Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable — Former Show · History & Timeline

Former Show · the memorial record

⚰ Permanently closed · Feb 3, 2018operated 23 years · 1995–2018

↩ On the former site of SymbiosisReplaced by Awesome Planet →

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

Show history

the lifetime record

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2020

◆ Latest milestone

ChangedJan 17, 2020#

Awesome Planet, a ten-minute film about Earth's biomes narrated by Ty Burrell, opened in the Harvest Theater as the permanent successor to Circle of Life.

Circle of Life→Awesome Planet in the Harvest Theater

Day-level precision rests on Yesterland alone, which gives January 17, 2020; D23 documents the film and credits Industrial Light & Magic with the imagery and space sequences and Steven Price with the score, but the sources consulted do not independently confirm the day. Wikipedia confirms Awesome Planet succeeded Circle of Life in the Harvest Theater without giving a date.

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2019

Area Update2019#

With the theater dark, the Harvest Theater lobby housed The Chocolate Experience: From Bean to Bar during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

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2018

RefurbishmentFeb 3, 2018#

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable gave its final showing and closed permanently after just over 23 years.

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ChangedFeb 2018#

The week after the final showing, the Harvest Theater was turned over to Disney Performing Arts for student workshops and performances.

public film theater→Disney Performing Arts workshop venue
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UpdateJan 8, 2018#

News broke that Circle of Life would have its final showing on February 3, 2018, with no replacement public attraction named for the space.

Dated to the earliest verifiable report rather than to a Disney announcement day, which the sources do not settle: BlogMickey published January 8, 2018, while Attractions Magazine and TouringPlans both published January 10, 2018. Attractions Magazine reported Disney had 'no plans to share at this time for a future public attraction' in the space.

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2009

Changed2009#

Nestle ended its corporate sponsorship of The Land pavilion and the film, leaving Circle of Life to run unsponsored for its final nine years.

Nestle sponsorship→no sponsor
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1995

NewJan 21, 1995#

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, a film in which Simba tells Timon and Pumbaa a cautionary environmental tale, opened in the Harvest Theater of The Land pavilion at Epcot, replacing the 1982 film Symbiosis.

Symbiosis→Circle of Life in the Harvest Theater

Wikipedia gives a running time of 12 minutes 22 seconds (Yesterland rounds it to 13 minutes) and a Harvest Theater capacity of 428 per showing, and states the film carried about two and a half minutes of new animation with some live-action scenes recycled from Symbiosis.

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Questions & answers

When did Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable open?

Per the documented record, Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable at EPCOT opened on Jan 21, 1995.

When did Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable last close for refurbishment?

The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is dated Feb 3, 2018: Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable gave its final showing and closed permanently after just over 23 years.

What changed recently on Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable?

The latest documented change (documented Jan 17, 2020): Awesome Planet, a ten-minute film about Earth's biomes narrated by Ty Burrell, opened in the Harvest Theater as the permanent successor to Circle of Life.

How many changes are on record for Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable?

7 documented changes, dating back to 1995 — the fan-kept show changelog nobody else keeps.

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