performed his final sets outside Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch and left Disney's Animal Kingdom permanently.

What changed recently on Gi-Tar Dan?

The latest documented change (documented Mar 11, 2016): Gi-Tar Dan performed his final sets outside Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch and left Disney's Animal Kingdom permanently.

How many changes are on record for Gi-Tar Dan?

6 documented changes, dating back to 1998 — the fan-kept show changelog nobody else keeps.

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