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

C

Comped

Well-Known Member
hopemax said:
I also want to thank @Cliff for the ROE and Gavin Greenaway stories. I was fortunate to attend the 2000 NFFC convention, and the main banquet entertainment were presentations by Don Dorsey (MSEP), Steve Davison (doing his Believe human firework pitch), and the final speaker was Gavin presenting Reflections of Earth. I would usually take notes, and record on a mini tape recorder, unless we were told no recordings. So now I'm tempted to dig into my archives and see what I have. I wish I could remember all the details, can't believe that was 22 years ago, I just remember that we joked about having to follow Steve, but Gavin also had an amazing presentation. And like Cliff mentioned, so much depth in what they were trying to accomplish. This was about a month and a half before we got to see the show in person, so when we got to WDW in September, we were already invested in the show, and knew things like about the torches. It did not disappoint.
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I was lucky enough to twice see Ron Logan narrate the internal tape that Disney had made of ROE - incluiding what was on the ball. He did it publicly only once, for a GKTW fundraiser, which he claimed he regretted because he wanted to keep it special for his classes. I always said that it was great there was a recording of it simply for prosperity - he eventually came around about it. My 2nd semester with him was Zoom-taped due to Covid, and I hope someone downloaded them for future record-keeping in the same vein. It's important we keep these kinds of things written down, for the future fans who want to learn.
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Comped said:
I was lucky enough to twice see Ron Logan narrate the internal tape that Disney had made of ROE - incluiding what was on the ball. He did it publicly only once, for a GKTW fundraiser, which he claimed he regretted because he wanted to keep it special for his classes. I always said that it was great there was a recording of it simply for prosperity - he eventually came around about it. My 2nd semester with him was Zoom-taped due to Covid, and I hope someone downloaded them for future record-keeping in the same vein. It's important we keep these kinds of things written down, for the future fans who want to learn.
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We need more people like @marni1971 in the community, it's not often you come across Theme Park/Amusement Park fans that dedicated to archiving and giving historical context and rare information behind shows and attractions.
 
C

Comped

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
We need more people like @marni1971 in the community, it's not often you come across Theme Park/Amusement Park fans that dedicated to archiving and giving historical context and rare information behind shows and attractions.
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I try to get what I can. I've been meaning to find an excuse to go through the collection of Buzz Price's (Disney's economist) papers, with an eye to see if anything Disney-related hadn't been digitized. Those are over at UCF's main campus and thanks to my studies being primarily focused on theme parks I kind of have a better excuse than most... I'm also trying to figure out what is happening with Ron's papers. I spent a lot of time with him, and I'm extremely keen to go through his papers at some point when they enter the public life as he intended. From what I understand that might be a boatload of information about Disney entertainment that really doesn't exist elsewhere... A huge source someone like me who's been working on a book about the history of Disney's live entertainment efforts for a while now.
 
C

Comped

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
Thanks. I’ve also heard the current plan is a bargeless EPCOT Forever temp show.
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I've heard anywhere from 6 months to a year is what they hope to be able to keep Epcot Forever running for (A buddy of mine said that they hope 4 to 6 months but I really don't think that's possible.), but realistically... A new show will take longer, even if it's just an updated Illuminations. Which it could be or could not be. Especially if they want to get it right. I don't think they're going to rush the replacement, but then again Epcot Forever was never meant to run long-term...
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Watched this last night in person. It’s… not good. What’s the story? No flow, movie clip to movie clip. 99% of the tricks are unveiled in the first 2 minutes.
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Oh, if it were nice to see Illuminations once again..Found this neat video where they show the globe projection flat and you can actually see what was playing on it and narrated to explain what was happening..
 
V

Vinnie Mac

Well-Known Member
Comped said:
I've heard anywhere from 6 months to a year is what they hope to be able to keep Epcot Forever running for (A buddy of mine said that they hope 4 to 6 months but I really don't think that's possible.), but realistically... A new show will take longer, even if it's just an updated Illuminations. Which it could be or could not be. Especially if they want to get it right. I don't think they're going to rush the replacement, but then again Epcot Forever was never meant to run long-term...
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6 months sounds more reasonable... don't think they'll push the new show into 2024
 
C

Comped

Well-Known Member
Vinnie Mac said:
6 months sounds more reasonable... don't think they'll push the new show into 2024
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All depends on how complex the new show is going to be, really. 6 months definitely sounds more reasonable but from what I understand there is definitely a chance that it extends out purely because of the issues we've seen with project and construction management elsewhere...
 
lentesta

lentesta

Premium Member
uncle jimmy said:
What about the center thingie? And tacos gone for good?
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As of Monday, I heard the following:
  • EPCOT Forever is the interim show
  • The tentative plan is to remove all of it except for fireworks barges. Obviously, there are financial implications for that because of depreciation, so that's still a question.
  • They have a (tentative) show designer selected for the permanent replacement. I know who it is but I haven't done research on this person.
    • Everybody knows the show has to look good from around the lagoon
I think that's all I can say for now.
 
uncle jimmy

uncle jimmy

Premium Member
lentesta said:
As of Monday, I heard the following:
  • EPCOT Forever is the interim show
  • The tentative plan is to remove all of it except for fireworks barges. Obviously, there are financial implications for that because of depreciation, so that's still a question.
  • They have a (tentative) show designer selected for the permanent replacement. I know who it is but I haven't done research on this person.
    • Everybody knows the show has to look good from around the lagoon
I think that's all I can say for now.
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Maybe they can send the tacos over to Paris for the lake they're building and figure out how to lower and raise them.

Having the show look good around the lagoon will offer them more dining packages and viewing locations. Is Rose and Crown still changing to a lounge then?
 
T

TDLFan

Well-Known Member
So, if they have a (tentative) designer selected, does that mean it's not already in development like Josh said at D23? This whole debacle is so fascinating.
 
J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
TDLFan said:
So, if they have a (tentative) designer selected, does that mean it's not already in development like Josh said at D23? This whole debacle is so fascinating.
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It could be in development prior to show design occurring if they’re considering infrastructure design and build as part of the process. I’d assume they’re working on something simpler than the purpose-built weirdness of the Harmonious barges.
 
Haymarket2008

Haymarket2008

Well-Known Member
Vinnie Mac said:
Was watching a livestream of the show tonight and I was thinking about something. I think my biggest and main issue with Harmonious is that it only conveys one type of mood/vibe and doesn't have a super direct purpose.

Harmonious is a celebration. Illuminations was a story. We don't talk about Epcot Forever.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Harmonious being celebratory, but I was thinking about the fact that that's all it is. Unless you are willing to enjoy the music and sing and dance a little, you're not going to enjoy it. If you don't allow yourself to be immersed in the visuals, you're not going to enjoy it. In a weird way the show almost requires participation for you to fully enjoy it. And I don't say this in an awful negative way, it's just a personal gripe I have with it.

Meanwhile Illuminations didn't have just one mood it had multiple. It was captivating, mysterious, and emotional.

Illuminations is like you sitting by the fire while an old man tells you a story while Harmonious is like an international dance party which again, nothing inherently wrong with this. But sometimes I would prefer the former to the latter.
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Very well said. Captivating, mysterious and emotional are words I would also describe EPCOT as a whole before everything became surface level. There was depth there.
 

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