Harmonious

[Mad Dog]

Between the MK castle shows, Fantasmic and Illuminations, my opinion was that illuminations was by far the least entertaining. I rarely stayed at Epcot to rewatch the show. I could never understand why the fan base seemed to hold it in such high regard.
By contrast, I nearly always stayed to watch MK castle shows and Fantasmic.....But I truly dislike the ugly barges for Harmonious, as I disliked the not as ugly barges USF used to have for their night shows.

 

[belloq87]

I could never understand why the fan base seemed to hold it in such high regard.

Give me that over a Disney Sing-Along playlist any day.

 

[shiekra38]

The start and end of Illuminations was uplifting and inspiring. The middle of Harmonious was fun and vibrant. Neither felt like complete and totally fulfilling shows to me, but I guess that’s just how I’ll always feel about EPCOT lagoon shows.

Really my only gripe with Harmonius is the ending

It tries really hard to have a We Go On moment, but it really is a 180 from the celebratory nature of the rest of the show

I almost wish they would have just reprised the beginning to tie it together

Really, Harmonius is just a celebration of Disney films and the cultures that inspired them, so it should have ended on a more celebratory note

Not a song that was suppose to play before Esmerelda was burned at the stake.

No matter how hilarious I find that juxtaposition, it will never be a satisfying conclusion to a relatively happy go lucky show

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I wonder if Illuminations added four water screens to compliment the barge would improve the middle segment with everyone walking and populating the earth. Also shave off a few minutes of show time to make it snappier.

What Illuminations did wonderful that Harmonious just falls on its face with are the reveals. Chaos to the moving globe (which ALWAYS got gasps) to the fountains to the globe opening. All had a natural flow to the experience. Harmonious just throws it all at the wall at once. What if they saved some of the "tricks" to bump up the finally and middle bits?

Illuminations had a flow and connective tissue. Harmonious is just a mishmash of songs with no rhyme or reason. Illuminations ROE was a T-bone steak with some fat and bone to hold it together but not everyone likes that while Harmonious is just fancy ground beef.

 

[shiekra38]

I wonder if Illuminations added four water screens to compliment the barge would improve the middle segment with everyone walking and populating the earth. Also shave off a few minutes of show time to make it snappier.

What Illuminations did wonderful that Harmonious just falls on its face with are the reveals. Chaos to the moving globe (which ALWAYS got gasps) to the fountains to the globe opening. All had a natural flow to the experience. Harmonious just throws it all at the wall at once. What if they saved some of the "tricks" to bump up the finally and middle bits?

Illuminations had a flow and connective tissue. Harmonious is just a mishmash of songs with no rhyme or reason.

I thought of that or.....everyone calm down and let me explain....the circular projection globes as seen in Universal's old show and Fantasmic Japan

In essence they could be filled relatively quickly (see: Fantasmic Japan) and it could be done during the Space segment of Act 2


But, they didn't and now we're stuck with barges that cover my beautiful America pavilion

 

[UNIrd]

I actually loved Harmonious but apparently my front and center spot had something to do with that. Even then, it still didn't feel that close since the barges are a bit of a ways away still.

My friend did the Spice Road Table dining package for Harmonious and said it's not even a good view so his reaction to the show was still meh.

 

[Jones14]

I wonder if Illuminations added four water screens to compliment the barge would improve the middle segment with everyone walking and populating the earth. Also shave off a few minutes of show time to make it snappier.

What Illuminations did wonderful that Harmonious just falls on its face with are the reveals. Chaos to the moving globe (which ALWAYS got gasps) to the fountains to the globe opening. All had a natural flow to the experience. Harmonious just throws it all at the wall at once. What if they saved some of the "tricks" to bump up the finally and middle bits?

Illuminations had a flow and connective tissue. Harmonious is just a mishmash of songs with no rhyme or reason. Illuminations ROE was a T-bone steak with some fat and bone to hold it together but not everyone likes that while Harmonious is just fancy ground beef.

This is a problem with the Disneyland update of Fantasmic! too. They toss up the projection mapping and Mickey on top of the island right at the start, which makes for a flashy opener, but it kills the visual impact of the finale because they’ve run out of new tricks after the dragon comes out.

It only gets away with it in F! because the music is so well-crafted, but a lack of restraint seems to plague most of Disney’s newer nighttime spectaculars these days.

 

[shiekra38]

Gawd I hate the ending of this show

Without Esmerelda singing it, and the context of hunchback, it's just anecdotal whining about fairness

It's like they were trying so hard to force a We Go On moment that they chose the most depressing Disney song they could find

It's crazy how much more the beginning of the show had an impact on me

Sorry to keep harping on it, but the show could really be a classic with a few tweaks

 

[belloq87]

Was in the park today, and the barges looked as bad in person as I expected.

I will say, however, that I'm very glad they turn the barge screens off when nightfall hits; makes it much easier for them to disappear into the darkness of the lagoon.

I didn't stay for the show.

 

[belloq87]

Ongoing Maintenance Could Dash Hopes of Daytime Fountain Effect for Harmonious Barges at EPCOT

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

 

[Nick]

My hopes for a daytime fountain happening (as promised in the concept art) were dashed a long time ago when we saw that they were basically testing garden hoses to do the fountain. It looked terrible.

 

[belloq87]

To me, the more disappointing (but very predictable) thing is that the barges are requiring so much recurring maintenance that has to take place during normal hours of operation and in full view of everybody around the lagoon.

 

[tielo]

Water, wind, mechanisms like hydraulic arms and rotating lights, pollution/dust/particles in the air and you have a maintenance nightmare. Biggest thing is that the visual downgrade of the area didn't result in a stunning nighttime show. And no matter how much water they pump trough the system, these barges will continue to be an eyesore for decades.
I'm sure Disney hoped the new show would save costs on fireworks but with all these workers on site it will probably not save any money.

 

[Grabnar]

Water, wind, mechanisms like hydraulic arms and rotating lights, pollution/dust/particles in the air and you have a maintenance nightmare. Biggest thing is that the visual downgrade of the area didn't result in a stunning nighttime show. And no matter how much water they pump trough the system, these barges will continue to be an eyesore for decades.
I'm sure Disney hoped the new show would save costs on fireworks but with all these workers on site it will probably not save any money.

They needed a chemical engineer to come in and laugh in their faces on this one, in my opinion. This was a boondoggle from the start.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

They needed a chemical engineer to come in and laugh in their faces on this one, in my opinion. This was a boondoggle from the start.

Even us dumb mechanical engineers would have told them!

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Water, wind, mechanisms like hydraulic arms and rotating lights, pollution/dust/particles in the air and you have a maintenance nightmare. Biggest thing is that the visual downgrade of the area didn't result in a stunning nighttime show. And no matter how much water they pump trough the system, these barges will continue to be an eyesore for decades.
I'm sure Disney hoped the new show would save costs on fireworks but with all these workers on site it will probably not save any money.

Have you seen it? Not disagreeing it’s ugly, but I thought the show was one of the better things Entertainment has put out in a while. Makes the daytime visuals easier to swallow. I definitely suggest people see both (daytime and show mode) versions of these before writing it off completely.

 

[tielo]

Have you seen it? Not disagreeing it’s ugly, but I thought the show was one of the better things Entertainment has put out in a while. Makes the daytime visuals easier to swallow. I definitely suggest people see both (daytime and show mode) versions of these before writing it off completely.

Sure, compared to Kite Tails it's a masterpiece, but that is a very, very low bar.

 

[OrlLover]

Sure, compared to Kite Tails it's a masterpiece, but that is a very, very low bar.

Are you trolling ?

Because the comparison to Kite Tails is not even warranted. They clearly spent all their budget on this show. The result is may have been less than stellar in your eyes but it’s not cheap addition.

 

[tielo]

Are you trolling ?

Because the comparison to Kite Tails is not even warranted. They clearly spent all their budget on this show. The result is may have been less than stellar in your eyes but it’s not cheap addition.

You said "Not disagreeing it’s ugly, but I thought the show was one of the better things Entertainment has put out in a while" so I took something that Entertainment put out and is bad, no trolling, just pointing out you are right in that respect. And I never said the Epcot show was cheap, it looks like it costed a lot of $ but that doesn't make it good. Same goes for Galaxy Edge, costed a billion, isn't amazing, it's the wrong Star Wars and is fine, not a billion dollars fine. Hogsmeade was cheap in regards and is generally more successful and loved and in that respect, financially and critically a better product. As a theme park guest I don't care how much the company did spent but if it's fun and if I like the execution of the themed attraction, the fountain show doesn't do either very well and isn't up to the standard Disney presented in the past.

 

[shiekra38]

My least favorite thing about the show is simply the design of the barges.

They lack any kind of intentional design or even attempt.

We've discussed this a ton, but the general design decisions of this thing still baffles me