You did remember my Birthday!!Well something is coming, but not quite sure on the timing.
You did remember my Birthday!!Well something is coming, but not quite sure on the timing.
Happy Birthday!!!!!You did remember my Birthday!!
My plans next week are Epcot over two days with leaving Epcot early the first day to see Hoop De Doo. Planning on seeing fireworks and CP the second night. You're making me rethink I should be in the park both nights.Ok, I rewatched Luminous this morning with a much better video and view - found a great one, very still video from one spot/one angle (no zooming in and out or anything) - was from Italy and can see SSE in the background, etc. - really made a big difference
On second view I liked it much more - there are a ton of really subtle and exacting lighting cues matching the audio that I picked up this time - really impressive.
Think my favorite part is the You'll Be in My Heart segment - I thought the multiple languages in harmony worked really, really well... in contrast I found it very distracting in When She Loved Me - that part just didn't work for me. (granted, I am not the biggest Toy Story 2 fan)
The Toy Story/Play section also felt like it doesn't fit - other options to exhibit "friend love" than those choices
That said, from Into the Unknown until the end is pretty spectacular and really well done. Love the "echo" part with the countries lighting up for the echo and all the pyro
Still think I need to see it in person to fully appreciate but am way more excited to see it on our next trip now than I was last night
I would expect there to be some minor tweaks and cuts, considering how little time they had with this show in production.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.
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.
- 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.
Agree with a lot of this. Luminous is certainly flawed - every show is to an extent - but much less so than Harmonious. And it does "feel" closer in theme and tone to the kind of show EPCOT should have.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.
My guess is SWAGs will return in 2024. Most likely in an limited or After Hours Star Wars event at Hollywood Studios. A VQ for an experience/eats at Starcruiser (longshot)?Well something is coming, but not quite sure on the timing.
I like this idea. What songs were you thinking for this segment?This segment should really be about communication and forming connections with others in youth, also a classic Epcot theme. Disney has plenty of songs about that without having to include Toy Story twice in the show.
Carsland at DHS CONFIRMEDWell something is coming, but not quite sure on the timing.
Like others, my biggest issue is that Play section (you didn’t even give us the Play pavilion!). It feels like they were forced to integrate a couple tentpole IPs and shoehorned this in. But, in an otherwise pretty emotional flow, a few minutes of Happily Ever After is a distraction. This segment should really be about communication and forming connections with others in youth, also a classic Epcot theme. Disney has plenty of songs about that without having to include Toy Story twice in the show.
That’s exactly the point, to me at least. Illuminations score was so good that it did the heavy lifting. It didn’t need a narrator telling me what to feel and when. Were there some slow parts that needed fixing and more pyro? Absolutely. But the music was so powerful it told the story on its own. Still gives me goosebumps every time. And We Go On is such a beautiful song that speaks to our resilience. I didn’t hate Luminous, but as someone who cries at everything lol, I didn’t feel anything.A lot of people here have a bad case of rosy retrospection. Illuminations ROE had a beautiful score. That's it. The fireworks were well designed, but there wasn't anything great about the fireworks in ROE other than they were designed well with the score. ROE was a mediocre fireworks show. The fountains were awful and underwhelming. The inferno barge was cool, but even it for all its glory was just a one trick pony. Almost 6 minutes of the show was just looking at a slow moving earth globe with nothing else going on... The first 4 minute section and the first 2 minutes of We Go On. I loved Illuminations, but it wasn't what everyone here is making it out to be.
I felt like the first segment of illuminations not only was the music aggressive but the fireworks were as well and more in your face (in feeling anyways) and very loud. That kind of energy is what I miss. That show had several ramp ups and downs. The middle water section was boring however but that musical score really got everyone into it.A lot of people here have a bad case of rosy retrospection. Illuminations ROE had a beautiful score. That's it. The fireworks were well designed, but there wasn't anything great about the fireworks in ROE other than they were designed well with the score. ROE was a mediocre fireworks show. The fountains were awful and underwhelming. The inferno barge was cool, but even it for all its glory was just a one trick pony. Almost 6 minutes of the show was just looking at a slow moving earth globe with nothing else going on... The first 4 minute section and the first 2 minutes of We Go On. I loved Illuminations, but it wasn't what everyone here is making it out to be.
Watched the WDWMagic 4K video and this is a much better show than ROE. Stating that, I agree with the posts that state that the ROE musical score was hard to beat and that seems to be the main issue with any faults of the latest shows.
Stating all that, I think that Disney should strongly consider taking the ROE (Reflections of Earth) musical score at it is and use it at a nightly Animal Kingdom fountain and drone show and that will make everyone happy. It will be a "sure thing" night show and be very popular.
A lot of people here have a bad case of rosy retrospection. Illuminations ROE had a beautiful score. That's it. The fireworks were well designed, but there wasn't anything great about the fireworks in ROE other than they were designed well with the score. ROE was a mediocre fireworks show. The fountains were awful and underwhelming. The inferno barge was cool, but even it for all its glory was just a one trick pony. Almost 6 minutes of the show was just looking at a slow moving earth globe with nothing else going on... The first 4 minute section and the first 2 minutes of We Go On. I loved Illuminations, but it wasn't what everyone here is making it out to be.
Hmmm. I don't know about that. Is Happily Ever After just a generic fireworks synced to Disney IP? For the most part yes. There are some customized fireworks in that show but someone would knows better I am pretty sure could confirm illuminations reflection of Earth also had its fair share of customized fireworks. They were not all just off the shelf and they were certainly not type of fireworks that you and I can buy at the 4th of July tent sale on the side of the road.A lot of people here have a bad case of rosy retrospection. Illuminations ROE had a beautiful score. That's it. The fireworks were well designed, but there wasn't anything great about the fireworks in ROE other than they were designed well with the score. ROE was a mediocre fireworks show. The fountains were awful and underwhelming. The inferno barge was cool, but even it for all its glory was just a one trick pony. Almost 6 minutes of the show was just looking at a slow moving earth globe with nothing else going on... The first 4 minute section and the first 2 minutes of We Go On. I loved Illuminations, but it wasn't what everyone here is making it out to be.
Is Happily Ever After just a generic fireworks synced to Disney IP? For the most part yes.
My plans next week are Epcot over two days with leaving Epcot early the first day to see Hoop De Doo. Planning on seeing fireworks and CP the second night. You're making me rethink I should be in the park both nights.
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