Rivers of Light

[DisneyDINK]

I have a trip in 2 weeks and another in late April. I occasionally Google "disney rivers of light animal kingdom opening date" and get a big nothing. It is like asking the Fed when they will raise rates. The Cubs won the World Series before Disney could debut this delayed show. Telling right?

Anyone know anything? Rumors gratefully accepted.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I know right. I have a trip in late January and was hoping to see it too

[Simba's Mom]

What bothers me is the money they spent, and now nothing. Recently I walked by the area with all the seats on the water. I can't believe after all the money they spent, they NOW find out that there's no hope for "Rivers of Light"?

[DisneyDINK]

I saw a rumor on some fly-by-night site saying there was a preview at midnight 11/15. Insert grain of salt here. Could be bogus. Confidence is low... repeat, confidence is low.

[eam]

Maybe they could have spent some of that money on fixing the yeti.

[Kerry823]

We are at Disney now and there is nothing about Rivers of Light. Probably should have invested in EPCOT future world. Other than soarin, test track and mission space, there are way too many closed buildings.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I hoping that Epcot is to come ... it will be the only park without some new stuff in the not-too-distant future.

[brad192]

As an R&D engineer, I've been down this path before.

Imagineering said: "Let's do this! It'll be awesome!"
Financing said: "We'll work out a budget for you."
Management said: "OK, let us know how things are going once the ball is rolling."
Marketing said: "YEAH! Let's work out a great spiel & sell it to the masses!"
Imagineering said: "Uhh...Looks like we hit a few snags. It'll take twice as long, and cost a lot more to get it right."
Financing said: "Sorry, the funds just aren't there right now. Do the best you can with what you have."
Management said: "What went wrong? Who's responsible?"
Marketing said: "Dang! We can't deliver what we said we could! OK, let's ignore it & maybe it'll go away."
Imagineering said: "We can make this work, even with the constraints, but it'll take time."
Financing said: "Fine. Not our problem anymore."
Management said: "OK, they're still working on it. Let us know when it's ready."
Marketing said: "Uhh, right. What's that next big promo we need to work on? Let's get moving on that."
Imagineering said: "Well, no one is breathing down our necks on this. We've got three other major projects going too. We'll allocate 20% of our time to fixing this. Hey, it all pays the same."

That's where it stands folks. Been there. Done that.

I really thought Disney was better than that. Sad.

[Zippy 1]

I have been told they have done a couple of tests with it in the last month.

[Figment!]

I have been told they have done a couple of tests with it in the last month.

Yep, that is the latest update from Cast.



... I have a trip in 2 weeks and another in late April.

In Mid-October 2016, there was a released and then quickly retracted webpage on the Walt Disney World website for Rivers of Light dining packages beginning May 1, 2017. Assuming this wasn't complete error, it would support that the park is expecting to need a show to hold some of the higher than historical crowds once Pandora opens "Summer 2017".

[Figment!]

Animal Kingdom Cast have reported today that Cast Only Previews are scheduled to be begin 11/27/16 for Rivers of Light.

This development could indicate (based on historical timing) that the park is moving forward with a Christmas Season debut; however, it is not certain at this time.

[CaptSmee]

such massive success with World of Color, yet utter failure so far with this...

[Figment!]

Cast Previews were held 11/27/16 as planned with an additional Cast Preview tonight.

There was reportedly one show re-set due to a technical issue, but otherwise ran with no further issues.

The aggregate report from the debut of the 18 minute show has been overwhelmingly positive. As shown in publicity pictures from Spring 2016, the show is comprised of multiple floats that fill the River of Life and perform various synchronized movements along with fountain and lighting effects.

The floats move with out any "driver" and move 'autonomously' through-out the show area along the river. Many of the Cast who experienced the show were impressed by the complexity and elegance of the synchronized movements that comprise the body of the show.

The main constructive criticism reported was that storytelling of the show is so subtle that it may not be followed by some Guests leading them to gain only a partial experience.

Despite the first set of previews, Disney has yet to make an internal announcement regarding the Public Debut (or previews) for the show.

Below is the Publicity Picture from Spring 2016: