“It Was Such a Gift for Me.” – We Met a MAJOR Disney Celebrity at the New Little Mermaid Show in Disney World

“The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” has officially debuted in Disney’s Hollywood Studios! This new Little Mermaid stage show opened on May 27th, 2025, in the theater that used to be home to “Voyage of the Little Mermaid”.

We are so excited that the theater space is back in use and that the Little Mermaid story has returned to Hollywood Studios. Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, even made an appearance to celebrate the opening of the new show. The best part? We got the chance to interview her!

We are huge Jodi Benson fans, and while she makes a fair number of appearances in Disney World, this one was particularly special. It was such a treat to see her at the grand opening of “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” and get the chance to talk with her for a bit. We were one of five people invited to an exclusive interview with her, and we are still recovering from it!

Jodi Benson answered a variety of questions and spoke on the legacy of The Little Mermaid and her impressions of the new show.  When she was asked about the advice she would give to actors who are taking on the role of Ariel for the first time, she said: “I think just hold to the integrity of the character the way that Howard really created Ariel with me and with my animators and with my directors. It’s just really important for me that that integrity is maintained and that’s what I always love that we can carry that on with each and every Ariel. And, you know, vocally just need to do what we did in the original because you don’t need to change it or fix it or tweak it at all because the song is just beautiful on its own. So yeah, my advice is just hold on to the integrity of the character that we all love.”

Jodi Benson also gave her impressions of the new show. She loved the Max puppet and is so excited for “Kiss the Girl” to be a part of the new musical. As well, she loved getting to hear “Part of Your World” and said it was “such a gift for me.”

She also spoke on what she thought Howard Ashman would think of this new Little Mermaid show. She said: “I think Howard would love it. Because it’s fun and it holds on to the true story. Anytime that we can tell our story over and over again with the next generation it is beautiful, and I know Howard would have really really loved that. His career is just brilliant, and we’re honored that we get to carry on his legacy in whatever way we can.”

When we asked about one of her favorite memories of working with Howard Ashman, she said, “Anytime that I was in the studio singing the song and recording it, he was standing to my left. That is a trigger core memory that I get to have every time that I stand up and sing a song which is almost every week and I’m so grateful that I have that magical moment for me. But just really to be able to sing that gorgeous “I Want” song in the way that he designed and created it and wanting to maintain that song after all these years. I don’t really tweak or change anything. And that’s really to pay tribute to him.”

Finally, she also spoke about what allowed The Little Mermaid to resonate with so many audiences for so many years. She thought it was a combination of things: the classic story, and the combination of taking the animated film and blending it with a Broadway musical. Jodi Benson said that was really Howard’s doing.

It was such an honor to be able to interview Jodi Benson. Stay tuned to AllEars for all your Disney news!

We’re Spilling EVERYTHING You Need To Know About Disney World’s New Little Mermaid Show

Have you seen “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” yet? If you have, let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Disclosure: We were invited by Disney World to attend the Cool Kid Summer Media Event. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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