Walt Disney World Announces Delay on Rivers of Light Opening

- Michelle Snow

Today Walt Disney World announced they were delaying the opening of Rivers of Light, the new nighttime show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Rivers of Light at Disney's Animal Kingdom

The company had planned to open it April 22, but have now pushed the date back to a tentative mid-to-late May.

Rivers of Light features water, mist screens, floating lanterns, lights, fog, projection mapping and live performers, as well as incorporating the Tree of Life. It will be located in the park’s Discovery River lagoon between Discovery Island and Expedition Everest. The show will seat only 5,000 guests – by comparison Fantasmic’s theater holds 6,900.

The photo above was shot during a rehersal, and is courtesy of Disney Parks.

Also delayed was another component of the new nightly experience at the park: the Nighttime Magic at the Tree of Life. During this show, swirling animated imagery that tells enchanting stories from nature is projected onto the Tree, similar to the projections on Cinderella’s Castle during “Wishes.”

Here’s a sneak peek of it, also courtesy of Disney Parks:

I know I’m really excited to see both of these shows, but I’d rather Disney fine tune the show before releasing it to the public. What do you think? Are you ok with the delay, or do you think they should just open and then deal with any issues that arise? Let us know in comments.

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