From June 10 to September 6, 2024, Epcot is the place to be for fans of the Disney animated film, “Encanto.” This three-month window is when the park will host the new limited-time, summer sing-along show, “¡Celebración Encanto!” The show’s debut coincides with the grand opening of the CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza areas in Epcot’s World Celebration neighborhood. “¡Celebración Encanto!” will be the first show to premiere on the new stage in CommuniCore Plaza. With its debut comes the completion of a five-year project bringing major transformations to Epcot with a variety of new theme park experiences.
Above, you can see concept art for “¡Celebración Encanto!” The show’s official announcement came through Disney Parks Blog, which notes that “¡Celebración Encanto!” will run “several times throughout the day.” Since the stage is sheltered, it could be a good way to escape from the summer sun or enjoy one of the best things to do during a rainy day at Epcot.
Beyond the sing-along format, details are scarce on what “¡Celebración Encanto!” will entail since the show was still in development at the time of its announcement. There’s no daily schedule available for it yet, but at least two characters from “Encanto,” Mirabel and Bruno, will make appearances onstage. Based on the popularity of certain songs, we can also make an educated guess for what exactly you’ll be able to sing along to in “¡Celebración Encanto!”
Sing all about Bruno in Epcot’s ‘¡Celebración Encanto!’
“Encanto” tells the story of the Madrigals, a magically inclined family living in the mountains of Colombia. The film’s international setting makes it a natural fit for Epcot, where World Showcase based its landmarks on real-life global destinations. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you may have heard some of its soundtrack songs, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Moana”).
In 2022, the soundtrack won three Grammy Awards, with the earworm, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” even besting pop stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift in one category. In addition, it became only the second Disney animated movie song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (The first was “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin,” back in 1993.)
Given its popularity, it’s a safe bet that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” will be one of the songs performed onstage in “¡Celebración Encanto!” You can practice for Epcot, then, with the sing-along video above. The show might also incorporate songs like “Surface Pressure” and “The Family Madrigal,” both of which made Billboard’s Top 20. That should be good news for any parents whose kids have been driving them crazy singing these songs in carpool karaoke on the way to Disney World. If the songs worked their way into your head, too, but you’ve been confined to singing them in the shower until now, you’ll soon have a public venue for belting them out at Epcot.
See the new Epcot
In a press release, Disney teased that CommuniCore Hall and Plaza will bring “a new era of festivals, exhibits, and entertainment” to Epcot. “¡Celebración Encanto!” will take the stage there two weeks after Epcot’s annual International Flower and Garden Festival ends on May 27, 2024. This seasonal event is the best time of year for garden lovers to visit Epcot, but it traditionally runs through July. There’s been some speculation that its shortening to a springtime event could herald a new summer festival, or just an earlier, extended run for Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival (which usually takes over at the end of July).
Either way, Mirabel and three other Madrigal family members, Antonio, Isabela, and Luisa, all appear as topiaries in the Flower and Garden Festival. If you can catch the 2024 festival before it ends, you’ll find them in World Showcase between the Disney Traders and Port of Entry shops. Take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and you can also meet Mirabel in person at Fairytale Garden in Fantasyland.
A new meet-and-greet with Mickey Mouse and friends is also opening beside CommuniCore Hall in June. Together with “¡Celebración Encanto!” it will help finalize Epcot’s half-decade transformation, which has included the addition of popular rides like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. If it’s been a while since you visited Epcot, you may find something new to sing about there in 2024, starting with “¡Celebración Encanto!”
