ILLUMINATE at Shanghai Disneyland Review and Guide: Is it Worth Seeing?

Debuting as part of Shanghai Disneyland’s 5th Anniversary and replacing the previous nighttime spectacular Ignite the Dream which had been with the park since its opening in 2016, ILLUMINATE is the park’s first permanent nighttime spectacular to remain exclusive to this park. This comes after Ignite the Dream was ported over to Disneyland Paris for that resort’s 25th anniversary.

But is ILLUMINATE better than Ignite the Dream? In this review I will be going through each aspect of the show and will tell you everything you need to know about ILLUMINATE, from where to watch the show from to my thoughts on the quality of the show as a whole.

Let’s begin!

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Table of Contents

Pre-Show Matters and Background

Together with Mickey’s Storybook Adventure, ILLUMINATE was the main offering of the park’s 5th anniversary celebration. Debuting on the same day as the 5th anniversary, this show has since become incredibly popular with Shanghai Disneyland guests. Up to today guests are lining up 2 hours before showtime just to get a good view of the show.

Before my most recent trip to Shanghai Disneyland, I had never seen a video of ILLUMINATE. I had heard the theme song before, titled “The Light is in You”, but that was the extent of my exposure to the show. I had heard from other people on social media that it was a good show, but many detractors had also said that it wasn’t as good as other nighttime spectaculars like Momentous, Happily Ever After, and Wondrous Journeys. So when I planned my most recent trip to Shanghai Disney, I knew seeing ILLUMINATE more than once would be a priority.

When I arrived at the park on the first day of my trip, I immediately booked a DPA for ILLUMINATE. I knew I wanted to be as close to the castle as possible for my first viewing. It’s not every day that you get to experience a Disney nighttime spectacular for the first time. I ended up having an amazing view of the show that night. I was in the first row of the middle reserved section, and after waiting for about 30 minutes, the show began.

And it blew me away.

ILLUMINATE is a stirring, heartfelt, and well-structured nighttime spectacular, with a good choice of songs, a relatable emotional throughline, and some of the best projections ever made for a nighttime spectacular. I will admit, it doesn’t reach the heights of other shows, but it more than holds its own as a modern nighttime spectacular. Shanghai Disneyland should be proud to have this show in their entertainment lineup, with the show being so good I saw it 3 times on my trip.

Before the Show and Viewing Guide

I would absolutely recommend buying the DPA for this show. If you don’t know what a DPA is, it’s Shanghai Disneyland’s skip-the-line service called Disney Premier Access. While normally you would only use it for rides, you can also buy DPAs for ILLUMINATE and other shows in Shanghai Disneyland which grants you either front of line access to the theater or a reserved viewing area to watch the show from. In ILLUMINATE’s case, it’s the latter.

I would recommend buying the DPA for two reasons. The first being that buying the DPA means you don’t have to stake out a spot 2 hours before the show just to get a good view. Doing so will eat into your park touring time, especially if you only have a day to explore the park. Buying the DPA means you can arrive even minutes before showtime and be guaranteed a good spot, allowing you to use the rest of the time riding rides, shopping, or doing other things.

The other reason I recommend buying the DPA is because you really do get a good unobstructed view of the show from the viewing area. Because the castle is huge, I had no problem seeing the projections both times I saw the show from the viewing area even when, on the second time, people were sitting in front of me. If this is your first time watching ILLUMINATE, why not make it special and see it from the front.

However, the DPA for ILLUMINATE is the most expensive single DPA that the park sells. It costs around US$35 per person, which is a steep price to pay for a DPA. But I promise you, it’s well worth it if it means you can enjoy more of the park and don’t have to deal with the hassle of having to wait for a spot for so long.

Also, if you want a centered spot for Illuminate, I would recommend showing up 45 minutes before the show. I showed up 30 minutes before the show and was given a view that was slightly to the right. It didn’t make a difference at all, but in case that’s important to you, just be aware that you have to be there 45 minutes before to get the prime DPA seating areas.

That being said, if it’s not in your budget, do know that the one time I didn’t watch it with a DPA I was able to get a spot for the show 45 minutes before showtime and had a good, partially obstructed view. I was standing for the whole show, and the projections seemed small from where I was due to me being close to Mickey Avenue, but it was a decent view considering I only showed up 45 minutes beforehand. I can’t guarantee that the same luck will happen to you, but know that you still can get a decent view of the show last minute.

Also, if you happen to be visiting during a busy period and the park offers 2 ILLUMINATE showings, go for the latter showing. Do this because, if you watch the first show, you’ll have to stake out a spot 2 hours ahead. Meanwhile, the first show ends an hour before the second show, meaning as people are leaving the viewing areas after the first show, you can quickly jump into the viewing area for the second show and get a good spot for it. Plus this way, you’ll only have to wait an hour to see the show.

The Show Itself

Please note that, while some songs are in English, the rest of the show is in Mandarin. This is what I could gather about the plot and throughline of the show based on my experience and from reading various articles on the internet.

The show starts with some narration done in Mandarin. The concept of the show has to do with the light in each of us that pushes us to accomplish our dreams and hope for a better tomorrow. The show starts by saying that that light is in each of us, and then quickly transitions into the theme of the show called The Light is in You (which is a fantastic theme song by the way).

You then transition to the Ignite the Dream segment, which is about how that light in each of us fuels our ambitions and dreams. Set to the song This Wish from Wish and the songs How Far I’ll Go and We Know the Way from Moana, this segment evokes the childlike wonder for the world that comes with youthful innocence. This is the hopeful part of the show where it seems like all our dreams are just within reach.

Then we enter the Into the Shadows segment, which tells us about how adversity and hardship try to extinguish our lights, causing us to derail from our path towards our dreams. This part of the show is set to a rock version of Into the Unknown that really works for this segment. We also get projections of movies like Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Big Hero 6. At the end of this segment, our heroes are lost and at their lowest point, signaling that the light within us is almost being extinguished.

But not for long! We enter the next segment titled Light the Darkness, where we’re encouraged to fight back and channel our inner hero into reclaiming our light. This is the Marvel segment of the show, with some pretty cool musical moments and some jaw dropping special effects, all culminating in a glorious crescendo that sees the infinity stones getting placed on the infinity gauntlet one by one.

Next we have the See the Light segment which is where the light in us gets reignited and pulls us from the darkness we’ve just been engulfed by. Set to the song “I See the Light” from Tangled, this portion shows us characters reclaiming their light after a major setback. The projections are all set beautifully to the music and the whole segment feels very uplifting and hopeful.

Next we have the Light Your Way segment, which challenges us to hold onto that light in spite of any challenges that may come our way in the future. In many respects, this segment tells us to rekindle the childlike wonder we had and to keep hold of that wonder and light and trust in it to see us through. This is all wonderfully portrayed by showing us various Disney characters as children and then showing them as adults, successful in their quests and having rekindled their light inside them, all set to a stirring rendition of “Try Everything” from Zootopia.

Finally, the theme song of the show plays again, with this segment entitled “The Light is In You” reminds us to go boldly out into the world with the courage that our light provides. A blast of pyrotechnics marks the end of the show, with projections from various Disney movies accentuating the end of the show.

Thoughts on ILLUMINATE

I thought this show was incredibly well done. The way it combines fireworks, lasers, fountains, music, projections, and fire effects to tell its story was done near-perfectly by Imagineering. It’s a show that is grand in scale but also feels intimate in its themes. It matches the scale of Shanghai Disneyland itself without losing itself in its grandeur.

I personally really liked the stories and themes of the show. Sure, it’s the same hero’s journey we’ve seen in other nighttime spectaculars, but having it center on this light inside all of us gives it another narrative layer that works for the most part. The metaphor of the light could have been expressed more in the projections, but it was perfectly captured by the music, and I’ll talk about both of those things more in a bit.

That being said, the connection of the story to childlike wonder and innocence and how having those things is a strength is a unique idea that the show portrays well. The show showcasing famous Disney characters as children and then adults in the Try Everything portion really tied the whole story together of how we should reconnect with our childlike wonder that fuels our light when we’ve lost our way. It’s an incredibly moving moment.

Speaking of the Try Everything moment, the projections during that segment and on multiple other segments were stunning. I really loved the projections in the Try Everything scene that made the entire castle look like a shimmering diamond. Other standout projection moments include the I See the Light segment, as well as the Into the Unknown portion of the show. There was no segment that to me felt lacking projections-wise, though like I said I would’ve liked to see a representation of the light in the projections.

But I think the top projections segment has to be the Marvel section. The visuals in that segment were stunning, from baby Groot dancing to Spider-Man swinging along the castle walls and the infinity gauntlet getting each infinity stone, set to a greatest hits of Marvel scores, was chill-inducing. It also, surprisingly, didn’t feel shoehorned in like how Marvel scenes in other nighttime spectaculars feel (I’m looking at you, World of Color: One). There was an organic, story-based reason for their inclusion, and I appreciated that a lot.

Speaking of music, the musical moments in each segment were amazing. From the uplifting version of Try Everything to the rock-inspired reimagining of Into the Unknown and the emotional arrangement of I See the Light, the musical arrangements of these segments were done so well that it brought tears to my eyes every single time I watched it. And we have to mention the theme song, which is one of the catchiest, most inspiring pieces of Disney nighttime spectacular music ever created.

Now I can’t make a review and only mention the good stuff. There’s one major negative of ILLUMINATE, and that is its pacing. Particularly, this is a 15 minute show and the “lowest point” or the point when the characters lose all hope (the Into the Unknown bit) happens at around minute 5. That’s only 1/3rd into the show. If it were up to me, I would move the Marvel section to before Into the Unknown and have that be the “growing up and being optimistic about the world and wanting to be a hero” segment, which then transitions to the Into the Unknown “disillusionment of the world” segment. This would give it a smoother flow and better pacing, at least in my opinion.

I also think the fountains were a little underutilized at some points. I would have liked them to use some more water screens, although I get why they didn’t because sometimes they’re not big enough for everyone to see. Still, some more water effects could have really helped balance out this show and make it more dynamic.

ILLUMINATE Score

ILLUMINATE is a nighttime spectacular that works on so many levels. It has a good, inspiring narrative and throughline. It has dazzling projections and captivating music, including a stellar theme song. The show also utilizes the castle to its fullest potential, and while the pacing and integration of fountains could’ve been better, the show has more positives than negatives overall. It’s a big show to match the big scale of Shanghai Disneyland, and I can’t wait for more guests to fall in love with ILLUMINATE.

8.5/10

ILLUMINATE Review Conclusion

This show is a truly special show, and I hope it runs for a very long time. Disney Live Entertainment has been going through a renaissance recently, and we’ve been very fortunate to receive nighttime spectaculars like Momentous, Wondrous Journeys, and ILLUMINATE since the pandemic. The future is bright for nighttime spectaculars, and I can’t wait to see how they evolve in the future.

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