Traffic Flow and Capacity Mar “Rivers of Light” Opening Weekend

The long awaited “Rivers of Light” nighttime show opened to the general public this past weekend in Animal Kingdom at the Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

The show, which has been delayed for over a year due to technical issues, met with mixed reviews and angry guests.  

General reviews of the show are that it is entertaining, but short, and it is missing that special touch that most Disney nighttime shows provide. Animal Kingdom does not use any pyrotechnics within the park as so not to tramatize any of the animals within the Kilimanjaro Safaris or anywhere else within Animal Kingdom.

The show is also causing guests to be shut out due to the 5,000 seat capacity of the arena.  Guest are getting in line to view the show more than 2 hours before the performance.  This is causing a traffic flow problem in the Asia section of Animal Kingdom.  Guest are also reporting that the area becomes totally bottlenecked and comes to a complete standstill when the first show ends and lines are forming for the second show.

Public safety concerns are rising due to the fact if there were an emergency in this area of Animal Kingdom, emergency official and vehicles would not be able to access the area in a timely manner.  This is a major concern if the area needs to be evacuated for any reason or if there is a catastrophic event at the nearby Everest rollercoaster.

For a show that has been hyped and anticipated by the public for almost 2 years, Disney Officials should have planned for this type of foot-traffic and planned better.

Click here to view a description and images of “Rivers of Light” at Animal Kingdom in Disney World Resorts