Disney lovers in Northern Utah flocked to the Deer Valley Resort amphitheater for Utah Symphony’s annual “Disney in Concert: Once Upon a Time.”
The event was the closest to Disneyland Utah could get — complete with a long line, Mickey Mouse-shaped snacks for purchase and, of course, a wide assortment of Disney attire. Designed for families, kids skipped beside their parents dressed as their favorite characters: Elsas and Annas, a handful of Stitch onsies, the pinks, purples, golds, greens and reds of Rapunzel, Belle, Tinkerbell, Snow White, Tiana and Minnie Mouse, and even a Jack Sparrow.
But this event wasn’t just for kids. The average music-loving concert goer, sipping on beer from Deer Valley plastic cups, rubbed shoulders with the ever-present Disney adults, who showed up in force with their collectable leather backpacks and Mickey ears.
A shocking turnout spread up the Snow Park hill — almost hitting the venue’s 4,500 cap as the highest attended Disney in Concert in over six years — with more still arriving with wagons in-tow by the concert’s start at 7:30 p.m. as guest vocalist Andrew Johnson gave a quick introduction to the music to follow.
“‘Once upon a time’ is the best beginning to every story,” he said to the crowd, already excited for a night of well-known classics.
Mallorie Infante had driven an hour-and-a-half with her family from Pleasant View to see the night’s show.
“We come every year,” she said.
Her two young cousins, Laila and Isla Interiano, spent most of the event dancing and singing along to each song, munching from a bag of Hi-Chew candy. Isla dressed as Stitch but changed into a Belle costume at Intermission.
“They’re excited for ‘Encanto,'” Infante said, gesturing to the two dancing on a blanket. “I like all the classics, like ‘Cinderella.'”
The orchestra did not disappoint their family that night, with the well-loved “Encanto” track “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and a “Cinderella” medley. Screens on either side of the stage showed scenes from each movie represented in song.
Vocals were also performed by Johnson, Lisa Livesay and Whitney Kaufman, each wearing a sequined outfit that glistened in the stage lights. They sang seamlessly from solo numbers to playful trios.
Utah Symphony Conductor Jerry Hu addressed the crowd a few times during the evening, explaining how music plays an integral part in movies, especially Disney movies.
“The music is there to help propel what’s going on in the story, so it can set the character, it can set the mood,” he said.
To demonstrate this effect, they played a series of songs from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” soundtrack.
“We’re going to show how important the music is, so we’re going to take away the words, we’re going to take away the visuals, and see what you can imagine with just the music,” Hu said.
Other crowd favorites were a villain’s medley and songs from “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid.”
July’s full moon rose over the crowd as the concert came to a close. The encore song, “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen 2” was in-part an audience sing-along, and the sweet voices echoed as far as the last parking lot in Snow Park. Then, a mass exodus and subsequent traffic jam ensued, some still humming along to the music they’d heard.
Learn more about the Deer Valley Music Festival and grab tickets for the upcoming shows at deervalleymusicfestival.org.