If you’re heading to Disney World, there are plenty of activities you can check out OUTSIDE of the parks.

Cirque du Soleil

There’s golf, mini golf, resort hopping, boat rentals, horseback riding, and so much more that you can explore! But one of the most popular spots that visitors check out is Disney Springs. And if you’re looking for prime entertainment in Disney Springs…there’s one spot that stands above the rest!

Cirque du Soleil has been a feature of Disney Springs for many years now, with its iconic theater located on the West Side of the shopping and dining complex. Currently, this theater is presenting a show called Drawn to Life, inspired by Disney animation, that premiered back in 2021.

Drawn to Life photo op in the Cirque du Soleil lobby

Cirque du Soleil recently added two new acts to Drawn to Life and we were invited to go check them out in honor of World Circus Day. The new acts are called Icarian Games and Dream of Colors, and both feature some pretty incredible stunts!

Inside the Drawn to Life theater

Before the sneak peek, we got some brief background on Cirque du Soleil and Drawn to Life, thanks to the Company Manager Heather Reilly.

18 months after the pandemic halted the premiere of the show, Drawn to Life (and all of the work put into it) finally hit the stage! #DrawnToLife #MediaEvent @Cirque @DisneySprings pic.twitter.com/DAb5NAl5Nv

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) April 13, 2023

The first act we watched was Icarian Games. This section of the show is inspired by the live animals that animators would bring into the studio as inspiration for some of Disney’s early movies. The act begins with performers dressed as various animals coming out onto the stage.

The “animals” on the stage

But the real star of this act is the Ethiopian artists. In a very impressive feat of balance and strength, one performer lies on their back and uses their legs and feet to toss the other performer in the air — there are two different pairs of acrobats that perform throughout.

The acrobats!

After the show, we got the chance to speak with one of the performers, Lala Fantaya. Fantaya told us that he’d been performing with Cirque du Soleil since 2017, but that he’d been studying and practicing acrobatics many years before that. This certainly isn’t the kind of skill you learn overnight!

Very impressive!

The other act we got to preview was Dream of Colors. Inspired by the Ink & Paint department at Disney Animation, this act features various aerialists, as well as an actress/dancer who’s made to resemble the iconic Mary Blair. Much of the act is a tribute to Mary Blair’s work for Disney, even including some of her concept art in the set design.

“Mary Blair” and the performers onstage

Upstage throughout this act is two trapeze artists in a large wheel, interacting with projections happening on the set. They do flips and tosses that’ll make your breath catch in your throat!

The art comes alive! #mediaevent#DrawnToLife@Cirque @DisneySprings pic.twitter.com/UYklBVYIWD

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) April 13, 2023

Downstage, three other aerialists dressed as paintbrushes perform a hoop routine. It’s a tribute to color and creativity, and their stunts are pretty jaw-dropping. This takes a lot of talent and skill!

The hoop routine!

After the performance, we spoke with one of the paintbrushes, Andreanne Nadeau, who told us that the aerial parts of Drawn to Life were some of her favorite parts of the show. She also mentioned that the performers do about 10-15 hours of training per week outside of their performances.

A look at the paintbrush costume!

So if you’re interested in going to see Drawn to Life at Disney Springs, we highly recommend it! These two new acts are just a piece of a much larger show. Performances take place Wednesday-Sunday, with 5:30PM and 8PM showtimes Wednesday-Saturday. They recently added matinee performances at 1:30PM and 4PM on Sundays.

Part of the cast of Drawn to Life

We’ll keep you in the loop with any more changes happening in Disney Springs and around Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest!

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Have you ever seen this show in Disney Springs? Tell us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Drawn to Life by Cirque du Soleil. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ