Rivers of Light

Rivers of Light was a nighttime show at Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort. Located in the park's Discovery River lagoon between Discovery Island and Expedition Everest, the show featured water fountains, mist screens, floating lanterns, fire effects, lasers, lights, fog, projection mapping, and until September 2018, live performers. Lakeside seating areas were able to accommodate 5,000 guests.Rivers of Light was initially developed as a nighttime parade by Steve Davison, but due to the need of infrastructural changes to Discovery Island to necessitate better viewing that would diminish the horticultural character of the area, this version of the project was cancelled in 2008. Following the debut of World of Color, the concept for Rivers of Light was revisited and took on the form of a nighttime lagoon show; it first announced in October 2013 as part of the park's expansion plans, which included Pandora–The World of Avatar and a nocturnal version of Kilimanjaro Safaris. Construction began in 2014. Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney Creative Entertainment designed the show along with longtime collaborators Michael Curry, Don L. Harper and Mark Mancina.The show was originally set to premiere on April 22, 2016, Earth Day and the park's 18th anniversary. However, on April 5, 2016, it was announced that the show had been delayed and would not be able to meet the April 22 premiere date. A portion of the show was previewed to media on April 19, 2016, when it was also announced that The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic, a limited-engagement show based on the 2016 live-action film, would fill the space of the delayed Rivers of Light night-time show. The show ran until September 5, 2016. On February 9, 2017, it was announced that Rivers of Light would open on February 17, 2017. The show began previews on February 10, 2017.A retooled version of the show featuring animated characters, titled Rivers of Light: We Are One, debuted on Memorial Day Weekend 2019. The show was suspended in March 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and in July 2020, park officials confirmed rumors that the show would be retired.