One of the newest attractions in Disney World is the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Patterned after the very popular American Idol TV show, the American Idol Experience features a competition between contestants trying to show that they have the necessary singing talent to be the next American Idol.

After already deciding ahead of time that I probably wasn't going to like it, I agreed to check it out with my family, who are big American Idol fans.

The theater that the show is held in is very impressive. Like the old Who Wants To Be A Millionaire set, they did a great job creating the American Idol Experience theater. As you can see in the pictures, the lighting and set props are amazing.

While waiting for the show to start a Cast Member comes out and warms up the audience. He did a great job and got us ready for the show.

The format has 3 guests that have auditioned earlier in the day, perform during each show. During each day there are seven shows and then a finale that has all of the day's earlier winners battle for the overall winner for the day. The Prize: A Go To The Front Of The Line At A Real American Idol Audition Anywhere In The United States. This is what they call "The Ultimate FastPass!"

Back to the show, once they introduce the 3 contestants, they have them sing one song each. After they sing they face the panel of judges, that are coincidentally very similar to that famous trio of Randy, Paula, and Simon.

The Randy and Paula clones provided constructive criticism while the Simon clone said something with a meaner spirit. The audience was encouraged to boo the Simon clone if we felt that he was too mean.

After all 3 sing, they have a quick recap and then it is time to vote. Here the audience in the theater gets their chance to support their favorite.

Finally they announce the winner and then the show is over.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the show. The contestants were better than I expected. I was very impressed with the theater and the "judges" were very good also. All in all I thought it was a good representation of American Idol and good entertainment.

If you enjoy American Idol at all, it is worth your time to check out this new Hollywood Studios attraction. As an added bonus the theater is air conditioned and provides a nice escape on a hot day.