Complete Guide to Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! at Animal Kingdom

Swim on over to The Theater in the Wild for Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!

This Broadway-style show features talented performers controlling puppet-type versions of your favorite characters from the Pixar animated film, Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel, Finding Dory (2016).

With catchy tunes and impressive sets, this show is bound to wow guests young and old.

Keep reading for our complete guide to Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! Quick Facts

Location

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! is in DinoLand, U.S.A. in the Theater in the Wild, down the way from Fossil Fun Games and across the bridge from Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

Below is the location on the map.

Download the PDF

How to Watch Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! has a Standby Line and a Lightning Lane.  There are different shows throughout the day. You can check the My Disney Experience app for daily showtimes.

Do I need to use Genie+ at Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!?

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! does have Genie+ but with plenty of seating available in the theater, this isn’t a first priority when it comes to your Genie+ reservations.

We don’t necessarily recommend using a Genie+ Lightning Lane Selection on a show. But if it’s a busy park day and/or you don’t want to line up early to grab a seat, Genie+ might be a good option for you, especially since Genie+ availability may run out before the last show of the day.

Be sure to check out our touring plans for Animal Kingdom for more Genie+ advice.

Rider Switch/Child Swap

Rider Switch is not offered at Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! since this show is appropriate for guests of all ages. Plus, Rider Switch isn’t normally offered for shows and reserved for rides.

You can learn more about Rider Switch via our handy guide.

What to Expect when you Watch

Queue

Guests wait in an open-air queue before filing into the air-conditioned Theater in the Wild at Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! If you get there early you can hear the Marine Life Institute ocean facts that play every few minutes.

Accessibility Information

Since you are seated in a theater for this experience, those in wheelchairs and ECVs may remain in them. Guests using wheelchairs and ECVs will be seated in a special area of the theater. 

Handheld captioning, assistive listening, and sign language is available for guests.

In the Show

If you want to keep your experience at Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! a surprise, you’ll want to skip over this part!

The show opens up with Gil and the rest of the tank gang from Dr. P. Sherman’s office in Finding Nemo who have made their way across the ocean to the Marine Life Institute, setting the framework of this tale after Finding Dory (2016). They serve as the narrator’s of Nemo’s adventure from the first film.

As Nemo and Marlin make their way to the stage for Nemo’s first day of school, they sing “In The Big Blue World” before Nemo joins up with his friends to head to the “drop off,” with Marlin deciding to follow close behind.

The rest of the show closely follows the plot of the film, with the fish tank gang popping in and out to continue the story.

Even though the show has been shortened considerably from its original version, it still contains favorite tunes like “Dory’s Ditty,” “Fish Are Friends, Not Food,” and the inspiring group number, “We Swim Together.”

A highlight of the show is when Crush the turtle and his brood enter the scene for the most righteous Beach Boys-esque anthem, “Go With The Flow.”

And it wouldn’t be a Pixar-based musical, without a heart-touching finale that will have everyone a little teary-eyed as they leave the theater!

Is Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! Kid-Friendly?

Yes, absolutely. With its fun songs, colorful costumes, and use of puppetry, this show is for the whole group.

Strollers

Strollers are not allowed in most queues at Disney World, including Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!. Instead, you’ll need to leave your stroller in the designated stroller parking area at the entrance to the Theater in the Wild.

History

Finding Nemo: The Musical opened at the Theater in the Wild on January 24, 2007.

The original 40-minute show featured songs specially written for this production by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who also wrote Disney hits like, “Let it Go” and “Into the Unknown” from Frozen and Frozen 2.

It closed on March 15, 2020, due to the pandemic. It was announced upon the resort’s reopening that a new, reimagined version of the show, Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!, would premiere on June 13, 2022, as part of Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration.

In place of the original script, the show is now reframed to take place post Finding Dory (2016), with Gil and the rest of the tank gang from Finding Nemo (2003) recounting Nemo’s original adventures as they await their release from the Marine Life Institute.

This story is told through human performers, puppets, dance, song, and special effects, just like the original version.

However, the runtime is now only 25 minutes, the songs have been trimmed, much of the dialogue has been cut, and there’s a new LED video wall designed to visually extend the physical sets on stage – such as a 32-foot-long sunken submarine and a 15-foot-tall fish tank volcano.

The production features fewer performers now, with 14 onstage instead of the original cast of 18.

Other Fun Details

• A Hidden Mickey pops up on the new LED screen during the Big Blue Scene. You can find it within a tan/greenish piece of brain coral.
• At the end of the show, an animated hermit crab walks out centerstage of the screen and bows along with the cast.
• Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the team behind Frozen (2013), Frozen 2 (2019), and Coco (2017), amongst other Disney classics, wrote the music and lyrics for the original show, Finding Nemo: The Musical. Many of the same songs are used, but have been shortened for Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!