Rivers of Light...Yes or No?

[kristenrice]

When I originally made our dining plans and FP+ reservations, the AK was scheduled to close at 7pm and there was no ROL show on the schedule. We have a dinner reservation at Jiko for 8:30pm. Now, I see that the AK will be closing at 8 instead of 7 and there is now a ROL show scheduled for 7:45pm.

So now, what should I do? Should I move our dinner even later? I already moved it from 7:45 to 8:30 in case the extra TIW discount is extended, but I really do not want to eat that late. This will be my birthday dinner and I do not want to rush through it, but I also do not want to get to bed too late. Is the ROL show even that good? I have never seen it and I have not heard rave reviews about it. Most of the comments I have seen and heard have been very "meh" so I am not sure if I should alter our plans just to see it.

I am almost 100% certain that seeing the show AND still keeping an 8:30 ADR is not even possible. We are staying at AKV-Jambo so "cleaning up" should not take too long. Assuming that I would have to make the ADR later, how late should I make it? Will I even NEED an ADR? We are a party of 2 adults and we would actually love to sit at the bar/counter. Would it be better to just cancel the ADR altogether and plan to just go to the restaurant as soon as we can??

 

[Robo]

See RoL if you prefer Disney "show" experiences.
Keep the earlier dinner reservation (instead of RoL) if you prefer Disney "dining" experiences.

I read lots of reviews on these boards.
Some love IllumiNations and hate Fantasmic!
Some love Happily Ever After and hate IllumiNations.
Some love Fantasmic! and hate IllumiNations.

The point is:
If you read reviews of IllumiNations that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find IllumiNations of value.

If you read reviews of Fantasmic! that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find Fantasmic! of value.

If you read reviews of Rivers of Light that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find Rivers of Light of value.

If you, yourself, prefer to see a show, see the show.
If you, yourself, prefer to have a particular meal instead, enjoy the meal.

 

[CJN]

I'm the type that loves to catch all the night shows multiple times. But ROL isn't showing for the day we want to hit AK this next trip and I don't care. While we thought it was pretty, we also found it to be forgettable and not worth messing up the rest of our schedule. So even if you're a show person it doesn't mean it's worth interfering with your birthday dinner for it.

It was kind of funny that after the show nobody in our group even commented on it. My family all assumed I loved it and didn't want to hurt my feelings with a any negative reviews. It wasn't until after we got home and I mentioned the forgetability factor that I found out some of the others thought their time would've been better spent riding EE instead.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would eat at Tiffins instead of Jiko and go see RoL.

 

[kristenrice]

I love the input! You guys are great!

I do prefer the shows over the rides, but I put dining at about the same level as the shows. I love Fantasmic, I loved Wishes (but only from TOTWL), and Illuminations is kind of a take it or leave it for me. I will make plans for Fantasmic and the MK fireworks, but Illuminations is something that I will watch from wherever I happen to be at the time. I don't stake out a seat or make plans for it. Since I haven't seen ROL, I am finding it hard to decide whether or not I want to adjust my dining to see it.

@bobbiwoz, Tiffins is definitely on my radar at some point, but I have had my heart set on Jiko since I haven't been there since 2009. We are planning on a lunch break at the Nomad Lounge so we will get to experience "Tiffins lite".

 

[disneydreamer781]

See RoL if you prefer Disney "show" experiences.
Keep the earlier dinner reservation (instead of RoL) if you prefer Disney "dining" experiences.

I read lots of reviews on these boards.
Some love IllumiNations and hate Fantasmic!
Some love Happily Ever After and hate IllumiNations.
Some love Fantasmic! and hate IllumiNations.

The point is:
If you read reviews of IllumiNations that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find IllumiNations of value.

If you read reviews of Fantasmic! that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find Fantasmic! of value.

If you read reviews of Rivers of Light that say it's not worth seeing,
you will be basing your decision on someone who didn't find Rivers of Light of value.

If you, yourself, prefer to see a show, see the show.
If you, yourself, prefer to have a particular meal instead, enjoy the meal.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I love the input! You guys are great!

I do prefer the shows over the rides, but I put dining at about the same level as the shows. I love Fantasmic, I loved Wishes (but only from TOTWL), and Illuminations is kind of a take it or leave it for me. I will make plans for Fantasmic and the MK fireworks, but Illuminations is something that I will watch from wherever I happen to be at the time. I don't stake out a seat or make plans for it. Since I haven't seen ROL, I am finding it hard to decide whether or not I want to adjust my dining to see it.

@bobbiwoz, Tiffins is definitely on my radar at some point, but I have had my heart set on Jiko since I haven't been there since 2009. We are planning on a lunch break at the Nomad Lounge so we will get to experience "Tiffins lite".

Understood...enjoy your special birthday meal.

 

[SeaSpray]

I just saw this show for the first time a week ago; I'm really glad that we took the time. Here are a few pictures. It was visually stunning!

 

[bobbiwoz]

SeaSpray, your pictures are stunning!

I wish the music and story were stronger.

 

[holden]

We aren't show people, but we are food people. ROL was a once and done for us.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with the great and wise @Robo, you are going to get different opinions on everything and it's really best to experience it yourself. Is it possible to do ROL another night? I'm one of the few people who didn't enjoy Jiko, we just didn't feel it lived up to it's hype. The service was the good, the food just o.k. for the price and the wine flights a joke. We loved the bar and wished we had just had our meal there. We are also part of the few who loved ROL. But seriously, go with your gut and just do what you want to do and don't base your decision on other's opinions.

 

[peteykirch]

I say skip it.

The fact this is what we got after large delays, is absolutely depressing.

Look at the concept art and then the final product.

I get with the animals you can't use fireworks, but there is no wow build up moment.

We saw it for the first time last week and one of the lotus blossom barges was broken during the entire thing.

 

[GillianP1301]

Saw ROL for the first time on our past trip and it was a one and done for me. I do like shows, and this one was definitely visually appealing, but not very "wow". It's worth seeing once, but I'm not sure I would give up a favourite dining reservation for it.

 

[pepperandchips]

Jiko is absolutely amazing - I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment with ROL if you rearrange your whole night to accomodate seeing ROL. If it's anything less than dazzling for you, you will be disappointed. I would go enjoy my Jiko birthday celebration and save ROL for next time. For what it's worth I absolutely love ROL but I love Jiko way more. (Great now I'm craving bobotie mac n cheese)

 

[MHSweb79]

No matter what you are doing at any given time at WDW, you are missing something else that's going on. If I were you, I'd stick with Jiko for your birthday. I just don't think ROL has the chops to rearrange all your plans. Sometimes it's nice to just let a few things go and enjoy the moment.

 

[odd man out]

I'm planning a trip for March. My idea is to do Tiffens/RoL Dining package one night. Jiko/Wanyama Safari another. BoG early enough to see the evening MK shows another. Spice Road Table in time to see Illuminations another. The way I figure it, even is a particular show isn't my cup of tea ("one and done" as some have said), I still have to see it once to know that (that's why they don't say "none and done"). I for one only get to WDW about once every seven years, so I'm planning to try all these signature restaurants and shows (of these shows, I've only seen illuminations and none of the restaurants on three previous trips). I've seen Fantasmic and we are not really interested in much at the Studios so we will skip that park completely. I hope we have enough time to work in all the attractions we want to see, but since we don't do the thrill rides, that simplifies park touring for us.

 

[glocon]

As PPs above have said, different people like different shows. If you prefer sitting at the bar or counter at Jiko's, do that and also see the show. You might love the show- some people do- and you might be glad then you made the choice to see it.

 

[kniquy]

If you haven't already try to find a good youtube video of the show. Sometimes watching the videos will give you a better idea if it is a must see. For me illuminations was ok and like other will catch it if they happen to be there. I saw a number of videos of HEA and each time the videos give me chills so that is a must do, in the park and am considering a dessert party to get a better view and less waiting.

It is tough because there really is so much to do that sometimes you have to make tough decisions on what to do or not. I guess you could try for an earlier Jiko reservation (4ish) so that you can still see the show.

 

[DWillowBay]

I saw the show for the first time on 9/2. My expectations were low based on others' comments. I was really amazed at how beautiful it was!! If you like constant sensory stimulation, then you may not enjoy this show as much. I thought the visuals were lovely, the audio was fitting and the whole experience was peacefully wonderful. JMHO

 

[disneydreamer781]

I saw the show for the first time on 9/2. My expectations were low based on others' comments. I was really amazed at how beautiful it was!! If you like constant sensory stimulation, then you may not enjoy this show as much. I thought the visuals were lovely, the audio was fitting and the whole experience was peacefully wonderful. JMHO

Good to hear! I can't wait to see it next month based on this comment. I saw it on Youtube and I thought it looked stunning. I don't expect everything to be big explosions so I'm looking forward to something different with this show.