Limited Time Magic Review: A Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue

The original Golden Horseshoe Revue ran at Disneyland from 1955 to 1986; in that time it was performed 39,000 times. This year Disney announced a new promotion for Disneyland called Limited Time Magic. To the delight of many long time fans, the first event of the year was revealed to be a tribute to the classic show called A Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue.

The Show:

The show starts out with 3 can-can dancers, 2 saloon girls, Sam the Bartender, and the singing cowboy appearing on stage. They soon introduce the host of the show, Miss Lily. This cast of characters isn’t the same as the original Revue show, but it is the same as its predecessor, the Golden Horseshoe Jamboree (which ran 1986 to 1994). Miss Lily then says they’ve been away for a while and talks about the origins of the show. She then pays tribute to the Revue’s original stars, Betty Taylor and Wally Boag, and she also brings up how this was Walt Disney’s favorite show and points out his favorite balcony to sit in. The Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue features several classic songs from the original production. Songs included in the current production: “Hello Everybody,” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” “Belly Up to the Bar,” “Can-Can,” and the closing number. The entire show clocks in at 25 minutes.

Thoughts:

I have fond childhood memories of my grandmother racing me through the park after opening to secure a seat for the original Revue/Jamboree, so seeing this kind of show on stage again was a treat. The show is fast paced, funny, filled with catchy music, and dripping with that classic Disneyland vibe. The actress who portrays Miss Lily is very talented. In fact, the show shines its brightest when she is interacting with the audience during the “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” routine. This is when she enters the audience to harass a few gentlemen in the crowd; it’s hilarious. Also, the live band sounds great and adds a lot of energy to the show. My biggest gripe is that I wish the show were longer, but at the same time I understand that this is a temporary show.

How to attend:

Reservations for The Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue are set up the exact same way they were during the show’s original run: a podium is located outside of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland where guests must make reservations. The reservations are first come, first served, so if you want a specific show time you should get to the park as early as possible. I attended the morning of the first showing, and there were over 100 people in line to make reservations when I got in line just as the park opened for the day. I expect the numbers to be much higher during the weekends. There are five show times per a day, 11:30, 12:45, 2:00, 4:00, and 5:15. A sixth showing is available for Annual Passholders as part of a meal package that costs $35 (more information on the AP meal package can be found on Disney’s blog). Even if you do have a reservation for a specific time, it is still important to arrive at the venue at least 40 minutes before show time to guarantee a good seat.  There is a standby line for each show in case there is extra seating available. The show runs Thursday through Monday, now until February 4.