I have had different experiences with Disney.
I was absolute shocked at how good The Beauty and the Beast was when I saw it. It's my favorite Disney movie and the stage version did not disappoint, but enhanced it IMO.
I thought The Lion King was good, visually, but was terrible musically. It still burns my butt that the Tony Committee awarded it Best Musical over Ragtime. A injustice of epic proportions IMO that caused me to lose any respect I had for the Tony Awards. I thought it a sin. Ragtime should have run away with the Tony's that year - no contest. Yet, somehow, TLK and it's horrible book, lyrics, and score walked away with Best Musical? Made no sense to me.
AIDA caused me to lose any faith I had for the theater going public. It is the single biggest piece of trash I have ever seen or heard. It should have been an enormous flop, but the names Disney, Rice, and John that hovered above it's title did exactly what they were designed to do - trick people into thinking they are witnessing quality work. And, it worked. Thousands of people flocked to this horrible show and loved it. Sorry to be rag, but it sucks. If you like it, you need to re-evaluate. It is singlehandedly the worst show I have ever seen - BY FAR.
Then we have Hunchback, which I saw in Berlin, and felt blew all other Disney shows away. Best score, best writing, best sets - it was beautiful and miraculous. I am saddened that this show will not see further life on stage (at least for now). The musical additions were breathtaking, and the changes in the story made it much stronger. It was wonderful.
So, I HATE AIDA and The Lion King, but Loved The Beauty and the Beast and Hunchback.
And, I would love to tell Elton to his face that he sucks!
"What the hell happened to you? You look like a Make-A-Wish Kid. You know, I just knew you were gonna bring shame on this new family of ours, and it just figures you had to go make yourself over into some heroin-shootin skate board chic on the only day E! could interview you!" - Cherry Cherry, on her daughter Mary Cherry