The rivers at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will hold onto their ‘secrets’ a little longer.
The planned April 22 opening of “Rivers of Light” at the park is indefinitely delayed. The new after-dark show to be performed in the Asia section of Animal Kingdom will use boats, barges, floating animal sculptures and water screens, most controlled on shore without pilots.
“While we’d hoped to debut these offerings on April 22, unfortunately, they will not open as planned on that date as we give the team more time to bring these innovative experiences to life in a way we know will exceed our guests’ expectations,” Thomas Smith, Disney Parks editorial content director wrote on Tuesday in the Disney Parks Blog.
Smith wrote Animal Kingdom now hopes to debut the show “by mid-to late May.”
Construction walls vastly hide from view the stadium-like seating added to the edges of the park’s lagoon, where once the show opens, spectators will be invited to sit or stand to view “Rivers of Light.”
The park is currently in rehearsals of the show, designed to extend visits to Animal Kingdom later into the evening.
Opened on Earth Day 1998, Animal Kingdom’s daily operating schedule traditionally ends around sunset, when animals go to sleep. For the better part of a decade, the park closed well before the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where nighttime entertainment includes fireworks and water pageants.
In addition to Rivers of Light, a new nighttime show illuminates Animal Kingdom’s iconic Tree of Life. Plus, a new evening safari is also planned, using the current infrastructure and vehicles of Kilimanjaro Safaris.
In 2017, “Pandora–The World of Avatar,” a new themed land is expected to open. New rides, entertainment and retail offerings will aid in making Animal Kingdom a full day and night experience.