Tour Review: Disney’s Worlds Collide Is a Show-Stopping Celebration of Descendants and ZOMBIES

When Dara Reneé revealed that her first concert was The Cheetah Girls, it gave Disney’s Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour a profound sense of legacy. At the height of Disney Channel’s tween domination, arena tours were the norm. The cast of High School Musical and The Cheetah Girls were in such high demand that they could sell out venues designed for the biggest names in the music industry. It’s easy to forget that Miley Cyrus’ touring career began courtesy of Disney Channel, which sent her out on the road as her TV alter ego, Hannah Montana. In that same spirit, Disney has united two of its biggest current musical franchises for a tour that blends the stars of the latest installments with fan-favorite songs from all four films—and beyond. And like Miley’s touring debut, you get the sense that you’re seeing the next generation of headlining talent.

Kylie Cantrall (Red), Malia Baker (Chloe), Dara Reneé (Uliana), and Joshua Colley (Hook) from Descendants: The Rise of Red team up with Freya Skye (Nova), Malachi Barton (Victor), and Mekonnen Knife (Vargas) from ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires for a high-energy spectacle that pays tribute to the four films from each franchise, with special emphasis on the most recent installments. “Worlds Collide" is a fitting name for the tour, because this isn’t Descendants vs. Zombies, it’s the stars of both joining forces for a musical celebration of these hit DCOM series. The concert even introduces three brand-new songs, beginning with the title track.

Disney’s Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour is designed with families in mind, and the majority of the crowd at the tour’s San Diego launch was parents with kids ages five and up. As fans take their seats, a Wonderland stopwatch hanging from the ceiling provides updates on how much time remains until showtime, and it makes a return to do the same during the 20-minute intermission. With giant LED screens, projection mapping on each franchise’s iconic images, plus lasers, smoke, and confetti, a lot of spectacle is packed into the overall experience. The wardrobe budget for the show is extravagant, with costume changes for each performer almost every time they reappear after a break.

With seven core performers, plus a small troupe of background dancers, Worlds Collide maintains high energy from start to finish. There are only a handful of songs that don’t involve a lot of choreography, and it’s rare that anyone stops and sings for more than a minute. Among the few exceptions are Malia Baker’s acoustic rendition of “If Only" from Descendants, during which the crowd illuminated the arena with their cellphone lights, which was followed by a duet of “Space Between" from Descendants 2, joined by Kylie Cantrall.

With no band to take up space on stage (all background music is pre-recorded, except for Malia Baker’s guitar on “If Only"), the stage itself features a runway leading to a smaller platform that brings the stars closer to the mid-section of the floor. A small round stage toward the back of the floor is occasionally used, especially for Descendants/Zombies mashups. And in one of the rare slow song moments, “Dream Come True" from ZOMBIES 4, Freya Skye and Malachi Barton leave the main stage separately, walking through the aisles to give even more fans an up-close moment with them.

While the show largely sticks to the franchises that sold families on the ticket, three rising pop stars in the cast also perform original music from their solo careers. Kylie Cantrall performs a medley of four of her singles (“Link Up," "Boy for a Day," "Denim," and "Goodie Bag"), and Freya Skye performs her single “Gold’s Gone." Dara Reneé uses this opportunity to launch a brand-new song that hasn’t yet been released outside of the tour, “Imma Do It." At the merch booth, in addition to Worlds Collide-branded items, fans can pick up t-shirts that treat the show like a solo tour for their favorite of the seven performers. And during Kylie Cantrall’s set, she gave away a few shirts, including bringing one lucky little Red on stage, and the others were sent out via t-shirt cannons.

The setlist features most of the best songs from each franchise and is well balanced between the two. However, it is a lot of ground to cover, and in many cases, the songs are abbreviated or merged with others for the sake of time. And it would be impossible for someone’s favorite song to be left out of the tour. The songs fans will likely miss most are from the Zombies films, particularly “We Got This" from ZOMBIES 2 and “Ain’t No Doubt About It" from ZOMBIES 3 (“Alien Invasion" is the only ZOMBIES 3 song performed, which has a lot of fun with the lasers)

While the stars of the tour are from the newest entries in each series, the majority of the concert is a fan service tribute to the first three entries. Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim sent a video greeting for the tour, where they sing a little bit of “Someday" before passing the torch to Freya Skye and Malachi Barton, who continue the song live. And while there are a lot of crossover moments, for the most part, that spirit of passing the torch remains within each franchise. The VKs from Rise of Red tend to take the lead on all Descendants songs, while the vampires and daywalkers from ZOMBIES 4 carry the songs from that series.

The show has also been designed to showcase the particular skills and talents of each performer. The strongest singers in the group get solo moments. While everyone on the tour is a proficient dancer, Mekonnen Knife brings acrobatic skills to his performance and is often given moments to shine with backflips and other gravity-defying moments. Malia Baker gets to slow things down with her acoustic guitar (named Penelope) for her solo. But to be honest, the performer who most impressed me was Joshua Colley, who perhaps didn’t have enough screen time in The Rise of Red. A Broadway veteran, Colley helps close the show with a heartfelt original song he wrote for the tour, “I’m Gonna Remember This," that puts this moment in time for each performer in perspective.

A loving tribute to all eight films, but mostly the two newest ones, Disney’s Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour is a lot of fun for fans of all ages. As an adult, it’s impossible not to be entertained by the immense talent on display from the cast. With both series having launched hit songs that exist outside of the films, the set list is on par with a legendary performer’s greatest hits Las Vegas residency or farewell tour. As the kids say, the tour ‘didn’t have to go so hard’—but you’ll be glad it did.