News EPCOT's Harmonious to be replaced with new nighttime spectacular Luminous

mattpeto

Well-Known Member
Twitter has been overwhelming positive about Harmonious tonight. People will genuinely miss the show.

It’s all the same theme “it’s the daytime look that killed the show”.

It’s not lack of ADR’s, or rumored low scoring reviews (which has been disputed here).

This is why it’s dead:

 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
This is why it’s dead:


Meryl Streep Pursed Lips GIF by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
 

Vinnie Mac

Well-Known Member
It was packed front center. PACKED
View attachment 708271

Lots of Harmonious wear. Crowd sang along and cheered. And a huge population stayed for the post show and waited for the barges to shut off for the last time.

I know you hated it. And I know you love to take pictures of how unpopular it was but it most certainly had its fans.

It wasn't illuminations. I'll give you that for sure. But it also wasn't nearly as bad or as hated as some made it out to be. I'll miss it but I look forward to what they do next.
I kept trying to tell people on these boards that not everyone hated the show like they thought. Tonight proved what I've been saying for over a year now
 

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
And what makes it so bad? Is it the intellectual properties? Sorry but that's not a good reason at all. The use of ip's is exceptionaly done with the use of country appropriate languages and singers.

Bad fireworks? Another miss there, the fireworks are fantastic and fit the show elements wonderfully.

Bad lighting and special effects (water)? Striking out here, the lighting, coordination with Spaceship Earth and the pavilions is a sight to behold. The fountains are gorgeous and again all tie into the music bringing the whole show together.

And the final thing that I'll just have to disagree with you on is that no one will miss Harmonious. I can tell you exactly who will miss it. The thousands of people cheering at the end of the show the last time I was there in November. I have not heard people cheer for a show like that since the last time I saw Happily Ever After.

Harmonious was just average, not great but not terrible. It didn’t move people into the park and consequently was certainly not worth the operational costs. In a short order it will be a distant memory, unlike ROE.

Yes it got applause, but the Kite Show also got applause. ROE got thunderous applause nightly and it was 20 years old and run down.

If there is a postmortem to be done, I’m pretty sure the takeaway is that tech does not equal success and copy pasting IP from other evening shows does not guarantee success.
 

Centauri Space Station

Well-Known Member
Harmonious was just average, not great but not terrible. It didn’t move people into the park and consequently was certainly not worth the operational costs. In a short order it will be a distant memory, unlike ROE.

Yes it got applause, but the Kite Show also got applause. ROE got thunderous applause nightly and it was 20 years old and run down.

If there is a postmortem to be done, I’m pretty sure the takeaway is that tech does not equal success and copy pasting IP from other evening shows does not guarantee success.
Thunderous applause? I don’t remember that at all
 

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
Twitter has been overwhelming positive about Harmonious tonight. People will genuinely miss the show.

It’s all the same theme “it’s the daytime look that killed the show”.

It’s not lack of ADR’s, or rumored low scoring reviews (which has been disputed here).

This is why it’s dead:


Yeah starting off by praising Distwitter reacts only discredits your assertion.

We can disagree why Harmonious ultimately failed…but it’s not in question that the show was too expensive to operate and did not bring bodies into the park to justify its continuing.
 

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
There were many night of thunderous applause. And, if we compare apples to apples, this would be IROE during the Millennium Celebration years. Where I would dare say the response was much stronger even when WDW wasn't pulling in the same way it is now, let alone without volggers and YouTube. I guess I always find it a bit strange to be comparing crowds for that show after 19 years to a show in the best beginning of its run. While there is of course some truth to that, spending that much to bump it up anything under a lot seems like a questionable success. Let alone for that much up front and ongoing cost. But, it's in the past now.
 

Surfin' Tuna

Well-Known Member
If there is a postmortem to be done, I’m pretty sure the takeaway is that tech does not equal success and copy pasting IP from other evening shows does not guarantee success.
Us knowing this isn't important. Corporate needs to hear this and truly understand it. Bookings are not where they should be for Orlando, and they need to eventually admit it's their errors.
 

gerarar

Premium Member
Well, definitely going to miss that Someday finale.

I always found the use of the song itself, arms, fountains, pyro, lights, and perimeters were fantastic during those last 3 minutes (ignoring the rest of the show lol).

Hopefully the new show can utilize the upgraded perimeter cannons to their full potential. They can shoot up to 8 times as we saw in Harmonious. It would be a waste to not utilize/integrate imo.

 
Last edited:

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
Well, definitely going to miss that Someday finale.

I always found the use of the song itself, arms, fountains, pyro, lights, and perimeters were fantastic during those last 3 minutes (ignoring the rest of the show lol).

Hopefully the new show can utilize the upgraded perimeter cannons to their full potential. They can shoot up to 8 times as we saw in Harmonious. It would be a waste to not utilize/integrate imo.




I will give you that one. Other than the irony of "greed will not pay" at Waltb Disney World, that was a wonderful use of a Disney song with an Epcot message. And done in a reflective and impressive way.
 

SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
I will give you that one. Other than the irony of "greed will not pay" at Waltb Disney World, that was a wonderful use of a Disney song with an Epcot message. And done in a reflective and impressive way.
While on the surface, it's ironic, I don't necessarily think that it's ironic that a team of potentially idealistic (and likely underpaid and possibly exploited) creatives created an optimistic viewpoint. Even if the suits did mandate the song (which they definitely didn't, but theoretically, if they did, that would be undeniably ironic), I don't necessarily think it's overtly bad to have a positive message to the millions of people who may return home with a slightly altered perspective.

Disney has positioned itself as one of the most influential entities in the entire world, and many outsiders have taken note of that position and villainized it, but Disney's potential positive messaging impact far outweighs any potential fiscal impact (that's not to say they shouldn't have a positive fiscal impact, but that the Disney brand itself really is its most important asset).

As a result, while it may seem silly, especially from an outsider's perspective, a powerful show like IRoE, which sits in the center of World Showcase, a symbolic gathering of people, cultures, and experiences from a multitude of nations, is so crucial and even has a broader impact.

I am completely incapable of objectively analyzing Harmonious, or even Epcot Forever because, for me, nothing will ever be IRoE. I've said goodbye to family before their deployment following "We Go On" reverberating through the crisp lagoon air. The last night I ever spent with my uncle was under the whipping flames of IRoE. After returning to Epcot after his passing, the night no longer reminded me that "We Go On," but IRoE transcends entertainment for its personal significance to me.

That said, I did thoroughly enjoy Harmnonious. Some segments were purely chaos, but others like the Mulan segment were visually and audibly stunning and powerful. As for the Someday sequence, the Hunchback theatrical soundtrack that failed to reach broadway is one of my most streamed albums, and my god it's gorgeous, so my personal affection for Hunchback, someday, and the general sequencing also makes me love the overall segment. Other areas of the show, as others have countlessly stated, were simply overloaded. The show itself wasn't irredeemable, but its day views were, so I am very glad its removal is coming quickly, rather than the decade+ we were expecting.

As for the future, recognition that Harmonious wasn't acceptable makes me optimistic. Hopefully, this spawns a change worthy of Epcot, because Epcot is a special place, just like IRoE was a special show, and this presents a special opportunity to make something incredible.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom