By John Peters

Hey, all! Like you, my wife and I have been waiting for Rivers of Light to premiere at Animal Kingdom for quite a while. We were very excited to see it finally start regular showings.

On a recent Saturday, we headed over to check out WDW’s newest nighttime spectacular. We made fast passes for the second showing – a show starting at 10:00 PM. We were to show up 40 minutes early – at 9:20.

If you want to see the first show, I would recommend doing either a FP+ or the Dining Package. Pick Tiffin’s or Tusker House!

Tip: I overhead several Cast Members saying that a fast pass is not normally necessary for the second show. Personally, I would recommend using your FP+ for attractions during the day. Do more rides during the first show … and, then, do stand-by for the second show.

We headed over to Asia at around 9:00 PM. Cast Members held us up at Kali River Rapids while the first show exited. What to do? Why, ride Kali, of course!

There was no line, so I stepped right onto a raft. At the top of the hill, I was able to see the fireworks from Hollywood Studios. It was really awesome!

After my ride, I grabbed a Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale Draft from the Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks. That got me ready for the show!

The show, itself, is full of absolutely stunning barges – all designed as renditions of animals.

In addition, there are floating lotus blossoms that light up and shoot water.

Our favorite part, however? The music! It was thoroughly inspirational.

It was just a little breezy that evening, but that was enough to disrupt the images that were being displayed on the water screens. Sadly, it was distorted to the point that I couldn’t tell the difference between a horse and a tiger.

The show is taking place inside Animal Kingdom, of course, and therefore does not include any fireworks. Because of that, there is no big climactic event. As a result, it feels as if the show slows down and then just kind of ends.

Regardless of those few critiques, Rivers of Light is definitely worth seeing … but, maybe only once per trip. I’ll be back tomorrow with more, folks!