Illuminations Holiday Tag: Old or New?

[PhotoDave219]

Hey Kids.....

So Today I was driving around listening to the old school Epcot Holiday Illuminations (w/ Walter Cronkite) and it made me miss the old Peace on Earth Holiday Tag, pipe organ and all.

What does the class think? Which did you prefer?

For reference:

The older Peace on Earth Tag (shot in 2011 by me) that ran before 2013



The new Peace on Earth Tag (Shot last year by @wdwmagic, skip to 13:08 for the tag itself)



For me? I miss the pipe organ and the crescendo it built. I like the sound of the choir more, its a fuller and richer sound that seems lacking in the new version. And of course, I miss the bigger fireworks.

 

[wdwmagic]

The original is my preference.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Only five votes? This should be bumped higher.

 

[Kkar]

Only five votes? This should be bumped higher.

Definitely preferred the original. We were just there two weeks ago, and I thought I noticed a reduction in the amount of pyro.

 

[ABQ]

Not only was the old choir much better, I can't stand the narration announcing each country. It's a little insulting that we need such hand holding when we get both spotlights and trim lights to let us know which language is being spoken (I know, they don't have trim on Norway or Morocco, but they do get a spot light shining on them.) It's too rushed and too childish.

 

[NEmickeyfan]

Hands down the previous version for me. I really prefer the Walter Cronkite narration as opposed to the bland new one. As stated by others, the choir is much better in the previous version; more mature and exciting to build up to the finale.
I will admit that, in the current version, the final fireworks is... well... a blast.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hands down the previous version for me. I really prefer the Walter Cronkite narration as opposed to the bland new one. As stated by others, the choir is much better in the previous version; more mature and exciting to build up to the finale.
I will admit that, in the current version, the final fireworks is... well... a blast.

The finale in the previous version was a bigger blast…

 

[ABQ]

The finale in the previous version was a bigger blast…

That's true, though some elements of the current are not too shabby, I love the very start which is new to 2015 I believe, as its not in the 2014 video above, the way the white floating flares are deployed is pretty cool. Thankfully, the POE tag still contains the whistling shells too.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

I enjoyed the older version, but enjoy some of new effects in the new version.

 

[PhotoDave219]

*bump*

 

[surfsupdon]

I prefer the original by far, but still think the current version is one of my favorite WDW fireworks shows. It's short, sweet, and BIG...and I do really appreciate the message.

 

[FerretAfros]

I prefer the original. The kids choir they use now just feels too syrupy and schmaltzy (and too similar to Wishes). What I love most about Epcot is when it goes beyond what people expect from a theme park and touches on real world issues and events; the Millennium Celebration was probably the last time they excelled at that. The new tag simply feels like any other Disney fireworks show, filled with 'magic', 'wonder', 'dreams', and the newest buzzwords du jour

And I'm also not a fan of the introductions for each country. In addition to feeling like a classroom lesson, it highlights how few countries are actually represented. The old version seemed a lot more global, since speakers of a certain language aren't confined to that country (particularly with English and French, of the languages represented), and if you're not paying too much attention you could assume that any number of other languages were also included. With the new version, instead of "Peace on Earth" we get "Peace to This Carefully-Selected Handful of Countries That are in Good Standing with the US".

It's still a nice addition to the regular show, but I don't think it's as powerful as it used to be.

 

[HumblePirate]

The original with the holiday tag was my favorite nighttime show. I just went back for the first time since 2013 and didn't realize that those changes had been made. I have to tell you, I was disappointed and probably won't try as hard to get over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. On past trips it had always been a pretty typical routine for us to catch Illuminations at night, no matter what park we had spent the day at. Now, I will say that if I had seen this version without seeing the original, I would probably still be in love with it - it's just that now I know that it could be better because (IMO) it was. More than anything I miss the Walter Cronkite narration in the middle.