Please rate the River of Lights show

[McKelly]

3 - don't need to see it again.

 

[North of Mouse]

Wow, am truly shocked at all the poor reviews! Maybe, just maybe, it won't be as hard to get into as it was our last trip!

 

[Princess Mulan]

No, it's not about explosions and fireworks ... it's about a poorly written, poorly choreographed show with lackluster music and no ending. Endings can be incredible with use of good music and lasers ... they have that at DHS ... Disney even knew this after CM previews. They opted to just put it out there as is and hope most know nothing about it before they go. It's their people eater. I don't think they have any plan to fix it or change it.

This is the most honest review I've seen. I rate the show a one, as in it's a one and done for us.

 

[han22735]

3 and a one and done for us.

 

[mds88]

5. I am glad I got to see it once but I don't feel like I need to see it again. The animals and lotus flowers were very cool, but there wasn't much substance to the show and it kind of dragged on a little. I preferred the Tree of Life Awakening.

 

[AllieBoo]

I would give it an 8. My husband and I really enjoyed it. I would try to see it once, plus AK at night is really pretty.

 

[jaysmom4285]

I think you should see it once, to form your own opinion . As you can see, some regard it as a can't miss attraction, and others wouldn't be bothered to see it again. Only you can know how you will react to it. It is less spectacular than other performances, because they cant use the lasers and fireworks because of the animals. It is very pretty and very different from anything else that WDW does. I agree that it lacked a cohesive theme or storyline, at least none that I could make out. For us, we saw it last time we were there and would see it again if it fit in our schedule, but we wouldn't plan our evening around it. When we were there, it was very new and very popular, and I expect that it will be less so now as Pandora pulls more people away in the evening. But you should see it to decide for yourself and not rely on the reactions of others.

 

[HopperFan]

5. I am glad I got to see it once but I don't feel like I need to see it again. The animals and lotus flowers were very cool, but there wasn't much substance to the show and it kind of dragged on a little. I preferred the Tree of Life Awakening.

And ironically they shortened the show.

I think you should see it once, to form your own opinion . As you can see, some regard it as a can't miss attraction, and others wouldn't be bothered to see it again. Only you can know how you will react to it. It is less spectacular than other performances, because they cant use the lasers and fireworks because of the animals. It is very pretty and very different from anything else that WDW does. I agree that it lacked a cohesive theme or storyline, at least none that I could make out. For us, we saw it last time we were there and would see it again if it fit in our schedule, but we wouldn't plan our evening around it. When we were there, it was very new and very popular, and I expect that it will be less so now as Pandora pulls more people away in the evening. But you should see it to decide for yourself and not rely on the reactions of others.

I do agree that one should try to see it for themselves, but there is so much to do at Disney that often folks have to make a choice. This is where the reviews can come into play so folks can make their time work.

It's just like restaurants, if you have to choose you ask what folks think. I agree that opinions will be all over, like I went to Chef Mickey because folks raved and didn't take long for me to be upset I went. All in my family that has tried it has had the same opinion. You never know, I was told something was great that was awful on multiple levels.

The problem here is what you give up to see it. This show either uses up a FP+ stopping the chance to roll the 4th, requires you book an expensive meal or standing in a long time sometimes losing 1.5 hour or more of your time. All three are big investments, so folks ask. I am of the opinion that I would see again if I can virtually walk in to standby, I would not give up one of the other three options, especially with Pandora open.

 

[mindeola]

6/7 It is a pretty and calm show. Totally fits the park. I would not see it every trip unless I could just walk in right before it starts and sit down. I do not like waiting. I like it better than Illuminations.

 

[Airb330]

from the show we saw in May, maybe a 2. We arrived at least 30 minutes early, and it just did not work for us. We could hardly make out anything on the water screens, so we basically watched some boats float around and the flowers shoot some water. We will give it another try on our next visit before it moves to the once every 10 years level, like Lights, Motor, Action was for us.

I'd give it a 2-3. After all the hype & wait I was totally disappointed & want back the time I wasted not only waiting for it to start but suffering through one of the most boring things I've ever seen. I don't know if the location I was seated in was that bad or the lighting for the show itself sucks but other than the Lotus flowers I found it quite difficult to see any of the projections. I was really expecting something more in line with World of Color @ DL but quieter so as not to disturb the wildlife of AK.

Eh I'd give it a 3, my husband likely a 1 and said "That's it, that sucked" immediately after it ended. I'll echo that we found it boring as others have. That isn't my problem with the show. A story can always be changed. While my hubby liked it way less than I did, we still find this to be a 'one and done' as others have suggested. Even if they retool the show, which I believe they will, it still will fall flat because...

Our biggest problem was, the show technically looked FAR WORSE than World of Color. It was difficult to see anything projected. We were probably in some of the best seats too. This is the part I don't understand. If it looked good, then I wouldn't care about the storyline (or lack thereof) so much, but it looks terrible. As another poster said, we enjoyed the Tree of Life awakenings far more.

OP-overall do see it once. I am all for a more relaxed show at AK, I don't need explosions, but I did at bare minimum expect it to look better or the same as World of Color and it just doesn't.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We did the dinner package seating. We were in the front, probably some of the best seats to be had. I'm glad we saw the show so I don't wonder.....but I'd rather have had the TiW discount on our meal. The show had visual things but I'm not sure how they all fit together. Lacked cohesion. Not very interesting, really. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. It was just....things. ???

If I had to give it a number rating I'd say 2.

I wouldn't carve out time to see it again. I'd certainly NOT give up my discount for it again.

FWIW, RoL didn't even begin to think about holding a candle to World of Color. WoC is fabulous. We loved it. RoL was a solid meh at best for us.

 

[jaysmom4285]

And ironically they shortened the show.



I do agree that one should try to see it for themselves, but there is so much to do at Disney that often folks have to make a choice. This is where the reviews can come into play so folks can make their time work.

It's just like restaurants, if you have to choose you ask what folks think. I agree that opinions will be all over, like I went to Chef Mickey because folks raved and didn't take long for me to be upset I went. All in my family that has tried it has had the same opinion. You never know, I was told something was great that was awful on multiple levels.

The problem here is what you give up to see it. This show either uses up a FP+ stopping the chance to roll the 4th, requires you book an expensive meal or standing in a long time sometimes losing 1.5 hour or more of your time. All three are big investments, so folks ask. I am of the opinion that I would see again if I can virtually walk in to standby, I would not give up one of the other three options, especially with Pandora open.

All good and fair points. I guess my perspective came from the fact that I was able to pick RoL up as an extra FP+ very shortly before the show, by way of constantly refreshing the MDE app until the time came up as available. So I didn't have to limit my FP+ choices because of it or stand in a long line or spend money on a meal, which are things I wouldn't have wanted to do, either. It was more or less a last minute decision that worked out because I got an equally last minute FP+. But for folks who are presented with only those three choices, none of which are wonderful, the opinions of others about whether the show is worth all that would certainly be valuable and can help them make their decision. I will just put in a pitch for never believing the MDE app when it says that there are no FP+ available for whatever you want. If you can put in a few minutes of near constant refreshing of the time, it's amazing what will pop up as available.

 

[spacy9]

I'd go with a 4/5. We saw it for the first, and probably last, time in June. The whole family was just like 'That's it?' It just didn't really resonate with us, and I still don't know if there was supposed to be a story line in the show...

 

[Bullseye]

6-7
Quite honestly I enjoyed the projection show on the Tree of Life more than I did ROL. It's worth seeing at least once though to make up your own mind.

 

[HopperFan]

All good and fair points. I guess my perspective came from the fact that I was able to pick RoL up as an extra FP+ very shortly before the show, by way of constantly refreshing the MDE app until the time came up as available. So I didn't have to limit my FP+ choices because of it or stand in a long line or spend money on a meal, which are things I wouldn't have wanted to do, either. It was more or less a last minute decision that worked out because I got an equally last minute FP+. But for folks who are presented with only those three choices, none of which are wonderful, the opinions of others about whether the show is worth all that would certainly be valuable and can help them make their decision. I will just put in a pitch for never believing the MDE app when it says that there are no FP+ available for whatever you want. If you can put in a few minutes of near constant refreshing of the time, it's amazing what will pop up as available.

Yes, your way I would go again. And honestly, I think the theater will become more and more empty once we get to the "pro" season ... meaning the regular Disney guests heading down once school starts for F&W, Pandora, MNSSHP etc. But then again they may reduce the number of shows.

6-7
Quite honestly I enjoyed the projection show on the Tree of Life more than I did ROL. It's worth seeing at least once though to make up your own mind.

LOVED the Tree of Life projections! Actually wish there were some stadium seating there. They could hide it behind rocks when you enter park. They need a great bar with patio seating there with a good view so they can make some money off the show.

 

[BrownHP800]

LOVED the Tree of Life projections! Actually wish there were some stadium seating there. They could hide it behind rocks when you enter park. They need a great bar with patio seating there with a good view so they can make some money off the show.

Sounds like a great idea.

 

[igrsod]

I give it a 3. I felt it had no real purpose or storyline... same thing over and over with nothing interesting to see.
I was really hoping for more.

 

[cyre]

6, or 7. I'll go see it again if someone in my party wants to. I can watch fantasmic over and over again. This doesnt have the same feel.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I would say 5-6. It was pretty but somewhat underwhelming as a nighttime show in that it seemed to lack a storyline and what we felt should have been a more awe inspiring finale. We used our third fast pass for this; but we went this past March before Pandora opened so we definitely wouldn't use up a fp for this again.

 

[gillep]

5- I was entertained well enough during the show, but I don't really need to see it again, I most certainly never need to sit on those benches again, especially not after the Nemo show ones. I did think that the ROL dinner package at Tiffins was a good deal. I would rather spend more time watching the Tree of Life shows than ROL.