Night of Joy (festival)

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Night of Joy was an annual contemporary Christian music festival that took place from 1983 to 2017 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The festival was normally hosted at the Magic Kingdom in early September. It was cancelled in 2018 and replaced with a mainstream Eat to the Beat concert series, with Christian pop rock artists MercyMe and Tauren Wells joining the lineup.[1] Night of Joy inspired two other Christian rock festivals in the Orlando region: Cornerstone Florida, which ran in the month of May from 2003 to 2007, and Rock the Universe at Universal Studios Florida, in operation since 1998.

Venues[edit]

Most concerts were held at the Magic Kingdom, in front of the Cinderella Castle. Other venues included:

Six artists have performed at all three venues: Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, MercyMe, Newsboys, Red and tobyMac. Several other artists have performed at two of these venues.

Later Years (2010-2017)[edit]

2017[edit]

The event returned at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and was scheduled to last two nights, but the September 9 event was cancelled as a precautionary measure against Hurricane Irma. Park tickets for September 9 could either be honored on September 8 or returned for a full refund.[3]

2016[edit]

2015[edit]

2014[edit]

2013[edit]

2012[edit]

2011[edit]

2010[edit]

The event returned to Magic Kingdom after two years of being held at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Early Years (1983-2009)[edit]

2009[edit]

The official 2009 lineup was announced in March 2009. It featured more rock bands than usual and incorporated three acts common to both days of the performance, following "Conversations" with acts performing one of the two days. This is the final Night of Joy held at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

2008[edit]

This is the first of two consecutive events held at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Previously, Night of Joy was held exclusively at the Magic Kingdom theme park.

2007[edit]

2006[edit]

2005[edit]

2004[edit]

Sunday, September 11:

2003[edit]

2002[edit]

2001[edit]

1986[edit]

1985[edit]

Night of Joy 1985 is the only instance where an event occurred outside of September.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Disney World Cancels Annual Christian Concert 'Night of Joy' After 34 Years". The Christian Post. 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  2. ^ "Disney Night of Joy 2017 Entertainment Schedule". Disney Parks Blog. August 2017. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  3. ^ "Hurricane Irma Update" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  4. ^ "Night of Joy Schedule of Events". TouringPlans. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  5. ^ "Disney's Night of Joy 2015 Entertainment Schedule at Walt Disney World Resort". Disney Parks Blog. August 2015. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  6. ^ "The 2014 Disney's Night of Joy Entertainment Lineup Rocks". Disney Parks Blog. August 2014. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  7. ^ "Full Artist Line-Up for the 2013 Night of Joy". WDWMagic. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  8. ^ "Night of Joy Musical Line-Up Announced for Magic Kingdom Park". Disney Parks Blog. August 2012. Retrieved 2023-10-12.