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

[TrainsOfDisney]

Guys....they are trying to stay on message. They want Disney movie IP in Epcot. Yes,...we generally do not want this and we go against the marketing message they desire.

Make no mistake...Disney's customers are NOT going to deter Disney away from their planned message or their mission....no matter how much we hate it.

They will make it...and we will like it...and if you don't?...Well?...the problem is "you", never the company.

???

I didn’t say they can’t have Disney music. Just give us some of the classic illuminations music as well!

Wondrous Journeys is the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen, even though on principal I think illuminations is the best haha

 

[Cliff]

Maybe, but it Should be better than Harm.......Or the Tacos/Stargate would be still in WSL. If everyone loved Harm, would Epcot really replace it just because of Daytime Views???

I was told that Harmonious was plagued by endless technical problems and that it was a money pit (realitive to other shows)

It got so bad that it became more valuable as a tax write off than a nightly show. I was told that it's death was more of a finance department decision than a creative decision.

The creatives loved Harmonious. It had the movie songs, it had the movie characters and it had the proper social messaging. It acheived the Disney corperate mission perfectly. Finance didnt agree with the $$$ numbers and it's maintenance cost....and boom! 200+ million tax writeoff.

And it comes at a time were tax writeoffs are very very usefull to Disney today.

 

[jrhwdw]

I look forward to Disney Polyamorous next winter after Epcot Forever’s 4th run.

Hopefully EF doesn't need to Return..............

 

[TDLFan]

I'm in a Boardwalk Garden Cottage from Nov. 26 - Dec5. I guess I should expect lots of late night testing and since those rooms are practically in World Showcase, I'll probably be able to hear the soundtrack. I'll post updates!

 

[wdwfan22]

I was told that Harmonious was plagued by endless technical problems and that it was a money pit (realitive to other shows)

It got so bad that it became more valuable as a tax write off than a nightly show. I was told that it's death was more of a finance department decision than a creative decision.

The creatives loved Harmonious. It had the movie songs, it had the movie characters and it had the proper social messaging. It acheived the Disney corperate mission perfectly. Finance didnt agree with the $$$ numbers and it's maintenance cost....and boom! 200+ million tax writeoff.

And it comes at a time were tax writeoffs are very very usefull to Disney today.

As was said before. Harmonious was a see once and never have to see it again kind of show. The show didn't keep Guests in the Epcot restaurants till 9 like the previous show did. The eye sore barges were not a fan favorite, and you are correct the show was expensive to maintain. Once can hope that this show will correct that. If not Epcot Forever will return again.

 

[TTA94]

This is a super tight timeline.

So it’ll probably get delayed? I personally was surprised they said a specific day and not just early December or late this year like they typically do to cover their butts.

 

[Mikey73181]

The should have named it Illuminous, to really blend Illuminations and Harmonious.

 

[TTA94]

I had a feeling this was going to be called Luminous and it’s so obvious they combined Illuminations and Harmonious lol. The “Symphony Of Us” part though is not necessary IMO nor is Anyone ever going to call it that lol. It’s going to go by Luminous and that’s it.

To be honest Luminous is way better than Harmonious.

 

[LivinDISLife]

I had a feeling this was going to be called Luminous and it’s so obvious they combined Illuminations and Harmonious lol. The “Symphony Of Us” part though is not necessary IMO nor is Anyone ever going to call it that lol. It’s going to go by Luminous and that’s it.

To be honest Luminous is way better than Harmonious.

Maybe a single word was wanted to serve as the foundation (much like Illuminations) of the show and The Symphony of Us could serve more as a marker for show version (much like Reflections of Earth, etc...) should there ever be significant changes made to the show in the future? Pure speculation but where my mind goes regarding the topic.

 

[wdwmagic]

So it’ll probably get delayed? I personally was surprised they said a specific day and not just early December or late this year like they typically do to cover their butts.

I was surprised they came out with a date, and also how close to the start of December it is. There is going to have to be some very rapid progress on all parts of this. Hope the timescale doesn't dilute the end product.

 

[jrhwdw]

I was surprised they came out with a date, and also how close to the start of December it is. There is going to have to be some very rapid progress on all parts of this. Hope the timescale doesn't dilute the end product.

If TDO doesn't want EF back, they need to do it right.

Speaking of EF, I expect EF's last night will be Dec 4th? If we're on Schedule of course......

 

[wdwmagic]

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

 

[jrhwdw]

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

Let me Guess, Epcot doesn't even have a Soundtrack yet........

 

[jrhwdw]

Could get more at the Epcot Panel

Nope, LSOU was not mentioned.....

 

[OSUPhantom]

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

This feels like they are rushing it…which is not good…

 

[TTA94]

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

Can you explain?

 

[James Alucobond]

Can you explain?

One has to imagine that it’s either because the project is underdeveloped (making details scarce) or in a state of flux/revision (reducing certainty about final show elements).

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I was told that Harmonious was plagued by endless technical problems and that it was a money pit (realitive to other shows)

Gee, who would’ve guess spraying brackish Florida swamp water onto show equipment and hydraulic lines every night would be a maintenance nightmare? Or that leaving said equipment fully exposed in the middle of a lagoon in a guest area would make it even harder to maintain?

It’s quite impressive how poorly the creative team behind Harm went about the project.

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

The compressed timeline and lack of details are rather large red flags for this new show. They must be desperate to move past the very lackluster EF v3; wonder if evening attendance and revenue is hurting.

They should’ve brought back the PoE tag for the holidays and left Luminous for January. Potentially cutting corners to rush this show to a debut is foolish when PoE would buy them time and bring in crowds for December.

 

[TTA94]

Gee, who would’ve guess spraying brackish Florida swamp water onto show equipment and hydraulic lines every night would be a maintenance nightmare? Or that leaving said equipment fully exposed in the middle of a lagoon in a guest area would make it even harder to maintain?

It’s quite impressive how poorly the creative team behind Harm went about the project.


The compressed timeline and lack of details are rather large red flags for this new show. They must be desperate to move past the very lackluster EF v3; wonder if evening attendance and revenue is hurting.

They should’ve brought back the PoE tag for the holidays and left Luminous for January. Potentially cutting corners to rush this show to a debut is foolish when PoE would buy them time and bring in crowds for December.

I was going to say the same thing, a holiday tag would buy them more time to get Luminous right.

 

[Cliff]

And there was a very good reason why there wasn't any specific details given.

How about some clues?