ROL - Worth it??

[Nancyg56]

We have Tusker House reservations, like I said. They come with FPs for the show. I was asking if it's worth it or should we do something else.

I think that value in terms of time spent on shows is subjective. I have never seen the value of staying for this show, but if you are planning to be in the park that night anyway, why not go and see for yourself? As you can see just from theis discussion, ROL is like any other show in WDW< Some folks love it, some will never spend another minute on it and still others are ambivilent, going if there is time, but not worrying if not.

I will say one thing, DAK after dark is one of the prettiest parks IMO.

 

[fbarker]

As you can see there are very mixed reviews here. It is visually very impressisve but I would suggest you do it once and you make the decision

 

[dreynolds1982]

We had FPs for it when I saw it and I enjoyed it. Of course it's nothing on the level of Illuminations for Fantasmic, but I don't think it's intended to be. I'd say if you've never seen it, for sure try and check it out and see what you think of it yourself. I agree with others that I don't feel compelled to see it again, but it was definitely worth checking out.

 

[studiojmm]

Sounds like you don't have the extra time to burn.

Pandora is stunning at night, I could wander it and not even ride. FOP is a great attraction and I would rather put my energy and time into riding that than ROL. Pandora is just a unique work of art that is completely different at night than it is during the day. Your kids will love all the lighting, colors and magical feel to it.

Last time we went, we watched ROL (which my daughter and I both love) AND (fast)walked over to Pandora and walked on to Navi River right before closing.

 

[monkyby87]

As with most things at Disney, I think it's worth doing/seeing at least once. Even attractions I don't like, I would try and see it at least once. I enjoy the show, though it's not something I would see more than once or twice.

 

[mickip]

I don't think you will regret it at all. I first saw last year when traveling with a friend and then wanted to make sure I went back with my family. I enjoyed it a lot.

 

[DizFan13]

I told myself not to respond to this thread because all points of view seem well represented, but truth be told, RoL is a rare issue for me as far as Disney shows go.

I think I'm usually easy to please, but DH and I were so underwhelmed by RoL that for our first show, we walked out a few minutes in.

Not ones to give up on Disney, we watched it again during DAH, armed with ice cream and popcorn and low crowds. It still bored us, maybe even more so because the pre-show, arguably energetic and entertaining, was gone. We left early.

In May, I took my mother to WDW for Mother's Day, and she really wanted to see it. Her trip, her choice, so of course we went. I did not say one negative thing to her. I waited to hear her say it was boring and she wanted to leave, and . . .
. . .she loved it. Really, truly, loved it and to this day talks about the joy it gave her.

The moral of my way-too long story is, this show is divisive. You might hate it, you might love it, but you'll never know if you don't try it.

 

[yorkieteacher]

If you had to pick between ROL and seeing Pandora at night/getting to ride FOP, then like so many, I would say see Pandora at night and ride FOP. BUT, if you feel you will have a chance to do that some other time, we saw ROL with the Tusker House dining package when we were there in September, and is was a very nice show, and the dining package got us great seats without arriving but about 20 minutes early. Tusker House lunch-I enjoyed it, some of my family did not. There were a lot of different food choices. The restaurant is neat looking, and the character interaction was really good when we were there. Afterwards, you may be able to get over to Pandora and see it after dark anyway.

 

[TBaker]

For me it depended where I was sitting, maybe. The first time we saw it we had great seats, sitting right in the middle looking straight on. Those were tickets with the dining package with Tusker House. The second time I saw it, we were WAY off to the side, everything was very distorted and we couldn't even make out what was being put up. With that seating I would never go again. If I had great seats, I'd see it again.

 

[gharter]

RoL is th eonly show at WDW that I have been disappointed in. Have not seen the newer version, so we will go to it when we are there for our next visit.
The floats were very interesting, but otherwise just didn't seem to be much there. And I can't imaging it being better without the actors.
As others have said, its worth doing once and then decide if you want to go again.

 

[solfan68]

We did the RoL package at Tusker. Dinner was good, the show was fine. As with most things in life, YMMV...

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think it's amazing. A lot of people on here say it's boring, but I think it's beautiful, sublime even. It's really moving and artistic and has an integrity that other nighttime shows don't have. Please don't miss it. I look forward to going back to WDW specifically because I would want to watch it in person again. Videos and pictures do the show NO justice.

Totally agree. Its very artistic and very different from the other shows. I absolutely loved it. I dont understand the hate it gets. Dont go into it expecting a fireworks show like Happily Ever After. Go into it expecting more of a "visual" piece instead. This show will always be on my list when im "home" again.

 

[Moliphino]

If you had to pick between ROL and seeing Pandora at night/getting to ride FOP, then like so many, I would say see Pandora at night and ride FOP. BUT, if you feel you will have a chance to do that some other time, we saw ROL with the Tusker House dining package when we were there in September, and is was a very nice show, and the dining package got us great seats without arriving but about 20 minutes early. Tusker House lunch-I enjoyed it, some of my family did not. There were a lot of different food choices. The restaurant is neat looking, and the character interaction was really good when we were there. Afterwards, you may be able to get over to Pandora and see it after dark anyway.

If the ROL show is before park close I would recommend seeing ROL, then getting in line for FOP. We did this last trip and it was a 35 minute wait (posted as 70 minutes). We got in line about 30 minutes before park close.