For years, we conservatives have lamented Disney’s woke turn, and rightly so, but we can sometimes forget that Disney has given Christian content a prominent place in its American theme parks plenty of times.
Throughout the Christmas season, the Candlelight Processional presents an unashamedly biblical Christmas event featuring choirs singing carols and celebrity narrators telling the story of the birth of Jesus. It has been a holiday staple at Disneyland since 1958, and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom began hosting it in 1971 before moving it to Epcot in 1993. The only year the Candlelight Procession did not run was 2020 (for annoyingly obvious reasons).
From 1983 to 2017, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World was home to a Christian music festival called Night of Joy. In 2018, Disney replaced that festival with several concert series at Epcot — Garden Rocks in the spring, Sounds Like Summer in the summer (duh), and Eat to the Beat in the fall — that feature artists from multiple genres, including Christian and gospel music.
Generally, these concerts bring a bit of extra interest to the shore of World Showcase Lagoon, but on Mother’s Day, the performing artist generated a ton of buzz. Sunday and Monday’s Garden Rocks concerts featured two nights of worship by Grammy winners Maverick City Music.
Maverick City Music did three shows on both nights, but on Sunday night, severe weather caused delays. That didn’t deter the crowd that gathered to worship.
“It’s not every day that worship breaks out in the middle of Walt Disney World—but last night, that’s exactly what happened. As rain fell on Epcot’s American Gardens Theatre, a massive crowd gathered—waiting, worshiping, and braving the weather for a chance to see Maverick City Music live,” wrote Jordan Sekulow at CCM Magazine. “What normally draws a spike in casual park traffic turned into a full-on worship service… and no one wanted to leave.”
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“What a powerful experience,” said Instagram personality Malorie Elrod. “Getting to worship Jesus in the middle of Walt Disney World. The rain couldn’t stop His name from being lifted up.”
“We stayed for every set, and Maverick City Music was incredible every time,” Elrod added.
It’s encouraging that Disney allows this type of content in the parks, even if the company doesn’t advertise it much. It’s a welcome antidote to some of the content that Disney has produced in recent years.
“Disney might not promote it loudly, but someone at the top still understands the power and place of Christian-infused content in the parks,” Sekulow wrote.
Maverick City Music was grateful to the folks who showed up and braved the weather delays to worship along with them.
Sekulow concluded that Sunday night’s concert “wasn’t about wishing upon a star. It was about praying to the Savior, singing to the Healer, and praising the One who made the stars in the first place.” I’m sure Monday night’s concerts were equally exciting.
It’s encouraging anytime we can see people expressing their faith so exuberantly in public. And since it took place at Epcot, maybe some guests who saw it will consider faith in Jesus.
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