Rivers of Light worth it?

[CAS239]

There's a major issue missing here I need to point out and open for discussion. The technology seems very flawed which is most shocking to me for Disney. The main water screen has a gap in the middle, losing much of the imagery. With even a 5mph breeze all of the projections became blurry (not an issue at Fantasmic), and even the lotus holograms were mostly hard to discern. The whole thing was a real mess. I desperately wanted to love it. Can't even say I liked it.

Yes I agree on the water screen. It shoots one stream from the left and one from the right to make one big water screen. For those that haven't seen it, it's like two firefighter hoses spraying toward each other to create a wall of water....but it's like they don't have enough pressure or they should be about 10 feet closer together as there's a big gap near the top.

As far as the lotus flower holograms, they looked perfect when I saw it. I thought seeing the 3D holograms was the best part of the show.

 

[DOOM1001]

Its better than that Jungle book show for sure and even though I went in with low expectations the show still didn't even meet those lowered expectations.I've never been a big fan of water screens and Fantasmic for that very reason also drags on for me,probably even more as its longer with more of the water projections but I like it better than RoL as the other portions of the show have a bigger "wow" factor than RoL.I don't see Fantasmic very frequently but I'm sure it'll be more frequently than this one,especially with the very limited seating area,I don't know what Disney was thinking with such a small seating area,I was telling myself the area looked much smaller than what was needed for this kind of show when it was in construction.I'm really hoping I like Pandora as there's just not enough attractions I like at AK that get me out there more frequently.I moved to Orlando about 9 months ago and in that time I've probably visited Epcot 60-70 times and AK maybe 4 times.Illuminations at Epcot I could see daily if I could,the music alone is amazing and even though I've seen it probably too many times to count and I can admit it does have a few slower moments,maybe 2-3 minutes the other 9 minutes are some of the best of anything at WDW.

 

[Bullseye]

To do standby you'd need to be there 90 min or more ahead of show time. Standby is full an hour before.

I wouldn't spend extra money to do the dining package. Maybe if I already planned on eating at one of the restaurants, then sure since it's only like an extra $7 for the dining package.

FP. We did FP before and got in right when they opened it up. So we got there about an hour and a half prior.

After watching the show already, the max I'd probably spend waiting to watch it again is about 15-20 min. I wouldn't go out of my way to do the dining package, so I'd FP it and show up 15 min prior. If we got a seat then cool, if not, oh well

I just did my FP about a week ago and this was my thinking too. Hearing that I might have to wait 90 minutes standby makes me feel good that I fp it.

 

[twinprincesses09]

We saw it the last week of March. I had FP reserved for the 1st show, but as we were on our way over, about 45 minutes before the show, we decided to not go. We saw Jungle Book last year and while we had a FP for it, we still got there about 45 minutes early. It was miserably hot, felt like you were sitting on top of each other already, and the CMs kept wanting to move people even closer together. We decided we didn't want to experience that again, even though I have been wanting to see the show since I first heard about it and was disappointed about the delay last year. Anyway, we decided to head over to Safari instead that only had about a 10-15 minute wait at that time. After Safari, we headed to Everest to ride before ROL ended. We actually ended up riding 3 times! Even when ROL ended, the line was still only about 10 minutes. We entered the line for the last time at about 9:28 (park closed at 9:30), and pretty much walked straight on. When we got off, we browsed around in the gift shop for a little while, headed for the restrooms, bought some ice cream, and as we were slowly making our way to the exit, the CMs by the standby entrance near Nemo asked if we were interested in seeing ROL. I asked if there was still seating available and they assured me there was. Everyone seemed to be sitting as close to the middle as possible (I'm sure it was a better view), and the side sections were almost completely empty. We had room to stretch out with no one in front, behind, or beside of us. And this was about 5 minutes before the show started. I really enjoyed the show, but was glad we decided against the earlier show. We had a lot more fun riding our favorite rides over again, than being crammed into a crowded stadium for an hour. I don't think I would have enjoyed it was much, just because of the circumstances. So if you think you may want to see it, but don't want to wait a long time or use a FP, think about seeing the 2nd show. Of course, I'm sure this may change when the park is open later with Pandora opens.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

What time is the River of Light shows? Are there 2 shows at night? I only just recently heard of it. We'll be there in a week. Any days of week better to attend, less crowded?

 

[lucas]

I don't think the Rivers of Light is worth it. Not at all. They make it seem such a big deal, 3 lines (FP, stand-by, VIP dinner), 2 shows. And it was really nothing. It may be worth a 5 minute walk-by kind of attraction. Like, oh, isn't that nice in passing it, but that is about it. I felt sucked into the hype by having to see this. Of course, only my opinion!

 

[CAS239]

What time is the River of Light shows? Are there 2 shows at night? I only just recently heard of it. We'll be there in a week. Any days of week better to attend, less crowded?

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/animal-kingdom/rivers-of-light/

Next week has two shows every night, 8:30 and 9:45pm. You'll be better off going to the second show. Doesn't matter the day of the week you go. If you're doing standby, which I assume you are if you just heard about it but are going next week, then for the first show you'd want to get to the arena 60+ min in advance. When I watched it back in Feb the standby was full an hour prior. If you go to the second show you might be able to show up a little later.

 

[SoCalDisneyFan2708]

I agree with most of the people here who say RoL is just okay. Many people have compared it to WoC. I have seen every variation of WoC and liked them all especially the original and Festival of Light (Christmas version). Biggest problem with RoL for me is lack of Disney characters. Without that it's hard to play with guests emotions the way WoC does especially with RoL being a shorter show. It has no time to develop any story. If Disney characters were used there is no need for any story development, 99% of the people watching already know it. Illuminations was mentioned here but that show has fireworks (shot low to ground level) which to me provides the excitement factor. They do have fire elements in RoL but not big enough or close enough to guests to make you say WOW! Where as in WoC one of the fan favorite moments in any iteration is when fire effects are shown off and you can actually feel the heat and even have to shield yourself a bit if you are in front.

I still enjoyed it and will probably see it again when I go back. I liked the individual flowers and screens and could see it becoming a great show in the future with just a few tweaks.

 

[pattyw]

We liked ROL and found it was worth our time(we got a FP for it). But as with any of the nighttime shows, it requires alot of time to get a good spot and wait before the show(even for FP you have to be there early), so it's not a must do for every trip. I am glad we saw it before Pandora opens as the crowds will probably increase significantly.

 

[AngiTN]

I haven't been yet but I gotta say, there isn't a thing at Disney worth waiting an hour and a half for. Do people do that for RoL? And surely folks really didn't do that for JB

 

[CAS239]

I haven't been yet but I gotta say, there isn't a thing at Disney worth waiting an hour and a half for. Do people do that for RoL? And surely folks really didn't do that for JB

Some people wait 2+ hours. Waiting before they open the arena up.

After seeing it, I wouldn't wait more than 15 min for the show

 

[BayouQueen]

I love the DIS.
I had our whole AK day planned around this show. Now I changed it up to just skip it -- finish up our day in the park and then pop over to AKL for a lovely dinner. DH will be soooo much happier with this plan. Thanks everybody for the candid reviews!

 

[lucas]

I love the DIS.
I had our whole AK day planned around this show. Now I changed it up to just skip it -- finish up our day in the park and then pop over to AKL for a lovely dinner. DH will be soooo much happier with this plan. Thanks everybody for the candid reviews!

I think you are making the right decision. You won't be missing anything.

 

[Tomh]

I think ultimately, only you can know what is really worth it for you.

From what I've seen in online videos, Rivers of Light is a very different kind of show than what we are used to at Disney. Some people will be very disappointed in that. Personally, I think it is very fitting with the theme, feel, vibe, message of Animal Kingdom, and look forward to seeing it in person.

My suggestion would be, give it a try, and see for yourself. If you really don't like it, you can always leave before it is over.

 

[Strikan]

It is not a typical Disney spectacular. There are no Disney characters and no fireworks. However, we all thought it was incredibly beautiful. It perfectly fits the AK theme and feeling. I am actually glad that it is not like other Disney shows. It is good to have variety. We thought the technical aspects of the show were very impressive. The music was lovely and the hologram type images were amazing. I would recommend seeing it.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

My dh is not big on that kind aggravation we'll c how we feel lol

 

[justcin711]

My DH and I just saw this yesterday for the first time with a FP. We found the show to be pretty dull and there are still some kinks to be worked out...for our showing the tiger wasn't lighting up until the end. I am so glad that we didn't pay for a dining package to see this. Cute but not worth devoting too much time to visit.

 

[rteetz]

I have to say RoL isn't supposed to be a WOW! in your face kind of show. It's supposed to be grand and elegant and fit the overall theme of AK.

I have yet to see RoL but will very soon. This isn't a firework show with a large finale. Could it be better? Could they do more of a wow? Sure of course but I think people need to go in knowing that this is very different than something like a firework show.

 

[Micca]

Y'all enjoy it! I can wait 5-10 years until the crowds die down.

 

[twoplustwins]

It was okay. I wouldn't wait more than 15 minutes to see it.
Now that I've seen it, I can mark it off the list. I won't go again like I do for Wishes.