News Reflections of Earth confirmed to be replaced by Harmonious

[Sir_Cliff]

Maybe........but I don't think IllumiNations: Harm would have helped Harm any............ Unless, it would have forced Epcot to Debut Harm at a Illum. or ROE Level?

Going forward , it would be nice if Epcot could keep that Illum or ROE Standard going, Title or not..

Of course..........EF has no IllumiNations anything in the Title or the Show.....

A bad show will still be a bad show, but I do think keeping the Illuminations name for the shows on World Showcase lagoon is a positive gesture toward keeping Epcot distinct. Doesn't make or break the show and maybe it's a personal thing, but I think it would be nice for Epcot to get 'a new Illuminations' from time to time in the way DCA gets 'a new World of Color' with 'World of Color - One' rather than just 'One'.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

A bad show will still be a bad show, but I do think keeping the Illuminations name for the shows on World Showcase lagoon is a positive gesture toward keeping Epcot distinct. Doesn't make or break the show and maybe it's a personal thing, but I think it would be nice for Epcot to get 'a new Illuminations' from time to time in the way DCA gets 'a new World of Color' with 'World of Color - One' rather than just 'One'.

I like the show regardless but WOC One having the WOC name still attached to it definitely makes it more appealing for me somehow. Brand identity matters

 

[Richie248]

I still feel that the Harmonious soundtrack is the best we will get in regards to an IP based show in Epcot. Unsightly barges aside....Harmonious is pretty good, soundtrack is great. Curious what this new show ill look like. I would honestly prefer a retooled Harmonious....no tacos and Stargate....bring back a globe of sorts and low level fountains....

 

[IMDREW]

In my opinion the shows soundtrack starts off strong but gets worse and worse as it goes on. Someday is one of my all time favorite Disney songs from one of my favorite movies (and musicals, the german version). But what they did with it here left me completely cold.

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

I still feel that the Harmonious soundtrack is the best we will get in regards to an IP based show in Epcot.

While this sentiment is true, EPCOT remains too sophisticated of an experience to have a show like Harmonious. While the changes over the past years have watered down that experience slowly, its heart still remains (albeit barely), due to the fact that the blend of IP and Edutainment creates discordant emotions. It's very clear to even the most inexperienced of guests what the original message of the park was and is a recent addition. Due to that, it *NEEDS* a show like I:ROE to thrive.

IP could only work in EPCOT if it uses the edutainment to fall back on, adding to the park's original message. It cannot create a new message.

They want EPCOT to remain unique (to some extent), and in order for that to happen, the evening entertainment cannot be run-of-the-mill, nor can it fall in line with the IP. This is especially clear when other parks have similar shows that outperform HarmonioUS. The park needs an original score to tie these emotions together, without heavily relying on any theme of the park. It needs to be its own separate concept and emotion, which is one of the major subliminal aspects that made I:ROE and Tapestry so successful.

I think EPCOT needs I:ROE now more than it ever did.

 

[Haymarket2008]

While this sentiment is true, EPCOT remains too sophisticated of an experience to have a show like Harmonious. While the changes over the past years have watered down that experience slowly, its heart still remains (albeit barely), due to the fact that the blend of IP and Edutainment creates discordant emotions. It's very clear to even the most inexperienced of guests what the original message of the park was and is a recent addition. Due to that, it *NEEDS* a show like I:ROE to thrive.

IP could only work in EPCOT if it uses the edutainment to fall back on, adding to the park's original message. It cannot create a new message.

They want EPCOT to remain unique (to some extent), and in order for that to happen, the evening entertainment cannot be run-of-the-mill, nor can it fall in line with the IP. This is especially clear when other parks have similar shows that outperform HarmonioUS. The park needs an original score to tie these emotions together, without heavily relying on any theme of the park. It needs to be its own separate concept and emotion, which is one of the major subliminal aspects that made I:ROE and Tapestry so successful.

I think EPCOT needs I:ROE now more than it ever did.

Perfectly said. No matter how you slice it, even with IP integration throughout the park, EPCOT is a more sophisticated place. The night time spectacular needs to reflect that.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

While this sentiment is true, EPCOT remains too sophisticated of an experience to have a show like Harmonious. While the changes over the past years have watered down that experience slowly, its heart still remains (albeit barely), due to the fact that the blend of IP and Edutainment creates discordant emotions. It's very clear to even the most inexperienced of guests what the original message of the park was and is a recent addition. Due to that, it *NEEDS* a show like I:ROE to thrive.

IP could only work in EPCOT if it uses the edutainment to fall back on, adding to the park's original message. It cannot create a new message.

They want EPCOT to remain unique (to some extent), and in order for that to happen, the evening entertainment cannot be run-of-the-mill, nor can it fall in line with the IP. This is especially clear when other parks have similar shows that outperform HarmonioUS. The park needs an original score to tie these emotions together, without heavily relying on any theme of the park. It needs to be its own separate concept and emotion, which is one of the major subliminal aspects that made I:ROE and Tapestry so successful.

I think EPCOT needs I:ROE now more than it ever did.

I agree. And, to your second statement, I wish it was a "new" message. Rather, it's creating a garbled mess of multiple messages/themes that don't line up well. That is almost worse IMHO, especially in a park with the sophistication you have described well.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

I agree. And, to your second statement, I wish it was a "new" message. Rather, it's creating a garbled mess of multiple messages/themes that don't line up well. That is almost worse IMHO, especially in a park with the sophistication you have described well.

In all honesty I'm perfectly fine with IP in Epcot cause Epcot has always been a weird quirky mess in the best way possible.

I just wish the IP was used to further the original values of Epcot. The nemo ride kind of accomplishes this. I think Harmonious tries to do it but falls flat in doing so (although I do love this show).

 

[castlecake2.0]

In all honesty I'm perfectly fine with IP in Epcot cause Epcot has always been a weird quirky mess in the best way possible.

I just wish the IP was used to further the original values of Epcot. The nemo ride kind of accomplishes this. I think Harmonious tries to do it but falls flat in doing so (although I do love this show).

When they announced Harmonious I was excited to see how they used it to bring World Showcase together, but like you said, it just falls flat. It’s big and loud but it doesn’t do anything to draw you into the park or the countries that surround you. Just ends up feeling like a Disney+ commercial.

 

[marni1971]

IP overkill helped kill Epcot. Hence the name IPCOT.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

While this sentiment is true, EPCOT remains too sophisticated of an experience to have a show like Harmonious. While the changes over the past years have watered down that experience slowly, its heart still remains (albeit barely), due to the fact that the blend of IP and Edutainment creates discordant emotions. It's very clear to even the most inexperienced of guests what the original message of the park was and is a recent addition. Due to that, it *NEEDS* a show like I:ROE to thrive.

IP could only work in EPCOT if it uses the edutainment to fall back on, adding to the park's original message. It cannot create a new message.

They want EPCOT to remain unique (to some extent), and in order for that to happen, the evening entertainment cannot be run-of-the-mill, nor can it fall in line with the IP. This is especially clear when other parks have similar shows that outperform HarmonioUS. The park needs an original score to tie these emotions together, without heavily relying on any theme of the park. It needs to be its own separate concept and emotion, which is one of the major subliminal aspects that made I:ROE and Tapestry so successful.

I think EPCOT needs I:ROE now more than it ever did.

I feel a lot of us were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the idea of using IP to bring different languages and cultures into the nighttime show, but the show then didn't do this beyond sometimes switching up the language of the songs. They somehow also managed to create a show that detracted from World Showcase even when it wasn't running.

Whatever happens with the new show, I just hope there is more thought and ambition going into the project. The results from Harmonious make me doubt they can turn an IP-focussed show into something that fits the space as it seems all they can really do with it is either show clips with songs from movies or have the characters move around in time to the music, neither of which really works here.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

When they announced Harmonious I was excited to see how they used it to bring World Showcase together, but like you said, it just falls flat. It’s big and loud but it doesn’t do anything to draw you into the park or the countries that surround you. Just ends up feeling like a Disney+ commercial.

I will say, the Disney+ special for the show unironically establishes a better message for the show than the show itself did. It felt appropriate for Epcot in a way but the show itself still felt out of place in a way.

 

[mysto]

Just ends up feeling like a Disney+ commercial.

Ah so it was a success! Lots of eyeballs. I'm not sure how they can measure click-through and uplift?

 

[mattpeto]

I will say, the Disney+ special for the show unironically establishes a better message for the show than the show itself did. It felt appropriate for Epcot in a way but the show itself still felt out of place in a way.

I like that they "shot their shot" with Harmonious.

When the tech is working right, it's a marvel to watch. I don't think it failed specifically because of IP. It might have played a role, but we played back the ratings for Harmonious here a few times so I won't beat that drum again.

The daytime view is what sunk the show.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

I like that they "shot their shot" with Harmonious.

When the tech is working right, it's a marvel to watch. I don't think it failed specifically because of IP. It might have played a role, but we played back the ratings for Harmonious here a few times so I won't beat that drum again.

The daytime view is what sunk the show.

Yeah I 100% agree. The IP isn't what killed the show, it was the issues that came with the hardware. IP probably played a part but that wasnt the glaring issue

 

[Touchdown]

The concept of Harmonious could have worked, but they should have used segments from countries represented exclusively in WS. I also have no idea why they didn’t light up the corresponding pavilion during the segments that did have a section. Also having the stargate be only viewable from 1/5 of WS was stupid.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

The concept of Harmonious could have worked, but they should have used segments from countries represented exclusively in WS. I also have no idea why they didn’t light up the corresponding pavilion during the segments that did have a section. Also having the stargate be only viewable from 1/5 of WS was stupid.

They seemed not to want to stick with IPs tied to countries represented in WS or include IPs that represented each country, so they tried to make it fit by just switching the languages around to make it seem 'international'. Even in that regard it was a bit of a mess, as the languages other than English didn't always match where the films were set.

 

[Touchdown]

They seemed not to want to stick with IPs tied to countries represented in WS or include IPs that represented each country, so they tried to make it fit by just switching the languages around to make it seem 'international'. Even in that regard it was a bit of a mess, as the languages other than English didn't always match where the films were set.

You mean the Pro Colonization English book about embracing civilization being passed as South Asian in origin?

Not sure why the UK got two separate sections in the show…

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

You mean the Pro Colonization English book about embracing civilization being passed as South Asian in origin?

Not sure why the UK got two separate sections in the show…

The entire show is full of issues like this, but by god the India segment is borderline offensive...

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Yes - I think a pavilion-focused show goes in the wrong direction. Part of what made I:ROE the best incarnation to me was how truly global it was. There are only 11 countries represented. The show ending your day at Epcot should be a celebration of humanity, not certain parts of humanity (IMHO). That was the hopeful message that you ideally would walk away from a day at Epcot having - in a perfect world - with the fireworks show bringing that message together into one, final crescendo.

I think doing that with an IP-focused show is tougher, but possible. Music is a language used worldwide. And, styles of music around the world can drive this message home beautifully. But, you have to aim a bit higher to accomplish this.