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

412

412

Well-Known Member
I like it. Starts off slow (compared to Illuminations’ unbeatably epic start) but picks up as it goes. I don’t love the arrangement of When She Loved Me, but—overall—it feels like a cohesive story rather than a clip show. The finale is spectacular.

I get some beautiful Rivers of Light vibes from the fountains.
 
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Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
I've gotten to watch a couple different recordings now. My thoughts:
-I think @wdwmagic had a great summary a few pages back. I totally agree.
-I think this is a show that will grow with people.
-It does feel safe, and that's understood. From what I've seen, most fans of Illuminations like this a fair bit, but they say it simply isn't enough/didn't reach the IROE standard. The Harmonious fans seem to be the ones who don't like it as much due to the lower energy.
-It seems a lot of the live viewers are saying this needs to be seen live. It doesn't video/photograph as far as visual impact.
-The infrastructure is great. It's appropriate for WS but includes some cool tricks and capabilities - which could be extended/evolved/repurposed/etc. That's awesome. (I couldn't help but think what taking the existing Peace on Earth tag and updating it to this infrastructure could be!)
-The tone is right here. I agree the narration is a bit on the nose. But, this was a MASSIVE step in the right direction. It does question whether an IP show really works in Epcot. But, this fully has the right idea.
-The show is definitely subdued, and I don't know if that's a bad thing. It doesn't give you all the emotions like ROE did. Rather, it almost aligns to World Celebration. A quiet reflection. The two of them together creates an energy of simply wanting to stay and linger (with a drink or snack... of course). We'll see how that translates, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
-I do think some of the middle section could have been better served by some medleys rather than specific song or two. But, like Illuminations, you could easily update Luminous with new songs/ideas but the same entry/exit/idea.
-The finale is great, but too short. This would have been the perfect opportunity for a new epilogue/fake ending, like We Go On, in between.

Overall, we aren't there yet. But, this was a huge step in the right direction. I am actually considering renewing my pass (something I had 100% decided against) to get to see this and World Celebration. I'm still skeptical with current management, but this gives me some hope.
 
THEMEPARKPIONEER

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
What confuses me is that spaceship earth is a part of the show so your really not getting the same show around the lake unless the timing was off and it wasn’t supposed to come on because the Christmas tree lit as well.
 
THEMEPARKPIONEER

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
Brian said:
Not exactly unprecedented. At MK, if you watch from anywhere but Main Street, or even too far off to the sides of the hub, you'll miss major elements of the show.
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Leave me to wonder if there’s a version of this show for the entrance. I understand what you’re saying to but the main viewing area has has no view of Spaceship Earth at all unless they look back.
 
OSUPhantom

OSUPhantom

Well-Known Member
I think why I didn't mind the IP songs as much; when they were playing in my head I wasn't visualizing the movies or the characters, I was thinking about the moments in my life they're talking about. I was thinking about my mom during the "Birth" segment and my grandma during the "Loss" segment. The songs were just a vehicle to convey the emotion; not talk or highlight the IP itself.
 
Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
THEMEPARKPIONEER said:
What confuses me is that spaceship earth is a part of the show so your really not getting the same show around the lake unless the timing was off and it wasn’t supposed to come on because the Christmas tree lit as well.
Click to expand...

It's a very fair question. Since it's only a small part of the show, I wasn't bothered by it as much. The people in Showcase Plaza get the perfectly framed show. This gave the people on the back half of World Showcase a little bonus. (Much like the Main Street projections at Disneyland - where the people farther back get a better view of that, although they don't see the Castle show as well). It does create the problem for Canada to UK and Mexico to China, though. So, perhaps the Harmonious views legacy isn't totally dead...
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

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Original Poster
THEMEPARKPIONEER said:
What confuses me is that spaceship earth is a part of the show so your really not getting the same show around the lake unless the timing was off and it wasn’t supposed to come on because the Christmas tree lit as well.
Click to expand...
Spaceship Earth is not a significant part of the show, and not seeing it does not impact the experience.
 
Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
OSUPhantom said:
I think why I didn't mind the IP songs as much; when they were playing in my head I wasn't visualizing the movies or the characters, I was thinking about the moments in my life they're talking about. I was thinking about my mom during the "Birth" segment and my grandma during the "Loss" segment. The songs were just a vehicle to convey the emotion; not talk or highlight the IP itself.
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Yes. As an admitted Epcot purist, this worked because the songs were used to tell a story. And, an Epcot-appropriate story. (Not saying they knocked that out of the park, but it's the right idea.). If they used this principle for the other IP attractions, I wouldn't have near the issue with things as I do.
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
OSUPhantom said:
I think why I didn't mind the IP songs as much; when they were playing in my head I wasn't visualizing the movies or the characters, I was thinking about the moments in my life they're talking about. I was thinking about my mom during the "Birth" segment and my grandma during the "Loss" segment. The songs were just a vehicle to convey the emotion; not talk or highlight the IP itself.
Click to expand...

I think why the "Play" section was the weakest for me as it did make me think of Toy Story and Aladdin - whereas other songs stood on their own more
 
THEMEPARKPIONEER

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
Spaceship Earth is not a significant part of the show, and not seeing it does not impact the experience.
Click to expand...
No but it add an element for anyone who watches from the front which is kind of cool I wonder if there playing the music for the show up front now to and with the widespread minds you can see more Pyro probably from the front as well. I’d be curious to see if there’s any effects that we can’t see from the world showcase going on during the show.
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
THEMEPARKPIONEER said:
What confuses me is that spaceship earth is a part of the show so your really not getting the same show around the lake unless the timing was off and it wasn’t supposed to come on because the Christmas tree lit as well.
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying and makes me wonder if people will stake out a spot that has SSE in view .... BUT it is a small addition vs like for Harmonius where seeing the screens/stargate or not drastically changed the experience

Will say the bright Christmas Tree was a distraction at times, would prefer if that was not lit
 
alphac2005

alphac2005

Well-Known Member
Having camped out in front Japan for a few hours before the show, my family had a great view of the show, and I have some observations.

  • This was a vast improvement over Harmonious. For us real old school Epcot fans, the opening of the show where people spoke from the different nations with the pavilions illuminated was a throwback to the original Illuminations shows that predated Reflections of Earth.
  • The show was measured and paced. Some have called it slow, but it felt Epcot. The theme was adult. There was an arching theme to make you ponder and the theme is certainly one that adults will zero in on and could feel emotional about.
  • While we had IP music, which I'm no fan of, I felt that they did a good job with how the music was integrated. It was much better than Harmonious that seemed to be nothing more than a Magic Kingdom show.

    And for the IP, there was a better mix of what was used. It went beyond the standard stock of what feels like four songs that they use on nearly every show in all of the other parks. It is what it is. I know the reality that until further notice, they're going to use IP synergy at EPCOT, so it was at least was very good for what it is.

  • The original music for the show was well done, but it lacked something in terms of how it played out during the show. RoE and other prior iterations of Illuminations did a terrific job of having a thematic melody throughout and it didn't quite do that.
  • The fountains --- This is where the show was excellent. It evoked World of Color, but for those who remember, the Dancing Waters Show that was at the Disneyland Hotel.
  • And the exit music: It was great to hear the One Little Spark rendition and hopefully we'll one day see Figment with a worthy attraction again.
  • As for the fireworks, no one in our family are big into them, yet we all found that element to be very well done and we were standing right in front of one of the launchers where the sparking star style fireworks shot towards the center. It was well done and my college age sons both thought that part was cool.
It will be interesting to see if there are tweaks to the show. The audience reaction in our area was pretty good, but not wild. Without a doubt, there was always a bigger reception to RoE.
 
TheEPCOTHistorian

TheEPCOTHistorian

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
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