Some encouraging news re: Rivers of Light

[cigar95]

This came from my contact at Imagineering who has been at WDW and several other Disney parks since 1970 or 71. (Yes, she was very involved with Shanghai. No, it isn't her fault!) I don't have fine details, so can't give much more than what I say here.

When the opening was postponed, RoL was dealing with one major and three modest technical issues. The major issue is now under control, along with one of the modest ones. So a big piece of the problem is dealt with. I don't know how complex the remaining issues are.

No word on what this means for possible opening dates. That answer may come soon. and I have no doubt that lots of input from the present Jungle Book show are going to contribute to the fine-tuning, both technically and operationally.

But progress is being made, and that's good news.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Thanks! I'm pretty sure it will be up and running by the time of my next trip, but happy to hear the update.

 

[cigar95]

OK, I did get a bit more info.

One of the dates that has been kicking around for a while for the RoL opening is being ready by September. I'm led to understand that the show will very likely be ready to open by then, in terms of all the technical work being done. At that point, it becomes an operations/management decision.

Reality is that September is not a typical time for WDW to open big, flashy attractions. So I'm going to guess - and this is just me, now - a Thanksgiving opening might be in the cards. That allows the holiday crowds to come and see something new and spectacular, it's at a time when it gets dark earlier so that two shows per night (or even three?) would be easier to manage, and it gives us a cushion of a few months so that the opening isn't too close to Pandora.

But as I said, the latter is, in the words of Albus Dumbledore, venturing into the realm of guesswork and speculation - informed by our knowledge of how WDW tends to operate and a bit of informed logic. Take it for what it's worth, which may be not much more than what you paid for it!

 

[WEDWDW]

Thanks for the info!

I personally think they will put RoL out there just as soon as they can.

They are taking such a hit with so many having negative views toward JB.

 

[aprincessatlast]

TFS! Must admit I had hopes that they were genuinely working on it to get it out asap and replace JB show. Should know better by now. I still find it ridiculous though to work on something so long and then announce it and have it open what 6 to 7 months later. Just is the Disney we know now!

 

[AquaDame]

You're right, its not, but given their technical issues I wonder if a slower time of year/less shows per night wouldn't be a GOOD thing. They could always do the "grand opening" night later even if its been running ahead of time for awhile.

 

[cigar95]

TFS! Must admit I had hopes that they were genuinely working on it to get it out asap and replace JB show. Should know better by now. I still find it ridiculous though to work on something so long and then announce it and have it open what 6 to 7 months later. Just is the Disney we know now!

This is one thing I *can* say a bit about.
In short, the opening announcement was premature.
The way that new developments at the parks work is that there comes a point at which Imagineering deems the attraction/show "ready" and officially turns it over to the parks. Until then, they have no say over it, even though it's physically sitting in the middle of their "territory". Normally, an opening isn't announced until this happens.
In the case of RoL, Operations (and Marketing?) jumped the gun - Imagineering never had (and still hasn't, I'm assuming) turned the show over to the parks. I have no doubt that someone has been taken to the woodshed over this, but it very likely won't be someone from Imagineering.

 

[HopperFan]

OK, I did get a bit more info.

Reality is that September is not a typical time for WDW to open big, flashy attractions. So I'm going to guess - and this is just me, now - a Thanksgiving opening might be in the cards. That allows the holiday crowds to come and see something new and spectacular, it's at a time when it gets dark earlier so that two shows per night (or even three?) would be easier to manage, and it gives us a cushion of a few months so that the opening isn't too close to Pandora.

^ Thank you for the chuckles today

That aside I still have problems with a company like Disney to have such big technical issues that they "didn't know about" until the opening was upon them. Even if they popped up they have the resources to resolve quickly. I still believe that this is more about spreading out the "grand openings" since doing this with Soarin' (which should have waited for new movie given it is breaking down almost daily including an evacuation this weekend), Frozen attraction & meet/greet, new Castle show, new SW fireworks, Disney Springs and Shanghai etc was just too much in too small a time frame. Spreading the grand openings spreads the excitement and the budget hits. Maybe they also realized that the disaster of the load/unload of theater would be better attached to JB than RoL and this gave them time to see it in operation. Let's face it there clearly was zero planning for queuing people in that theater.

Not doubting your friend's info that there were issues. I believe it came from higher up to slow the process for a variety of reasons. It's just too bad how this has all been handled.

 

[cigar95]

^ Thank you for the chuckles today

My bad. I meant to write *Phase I* of Pandora. It will be somewhat longer until the area is fully open.

 

[loves to dive]

Thanks for the info. I'll be there mid-Sept. so I'm guessing it could go either way for me. Whichever way it goes, I'm good with it. Not one of those to beat my chest and lament over something that isn't there. Got too much else to worry about, frankly I need to know about the extras for F&W.

 

[Boomerdog]

Pretty absurd if it doesn't open by the end of September.

 

[anneboleyn]

Hopefully it will be open in September. With three major attractions out of commission at that time, it would definitely be nice to have something big to draw the crowds to!

 

[bryanb]

TFS! Must admit I had hopes that they were genuinely working on it to get it out asap and replace JB show. Should know better by now. I still find it ridiculous though to work on something so long and then announce it and have it open what 6 to 7 months later. Just is the Disney we know now!

This is probably an unfair statement to the many people who are genuinely working to make this show happen. They didn't get into this business with all the deadlines and stress because they love to disappoint the Internet.

 

[Nancyg56]

TFS! Must admit I had hopes that they were genuinely working on it to get it out asap and replace JB show. Should know better by now. I still find it ridiculous though to work on something so long and then announce it and have it open what 6 to 7 months later. Just is the Disney we know now!

But they are working on it. IMO, getting it out in a hurry if it is not ready would be much worse than getting it out when it is right. I have not idea what goes into these productions, but I do know they are complicated, and unless the departments that the Imagineers work with respect the timeframes, this kind of disappointment can happen.

My DS creates, oh who am I kidding, I have no idea what the heck he does, but neither do the people he reports to. They tell him what they think they want. He knows that is only the tip of thei iceberg, so he probes to begin to understand what they need, and starts his process. He tests, he discusses, he tweaks. They tell him they need it NOW> it is not ready, you see they really have no idea what they asked for. They say make it work, they already told their leaders when it would be ready. Ummmmm...what will you say when it is not providing what you promised????? Oh jeez!!!!!!

It is my opinion that someone jumped the gun in announcing an opening to coincide with the other evening entertainment that DAK is offering and did not consult or believe the Imagineers in regards to ROL. So JB was slapped together. I think it is pretty disrespectful to blame the people who are invested in making this production the spectacular that Disney fans expect.

 

[rg35]

To the OP, but off topic, but is your friend OK with you posting identifying information about her online? Based on the demogrpahic details you provided, it probably wouldn't be hard for someone from the inside to identify your friend by process of elimination.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for insider info...just wouldn't want your friend to get into any kind of trouble.

 

[Minniekins]

Was really expecting it'd be open by Veteran's day weekend / the following week! Hopefully they'll at the very least be in soft opening by then, if not fully operational and have opening kinks worked out by then!
Btw, since it was mentioned, when is the Pandora opening being discussed for at this time? Or being guessed at to open? I don't even remember anymore what's planned to be there, it's been so long since I've read about it, lol. Kind of sad in a way...

 

[Nancyg56]

Was really expecting it'd be open by Veteran's day weekend / the following week! Hopefully they'll at the very least be in soft opening by then, if not fully operational and have opening kinks worked out by then!
Btw, since it was mentioned, when is the Pandora opening being discussed for at this time? Or being guessed at to open? I don't even remember anymore what's planned to be there, it's been so long since I've read about it, lol. Kind of sad in a way...

I hope that ROL is open in December when we are there, but so far the hours have the park closed at 5PM. I am interested in Pandora as well.

 

[vicb]

My bad. I meant to write *Phase I* of Pandora. It will be somewhat longer until the area is fully open.

Which brings me to the question... what attractions are meant to be in "Phase 1" of Pandora? I haven't been keeping on top of that too much and we are now considering a 2017 trip. And when are the rumors of this "Phase 1" actually opening? Thanks.

 

[Alice Sr.]

That aside I still have problems with a company like Disney to have such big technical issues that they "didn't know about" until the opening was upon them. Even if they popped up they have the resources to resolve quickly.

I understand this seems ludicrous but it is not an unheard of occurrence when you are dealing with larger projects (as this apparently is for them) especially given the uniqueness. Everyone on the team will agree that the issue should have been caught earlier in the process, 1000's of hours of brainstorming caught 100's of other potential issues but sometimes that one tiny little fact that everyone in the room overlooked, or couldn't fathom is the mountain not the mole hill.

 

[mom2rtk]

Which brings me to the question... what attractions are meant to be in "Phase 1" of Pandora? I haven't been keeping on top of that too much and we are now considering a 2017 trip. And when are the rumors of this "Phase 1" actually opening? Thanks.

I was curious about that too. Isn't it just 2 rides and some shops? Maybe I've underestimated it.