News ‘Rivers of Light: We Are One’ coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom summer 2019

[Andrew C]

People should vote with their wallets - and they are.... because they are getting what they want.

I imagine some would like to see WDW go back to the creative realm more often where they give people what they didn't even know they wanted. Disney was good at walking the line where they listened to demand while at the same time creating things that people thought were not possible or were not even a thought at all. They still do this, but not nearly as often.

Bottom line...the world, and this topic, is not black and white in the way which you are presenting.

 

[xdan0920]

Prices are up AND attendance is up. Room occupancy rates are sky high (along with prices). DVC still selling like crazy.

People should vote with their wallets - and they are.... because they are getting what they want.

This is unfortunately true.

Exactly, the majority of people who are going on a Disney vacation, want to see a lot of Disney. Current management maybe lazy but they are catering to current demand

Yep, also true.

Bottom line...the world, and this topic, is not black and white in the way which you are presenting

I actually think it is now. Disney isn’t interested in being the awe inspiring vacation kingdom of yore. They are now catering exclusively to folks willing to shell out $59.99 for a average to below average buffet with Mickey. or $109 cupcake party. Or $130 after hours party. And so on. This group of people wants Disney in their bleeping faces at all times. They don’t want inspiring messages, or edutainment, they want Mickey and Woody and they want them everywhere.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I remember seeing schedules online from NYE 1999-2000 with DAK opened till midnight with fireworks. But never saw a video of it on YouTube. How good were they?

Nothing to write home about. Similar to a town’s 4th of July display (I want to say they set up a temporary launch site in the parking lot but my memory is foggy).

 

[raymusiccity]

Perhaps the saddest part about this, is when the show was announced there were such high hopes for it. But then things fell apart so quickly and now we have this.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ll give it a chance. The #1 thing that needs to be fixed is the finale needs to feel like a finale. They need way more fire and maybe even some quiet low level pyro. Make it feel like something actually happened.

Beyond that I could see some IP’s fitting in nicely to the current flow of the show. I could also see it being over the top with too many ips shoved in.

There’s some super cool tech. Going on in that show, it’s a shame it didn’t all come together like it should have.

There were supposed to be more live performers in the show correct?

 

[LAKid53]

I don't think they are lazy. I think they are doing their jobs.

They have THREE stakeholders:
1. The Shareholders/Wall Street which owns Disney (and if you have ANY retirement money invested -which is most Americans-, guess what... THAT'S Wall Street! Your part of it! When Disney goes up YOU get richer. As a public company, Disney management MUST please Wall Street or they will be fired. Period.
2. The Employees aka Cast. Unhappy employees ruin the product. Yet, every big company has a certain % of unhappy workers. If that % grows too high, Management is toast.
3. The Guests. You and I. The wants/needs of guests are constantly evolving.

Keeping ALL THREE of these groups happy AT THE SAME TIME is a HERCULEAN task. All three groups have diverging and conflicting interests. Yet, the current management team has managed to do it (aside from the tiny yet vocal minority that linger in places like these message boards).

1. Wall Street doesn't own Disney. Shareholders own the corporation, with power resting in majority owners, some of which are institutional investors. Disney management must please those owners, as represented by EPS. And it's the BoD who does the firing, not Wall Street.
2. BoD will look at performance, including EPS. Unless there's a major revolt, i.e. strike, or downturn in profits that can be directly linked to dissatisfied front line CMs, BoD won't pay attention. You're talking about a world wide entertainment behemoth.
3. Marketing 101. YOU tell the customers what they want and/or need.

You really have no clue how major corporations are run. And how Wall Street operates, do you.

 

[Darth Snips]

It looks like discussions are getting somewhat heated, so I might regret this. But here are my two cents:

First of all, I love Rivers of Light in its current form. I realize that I'm probably in the minority, but it's arguably my favorite nighttime show currently running at WDW. I love everything about it: the music, the visuals, the lotus flowers, etc.

That said, I am in the minority. I can see why so many others were underwhelmed/disappointed: the finale is a little anticlimactic, it does have very real technical issues, and it doesn't really have much of a flow to it. So I can see why Disney would want to overhaul it; they have to please their guests.

Let me also say that I have no problem with Animal Kingdom having an IP-driven nighttime show. Joe Rohde has always been very protective of this park, and he has never really let anything truly awful have a permanent presence there. If this new show is done with a similar style as the Tree of Life Awakenings, I think it will be very tasteful and appropriate.

However, I fail to see how this overhaul will change anything. If I understand it correctly, all they're doing is swapping out some live-action animals and original music with animated animals and classic Disney music. That's nice and all, but it doesn't address any of the commonly heard complaints I mentioned above (finale, pacing, tech difficulties, etc.). It sounds like the show's flaws will be remaining exactly the same, but now the flaws will be accompanied by Disney music.

If you want to change the show, then change it. Go back to the drawing board, and draw up an all new show - with or without IP. The presence of IP doesn't bother me; it's the assumption that merely throwing some movie clips will remedy any issue with the production. This just seems like Iger's "nondescript coaster" comment all over again.

Anyways, that's my two cents. Not trying to contribute to any fights, all IMHO, etc., etc...

 

[monothingie]

Actually I know quite a bit, but your need to insult is noted.

1. SOME are institutional? Try 64% as of today. You could have looked that up in ten seconds Mr. Expert. That's a majority. These are Wall Street firms. For all intents and purposes, Wall Street investors DO OWN DISNEY.
2. If the Institutional investors grow unhappy, they can oust the board. Nobody on the board wants that, and they will push for what the institutional investors (Wall Street) wants.
3. I am well aware of the power of the board, but the board represents ownership, which is dominated by Wall Street investors.

The point remains: management has three groups to satisfy (wall street, employees, and customers). Pleasing all three at the same time is extremely difficult as evidenced by past management teams.

Sooo you’re rehashing exactly what @LAKid53 said but at the same time saying what she said was wrong.....gotcha!

You must be fun at parties.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I like RoE as is, though, I can also see how it can be much better with some small changes and a whole lot better with some major infrastructure (change the way the water-spray-screen is done, e.g.). So, I'd rather they had just upgraded it.

That being said, there is one upside for every park having a form of HEA.... then MK's HEA won't be so crowded.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Prices are up AND attendance is up. Room occupancy rates are sky high (along with prices). DVC still selling like crazy.

People should vote with their wallets - and they are.... because they are getting what they want.

Many of these same people treat Universal and others like the plague, never went to WDW prior to the year 2000 and have little to no knowledge about what exists at Disney's international parks or how they're run.

Ignorance is bliss for many Disney fans.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I actually think it is now. Disney isn’t interested in being the awe inspiring vacation kingdom of yore. They are now catering exclusively to folks willing to shell out $59.99 for a average to below average buffet with Mickey. or $109 cupcake party. Or $130 after hours party. And so on. This group of people wants Disney in their bleeping faces at all times. They don’t want inspiring messages, or edutainment, they want Mickey and Woody and they want them everywhere.

For $130 I wouldn't mind a Woody either, but I can't say cupcakes or adults in animal costumes have ever worked for me.

 

[FigmentJedi]

For $130 I wouldn't mind a Woody either, but I can't say cupcakes or adults in animal costumes have ever worked for me.

 

[LAKid53]

Actually I know quite a bit, but your need to insult is noted.

1. SOME are institutional? Try 64% as of today. You could have looked that up in ten seconds Mr. Expert. That's a majority. These are Wall Street firms. For all intents and purposes, Wall Street investors DO OWN DISNEY.
2. If the Institutional investors grow unhappy, they can oust the board. Nobody on the board wants that, and they will push for what the institutional investors (Wall Street) wants.
3. I am well aware of the power of the board, but the board represents ownership, which is dominated by Wall Street investors.

1. Need to correct your terminology. Wall Street firms are those investment & financial services companies/banks that handle transactions in financial markets. Companies like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, etc. TWDC isn't a Wall Street firm. It's a publicly owned corporation which shares are traded through the major exchanges.
2. Approximately 84% of the issued stock is owned by 10% of Americans, which include institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies and the like. The State of California pension fund is a huge institutional investor - it's not a Wall Street firm. They have large cash reserves and future obligations to meet, which is why equities are so attractive. They also invest in bonds, predominantly Treasuries.
3. Institutional investors currently hold a little shy of 55% of the issued Disney stock. The largest institutional investor is Vanguard. The largest individual shareholder? Bob Iger. That will probably change once the merger with Fox is completed and the stock swap is accomplished. The Murdochs will become the 2nd largest shareholder, after Vanguard.
4. Look at the current BoD. Not all of them are majority owners.

But thanks for schooling this Business College graduate with a degree in Finance who's spent nearly 30 years in finance and accounting.

Time to go check my Vanguard account to see how well my Disney stock is doing.

ETA: Actually, there are 4 stakeholders. I'll let you figure out who the fourth is.

 

[KaliSplash]

Lord knows this show needed something. My wife and I saw it back in 2017 and we were among the golf clap, "that was it?" folks. The song was disgustingly repetitive, I think "We are One were the only lyrics. Certainly, the only thing I remembered from the song. the floats went back and forth, sort of in circles. I don't know what they are going to do here, but at least perhaps there will be some story as opposed to lighted floats circling each other while the world sings "We Are One."

 

[LAKid53]

Thanks for sharing your resume. With that kind of knowledge, you should fully realize the term "WALL STREET" is a generalization/euphemism for the investment community as a whole.

My understanding is Disney's biggest single shareholder is not Iger, it's the estate of Steve Jobs.

Regardless, if Iger or any of his managers lose the confidence of Wall Street, they are doomed. That's the case at every publicly traded company. I

Yes, I know. But Disney isn't a Wall Street firm. Nor are some of the institutional investors. Wall Street specifically refers to those companies which handle transactions in the financial markets - stocks and bonds.

Jobs' widow reduced the estate's holdings by half in 2016. Currently, the largest shareholder, whether institutional or individual, is Vanguard at 105.8 million shares. (yippee for me). Once the stock swap with Fox shareholders is completed, the 2nd largest shareholder will be the Murdochs, with approximately 88 million shares. Surprisingly, Vanguard doesn't have a seat on the Board.

 

[Kman101]

It looks like discussions are getting somewhat heated, so I might regret this. But here are my two cents:

First of all, I love Rivers of Light in its current form. I realize that I'm probably in the minority, but it's arguably my favorite nighttime show currently running at WDW. I love everything about it: the music, the visuals, the lotus flowers, etc.

That said, I am in the minority. I can see why so many others were underwhelmed/disappointed: the finale is a little anticlimactic, it does have very real technical issues, and it doesn't really have much of a flow to it. So I can see why Disney would want to overhaul it; they have to please their guests.

Let me also say that I have no problem with Animal Kingdom having an IP-driven nighttime show. Joe Rohde has always been very protective of this park, and he has never really let anything truly awful have a permanent presence there. If this new show is done with a similar style as the Tree of Life Awakenings, I think it will be very tasteful and appropriate.

However, I fail to see how this overhaul will change anything. If I understand it correctly, all they're doing is swapping out some live-action animals and original music with animated animals and classic Disney music. That's nice and all, but it doesn't address any of the commonly heard complaints I mentioned above (finale, pacing, tech difficulties, etc.). It sounds like the show's flaws will be remaining exactly the same, but now the flaws will be accompanied by Disney music.

If you want to change the show, then change it. Go back to the drawing board, and draw up an all new show - with or without IP. The presence of IP doesn't bother me; it's the assumption that merely throwing some movie clips will remedy any issue with the production. This just seems like Iger's "nondescript coaster" comment all over again.

Anyways, that's my two cents. Not trying to contribute to any fights, all IMHO, etc., etc...

This.

All of this.

Very well said.

 

[BrianLo]

I literally thought about them redoing RoL last night...

But it included drones.

I agree this needs a bit more oomph than a change of projections and songs. The entire bag of tricks is wheeled out in the opening minutes. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic and something slightly more prominent will occur.

 

[RSoxNo1]

There’s a time and a place. And the handling of the execution. Recently the track record has been less than stellar.

Let’s see what this is like.

Do you anticipate a montage approach where they pair real world and animated worlds? If so, is a similar approach going to take place in the Epcot 2020 show?

 

[RSoxNo1]

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, this show lacks a wow/finale moment. My simple fix would be to have the giant fire geyser from World of Color make it into this show, imagine the finale where as the music swells at the end, the lotus stem accordions back down and then as the final note hits, right from the center of the lotus, a gigantic 150ft high fire flame erupts. People would cheer and also clearly tell this was the end.

It's all valleys, no peaks.

 

[rodserling27]

Headline should read "Disney to ruin Rivers of Light, a la Disneyland's small world."