Harmonious

[JoeCamel]

If a barge exits the lagoon I will celebrate but until then.....

 

[Nick]

If a barge exits the lagoon I will celebrate but until then.....

If that's your expectation level you're 100% going to be let down.

As we saw in the construction process, these barges are immovable, they are literally built into the lagoon. The amount of time it would take to get rid of them wouldn't be exactly quick and it sounds like they want to almost swap shows overnight, so whatever the next show is will definitely be using the barges for IPs and stuff dealing with the 100th.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Epcot Forever is the easy answer, but that wouldn't make too much sense seeing as this is a 100th anniversary show. Epcot Forever.... errr... celebrates Epcot specifically.

Josh also made it seem like it was an all new show coming. If it was Epcot Forever, why hide that? Especially since that was an extremely well-received show.

Now could I see Epcot Forever coming back as an interim show again? Absolutely. However, it just doesn't seem like what he was talking about.

Let me put it this way: I heard Harmonious was going away and Epcot Forever was coming back... months ago.

 

[Nick]

Let me put it this way: I heard Harmonious was going away and Epcot Forever was coming back... months ago.

I don't doubt that, but it's possible they changed their mind within that time is all i'm saying.

Or they're going to run Epcot Forever similar to how they are going to bring Happily Ever After Back and infuse it with 100th anniversary imagery perhaps just on the screens? If you change Epcot Forever too much to be infused with 100th stuff, it's not really Epcot Forever though, is it? It's more, Disney Forever which would go against everything people loved about Epcot Forever - Epcot music, not Disney music (with the exception of A Whole New World).

 

[shiekra38]

Let me put it this way: I heard Harmonious was going away and Epcot Forever was coming back... months ago.

This makes a ton of sense, Forever just needs a bit more polish

Which I get it was temporary....but it could be a really great show if it wanted to be

Put in drones, fountains, fireworks and a mixture of IP with Epcot history and you would probably have a winner

 

[Nick]

This makes a ton of sense, Forever just needs a bit more polish

Which I get it was temporary....but it could be a really great show if it wanted to be

Put in drones, fountains, fireworks and a mixture of IP with Epcot history and you would probably have a winner

imo Epcot Forever already was a pretty good show and I liked it quite a lot for a show that was meant to be temporary. I definitely liked it more than Harmonious and tbh, I thought it was more captivating than IllumiNations, even though I know that'll be a controversial opinion.

 

[shiekra38]

I thought it was more captivating than IllumiNations

Blocked and reported

 

[JoeCamel]

If that's your expectation level you're 100% going to be let down.

As we saw in the construction process, these barges are immovable, they are literally built into the lagoon. The amount of time it would take to get rid of them wouldn't be exactly quick and it sounds like they want to almost swap shows overnight, so whatever the next show is will definitely be using the barges for IPs and stuff dealing with the 100th.

I can wait for high tide with my sawsall

 

[belloq87]

Epcot Forever is the easy answer, but that wouldn't make too much sense seeing as this is a 100th anniversary show.

I think there's a distinction between "We're adding this show as part of the 100th Anniversary celebration" and "This show is about the 100th Anniversary."

I simply cannot imagine it's going to be the latter, and from the way people on Magic are talking about this, it sure sounds like people are hearing it's going to be, in some way, an Epcot-appropriate show.

 

[Nick]

I think there's a distinction between "We're adding this show as part of the 100th Anniversary celebration" and "This show is about the 100th Anniversary."

I simply cannot imagine it's going to be the latter, and from the way people on Magic are talking about this, it sure sounds like people are hearing it's going to be, in some way, an Epcot-appropriate show.

If it is an "Epcot-appropriate show" then i'm much more likely to buy that it'll be a re-worked Epcot Forever. That allows them to at the very least have Figment in the show and a show like that probably is a big merchandise driver with AP Holders specifically as Epcot-specific merchandise is practically like an IP in it's own right and is some of the best selling merch that Disney has.

 

[GAcoaster]

They should have done a 40th anniversary of EPCOT show using all the original attraction music.

 

[Nick]

They should have done a 40th anniversary of EPCOT show using all the original attraction music.

So Epcot Forever with a 40th tag?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

An Epcot "appropriate" show sounds like Illuminations with Disney IP injected into it. Which is perfectly fine as you can't really expect original stuff anymore.

 

[belloq87]

IP being used to illustrate the larger concepts that were part of the prior shows sounds acceptable to me. Hopefully with some original music that aspires to the greatness of Reflections of Earth's score.

Harmonious is an "Aren't Disney songs great?!" show, but ideally, an Epcot nighttime spectacular should be an "Isn't world culture great?!" show. You can still do that in a Disney-fied way, but with class and restraint.

 

[Rhian]

If that's your expectation level you're 100% going to be let down.

As we saw in the construction process, these barges are immovable, they are literally built into the lagoon. The amount of time it would take to get rid of them wouldn't be exactly quick and it sounds like they want to almost swap shows overnight, so whatever the next show is will definitely be using the barges for IPs and stuff dealing with the 100th.

Not that I'm expecting them to spend a lot more money on this but is it possible that they could remove or reduce the size of the barges in the future? Not removing what's already below water just changing what's on top (the black structures) for something new.

I'm guessing the maintenance costs for the moving arms is a bit of a drain. Could the new show only use the screen portion of the barges and have reduced movement if they are used?

 

[OrlLover]

Such an expensive spectacle wasted but at least they saw guest surveys and agreed it needed to be changed.

 

[Nick]

Such an expensive spectacle wasted but at least they saw guest surveys and agreed it needed to be changed.

The funny thing is that Harmonious being as IP infused as it was seems to mainly have been a response to how poorly received Rivers of Light was (which was also an extremely expensive show) and RoL was 100% original. They swung too far in the opposite direction. There needs to be a middle ground where it's IP mixed with original concepts and music.

Just going based on reception of RoL is unfortunate because it simply wasn't a good show. I think it killed any chance of future original projects as guest surveys out of that show revealed that guests wanted to see characters they know and love. However feedback from Reflections of Earth had been great for 20 years, so I think Disney probably framed the questions in a way to get the answers that they wanted to hear from guests.

I wonder if they'll learn their lesson from Harmonious or not. I'd say it's probably highly doubtful they learn much of anything.

 

[shiekra38]

The funny thing is that Harmonious being as IP infused as it was seems to mainly have been a response to how poorly received Rivers of Light was (which was also an extremely expensive show) and RoL was 100% original. They swung too far in the opposite direction. There needs to be a middle ground where it's IP mixed with original concepts and music.

Just going based on reception of RoL is unfortunate because it simply wasn't a good show. I think it killed any chance of future original projects as guest surveys out of that show revealed that guests wanted to see characters they know and love. However feedback from Reflections of Earth had been great for 20 years, so I think Disney probably framed the questions in a way to get the answers that they wanted to hear from guests.

I wonder if they'll learn their lesson from Harmonious or not. I'd say it's probably highly doubtful they learn much of anything.

That and RoL didn't really have a narrative like IllumiNations: RoE

It's like they took some of the abstract ideas from IllumiNations and said "do that, but animals"

The projection shows on the Tree of Life are far more of a fulfilling show than RoL ever was, but they tell a story

The issue with an Epcot show that I see is the tying in the ideas of the park into some sort of structure that involves IP now

RoE tied everything in the park together. I'm not sure a Harmonius/Epcot Forever love child will accomplish that.

A bigger concern I have is Old Epcot and Disney IP competing for attention and the show not really hitting either well

 

[UNIrd]

The reactions I hear for Harmonious are almost fully dependent on where they watch it from. The vantage points around the World Showcase lagoon are NOT equal, especially when it comes to the barges and animation. If those are staying, I don't know how this new show would be more received much better than Harmonious.

 

[Nick]

The reactions I hear for Harmonious are almost fully dependent on where they watch it from. The vantage points around the World Showcase lagoon are NOT equal, especially when it comes to the barges and animation. If those are staying, I don't know how this new show would be more received much better than Harmonious.

I have a few spots I enjoy watching it from. It's actually enjoyable if you see it from the right angle. If I cant see it from the angle I want, I don't bother watching it.