Not too long ago, we noticed that we could spot some of the old Rivers of Light animal floats in a backstage marina at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While the return of nighttime shows at Disney World is paused for the ongoing global pandemic, Disney went ahead an officially announced that Rivers of Light would not be returning to Disney’s Animal Kingdom – it was permanently canceled.

The show, which was met with mild fanfare despite being visually beautiful, went through a few different iterations before landing on the final iteration of Rivers of Light: We Are One. In “We Are One”, the show took some of the physical and musical elements of the original Rivers of Light show and paired it with Disneynature video footage and Disney animated characters.

Here’s a look back at the original version of the show that debuted in 2017.

As you can see in the videos above, there were illuminated animal floats that navigated the lake, dancing in color and light throughout the show.

Before the show debuted, we got a good look at the floats as they were testing out on the lake. For a more detailed look, check out our earlier post.

On a previous visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we noticed that Disney appeared to be gutting the Rivers of Light animal floats in a backstage marina. As you can see in the photos below, some of the floats are cut open.

It looks like the wing of the owl, the neck of the turtle, and the inside paw/leg of the tiger have been cut open. To what end? We can only speculate. It’s possible that this is to give Disney access to show control elements and electronics that were inside the floats. Perhaps this is to repurpose those elements for a future (unannounced) show.

On a return trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we can see that the animal floats have been removed completely from the marina. It’s possible that they have been taken to a backstage area for storage or scrap. A lotus flower has also recently been taken out of the marina and is likely going to follow the animal floats, wherever they’ve gone.

Also seen nearby are the shaman boats, which were removed from the Rivers of Light amphitheater back in August.

Disney has not announced what, if anything, will replace Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!