Originally Posted By leemac <<Jim Hill has a new article that claims that the Rivers of Light parade is dead. >> What a coincidence. <<You know, there's that huge, beautiful lagoon at DAK. That there couldn't be some sort of serene, lovely nighttime water show there... That just seems like a no-brainer.>> BOT the problem is still landscaping - it would be very difficult with the current terrain to allow more than a few people deep along the river's edge. It would require a lot of work (and subsequent damage) to make it guest-friendly.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Beastly Kingdom? I'll believe it when I see it. >> That is the right approach, leobloom. Definitely.
Originally Posted By Britain I'm actually grateful for this decision. As much as I like nighttime spectaculars, I'd hate to see the shores of AK get all Epcot Promenade-ed. It should look wild and ancient, not well-organized with clear sightlines.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "It was a pretty concept from Steven Davison - based on the Japanese lantern parades. It did feel very DAK-like." Why couldn't this end up at EPCOT? It sure wouldn't seem out of place at all. It shares some of that "class" that DAK has, and Tapestry of Nations/Dreams worked well enough.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 And, just because EPCOT already has Illuminations doesn't mean it can't be done. The MK parks have run and Electrical Parade and fireworks/nightime show for years before.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It could be done, but knowing how they're always looking to find a way to save money, it probably won't be done. For a while, DL was running Fantasmic!, fireworks, and the Main Street Electrical Parade at night. This is of course along with a daytime parade, a stage show in the Fantasyland Theater, and the Hunchback show in Frontierland and all the normal atmosphere-type stuff. It can be done, but I have a feeling that it probably won't be due to trying to save a penny (which ultimately leads them to losing guests who give them a lot more than that long term).
Originally Posted By mickeyboy43 I like the World Showcase parade idea. How neat would that be?!?! Uber neat!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Holy thread bump, Batman! (I'm sure there's a more recent thread about this somewhere, but this was the first good one that came up in the search results) Disney announced today that the new Rivers of Light lagoon show (not the old proposed processional that this thread is about) will open on April 22. They've also released a lot more details about it, and a new video. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/03/first-look-rivers-of-light-to-debut-april-22-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/ I've got to say, I'm really excited for this. When they first announced this project, I was worried that it would be WOC with Disney's animal-related animated features, but it seems like they're really doing this right. The tone seems to be very mature, and incorporates elements from global cultures along with some fictional(?) backstory elements that borrow from the Brother Bear mythology. We haven't heard the score yet, but it seems like it will focus on the music rather than schmaltzy pop songs; the show will include live musicians and other live performers In a way, this seems like Disney returning to my favorite things they've done in the past. There aren't any direct ties to any Disney branding, yet this show is being done in a way that only Disney could. It reminds me of bold additions, like the Millennium Celebration and even Expedition: Everest, which we haven't seen in the US parks in a very long time. It's been a long time since I've been truly excited for something in the parks, and I think they've finally done it (though I'll reserve judgement until it comes out) In addition, there are going to be several other forms of nighttime entertainment, including the new nighttime safari, street party in Harambe, performers on Discovery Island, and intermittent projection shows on the Tree of Life. With all this stuff, I think DAK may finally be coming into its own; at the rate things are going, it will likely have the second most stuff to do in a day, after MK
Originally Posted By dagobert The official Disney Parks Blog has posted a video about RoL. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/03/first-look-rivers-of-light-to-debut-april-22-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...kingdom/</a> The show looks very promising. >>>In addition, there are going to be several other forms of nighttime entertainment, including the new nighttime safari, street party in Harambe, performers on Discovery Island, and intermittent projection shows on the Tree of Life. With all this stuff, I think DAK may finally be coming into its own; at the rate things are going, it will likely have the second most stuff to do in a day, after MK<<< My only concern about the new nighttime offerings are the animals. I askes a CM during our last trip, why the park doesn't stay open longer and she said that was because of the animals. I guess this is now obsolete. At the end of the day, the visitor is the most important aspect, even at DAK. And in my opinion that is a little bit sad, especially with all the conservation and animal welfare talk throughout the park.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I am also somewhat concerned about the wellbeing of the animals during the night safari, but I assume they’re being careful about it. Disney is a member of several zoo associations (despite claiming they’re Nahtazu), so I assume whatever they’re doing has been approved by them. The way that the descriptions list specific animals (which are known for being semi-nocturnal anyway) makes me think that most of the animals will be off the reserve for the night According to some reliable sources, apparently the safari was originally designed with these lighting effects in mind, even though they were never installed. In the park’s early years, it had much longer operating hours than the now-standard 9am-5pm, so I suspect they’re heading more in that general direction with this
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's a new video released by Disney. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L51_VUrNRIo&feature=youtu.be&CMP=SOC-TWITTER20160308190500">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...08190500</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Disney also did a live chat today through the Parks Blog. It included a first look at the live performers and had a little bit of the music (though it’s tough to get much of a sense of it): <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/03/disneyparkslive-rivers-of-light-live-chat-set-for-115-p-m-est/">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...p-m-est/</a> The show’s creators seem a little pretentious (especially the bald guy), but I’m thrilled with the direction they’re taking it. It really seems to be a more serious approach, and will fit the park’s mission very well. I’m also relieved that they’re not going to include any Disney characters in the show. I don’t mind taking inspiration (it seems to borrow heavily from the Brother Bear mythology, which I love), but including the actual characters would be too much
Originally Posted By dagobert This show might really be something special. Since World of Colour, Disney has a good run with projection shows, see Disney Dreams in Paris.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The projection show in Tokyo (Once Upon a Time?) is also pretty good, though I don't think it's quite as good as it gets credit for. Since we know Disney can do a good show, it will be interesting to see how it works when you remove familiar characters and songs from the formula. Some of the worst parts of the various World of Color shows are when everything stops for narration/dialogue, so I'm glad that the "storytellers" won't actually have speaking roles Something that hasn't really been talked about, but was briefly shown in the shorter video, is the remote-control/drone lanterns. There's supposed to be about 100 of them, and they can move around on the water all by themselves. I'm interested to see how reliable they are, and how they're used in the show. It's such a new concept that I'm having a tough time grasping what they'll be capable of
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's a new video about the RoL tests. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-JPmRuDQg&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...youtu.be</a>
Originally Posted By Rsey103 Will we be able to see Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom and still make it to the 9:00 PM show at Cirque du Soleil?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It depends when the show is. In the summer it won't be dark enough for the first show of the night until 9:00. In the winter, it could be dark enough by around 5:00. Until they release the schedule (which they seem hell-bent on not doing at this point), there's really no way to know I would imagine you would want at least 90 minutes from the start of Rivers of Light until the start of Cirque, if not longer. Even if the show is only about 15 minutes long, there will be big crowds leaving the park and the parking lot after, so it could take a while to get out of there
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Disney announced that they're pushing back the show's opening from April 22 to mid/late May: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/04/update-on-nighttime-experiences-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/">http://disneyparks.disney.go.c...kingdom/</a> I'd heard they were having trouble getting all the technical aspects finalized, so it sounds like they realized that they wouldn't have it adequately finished in time. I'm glad that they were willing to push it back, rather than try to hold on to the deadline, even as it was rapidly approaching And it's interesting to note that the "preview" video shows the intermittent projection shows on the Tree of Life, which are essentially unrelated to Rivers of Light. The photo they showed with the fountains running looks promising though From a purely selfish standpoint, I'm glad they pushed it back. I would have missed the new show by less than a week, so now I don't feel as bad about not getting to see it while it's brand new. Even if they encounter more problems, I expect it will all be resolved by my next visit, in early 2017
