American Idol Returns: Day One

Radio Disney host Morgan Tompkins helped kick off the 2018 American Idol 20-city bus tour auditions #TheNextIdol yesterday at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World. Tompkins was joined during the ceremonial ribbon-cutting by Idol Season One winner Ruben Studdard, Season Six winner Jordin Sparks and Season Eight winner Kris Allen — along with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, of course.

Several hundred contestants were already lined up in the muggy pre-dawn hours before registration began, and as many as 4,000 hopefuls were expected to show up for the audition process. [Full disclosure: In case you didn’t know by now, after years of bragging… Morgan is my son. – Kevin Carter]