Disney’s The Lion King comes back to the Hollywood Pantages Theatre from December 17, 2026 to February 13, 2027, a nine-week holiday run and the biggest family title on the Pantages calendar this season.
One thing to know before you start shopping: single tickets are not on sale yet. As of late July 2026, the official Broadway in Hollywood listing says “On Sale TBA” and the only way to hold seats right now is a season or mini package. That matters, because resale sites are already listing December performances anyway, and there’s a good reason to be suspicious of those. More on that below.
At a glance
| Show | Disney’s The Lion King (six Tony Awards, including Best Musical) |
| Dates | December 17, 2026 to February 13, 2027 |
| Where | Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd |
| Runtime | About 2 hours 30 minutes, including intermission |
| Recommended age | 6 and up (must be 5 to enter; under 14 need an adult) |
| Tickets | Season or mini package only for now, single tickets TBA |
Those resale listings are selling air
Search “Lion King Pantages” today and you’ll get a wall of ticket sites quoting real-looking prices, roughly $139 to $233 for December dates. Here’s the problem. The show’s own box office hasn’t released single tickets yet, so almost nobody selling you a specific seat for December 30 actually has that seat in hand.
My advice is boring and it will save you money: wait. Get on the Broadway in Hollywood email list, wait for the single-ticket on-sale announcement, and buy from the official seller on day one. A nine-week run of a show that’s been touring since 1997 is not going to vanish in an afternoon.
Where to sit: for this show, the aisle beats the center
Our general best seats at the Hollywood Pantages advice is center orchestra rows E to P, or the center front mezzanine. The Lion King is the one show where I’d break that rule.
Book an orchestra aisle seat about a third of the way back. The reason is the opening number. During “Circle of Life,” the animals don’t start onstage. The cast walks the giraffes, the antelope, the rhino, and the full-size elephant puppet up the house aisles from the back of the orchestra, past the audience, and onto the stage. From an aisle seat the elephant passes close enough to see the mechanism working. From a center seat you watch the backs of everyone’s heads turning.
That’s a real trade. A center seat is better for the other 2 hours and 25 minutes, and the show is designed to read beautifully from the mezzanine, where the Pride Rock spiral and the stampede sequence make more sense as full stage pictures. So pick your priority:
- Bringing kids for the first time? Orchestra aisle, a third of the way back. The procession is the moment they’ll talk about in the car.
- Seen it before, or you’re here for the design? Center front mezzanine. The Pantages mezzanine is closer than the word suggests, and Julie Taymor’s staging is built for that wide view.
- Skip either way: the double-lettered orchestra rows at the very back and Mezzanine Row A if you’re tall. That advice doesn’t change for this show.
The cheapest weeks are in January
This is a nine-week run that straddles the holidays, and the pricing follows the calendar exactly. The most expensive performances are the ones between December 17 and January 3, when every visiting relative in Los Angeles is looking for a thing to do. The cheapest are late January and early February, once school is back and the tourist wave has gone home.
Prices here are dynamic, so no one can promise you an exact number months out. But the pattern holds for every long holiday run at this theatre, and it’s the single easiest way to cut the cost of this outing. If your goal is to see the show rather than to see it in Christmas week, book the last two weeks of the run. Same production, same puppets, and a much calmer trip down Hollywood Boulevard.
Is it OK for young kids?
Yes, more so than most Broadway titles, with two caveats worth knowing.
The caveats: the show is 2 hours 30 minutes with an intermission, which is a long sit for a 5 or 6-year-old, and the stampede scene (you know the one) is loud, dark, and genuinely upsetting for small children who have seen the film. Nothing about it is gorier than the movie. It just lands harder in a room with a full orchestra behind it.
The cheapest way in
The Lion King is a Broadway in Hollywood show, not a Center Theatre Group one, so the CTG discount routes (FreePlay and CTG rush) do not apply here. Your two real options, once single tickets go on sale:
- The digital lottery in the Broadway in Hollywood app, which runs for many of their titles. It’s in the app under Tickets, not on TodayTix.
- The day-of box-office rush, a small batch of cheaper seats sold in person a couple of hours before curtain, limit 2 per ID.
Neither has been confirmed for this run yet, and both prices are set per show, so check them close to your date. The lottery and rush cheat sheet has the current Pantages windows, and how to get cheap LA theatre tickets covers which discount actually fits your situation. For a family of four, be realistic: lotteries cap at 2 tickets, so the group discount (10 or more) or an off-peak January weeknight will beat them.
Making it a smooth night
- Parking: December on Hollywood Boulevard is its own event. Our Pantages parking guide has the lots worth paying for and how to get out afterwards without sitting in the garage for 40 minutes.
- Dinner: an early meal beats a post-show one with kids in tow. See where to eat before a Pantages show.
- Other options: if the dates don’t work, the what’s on in LA theatre hub tracks the rest of the season, and Broadway musicals in LA compares what else is touring through.
Double-check before you go: on-sale dates, prices, showtimes, and age policies all change, and this run is still months out. Confirm the details on the official Broadway in Hollywood listing before you buy anything.
Frequently asked questions
When does The Lion King play at the Hollywood Pantages? December 17, 2026 through February 13, 2027, a nine-week run. Performances are usually Tuesday through Sunday, with 1pm matinees and 7:30pm evening shows on most dates.
Are single tickets on sale yet? Not as of late July 2026. Broadway in Hollywood lists the show as “On Sale TBA” and seats are currently available only with a season or mini package. Watch the official site for the single-ticket on-sale announcement.
Why are resale sites already selling tickets then? Because those are speculative listings, offered by sellers who don’t hold the tickets yet and plan to buy them later. If they can’t, you get a refund instead of seats. California’s AB 1349 would ban the practice, but it hasn’t become law, so buying direct from Broadway in Hollywood remains the safe route.
What are the best seats for The Lion King? An orchestra aisle seat about a third of the way back, because the “Circle of Life” animal procession comes up the house aisles rather than starting onstage. If you have seen the show before, the center front mezzanine gives the better view of the staging.
How old should a child be for The Lion King? It is recommended for ages 6 and up, and no one under 5 is admitted. The show runs about 2 hours 30 minutes with an intermission, and the stampede scene is loud and dark, so factor both into the decision for a younger child.
When in the run are tickets cheapest? Late January and early February. The performances between December 17 and January 3 are the peak holiday dates and price accordingly.
