Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Video & Review

Rivers of Light Sneak Peek

Rivers of Light is one of the most highly anticipated shows “coming soon” at Disney World.  This show was suppose to open last summer, but was delayed several times.  Many joked if Rivers of Light would ever open…until now!  Last night, we were surprised at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference with an exclusive sneak peek of the Rivers of Light.  I was so excited, but I did not expect very much.  Last summer, Rivers of Light was replaced with The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic show.  Let me say The Jungle Book was cute, but less than exciting!  I rarely walk out of any shows or movies and that thought did cross my mind at The Jungle Book.  I was hoping that Rivers of Light was going to be the show that we all expected from the Disney creative teams.  IT WAS!

As soon as we walking into the theater, you could see these huge floating flowers dance across the water.  I was half wondering (once I arrived) if the show was already going on.  On the back wall of theater (along the trees) was a light show with flickering fireflies.  Every once and awhile a shadow character would appear, like an elephant or an eagle.  You could even see the Tree of Life in he distance, which added to the spectacular ambiance.

Rivers of Light is all told through music vs words.  The narrator says at the beginning, “Rivers of Light – A celebration of nature’s wonder told through music, water, and light.”  This part of the show was very similar to The Jungle Book.  From one scene to the other, you could feel the excitement, renewal, and even fear; through the music.

The lights dimmed and the show began with two boats floating with storytellers to the center of the lake, telling the story behind Rivers of Light.  As the two boats meet towards the middle, a huge water screen appears like a movie theater screen.  This water screen was just like The Jungle Book show.

In the next scene, an array of light animals paraded out into the lake with the boats.  I loved the mother and baby elephant.  I was excited to see these light animals.  These were the same animals we saw in the renderings for the Rivers of Light, so it was amazing to finally see them float into the middle of the lake.  Half of the animal paraded to the left side of the theater and the other half to the right side of the theater, so each section got an incredible view of this parade of animals.  The flowers still floated in the middle of the lake with the storytelling boats.  The floats would all light up together in different colors and then change to unison colors.  Then the flower petals opened to become dancing fountains.  That was amazing!

The show continued with music, dancing water, lasers, and even fire.  It was truly spectacular!  We were able to livestream during the Rivers of Light, so you can experience the whole show with us.

The show lasted a little over 15 minutes.  I felt like I was at the end of my seat the entire show!  It was beautiful and very entertaining.  It was the perfect show to end your day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  I know it was a long wait for Rivers of Light to finally appear at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but it is worth the wait.  We have not heard an opening date for Rivers of Light, but hopefully it will be soon.  Leave a comment below, what did you think of the new Rivers of Light?