Did you know that Disney’s nighttime exhibitions date all the way back to 1956? Yes, Walt Disney himself signed off on the idea of lighting up the night’s sky with pyrotechnics. Roughly a year after the park opened, Uncle Walt tried to keep adults up late and spending money by providing fireworks at the end of the evening.
In the more than 60 years that have followed, Imagineers have mastered the craft of nightly entertainment, but their most remarkable feat is the one that takes place close to hundreds of animals. Let’s go behind the ride to learn about Rivers of Light, Disney’s triumphant show at Animal Kingdom.
The history of Rivers of Light
Image: DisneyWhat do all of the gates at Disney’s North American theme parks have in common? Each one has some sort of nighttime exhibition, right? Magic Kingdom has Happily Ever After, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park have Fantasmic!, and Epcot has IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Even Disney California Adventure has World of Color. All of these parks have performed their shows for many years now.
You’ll notice a glaring exception. Disney’s Animal Kingdom never ended its park days with fireworks displays. The explanation is totally reasonable. It’s a park full of 1,700 animals, many of which wouldn’t find much comfort in loud noises exploding close to their natural habitats. This rationale kept the park from offering a nighttime exhibition for almost a decade. Then, Imagineers grew brave.
Image: DisneyAfter years of internal discussion, park planners finally moved forward with a daring strategy. They would bring an evening event to Animal Kingdom, albeit one without explosive fireworks. Instead, they’d create a new kind of show that will employ digital projections and mist screens to tell the story.That show is Rivers of Light, and its creation took many years to complete. In fact, an odd bit of Disney trivia is that the name of the showing wasn’t even its original intent.
Imagineers wanted to create a parade at Animal Kingdom. This nightly event would have required physical changes at the park, something corporate executives were unwilling to do. As chronicled by Disney historian Jim Hill, the land-based version of Rivers of Light died in 2008. The aquatic one wouldn’t debut for another nine years, though.
Image: DisneyThe later cause for the holdup was the connection of Rivers of Light with Pandora – The World of Avatar, the oft-delayed themed land. Disney confirmed Pandora in 2011 and then Rivers of Light in 2013. Construction began on the amphitheater for Rivers of Light in 2014, but the show didn’t officially debut until February of 2017.
Disney kept the cause of the delays relatively quiet. The entire situation was a bit bizarre, though. They initially did cast previews in the spring of 2016 then shelved the show for the body of a year. Given that turn of events, theme park tourists were understandably skeptical about the quality of the show. Thankfully, those fears were misguided. Rivers of Light is an incandescent masterpiece, with a glorious combination of breathtaking setting, hypnotic story, and Disney-worthy special details.
The setting of Rivers of Light
Image: DisneyRivers of Light resides close to Expedition Everest at Discovery River Lagoon right beside Discovery Island. This centralized location is necessary for Imagineers to pull out all the stops on the show, which they most assuredly do. Thanks to the water-based setting, Disney may use floats and other seaworthy vessels to tell their story.
How does this tactic help? The aquatic floats are quieter and thereby less disruptive, protecting the animals from feeling out of sorts in their habitats. What many people forget about Animal Kingdom is that the humans are just the guests here. It’s the animals who are the residents. The problem with a nighttime show was always the potential upheaval such loud noises could cause. The waterfront setting is a tidy solution to the situation.
Disney has constructed a show that cleverly uses its surroundings. Imagineers built a flotilla of 11 show barges. Each one is breathtaking and bright, illuminated in a way that they’re easily visible from a distance. Rather than shoot fireworks into the sky, the barges draw attention to the water while keeping the peace for the residents of Animal Kingdom.
The story of Rivers of Light
Image: DisneyInterpretive dance isn’t what you’d expect from Disney storytelling, but that’s what you’ll get at Rivers of Light. Imagineers made the unusual decision to silence their own narrators in the show. Yes, you’ll have a pair of spiritual guides on your journey, just not in the way that you’d expect.
Hosts Aditya and Aseema stand nobly and share their tale with onlookers. They do not, however, speak. Instead, they use interpretative dance and musical accompaniment to pass down the stories of their people.
Shadow puppets are a part of the show, too, and the way that they’re created is interesting. Disney uses mists of water as the backdrop. Then, the digital technology in place projects images onto these streams. Universal Resort Orlando has used a similar technique for several years, projecting movie images for 100 Years of Movie Memories, their nighttime show. It’s a first for Walt Disney World, though.
Image: DisneyThe story of Rivers of Light is one that Aditya and Aseema, immortal beings who transcend time and space, share with their disciples, Ambu and Ketu. The idea is that these concepts are passed down through generations. Aditya, the “embodiment of fire and light”, shares stories that brighten the darkness. Aseema, the “human embodiment of water”, provides the canvas for these tales.
Four of the floats in the flotilla serve a special purpose. They are the Animal Spirit Guides during the show. You’ll want to pay attention to them and their interactions to appreciate the beauty of the story. Some people criticize Rivers of Light for being methodical and hard to follow. The ones who generally feel this way are the folks who don’t pay attention at key moments, zoning out to focus on the shiny lanterns and other visuals instead. It’s easy to do, but it degrades your enjoyment of the exhibition.
The details of Rivers of Light
Image: DisneyIf you have watched Rivers of Light but haven’t completely understood it, here’s what you’ve missed. The four Spirit Guide floats look like animals. They are the Elephant, Owl, Tiger, and Turtle. They’re each gigantic in size, ranging from 15 to 30 feet tall! These floats are technological wonders, with internal LED lighting and specialized movements that represent the height of Disney Imagineering. You can see the pride of the people who worked on the ride in this video.
The floats are similar to the hosts. Each one embodies an element. The elephant represents Earth, the owl sky, the tiger fire, and the turtle water. These four floats bring the gift of life to the nearby shores. When they leave their lanterns, they soar into the sky and breathe life into the lotuses. Once they’re fully formed, the lotuses perform a rhythmic ballet, conducting a musical water dance.
When the dance ends, Rivers of Light becomes a kind of celebration of Disneynature films. The lotuses travel through the various realms of the Animal Spirits. Simultaneously, the projections are scenes from Disney’s African Cats and Disney’s Bears. The underlying premise is the nature of family in the animal community, one that mirrors humanity.
Image: Disney
Imagineers bring this idea into being in the fifth act of Rivers of Light. The aurora borealis is suddenly visible over the lagoon. Animals understand the strangeness of this celestial event and bum-rush the titular Rivers of Light. The hosts gape in awe as the animals take their rightful place across the constellations in the night sky.
Finally, the Lotus Tower parts far enough that guests can peer into a river of fire contained within it. The show’s theme song, We Are One, plays as fireflies dance into the lights, signaling the end of the performance.
Outside of the floats and lanterns, Disney employs other details to drive the story of Rivers of Light, too. The costumes of Aditya and Aseema are from different times and regions since the duo exists outside of time and space. Their acolytes wear similar garb, but it’s more deferential in nature since they’re disciples learning the stories.
Image: DisneyEven the amphitheater and the seating area at Discovery River Lagoon feature special touches. Prayer flags and bells, the kind that you’d expect to see in a village in Nepal, ward off evil spirits. There’s also a pole and a parasol on display. Their presence is for protection but for wisdom, too. Like with Expedition Everest, Imagineers traveled the world seeking out artifacts that match the everywhere-but-nowhere theme of Rivers of Light.
Rivers of Light is a sublime, utterly gorgeous show that demonstrates everything that theme park tourists love about Disney. And its story is so nuanced that you should take the time to research it fully. You’ve likely been too captivated by the mesmerizing glow of the show pieces to understand how rich and detailed Rivers of Light is.
