Favorite IllumiNations incarnation

wdwmagic

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Reflections of Earth without a doubt. Awesome music, perfect syncronisation, incredible show. Although I would have to say the Reflections of Earth New Years Eve 99/2000 would be my favorite of all time. :)
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
In all aspects, if they were all shown to someone one right after the other who had never seen them before, I think almost everyone would have to say Reflections. The overall theme holds together in a recognizable way from beginning to end. The sound system is like 10 times better (the music no longer gets drowned out by the sound of the fireworks) and they use the sound of the fireworks to emphasizes some parts of the custom musical score. In every measurable way it is better than any that have come before it... I understand why some may prefer the original. It was the first. Even though it pales in comparison to the current one, there was nothing before that even resembled it so there was nothing to compare it to. I'm guessing that the first one that anyone has seen will probably be their favorite in most cases. Today, we see the new one and look at what was added to the last one to make it this way. The first time we saw it though (regardless of the version) we were wowed. I think it would probably take more than is realistically possible to take it to a level for people that would make it good enough to match that feeling of awe that came from seeing one of the shows without preconceived expectations. When something doesn't happen right in the current one, like the center torch doesn't go up or the sparks don't fly out of it at the finale or a musical cue is not met with the visual, I (while enjoying it) think that it was an incomplete or flawed performance even though it's nearly twice as impressive as anything that's come before it, I notice things missing like that which I might not have, had Reflections been all I'd ever known... Then again, maybe I've just seen the current version too many times :) Am I just blabering or does anybody actually know what I mean by all of this?
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
Back before I was very good at touch typing I did. Now though, it probably takes you longer to read them than it does for me to type them.
I also sort of have this bad habit of feeling like I have to justify myself completely in one post because in the past I've had my posts picked apart and had to defend them over the course of several sessions. The way I see it now it's easier to just write one long post and it usually works because either A: I've thought it out and typed it out good enough that it's difficult for the common reader to poke holes in it or (probably more likely) B: They're just so d#mn long that most people don't even bother to read them...
Then there's that factor of me working for an advertising company in a slowing economy when I have nothing better to do than get paid to surf the web and post on this board. When work picks up and I have to go back to doing this stuff on my own time, my posts will probably be shorter and fewer.... See, I couldn't even make this one short!
 

DisneyFreak

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by MrPromey
Back before I was very good at touch typing I did. Now though, it probably takes you longer to read them than it does for me to type them.
I also sort of have this bad habit of feeling like I have to justify myself completely in one post because in the past I've had my posts picked apart and had to defend them over the course of several sessions. The way I see it now it's easier to just write one long post and it usually works because either A: I've thought it out and typed it out good enough that it's difficult for the common reader to poke holes in it or (probably more likely) B: They're just so d#mn long that most people don't even bother to read them...
Then there's that factor of me working for an advertising company in a slowing economy when I have nothing better to do than get paid to surf the web and post on this board. When work picks up and I have to go back to doing this stuff on my own time, my posts will probably be shorter and fewer.... See, I couldn't even make this one short!

Uh huh......yea........really?......uh huh........yep........uh huh........I'm sorry were you still posting? :D

Are you actually saying that some posters on this board would pick apart someone else's? Blasphemy!!:p I have the faintest idea on who would do something of the sort. Can you?;)

I enjoy reading your posts MrPromey, they are always very insightful IMO.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Originally posted by MrPromey
preconceived expectations. When something doesn't happen right in the current one, like the center torch doesn't go up or the sparks don't fly out of it at the finale or a musical cue is not met with the visual, I (while enjoying it) think that it was an incomplete or flawed performance even though it's nearly twice as impressive as anything that's come before it, I notice things missing like that which I might not have, had Reflections been all I'd ever known... Then again, maybe I've just seen the current version too many times :) Am I just blabering or does anybody actually know what I mean by all of this?

I'm with u on that - I saw the show around 12 times on my last trip, and I think we only had a perfect performance about twice. A lot of the time it was small things missing, like no sea-wall launchers (due to the winds), or a bit of pyro that failed to launch. Its no problem - still a great show - but it kinda bugs me a bit! :) I have attempted to tape the show so many times, and then a bit is missing, and I jsut give in with that run of taping! On the more major side, I saw a show where the inferno failed completely, and one of the fountian Maxi Barges was compeltely dead - no pyro, no water - nothin. I felt kinda bad for people who may only get to see it that one night - but hopefully they didnt know any better and still loved the show.
 

Maria

New Member
My favorite is Reflections of Earth... Although I still love the music in Illuminations, I hated the baby in the middle of the lagoon!

I really like the new big ball full of lights with images from the world of RoE. The music is amazing!! Just look at the crowd when it ends... everybody walking calmly, holding hands, hugging each other....it is so peaceful! My firends who got married at Disney, took that song as their wedding song, "The promise"...

Some little trivia now.... do you know when the first RoE was?

:confused:
 

Maria

New Member
Originally posted by MrPromey
The way I see it now it's easier to just write one long post and it usually works because either A: I've thought it out and typed it out good enough that it's difficult for the common reader to poke holes in it or (probably more likely) B: They're just so d#mn long that most people don't even bother to read them...

I don´t mind reading loooong posts... my only request is: please use "enter" and make more paragraphs!!;)
Makes me dizzy and I get lost when it is too long and no spaces! Thank you... ;)
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Originally posted by Maria


Some little trivia now.... do you know when the first RoE was?

:confused:

Previews started September 22 1999.
Press performances were Sep 28 and 29.
Officially opening, Oct 1.

:)
 

Maria

New Member
Correct Steve!

I was there on sept. 22 for the first time they show it to the public. It was a "secret" as noone knew that Illuminations was not going to be shown again. It was really a night to remember! I was standing right in the middle of WSC Plaza and the barge was so strong that you could feel the heat in your face. We were all amazed... tears running... For the following 2 1/2 months I watched it almost every night with the same emotion! That music...

Anyways... on the Press night, they had a delay! They had to make an announcement for technical problems! It was delayed by probably three minutes! Someone´s head probably fell that night... hehe ;)
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Originally posted by Maria
Correct Steve!

I was there on sept. 22 for the first time they show it to the public. It was a "secret" as noone knew that Illuminations was not going to be shown again. It was really a night to remember! I was standing right in the middle of WSC Plaza and the barge was so strong that you could feel the heat in your face. We were all amazed... tears running... For the following 2 1/2 months I watched it almost every night with the same emotion! That music...

Anyways... on the Press night, they had a delay! They had to make an announcement for technical problems! It was delayed by probably three minutes! Someone´s head probably fell that night... hehe ;)

Nice story - must have been great to see the first one ever! :)
Did you ever get to see from the Show Manager booth on the roof of Mexico?
 

Ryan

New Member
RoE is SO much better than anything Illuminations ever hoped to be. I only wish you could see the pictures on the Globe better. I used to work on the Millennium project team and I gave many presentations to people, trying to SELL the show and sponsorships for MV. You would not believe what was orginally planned for this show. They had designed a firework that when it would explode thousands of little fireworks would come out and hover across the sky until someone detonated them. The purpose of this was to fill the entire Epcot sky with them, but as we all know, Disney is continously cutting back on budget, so that firework was never seen.

Another tad of trivia...the very first time Michael Eisner had the chance to see RoE, something happened and it wouldn't start. It ran about 3 weeks before he was able to make it back to Orlando and finally see it. Obviously he loved it.
 

Maria

New Member
Hey Ryan, I may be wrong, but when Eisner went to see it, he was in a boat at the lagoon, and that night, the ball lights didn´t work... you could only see a line of lights in red and blue around it. Remember?
Some friends from Mexico were visiting that same night, and when I asked them later what they thought about RoE, they didn´t seem to be very impressed.... a day later everyone commented about that, and I knew why then!;)
 

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