The Disney entertainment giant seems to be shaking off its ‘woke’ image of recent years.
Worship broke out when Maverick City Music led a powerful night of praise at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park in Orlando, Florida.
“What started as a concert turned into a full-on worship service with voices lifted high, phones lighting up, and hearts turned to heaven!” wrote CCM Magazine.
HOW CONCERT-GOERS DESCRIBED THE WORSHIP
“The Holy Spirit showed and proved the Lord can show up whenever and wherever,” posted one of the concert-goers.”
“What a powerful experience. Getting to worship Jesus in the middle of Walt Disney World. The rain couldn’t stop His name from being lifted up,” wrote another fan.
CCM wrote: “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.”
“What normally draws a spike in casual park traffic turned into a full-on worship service, and no one wanted to leave.”
INCREASING NUMBER OF CHRISTIAN MUSICIANS PERFORMING
“The band played some of their biggest worship anthems including I Thank God, Jireh, and Miracles, and the crowd responded in full voice, through the rain, thunder, and lightning delays.”
Maverick City Music were among many secular artists to perform during Epcot’s three months of Garden Rocks Concerts as part ot its International Flower & Garden Festival.
We The Kingdom will perform next weekend.
CCM reports it was initially feared the discontinuation of Disney’s popular ‘Night of Joy’ annual Christian music festival that ran from 1983 to 2017 signalled the end of faith-centred music at its theme parks.
“But slowly and steadily, Disney has continued to invite top-tier faith-based acts during Epcot’s seasonal festivals, including TobyMac, MercyMe, and now Maverick City Music.
WALT DISNEY WORLD STILL HOLDS CHRIST-CENTRED CHRISTMAS EVENT
Walt Disney World still holds its Christ-centered Candlelight Processional each Christmas with the true story of Jesus’s birth being told in front of massive crowds.
“Disney might not promote it loudly, but someone at the top still understands the power and place of Christian infused content in the parks.” noted CCM.“The Maverick City Music concert wasn’t about wishing upon a star.”
“It was about praying to the Saviour, singing to the Healer, and praising the One who made the stars in the first place.”
DISNEY REPAIRING ITS IMAGE AFTER ATTACKING FLORIDA LAW
Disney productions are also more focused on winning back Christians.
The Pixar animated series Win or Lose introduced Disney’s first explicitly Christian character in nearly two decades.
It follows a backlash over over the company’s advocacy against a Parental Rights in Education bill passed in Florida in 2022.
It prohibited public school teachers and staff from discussing matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through to third grade.
ENTERTAINMENT GIANT MONITORING ALL ITS OUTPUT
In the weeks after Disney first made a commitment to combat the legislation, video recordings surfaced showing employees at the company discussing an effort to incorporate LGBT ideology into children’s programming.
A 2022 poll found that nearly 70% of Americans were less likely to do business with the company because of news reports that “reveal Disney is focusing on creating content to expose young children to sexual ideas.”
Now it appears to be carefully monitoring all its output to ensure it has universal appeal.
