News 'Disney Enchantment' coming to Magic Kingdom October 1 2021

[TDLFan]

They have the perfect opportunity to make a stellar show with the 100 years celebration and right the wrongs of the 50th. If they don't, and keep Enchantment going, then I, well, I don't know what to say.

 

[mattpeto]

Everyone can be happy if you swap some elements from HEA out and keep its original music and narration.

This remains the only possibility I can see.

HEA 2.0, but I doubt it.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

If things with Harmonious are truly not going well and a rework is coming, I hope something gets done with Enchantment. I can’t imagine the reviews are any better then Harmonious.

Enchantment needs a rework. Could HarmonioUS use some changes? Sure. But the show is more than fine as it is. I actually like Enchantment, but it could be so much better.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

I do not know what was tested last night. But I do know that for months there have been supply issues with fireworks arriving from China. Perhaps what was tested was either (1) extra pyro that was originally intended for the show back in October but only arriving now OR (2) alternate shells as some of the regular shells are temporarily unavailable.

I didn't really care to bring it up but I guess it's appropriate to mention it now. I have always noticed that the pyro display shown to the public was slightly reduced from what it was in the June 2021 testing footage. The first act included perimeters, India had some extra pyro, the China section had slightly more pyro in the climax, USA had slightly more pyro in the first few seconds, and the finale actually had even more perimeter shells (the perimeters continued to shoot until the "someday, one day" climax instead of stopping at "and greed will not pay").

So is it possible that full version can be shown to the public now?

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I think that’s the safe assumption, unless they do something 100th related at MK.

As much as we all want HEA back, it takes a whole lot of eating crow by execs and directors to rollback the older show.

Never say never, but not likely.

I’m wondering if we will roll straight into the 100th after the 50th. April 1 23 is the official end of the 50th, the company celebrates 100 years on October 16th of 23. I feel as though with EU coming quickly and the subpar 50th, we may see an announcement of attractions hopefully fast tracked at this years D23. Doubt… but one can hope

 

[TTA94]

I’m wondering if we will roll straight into the 100th after the 50th. April 1 23 is the official end of the 50th, the company celebrates 100 years on October 16th of 23. I feel as though with EU coming quickly and the subpar 50th, we may see an announcement of attractions hopefully fast tracked at this years D23. Doubt… but one can hope

Hope we don’t have to wait until October 2023 to see the end of Enchantment. Unfortunately I doubt it’s on the radar as much as Harmonious appears to be right now. I don’t think anything will happen at MK unless there’s a evening attendance drop, which is likely a large reason why there is still no evening parade.

 

[RSoxNo1]

If things with Harmonious are truly not going well and a rework is coming, I hope something gets done with Enchantment. I can’t imagine the reviews are any better then Harmonious.

IMO, Enchantment doesn't have the fundamental issues that Harmonious has. You can argue all you want about the soundtrack and fireworks composition, but Enchantment doesn't have the infrastructure issues or viewing angles that further hurt Harmonious.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Agreed, but really doubt it will happen. If the budget wasn't there in the development stage, I don't see it being added back in going forward. It was obviously a huge mistake, and I really don't know what they were thinking. Only conclusion is that there were far too many "yes people" going along with what was obvious to anyone a bad idea. Someone along the way needed to stand up and say "you are out of your mind."

To that point though, given the development issues that plagued Rivers of Light, we do have recent precedent suggesting they axe this entirely.

You're likely correct that a re-design of the show with existing infrastructure would be internal option #1, but it's possible this gets written off.

 

[wdwmagic]

To that point though, given the development issues that plagued Rivers of Light, we do have recent precedent suggesting they axe this entirely.

You're likely correct that a re-design of the show with existing infrastructure would be internal option #1, but it's possible this gets written off.

The RoL hardware was much less expensive though. I expect they built Harmonious hardware to go for 20 years.

 

[Disone]

IMO, Enchantment doesn't have the fundamental issues that Harmonious has. You can argue all you want about the soundtrack and fireworks composition, but Enchantment doesn't have the infrastructure issues or viewing angles that further hurt Harmonious.

That said Harmonious is far more popular.

 

[RSoxNo1]

That said Harmonious is far more popular.

Not sure if @lentesta can weigh in here. At last check, there didn't seem to be meaningful data yet from reader surveys on Harmonious.

 

[DCBaker]

Not sure if @lentesta can weigh in here. At last check, there didn't seem to be meaningful data yet from reader surveys on Harmonious.

He recently posted this in the Harmonious thread -

Some EPCOT nighttime spectacular survey ratings for context, updated to show non-rounded averages. Shows with clearly higher ratings are in bold.

________________ROE____EP4Ever____Harm
Pre-School______3.8______4.0_______4.2*
Grade School____4.2______4.1_______4.3*
Teens___________4.3______4.1_______4.5*
Young Adults____4.4______4.1_______4.1*
Over 30s________4.4______4.0_______4.1
Seniors_________4.5______4.0_______4.0

For Harmonious demographics with an asterisk(*), the number of surveys we have is low, so the 95% confidence interval is pretty wide. I'd hold off making decisions about Harmonious until we get more survey data there.

For example, we've got 71 surveys from teens who've seen Harmonious, with an average rating of 4.46 and a standard deviation of 0.80. The 95% confidence interval for that is 4.27 to 4.65. So teens probably rate Harmonious higher than ROE, but maybe by not much.

For ROE, the 95% confidence interval for teens is much, much smaller: 4.24 to 4.32. That's because we have more than 2,300 surveys from teens.

That said, if people look at the Harmonious barges and decide they're ugly and then skip the show, that's a problem that's not going to show up in the survey results.

As it is, I think it's safe to say:

• Pre-schoolers probably like Harmonious much more than ROE.
• Young adults, Over 30s, and Seniors all liked ROE much more than either Harmonious or EPCOT Forever.
• Grade schoolers probably like ROE and Harmonious about the same.
• Teens may have a slight preference for Harmonious over ROE.

ETA: The survey results above are bad for Harmonious for a number of reasons:

1. There are far, far more people in the Young Adults, Over 30, and Senior categories than in pre- and grade-school. So the number of less-satisfied people is very high.
2. Those people in the YA, Over 30, and Senior categories tend to make the "what do we want to see" and "where do we spend our money" decisions. So if they're less satisified AND control the money, that's really, really not good.

 

[Disone]

Not sure if @lentesta can weigh in here. At last check, there didn't seem to be meaningful data yet from reader surveys on Harmonious.

I've seen his results. May seem too strongly indicate that harmonious is not as popular as reflections of Earth. This is not a surprise.

I was just commenting on harmonious versus enchantment. When viewing live the typical crowd reaction to both is very palpable. Harmonious has people dancing along and many points in which Applause happens Midway through the show and enchantment gets courtesy golf claps. There's an energy the crowd watching harmonious has that the crowds watching enchantment just do not.

I'd be very surprised if survey of these crowds say anything else.

But I think both shows have failed to surpass their predecessors. That's not really a debate.

 

[lentesta]

I've seen his results. May seem too strongly indicate that harmonious is not as popular as reflections of Earth. This is not a surprise.

I was just commenting on harmonious versus enchantment. When viewing live the typical crowd reaction to both is very palpable. Harmonious has people dancing along and many points in which Applause happens Midway through the show and enchantment gets courtesy golf claps. There's an energy the crowd watching harmonious has that the crowds watching enchantment just do not.

I'd be very surprised if survey of these crowds say anything else.

But I think both shows have failed to surpass their predecessors. That's not really a debate.

Our surveys have Wishes and Happily Ever After in a virtual tie, and any show would love to have their satisfaction numbers:

It's safe to say that every age group other than pre-schoolers rates Enchantment much lower than either of the two previous MK shows. Those numbers for teens, YAs, Over 30s, and seniors are way lower than I expected.

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

That said Harmonious is far more popular.

You sure? This was a night where steadily, Frozen was at 105 minutes and Land was 30 minutes.

 

[ToTBellHop]

You sure? This was a night where steadily, Frozen was at 105 minutes and Land was 30 minutes.

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My understanding is that, on the whole, Harm guest ratings are better but not as high as they’d like. While DE has lower ratings, it’s less pressing as people will stay in MK at night, regardless, and it’s not terribly costly to make a new show next year using the current tech. Harm as far more troubling because they lose money if guests don’t stay in World Showcase late (and unlike MK, many guests don’t feel there are enough compelling attractions to stay in the park late) and the lagoon is now filled with custom-built, extremely expensive show elements. They simply must find a show using this tech that guests will love for the next 15 years.

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

Just bumping this thread. This was Magic Kingdom 5 minutes before Enchantment on a packed night. Little Mermaid and People Mover are 40 minutes. Space is 85.

 

[TTA94]

Just bumping this thread. This was Magic Kingdom 5 minutes before Enchantment on a packed night. Little Mermaid and People Mover are 40 minutes. Space is 85.

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Has Enchantment been this empty lately?

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Enchantment is noticeably easier to get a spot, as I suspected would be the case when I first saw the show. But this doesn't tell the whole story. These shows are meant as a night cap to your "magical day." They're the things you think about on your way back to the resort and even at night just before bed. They're designed to take the magic with you from the parks and bridge you to your next day.

Guests who haven't seen HEA actually really love Enchantment. Those who have seen HEA, including CMs and some of the most valued guests, are not impressed and are longing for something more. I don't know if HEA will return but TWDC 100 may serve as an opportunity to replace it next fall. This is not the show to take them through the next 3, 5, 7+ years.

 

[TTA94]

These shows are meant as a night cap to your "magical day." They're the things you think about on your way back to the resort and even at night just before bed. They're designed to take the magic with you from the parks and bridge you to your next day.

I feel like those magical nights at MK died back in October 2016…. Or some would say June 2010 lol. HEA did do, I suppose, what it was meant to do and that is be popular enough to be all MK needed at night. But then the 50th happened. It’s been a obvious decline over the years for sure.
Very true though that many guests never got to experience what used to be. That combined with the vast majority that go to WDW just don’t care. Exactly what those in charge of WDW want. Very sad.