Rumors of Light (ROL discussion thread)

LOUNGERS PLEASE PRAY or whatever you believe ... just saw horrific accident at entrance to DCP apts. DCP bus and car that was literally destroyed. Bus was totally over median. We had to sit long while. Trying to get someone out of car. Kids all around and one screaming. Feel devastated.
 
LOUNGERS PLEASE PRAY or whatever you believe ... just saw horrific accident at entrance to DCP apts. DCP bus and car that was literally destroyed. Bus was totally over median. We had to sit long while. Trying to get someone out of car. Kids all around and one screaming. Feel devastated.
Oh no. That sounds so scary!
 

Prayers that everyone is OK. HopperFan, I can only imagine how you feel. Prayers for you too.
 
Prayers that everyone is OK. HopperFan, I can only imagine how you feel. Prayers for you too.

I guess cause my DD was a DCP for a year, lived in those apartments, I went in and out that entrance many times .... all I could do was feel for all those on the bus, scared and far from family. So many of them this may be their first time from home or living out of state ... can be tough hours, tough living situations (I know for DD the job was fine, the housing was trying), no family, no comforts .... and then to have been involved in this terrifying, even if you were one of the safe ones, accident. And the folks in the car, DCP or not, horrific.

Sorry for posting such a downer, we were sitting there unable to move, feet from it all and you all have a better understanding of the DCP life than anyone I know. Mom mode kicks in I suppose, it was scary. Next post will be back to business ..... ROL.......
 
I guess cause my DD was a DCP for a year, lived in those apartments, I went in and out that entrance many times .... all I could do was feel for all those on the bus, scared and far from family. So many of them this may be their first time from home or living out of state ... can be tough hours, tough living situations (I know for DD the job was fine, the housing was trying), no family, no comforts .... and then to have been involved in this terrifying, even if you were one of the safe ones, accident. And the folks in the car, DCP or not, horrific.

Sorry for posting such a downer, we were sitting there unable to move, feet from it all and you all have a better understanding of the DCP life than anyone I know. Mom mode kicks in I suppose, it was scary. Next post will be back to business ..... ROL.......
Hope you are feeling better...did you ever hear what happened, or if there were injuries? So awful for those involved, as well as those who could only watch and do nothing to help.
 
Hope you are feeling better...did you ever hear what happened, or if there were injuries? So awful for those involved, as well as those who could only watch and do nothing to help.

I have a friend who has access to DCP so trying to find out. I do know there were two transported to two hospitals, one in very critical condition ... I think both from the car. The car basically buckled so shaped like a V and passenger side .... really bad. I kept thinking the guy pacing and screaming was in the car too but in hind sight maybe he was the bus driver. The bus was up over the median in the complex but upright and guessing the kids sitting along curb there were getting checked, there was ambulance over there too.

Even though I knew no one, just kicks you in the gut that it could have been my kid or her friends ... feel bad for all involved. I am home now, was just a weekend trip but certainly stuck in my head.
 
OKAY ............... RUMORS OF LIGHT has been seen.

I opted for FP+ since I knew we would have a busy day and didn't want to waste time at a TS, and no way would I do Standby at this point. There initially was only one show but when they announced the second show I easily moved our FP+ to that second show - giving us more time to enjoy the park. It was myself - completely neck deep in the whole Rumors of Light fiasco. DS who is a huge Disney fanatic, artistic, creative, very detailed oriented with movies etc, highly technical and some engineering - my point was he has followed and would be watching with many hats. And a CM who loves Disney and it's core beginnings, and who purposely watched no videos.

Prior to both shows we walked over to the Standby area. Folks began lining up a couple hours ahead of the first show and it seemed the line never disappeared as I guess by time show 1 entered show 2 folks were already in line. No way would I be doing this. They utilized the walkway along the water that is just greenery between it and Dinoland outerpath. They had ropes set up so it was queued zig zagged 3 times. It was so full so early my guess is the line had to come out and head somewhere as others has seen before. Photo below was 1.5 hours before first show started.

After watching the first showing on the Trees of Life - DS first time and friend & I second time - we LOVED it and could have sat there all night. This time we saw the more projection style one with Disney animal characters and it was very well done. Less creative in terms of the lights than the last one but still very good. We then walked over to watch the back of ROL from Flame Tree along with many others. By time we arrived front rows very full. The dead center bridge (below the concrete ponds) was a great view. At the time I said we couldn't make out the water projections other than some color but little did we know .... But it was great the floats came very close to us and that was cool. What I really noted was that Everest was an awesome backdrop to the show, better than a distant tree. Had they switched the theater they could have really been more bold.

It was time to go to our FP+ so we headed from Yak & Yeti direction to help keep down the congestion in areas we didn't need to be. Well, it was a mess. By time we walked over there the theaters looked close to empty so it was surprising that the walkways were still packed with people. Just too narrow. They wouldn't let anyone near Everest or the theater instead packing us all into side paths towards Kali. We sat there for some time before they finally let us out. The area around the theater was very crowded. They were letting FP+ folks into a roped area leading to entrance by scanning with portable scanners. When the roped area was full they stood blocking the entrance to it and I assume the folks were in some sort of line from there back. We were just inside the roped area. While it was probably faster for them to scan us than us scan the machines .... there was nothing to keep folks from ducking under the rope and joining us.

Once inside they seemed to be sending folks in by section but by time we approached steps they let us go where we wanted. We chose wood seats (we've done the stone and they are uncomfortable) in section H down close to D, what I think were good seats. E and I were blocked except to a few so guessing that is the VIP section. As we were entering they were also loading the Dining Section. They seemed to be directing folks to their seats as it was filling in fairly compact. They were in L K Q P. They kept Standby standing in their lines which we could see lined up out past T. At 8 pm they finally started to load the Standby. It was like watching the Parking lots with CMs at each turn making them go into specific rows and filling up the sections tight. By show time Sections T and O (1/3 of the SB area) were completely empty. Had you not gotten in line and just walked up you would have had no trouble sitting. Section A of FP+ was still fairly empty 10 minutes before show time.

I get 2nd shows were added last minute and no way to tell what the future holds for crowds but on this day you did not need a Dining Package or FP+ to still have a seat. Even a front row seat. And you didn't even need to stand in a line.

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There was no pre-show .... I know a few mentioned .... we had lotus flowers sitting in water. There were a few lights in trees by Flame Tree. A few times they projected animal shadows walking by but that was minimal.


THE SHOW ....

(1) CM friend ......... enjoyed the show. I am not sure how that would transfer to average guest. They seemed to hear the story but I don't know if it was because they knew the story going in or listened closely to the speaking parks. They did not pick up on any of the details that we were discussing after. It's hard when they experience fireworks every work day and were happy for something more low key ... but is their expectation that of the average guest, I don't know. If the average guest is good with a low key show then it will do it's job.

(2) DS ............. did not like it. His opinion makes sense as to why we waited a year so they could make this work rather than retool the floats to work otherwise. He said Disney wanted to show they mastered this float technology and then built a show around it. It was more about showing off (why they had to get it working) than putting together a cohesive show. We had lots of convo on the technical aspects that could have been done better. Said the first 3 minutes good, last 3 minutes good and then nothing in between. He said he never needs to see it again. If he has dead time, he'll grab some food or drinks and just sit at Flame Tree. [NOTE: He LOVES Illuminations, understands the whole story, thinks it's a powerful show so I had expected him to like this.]

(3) Me ....... well I read enough and saw enough to know what to expect. My thought going in is that the most gushing is from folks who have walked away with beautiful photographs so I was expected that to be the plus. I know now that many of the photographs are enhanced except for the boats and animals.

The animal floats are STUNNING and I could have watched them for hours. Sadly you only get to really see 2 of them because someone didn't think that maybe when they are at the far side of lake, all dark, that they should have switched positions so when they returned to show we all got to see the two we hadn't already seen. So YES there are two distinct views to the show. The boats with the costumes and the lanterns etc hanging are CREATIVE and VIBRANT. Loved them using the sails for screens of shadows and at times helpful to identify what was on water screens. I did not understand what they were doing. Our boat at one point was spinning in place, maybe 3 times. The other boat disappeared behind the water wall area, went dark and so they appeared to have no boat to look at. At one point our boat left the theater back under the bridge but then later it returned. We agreed they were beautiful but sadly not utilized enough.

Lotus flowers. Before the show they just sat there. The lily pads were stained glass like the animals and beautiful. The lotus petals looked cheap and plastic. Once they are lit it doesn't matter as much so I let it go they just weren't creative enough to figure out how to make them as pretty as the animals and boats. LOVED the water elements, the spirals and spraying. I would love more of that with some awesome music. The most impressive was they had mini water screens and the projections on them were done in holograph style. They looked 3D, very cool, and when they jumped from one to the other - wow - until one wasn't working so the animal disappeared then reappeared two float over. But sadly I guess I expected glitches. The BIG lotus flower ...... hate the fire tower. For most the show it looks like collapsed scaffold in there because the float was already built when they added it. DS asked why they didn't build petals big enough to hide it and I told him it was added last minute. The fire that came out was minimal compared to size of structure and looked like candles .... It was not needed, it didn't add any wow factor.

Water Screens ............. not any better since JBA. The big middle one did match up but it didn't matter as we really couldn't make out most of what they were projecting. Sometimes the same image was on the boat sails so you could tell from there but these things are more a distraction. It appears the slightest air movement makes it hard to see. The times it was vibrant abstract colors it was fine because nothing was there but colors - but projection wise I'm 0 for 2. The two side feather like ones again add nothing and one appeared to be "off". When the small lotus have such great water screens - lower, tighter, less impacted by wind plus they are being projected on close up ---- why didn't they think about using more of that.

Music ...... I call it "Rihanna Music" ......... yea, not a fan. I laugh that she can only memorize a few words at a time and then repeats over and over and over again. The music was the same thing throughout, became very much background noise when this show needed music that permeated you and created the story. It had moments when it got louder or quieter but nothing memorable at all. If I heard it tomorrow I wouldn't be able to tell you where it's from. Music is too important to shows, movies etc and lost opportunity here. Sad.

Audience ..... children around us, 1 fell asleep, 2 couldn't sit still or stay focused, 1 about 18 mo stood on bench and danced. Overall it was mostly adults around us. The show ended. Clearly ended even without a finale. The music stopped, people clapped but it was not roaring, then lights all came up and you could see everyone in the audience ........... clearly their last clapping was at the scene, not an ending and they did not realize it was over. I was looking close at everyone ............ dead silence for about 15-20 seconds ............... they were all looking around everywhere looking kinda like "that's the end?". Then speakers came on with thanks for coming to our show. Folks at that point started to get up. Was a long time to have a theater that large silent and sitting ... waiting .... average guest obviously expected more.

The bones are there. Boats and Animals are just beautiful pieces of art. The lotus water effects were dance like and pretty. The lights and projections on the Flame Tree greenery and trees has SO MUCH potential. The tree of life is back there and creates a beautiful backdrop. They could drop the water walls and up the projections out there. Up the use of lasers. Plenty of other things they could easily adjust to greatly improve the show but clearly, given they have had time and didn't, don't plan to.

It was as I expected so can't say I was disappointed. It is not what was presented and hyped at the beginning. It was obvious at the end the audience was not overwhelmed either by their applause or their lost looks. Everyone should see it at least once but I certainly wouldn't stress my touring plan. No way I'd spend 2 hours in a Standby line. It does appear that each side of theater gets a different perspective due to the floats and boats, so maybe 2x would be best for full viewing.

Photos (with old iPhone so night not good at all but gives you idea):
- Early in day walking past Nemo side you can see where they have roped it up to ready for standby crowds.
- Standby crowds looped at the opposite end as we go over bridge to Discovery from Dinoland.
- Yes we bought Lotus Drink Lights to add to my other goodies.
- Rest of them are shots from Flame Tree.

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The accident sounds horrific. Something that will stick with you for awhile. I hope you can get a positive update from your friend.

Thank you for the extensive review on ROL. I like the 3 different perspectives.
 
The accident sounds horrific. Something that will stick with you for awhile. I hope you can get a positive update from your friend.

Thank you for the extensive review on ROL. I like the 3 different perspectives.

All they will be able to find out is what happened at the scene but not the outcome ..... maybe that is best.


You know you are right - there truly are three different views, maybe four if you count the bridge that is dead center.

In re-reading my review I noticed I didn't highlight one thing ......... kinda ironic .......... it was The Story ........... guess that goes right back to the irony. Story is quite minimal, quite vague and obviously forgettable. DS & I came away with it's supposed to be water and light ...

Personally I think I really liked being in Flame Tree, it was intimate, you could have dinner while you watched, loved the background of Everest ... really quite beautiful from there.

On all bridges with views they put down masking tape to note viewing location. The two bridges to Discovery Island do not have good views of the overall show but glimpses. But suppose better than nothing.

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LOUNGERS! While I avoid the B&B show at DHS most trips, even though DS loves it .....

Just saw the movie and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!! I would actually pay to see it again. Beautiful, some new music and story and perfect casting.

The first half I forgot gorgeous Gaston was a bad guy as he was such eye candy!
 
LOUNGERS! While I avoid the B&B show at DHS most trips, even though DS loves it .....

Just saw the movie and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!! I would actually pay to see it again. Beautiful, some new music and story and perfect casting.

The first half I forgot gorgeous Gaston was a bad guy as he was such eye candy!

do you think it's a little dark for a 4yo?
 
Hey @HopperFan, just wanted to say :thanks: for the detailed write-up on ROL above. I had been waiting for a few spare minutes to really sit and read what you wrote, which I finally just did. Thank you!
 
LOUNGERS! While I avoid the B&B show at DHS most trips, even though DS loves it .....

Just saw the movie and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!! I would actually pay to see it again. Beautiful, some new music and story and perfect casting.

The first half I forgot gorgeous Gaston was a bad guy as he was such eye candy!


I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie. Our local independent theater is showing the movie tonight but I'm too tired to even think about going.
 
do you think it's a little dark for a 4yo?

It depends on the child. It really did stay very very true to the animated movie, right down to some lines plus added a couple songs and story pieces. So imagine the original parts of the movie that were scary but now add real animals, real people etc. So when the wolves attack Maurice, the Beast & Belle. It's scary. The castle is in a dark woods so everything about the scenes are dark. The fight at the end with Gaston and Beast are intense. So just makes all the scary parts in the animated, very realistic.

But it truly is a musical - the Be Our Guest scene is incredible, way more than I expected. So there are plenty of light moments but it has dark too.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie. Our local independent theater is showing the movie tonight but I'm too tired to even think about going.

HAHA, DS has been asking me a minimum of 5 times a day since November to go to the movie so I just booked the "fan event" that ran an hour ahead of the rest ... we got a lanyard and some paper doll thing .... and he was so excited. My sanity needed to go asap.
 
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LOUNGERS! While I avoid the B&B show at DHS most trips, even though DS loves it .....

Just saw the movie and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!! I would actually pay to see it again. Beautiful, some new music and story and perfect casting.

The first half I forgot gorgeous Gaston was a bad guy as he was such eye candy!
I wanted to see it this weekend but I'm going with my mom and she wants to wait a couple weeks. Boo hoo!
 












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