Illuminations vs. Rivers of Light

[hllb]

I know people will be shocked by this, but we've never set out to see a fireworks show or a parade at Disney We have seen the Halloween Parade on our last trip, by accident because we happened upon it and stopped to watch. It was actually really good. We've certainly caught fireworks before, but just as we were going around the park hitting rides.

 

[DOOM1001]

I've seen Illuminations probably 200 times,its a great show!!!I saw RoL once and I'm good not seeing it again.

 

[DOOM1001]

I've read several places that compared to the new MK show, it's not nearly as good. And we'll be seeing that one twice most likely. Seems like the consensus here at least is that it's quite good.

Illuminations was always my favorite,I always preferred it over Wishes.HEA is just quite possibly the best show ever and illuminations has been running a long time so it will fall short.They are both on a much higher level than RoL,that show is disappointing!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Hi all. I can likely only see one of these shows (in order to eat at a restaurant I want to go to). I don't think either of them get stellar reviews, but which would you choose? I'm leaning towards ROL. We'll be seeing the MK fireworks show probably twice (once from in the park and once from CA Grill). I know people say ROL is boring, but it basically looks like a lantern festival show. We absolutely loved the lantern festival when we were in Seoul. So I think that will appeal to my family. Unless you tell me that Illuminations is amazing and is a can't miss?

It would depend on where my dinner was.

If I was eating dinner at Sanaa or Jiko, I would likely chose RoL.

If my dinner was at Shulas or BlueZoo, I would chose Illuminations.

 

[hllb]

It would depend on where my dinner was.

If I was eating dinner at Sanaa or Jiko, I would likely chose RoL.

If my dinner was at Shulas or BlueZoo, I would chose Illuminations.

It's Ohana, which is a family favorite.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Yeah....I'd likely take the monorail over to Epcot and catch Illuminations.

Ohana is going to be loud, energetic, etc and Illuminations and the vibe that is World Showcase fits a little better. Plus, the ease of the monorail helps (assuming the monorail isn't broken down).

 

[hllb]

Yeah....I'd likely take the monorail over to Epcot and catch Illuminations.

Ohana is going to be loud, energetic, etc and Illuminations and the vibe that is World Showcase fits a little better. Plus, the ease of the monorail helps (assuming the monorail isn't broken down).

We'll already be in the parks of choice for whatever show we want to do. We have two Ohana reservations on different nights and trying to decide which to keep. If I could just move the AK day reservation half an hour later we could do both shows (we could watch ROL and still be able to get to our reservation) but so far, no luck.

 

[hertamaniac]

If you're into pyrotechnics, then Illuminations is far better. ROL was incredibly entertaining, but without the "sonic booms" due to concerns of the proximity of the animals. Disney used sound sensors around AK to determine the dB levels to see if it would potentially harm/frighten/anxiety of the animals.

I liked them both, but forced to choose I would go with ROL.

 

[tjmw2727]

Illuminations hands down for us!

We were excited for ROL but found it hard to follow the first time so we gave it another shot, unfortunately we didn't like it any better.
Illuminations on the other hand is a must for us at least once a trip

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Illuminations by a landfall. Many may call us crazy but DBF and I would take Illuminations over even the MK shows. Yes we love them both for how special they are in their own ways but for us nothing beats the vibe of the WS at night and then Illuminations to top it off.

 

[HopperFan]

Illuminations

 

[bobbiwoz]

There’s even a holiday tag to Illuminations in December. Given your background, wanting to see ROL, I would also suggest you see Illuminations as well. It is my favorite by far!

 

[hllb]

Well, I solved my problem LOL. Our arrival day we are set to arrive around 10 am but planned on doing Disney Springs that day. We have local friends coming to meet us. I decided to book an Illuminations cruise for that night! So, we can go to Ohana on our Epcot day without worrying about missing Illuminations, and stay at Animal Kingdom on that day to see ROL. Win/win!

 

[Thing 1]

I have seen all the nighttime shows, most multiple times and this is how I rate them:

Fantasmic - I didn't see you mention this one

HEA- Wishes was also in this spot

Rivers of Lights- I like the show. It is peaceful and beautiful but it's just not Disney Stlye.

Illuminations- it's big and impressive but it somehow just lacks than WDW closeness the others have. We had skipped it the last few trip but did it this year using a later in the day FP and it still was a bit blahhh for me.

I really think everyone needs to see every show at least once but this is how I would rate them. We always do a package for Fantasmic, we always just stake out a spot for HEA. I have also seen it from California Gril ( my favorite restaurant on site) and while it is very very cool, I prefer in park viewing. Last trip we did a dining package for ROL but I won't do that again. In the past, we just grabbed a spot anywhere for Iluminations. FP is definitely worth it if it's high on your list to do. Often you can get a 4th or after FP for it.

 

[hllb]

I have seen all the nighttime shows, most multiple times and this is how I rate them:

Fantasmic - I didn't see you mention this one

HEA- Wishes was also in this spot

Rivers of Lights- I like the show. It is peaceful and beautiful but it's just not Disney Stlye.

Illuminations- it's big and impressive but it somehow just lacks than WDW closeness the others have. We had skipped it the last few trip but did it this year using a later in the day FP and it still was a bit blahhh for me.

I really think everyone needs to see every show at least once but this is how I would rate them. We always do a package for Fantasmic, we always just stake out a spot for HEA. I have also seen it from California Gril ( my favorite restaurant on site) and while it is very very cool, I prefer in park viewing. Last trip we did a dining package for ROL but I won't do that again. In the past, we just grabbed a spot anywhere for Iluminations. FP is definitely worth it if it's high on your list to do. Often you can get a 4th or after FP for it.

Thanks! I love Fantasmic - we're definitely doing that one. And now we'll be doing all of them. HEA we'll probably see from in the park and from CA Grill.

 

[Tomh]

I love everything Disney . .. even for me, Rivers of Light was just nice. Illuminations is WOW. If you can only see one, I would go for Illuminations. Those who review it poorly, have likely seen it so many times that they are bored with it. In my opinion, while it could benefit from updating, it still has a lot of wow factor, well more than you get from Rivers of Light. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Rivers of Light, but not the way I enjoy Illuminations, or Happily Ever After. It just isn't the same kind of show. It is enjoyable in the same way that Finding Nemo is enjoyable. It's not a bad show, but it isn't a "WOW!, let's end the day with a bang" kind of show.

 

[FastPasser.]

Over the past three years, I've seen Illuminations over 200 hundred times and I still enjoy it. I also enjoy RoL, it's worth seeing.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We'll already be in the parks of choice for whatever show we want to do

Sorry, let me clarify. I'd pick the park that best fit our schedule and see that show allowing for the most flexibility.