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

[𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗97]

I wasn't sure what the difference is between meh and mediocre. Those two are kind of the same for me. I feel like Meh should be changed to good and mediocre/meh.

Meh is intended to be more squarely in the middle. It was good in some ways, bad in other ways. Mediocre is more on the bad side.

 

[James Alucobond]

Drones need to stay far away from WDW. Not only are they dull and boring but they’re the perfect excuse for them to axe fireworks forever. “Why are we paying for these expensive things when we can create similar stuff with drones?!”

As a friend said recently “drones in place of fireworks would look like the finale of Grande Fiesta, a mediocre knock off.”

Which is why they shouldn't stay away from WDW; rather, they should go to Animal Kingdom, where you can't do fireworks anyway. Make the night shows for the parks focused on projections in MK, live entertainment in DHS, fireworks in EPCOT, and drones in AK.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

They can do low lying fireworks at DAK they’re just too cheap to do it. How can Busch Gardens do summer time fireworks nightly and DAK can’t? Please.

 

[James Alucobond]

They can do low lying fireworks at DAK they’re just too cheap to do it. How can Busch Gardens do summer time fireworks nightly and DAK can’t? Please.

Regardless of some things being allowed, you're certainly more limited, and if it's better for the animals, I'm not going to be upset about it.

 

[Tom Morrow]

They can do low lying fireworks at DAK they’re just too cheap to do it. How can Busch Gardens do summer time fireworks nightly and DAK can’t? Please.

BGT has a huge central backstage area that the park surrounds where the fireworks can be launched from whereas DAK doesn't have this or really anywhere that the animals aren't far from that could also be seen in the park.

I also think it sends a better message to not have them there.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Which is why they shouldn't stay away from WDW; rather, they should go to Animal Kingdom, where you can't do fireworks anyway. Make the night shows for the parks focused on projections in MK, live entertainment in DHS, fireworks in EPCOT, and drones in AK.

I agree that each park should have a different style of show, but the image of huge fireworks above a castle is synonymous with Disney parks and that shouldn't really change.

 

[James Alucobond]

Didn't mean to say that MK shouldn't have fireworks, just that the projections feel like a good "unique" element to focus on for them. Great points on everything else too.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Bingo. Happened 11 minutes in. Canada's lights for some reason stayed on in the first half todoes the

Bingo. Happened 11 minutes in. Canada's lights for some reason stayed on in the first half too

Couldn’t tell if the white sound wave was intended for luminous but SSE went dark than back on again.

 

[Dr.GrantSeeker]

I think the narration is necessary because they're utilizing existing songs outside of their original context. Without the narration, it's just a songbook because it's being made to fit. They kind of have to be explicit about the birth > family > friends > love > loss > new connection arc.

This is the problem when you use things that are out of context and not original. And why I wish DISNEY would do more original stuff.

 

[Dr.GrantSeeker]

Did we all forget about Wishes???
And the fact that Jiminy Cricket's narration was part of the show, and no-one seemed to care?

Jiminy was very well done and fit the show.

 

[Dr.GrantSeeker]

Saw this in person last night and here are my thoughts.
As someone who loved illuminations and watched it over and over every trip we took to Disney and then as someone who didn’t like harmonious at all and saw it maybe 5 times, Luminous is a great replacement for Harmonious. It is so much better than Harmonious in every way IMHO. A few thoughts a takeaways from my perspective: I loved the introduction and incorporating an original Illuminations feeling by greeting everyone from around the different countries of World Showcase. I really liked the original opening song as well. The introduction into the storyline was nice too as it set the stage for what to expect. The pacing of the show was mostly really well done and the way the music and fireworks were timed together it felt like I was watching RoE. The fireworks themselves were spectacular in addition to all the lights and fountain effects coming together to put on a very well done visual show. Also the story had heart and seemed like Disney actually tried with this storyline.

What I wasn’t crazy about was the narrator throughout the show explaining each segment and what the meaning behind it was. I feel like a good story should be able to speak for itself. This narration caused some weird pacing at certain points. Not every time the voice came on but maybe 2 or so times. Also the crying baby added to the first bit of narration was very strange. Songs I wasn’t crazy about were “You’ve Got A Friend In Me”, “ Remember Me” and “Into the Unknown”.

There is definitely rewatch-ability with this show vs Harm. I plan to see it again in a few weeks to see if my thoughts change at all, but it’s a really good show for what current Disney is willing to put together. Now, do I wish there were less Disney songs and more original songs, yes, but we know that won’t happen in this time. Luminous is pretty good IMO. It’s a lot better than “meh” but not amazing and not RoE.

Also at one point everyone around us started laughing at one of the narrations and I can’t remember what it was. But then literally everyone around us was also sobbing when they played “When She Loved Me”

It’s still not even close to RoE but I really mostly enjoyed the show and am so happy that they replaced Harm with this. Now does this show have the staying power that RoE had, I truly don’t think so. Especially since this show should be much easier to make changes to if Disney gets feedback that says some aspects should be altered. So that is also a plus. Obviously this is all my opinion and look forward to seeing Luminous again in a few weeks!

 

[TTA94]

Well something is coming, but not quite sure on the timing.

I should have clarified I meant entertainment wise, but I guessing you knew what I meant lol.

If I had to guess it’s the nighttime parade you talked about awhile back that was a slow burner? Or something else?

 

[TTA94]

Anyone hearing if they are releasing the soundtrack soon?

 

[networkpro]

So far the poll has a pretty clear consensus:
View attachment 757817

The consensus being most have not seen it in person just like the new spine project.

 

[Lil Copter Cap]

Saw this in person last night and here are my thoughts.

I agree almost fully with your assessment after having seen it last night as well! My main disagreement (and it's likely just a personal preference): I enjoyed the narrated transitions. The script itself was strong and I applaud whoever touched this show from Disney Live Entertainment. They understood the assignment entirely.

Is this show particularly innovative? No.
But it nails the storytelling aspect.

And holy heck if Harmonious had been half as well-structured as this one, I would've likely been fine with it sticking around (minus the barge issue).

I am only one person, but Luminous was an absolute joy to experience and I look forward to seeing it often.

 

[jmvd20]

ROE is my favorite show of all time. It took many years and dozens upon dozens of in person views to achieve that status. That being said there were many parts of the show that could have been better, nothing will ever be perfect.

All of that aside I shut off the live feed of the Harmoniuos debut just a few minutes into the show and walked away after a few minutes in person. So far, I've watched Luminous a few times and while it isn't perfect neither was ROE. My initial opinion is it is a very well done show that actually has a story. What folks are referring to as rough transitions remind me of the World of Motion and Horizons of the Epcot of old. I like that there is not too much down time and the scenes transition quickly. This can easily be viewed as jerky which I completely understand but to me it isn't much of an issue.

The scene of loss which some have an issue with only makes the final scene and finale that much more powerful. After all, we need to see the darkness to appreciate the light. Anyway, 4 more days and I will see it in person but I am really looking forward to seeing Luminous as opposed to doing what I could to avoid Harmonious. That is a huge plus for Epcot, at least to me.

 

[JohnD]

Well, normally I would say do Epcot both nights but HDDR is tremendous too, so can understand one night at each for sure

I cancelled it and got Via Napoli instead at 5:30. I do have options for Hoop that night and 4:00 on 12/16. Thinking that would be a lot with JN the same night. I'm aware of reviews but intend on keeping it. Hoop will still be there.

 

[wdwfan22]

Not even 24 hours later and the lights in World Celebration are not syncing with Spaceship Earth. They are not changing colors at all.

 

[James Alucobond]

Not even 24 hours later and the lights in World Celebration are not syncing with Spaceship Earth. They are not changing colors at all.

Are you there witnessing it now or did you read this somewhere? They apparently didn't cycle on at the start of the night but then kicked in later, perhaps due to a programming hiccup or behind-the-scenes maintenance. Unless you're saying it reverted later.

 

[wdwmagic]

Not even 24 hours later and the lights in World Celebration are not syncing with Spaceship Earth. They are not changing colors at all.

I don’t think these have been active for very long to test, so some issues early on are likely.