[quote="KiaraOfThePridelands"]Why in 2011 did they release the Diamond Edition of "The Lion King" (at that time it was the 18th anniversary- normally "18th anniversary" is not a headline)?[/quote]
Starting in 2009, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment started a new re-issue lineup called the Diamond Edition, in which they repeated each installment's release in their previous Platinum Edition lineup.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first one in which it was released in 2009,
Beauty and the Beast was re-released the next year, and
The Lion King (which was the third release of the Platinum Edition) was given the Diamond treatment in 2011.
Also, in a matter of correction, 2011 would be the 17th anniversary of the film.
[quote="KiaraOfThePridelands"]So why last year for TLK's 20th anniversary (2014) did they only come out with a cd?[/quote]
I don't know what goes on behind close doors at the Disney studios so this is pure speculation on my part. Disney had already re-released
The Lion King on Blu-Ray three years ago (in 2014's business thinking) so a new home video release was out of the question. Movie studios usually honor the anniversary of their popular movies like
Gone with the Wind and
The Wizard of Oz with a small-scale theatrical re-release, but Disney probably never thought doing that since they had already done that three years ago. Plus, they already scheduled their upcoming films like
Guardians of the Galaxy during the summertime so there was no need to compete against them.
The only thing left was to re-release the soundtrack in which Walt Disney Records decided to honor the anniversary by starting a new lineup of releasing the soundtracks of their popular animated films in accordance to their film's anniversary date. It was 2014 so it's reasonable to finally release the complete soundtrack of the film. Then, they announced a new television series so it was clear Disney was finding ways to honor its twentieth anniversary.
[quote="KiaraOfThePridelands"]Why was it shortly out of the vault then in the vault again?[/quote]
The re-release trailers usually warn us that they are for "a limited time" so they can prevent digital piracy, not flood the market with an overload of their products, and preserve the films for another generation every decade.
[quote="KiaraOfThePridelands"]If they are starting "The Lion Guard' wouldn't they want to release another edition now then ever before to introduce this whole story to the newcomers?[/quote]
They probably don't have to do that since parents can purchase the recent issues of the films online for their child(ren). Disney could also play the movies on one of their cable channels (like Disney Channel, ABC Family, or Disney Junior), or place the films on their on-demand subscription package. However, kids these days are obsessed with
Frozen and superheroes so they are following their audiences' tastes.
[quote="KiaraOfThePridelands"]QUESTION---With everything above, When will it come out of the vault with another release of edition for the series?---QUESTION[/quote]
Due to their seven-year re-release tradition, we will probably see a new re-release sometime in 2018. If not, they will probably re-release in 2019 in recognition of the twenty-fifth anniversary or the early 2020s.