Just how noisy are live shows at WDW?

[KIS]

I have yet to go even for the first time in my life and will go along with my daughter and husband in late April.

I recently spoke with a friend who went to WDW for the first time as an adult. My friend had recommended that we bring earplugs to all the of the live shows (Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc.) because no matter what the show is, the sound will be painfully, painfully loud.

Do others of you concur? Did you think differently?

KIS

 

[maciec]

I totally disagree.

They are certainly not as loud as a concert (I consider that pretty loud). Do you wear ear plugs at a concert? If you don't then you will be just fine.

Melissa

 

[KIS]

By concert, I assume you mean R&R rather than Classical or Folk. I have not gone to many R&R concerts, frankly.

KIS

 

[cheerdaddy]

although there are certainly portions of many of the shows that can be a little loud; I don't recall anything excessive or that has ever hurt my ears or anything...you could always try out the earplug thing or bring them along it case you decide you need them...

 

[Xtine76]

I'm usually pretty sensitive to noise but I did not have any problem with the music being loud. The sound quality at Disney is good so even if it were loud it wouldn't be bad. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

 

[KIS]

My guess is it's an exaggeration, but I don't think it will hurt to have a pair or two around anyway. After all, it will be the first time my daughter sleeps in the same room as my husband since he's begun snoring. She may NEED them for that!

KIS

 

[maps]

the only show that i remember being painfully loud was the tarzan rocks show at ak. we haven't seen it in years because of that reason. this year my kids love tarzan so we'll be going but i'm going to bring some cotton!

 

[Shells9]

I agree with Tarazan Rocks as the only show I recall as being really loud.

DD (6) is pretty sensitive to sounds and over stimulation, and the only thing she was bugged by was It's Tough to Be a Bug and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, because of the effects -- they freaked her out, lol!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I never thought Beauty and the Beast was loud, loud enough to require earplugs. I just love that show. I do not remember thinking that either Animal Kingdom show was too loud, I do think, however, it is a very vibrant alive with lots of action type of show.

 

[disneyfanforever]

Tarzan Rocks is very loud (at least it was a couple years ago). It is the only show that I have ever taken my youngest son out of. I don't know why they don't do something about the noise level in that place. Other than that, while some of the shows are loud, I don't think they are loud enough to be disturbing or make the show less enjoyable.

 

[Synonymous]

I disagree with all of the above. The sound is very loud on almost all of the shows. It doesn't bother me, but my daughter, who is 6 and has been going for years, always complains about it. The noise was a big contributng factor to her getting scared at a few shows when she was younger.

You don't say how old your DD is, but if she's little, you might consider ear plugs. Alot of the shows are intense, even if they don't seem like anything scary, and you don't want your daughter to get a bad first impression of Disney. My DD still won't go see Voyage of the Little Mermaid, because of a bad first impression when she was younger, and the noise was part of what put her off.

 

[FWFamily4Life]

my DS who was 2 during our last trip hates loud noises. Sirens, fireworks, etc. The only show that we went to that bothered him was Mickeys backyard barbeque at FW. None of the shows at the parks bothered him. I carried a set of foam earplugs (Actually one earplug that i cut in have for his small ears)in my pocket, just in case. only needed them at BYB. My DW and I both agree that the volume and sound quality is excellent.

 

[jl3614]

We have been the last 2 years with young children. I agree with many of the above posters. Many of the shows have loud or intense moments, but Tarzan Rocks was the only one which we found to be loud from beginning to end.

Depending on the age of your child, intense scenes may be more of an issue than volume. We made the mistake (stupidity on our part) of taking our DD (then 2) into "It's Tough to be a Bug", then had the unfortunate luck of sitting in the front on the right side - which is exactly were a big mean bug (I believe a spider) jumps out at the crowds. Poor daughter was terrified.

Do visit some of the shows. In my humble opinion both MGM and AK would be only marginally worth visiting if all you did was the rides - the shows are what make these parks special.

Have a great trip.

Jeff

 

[FatCow]

I agree with Synonymous.

I actually brought my SPL meter to most of the shows/rides.

The only ones that are actually safe for hearing (especially kids) are the parades and all the rides in Fantasyland.

ALL of the 3D shows are averaging at a somewhat dangerous levels and the peaks ARE at dangerously high level.

The thing is that you'll be exposed to sooo much noise your ears won't have time to rest. By exposing yourself to continuous 90+ dB all the time, you may damage your hearing permanently.

The only reason you don't feel that the sound at Disney as too-loud is because they are EQ-ed properly so you ears don't get fatigued too easily.

Put it this way. If you need to talk louder than your "doctor's office" voice, the area is too loud.

 

[Kapp]

that was too loud for us was "Tarzan Rocks" (what did we expect from a show with 'rocks' in it!). We never had any problems with any of the other shows.

 

[WilliamsMom]

Since you asked about shows, a must see is Festival of the Lion King in AK. We all loved that show (My son is 8) it is a total "Must See."

My son wanted to see Tarzan Rocks (we had watched a snippet of it on the travel channel (it was a loud but not painful) but we did not enjoy it at all. It was mostly singing and rock and roll music and not what we expected. We thought it was going to be mainly acrobatic and stunt rollerblading/skateboarding. Although we stayed for the entire show we were ready to leave after the first 10 minutes. It ate up a lot of our time.

We saw the Festival of the Lion King's last show at 4:30 which was a spectacular way to end the day in the park. If you do catch the last show remember that the parade is at 4pm (I think)so strategically place yourself at the corner of the path leading to the Festival of the Lion King to view the parade or you'll be dealing with the parade congestion. We saw the entire parade and then walked quickly to the Festival of the Lion King. We also had a priority seating at the Rainforest Cafe for 5:15pm for supper and that worked out well too. 5:30 would work even better. The RF Cafe was my son's favorite restaurant. He thought the animals and aquariums were very cool. The service is a tad slow but he loved getting the HUGE "Volcano" dessert which is big enough for 3 to share.

 

[DazedandConfused]

We just got back and the BEST thing I did was buy and brign hearing protectors for my 3 y.o. and ear plugs for my 6 y.o. The shows and attractions are VERY loud in my opinion - and my dh's opinion. Our trip was sooo much nicer with these. My 3 y.o. is very sensitive to noise and gets overstimulated easily. Another posted here had posted about bringing earplugs and it saved us many tears. My 3 y.o. would ask for his (earphones) as we were going into attractions. I got them at walmart - they were about $7.50 and they look like the old earphones to the old stereo units of the 70's early 80's! I will post a pic of him with them on if I can figure out how to! I highly recommend this option if you have kids who mind loud noises. They were also a Godsend in Fantasmic and for Wishes! HTH!Chris.

 

[wuv tigger]

Another vote for extremely loud. Next time we will bring earplugs. The volume was very loud for FOTLK and Philharmagic in particular. The balancing is OK, but the decibels must be 90+. DD1 is sensitive and had a very difficult time, covering her ears for every show.

My MIL has lost her hearing so we are more sensitive to the issue, but if you think that the volume level is OK I would bet that you currently have a hearing deficit

The volume is certainly lower than a rock concert that leaves your ears ringing for 3 days, but can still do damage. I am constantly amazed by people when I can hear their stereo clearly in my car with the windows up.

JMHO

David

 

[njb1148]

I have to agree with the loudness. Tarzan Rocks is very, very loud and we didn't think much of it. We are going again in a few weeks and will not even consider seeing that one again. But many other attractions are also very loud. I know it hurts my son's ears and often they hurt my ears as well. Many here are suggesting ear plugs. I think I will go out and get some for our trip
Plug up the ears and have a wonderful time!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm hard-of-hearing (I use closed captioning at WDW) and I can attest that the special effects sounds and the music in most attractions is loud enough to startle me. Oddly enough, HOH people often are more sensitive to amplified sound than people with normal-range hearing; we have to listen much more actively, and depending on what the nature of the problem is, strong vibration can be irritating.

If you are used to constant loud background type noises such as children yelling, street sounds, music or industrial noise, it is probable that the only stage show you will notice is Tarzan; you can feel that one in your chest in a big way. In addition, if you go to pains to get a "good" spot for Illuminations, you will likely also be very close to the percussion; again, you will feel it in your chest. IMO, if you can feel sound in your chest, you definitely need to be wearing some sort of ear protection.

I always carry foam earplugs in the parks and wear them pretty much constantly; they damp down the ambient buzz to a level that doesn't jangle my nerves, and keep the shows from being so loud that they just sound like an overwhelming cacophany.