News Reflections of Earth confirmed to be replaced by Harmonious

[Sam Magic]

What they are foolishly forgetting is that Disney has very much been a generational fandom at its core. Parks included. Children with Disney parks loving parents grow up and pass the tradition on to their own children, and the circle continues. Memories have driven a lot of Disney nostalgia, and they drive them long term. Hollow things, be they attractions, shows, or merchandise, drive social media attention and like and retweets, not anything long lasting. They will get Disney short term gains, but long term losses.

I spent my childhood visiting the parks with my grandparents, while my boyfriend had never been until our trip this past week. Those childhood visits are what caused me to fall in love with the parks, architecture, storytelling, even urbanism, and history--the very interests that have shaped my career and adult life. I always wanted to bring any future kids we had to the parks to have similarly inspirational experiences.

On the way home after the trip, my boyfriend and I talked about how we felt. We both agreed we have no desire to bring our kids and expose them to what has become a profoundly shallow experience. We'd instead save our money and bring them to more uplifting and inspiring places.

Clearly I am apparently no longer the kind of guest they want at their parks, so my thought now is why should I keep going or later down the road pass the tradition on to my own child or children? If I’m not alone in that thought, they could be in for a world of hurt financially down the road.

Spot on.

I'm a young twenty-something gay man with a disposable income, my bf and I have large followings on social media--we are Disney's new targeted demographic. After our visit this week, we have no interest in returning or passing down this tradition to our kids or encouraging other family members to go. Disney is not worth the money, and it is not what it used to be.

 

[brickbuilder711]

No surprise (this was obvious when they announced it) but the dining package location at R&C has no view of the Stargate.

Yep. To be fair either of the two tacos facing the R&C, and also the China/Norway side usually will show most of what's on the stargate. On Friday's show it looked like all four sides were split because of the stargate not working.

 

[Cliff]

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Magic Kingdom with all my heart and soul. I WANT to see Mickey, Mini, Donald, Chip&Dale and the whole gang at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I'm specifically looking for fun movie properties in these parks.

With that said and fully understood,...I always felt that Epcot was our "safe space" away from all those things. It was a place to "learn" something, and even be amazed about what the future could possibly be. This Epcot "safe space" was our only "escape" from all the fantasy that we love in the other parks. Epcot was different, unique, smart and made us actually "think" a bit more about the world around us....in a REAL way!

Does "Jungle Book" really help us understand India's culture better? No.
Does "Beauty and the Beast" make us see French culture more accurately? No.
Does "Brave" represent the United Kingdom's culture properly? No.
Is "Mulan" the ambassador for China that helps us understand it in ANY better way? No.

I could list every animated property that was forced into HarmonioUS and NONE of them help us understand the culture of the country they are "supposed" to represent! They are completely WORTHLESS for "that" purpose.

Again,...I LOVE the Magic Kingdom DEARLY...but I fear that we are losing our ONLY "safe space" away from it.

There is NOTHING cultural or educational about HarmonioUS. It's just a hollow shell of colors and cartoons that does nothing to make us any better people after seeing it.

Reflections of Earth?,...the 100% perfect OPPOSITE of everything I just said......RIP

 

[Tom Morrow]

This show quality is bad. You can tell the imagineers like to hang out at Universal Studios when they just made a copy of Universal Cinematic Celebration. Movies and music mix with a water show and weak fireworks you can buy in a tent. People were leaving the park before the show, I never seen so many people leaving the park early when they did Reflections of Earth. You can't see the same show from anywhere on the lagoon. You have to make sure the barges don't block the view. The screens are tiny. The sound system quality is bad. They replaced a fireworks show with tiny screens. What is going on? Is Disney in financial trouble?

To be fair, I often did see people leave during the globe portion of IllumiNations. Usually only to stop and watch it again once things picked back up. That was the quirk with Reflections of Earth - it really did make you wait just slightly too long between something big happening, probably intentionally. But it really, really built anticipation for those who have patience. It also was all accompanied by one continuous flowing musical piece and an epic tearjerker of a closer, which helped communicate that it was building toward something big.

 

[Surfin' Tuna]

To be fair, I often did see people leave during the globe portion of IllumiNations. Usually only to stop and watch it again once things picked back up. That was the quirk with Reflections of Earth - it really did make you wait just slightly too long between something big happening, probably intentionally. But it really, really built anticipation for those who have patience. It also was all accompanied by one continuous flowing musical piece and an epic tearjerker of a closer, which helped communicate that it was building toward something big.

After watching Harmonious in the park twice and confirming just how bad it is - at least in my opinion, I decided to sit down tonight and watch our video from the last night of RoE. I cried like a baby remembering the energy and love shown as the crew sailed the barges backstage (there's an idea) for the last time. The music of the show is so moving versus what we get today. The pyro was better. The show was simply great and all done without ruining the view across the stunning WS Lagoon. I know we all know it, but Tom Morrow's coments about the tearjerker compelled me to come clean with my tear story.

 

[Tom Morrow]

After watching Harmonious in the park twice and confirming just how bad it is - at least in my opinion, I decided to sit down tonight and watch our video from the last night of RoE. I cried like a baby remembering the energy and love shown as the crew sailed the barges backstage (there's an idea) for the last time. The music of the show is so moving versus what we get today. The pyro was better. The show was simply great and all done without ruining the view across the stunning WS Lagoon. I know we all know it, but Tom Morrow's coments about the tearjerker compelled me to come clean with my tear story.

I lost count of how many times I watched ROE over it's 20 year run but I still almost always found myself teary eyed at the end. How could you not? Especially with the holiday tag. Getting a little personal here, but I struggle with depression and ROE always managed to lift me out of it when I was feeling down. I knew Harmonious was never going to be as powerful as that, but I held out hope that, after hyping it for two years and assuring us it was going to be epic, that it would at least inspire me a little. Instead, I only feel cynical about how soulless and corporate it is.

Side note, I just realized this: it's now more clear than ever that the only reason Epcot Forever was created was because it would have been too jarring to jump right from ROE to this. It's also why it ended with the middle finger of "A Whole New World".

 

[Surfin' Tuna]

I lost count of how many times I watched ROE over it's 20 year run but I still almost always found myself teary eyed at the end. How could you not? Especially with the holiday tag. Getting a little personal here, but I struggle with depression and ROE always managed to lift me out of it when I was feeling down. I knew Harmonious was never going to be as powerful as that, but I held out hope that, after hyping it for two years and assuring us it was going to be epic, that it would at least inspire me a little. Instead, I only feel cynical about how soulless and corporate it is.

Side note, I just realized this: it's now more clear than ever that the only reason Epcot Forever was created was because it would have been too jarring to jump right from ROE to this. It's also why it ended with the middle finger of "A Whole New World".

Thanks for sharing the personal part

Not to belittle the personal part at all, but it's one of the great things about theme parks and especially places like "our" Epcot Center was. It was such an uplifting and optimistic place that couldn't help but life our soul a little higher. Even when the changes started, we still got RoE and boy did that just tug at the heart. We all have our own struggles, and lyrics that promise a new day even through the tears filled everyone with that bright optimism when leaving the park.

Yes, we knew the new show wasn't going to be for us, but it was going to be this masterpiece of modern showmanship. I didn't even get that to go with the soulless, flat, and just plain bad show. Change is inevitable, but we should at least try to make it better. I find it hard to believe anyone thought this was better. This one just breaks my heart. Take away a show that through its message and music talks about bringing us together for another "thousand circles 'round the sun," and replace it with something that has zero feelings and nothing that makes me feel good about today much less tomorrow.

 

[Mr.Stang19]

To be fair, I often did see people leave during the globe portion of IllumiNations. Usually only to stop and watch it again once things picked back up. That was the quirk with Reflections of Earth - it really did make you wait just slightly too long between something big happening, probably intentionally. But it really, really built anticipation for those who have patience. It also was all accompanied by one continuous flowing musical piece and an epic tearjerker of a closer, which helped communicate that it was building toward something big.

People were leaving before the show, the show is only a few days old and the parks suppose to be full. The videos of the show are either from the north or south of the lagoon and they are zoom in. If you are anywhere else you can't barely see anything because the taco barges block he view, and the screens look small. The sound system on the lagoon was designed for voice and instruments like violin and guitar, it can't handle bass or drums. Most of the show is music, there is almost no fireworks. The sound system doesn't work with that music. Most of the fireworks are small and you can barely hear them, only a few at the end. This show is not Disney quality. Epcot forever was a 100 times better. This is not a firework show. I don't care about the song lyrics or the language, the quality of the show is really bad. I love Disney and wanted this show to be good and not feel like I am at Universal. For one year of waiting and a lot of talk and announcements, my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.

​

 

[GhostHost1000]

The only thing about illuminations that was bad or weak were the water features barges. If they could go back and use the same music but with new tech AND keep the ugliness from sitting in the water during the day they’d have a huge win

 

[Movielover]

Universal's attractions are still full throttle, chaotic, bombastic, balls to the wall at all times and have no proper pacing. Spider-Man is an exception and not a rule. That is the single biggest difference. Proper pacing = more impactful.

It's like you have never ridden Jurassic Park River Adventure, Revenge of the Mummy, Men In Black: Alien Attack, E.T. Adventure, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, Both Potter Dark Rides, Cat in the Hat, or have walked through Poseidon's Fury. All of these attractions have proper build up concerning pacing and story placement. Even their former attractions like Back to the Future: The Ride, Jaws: The Ride, Kongfrontation, Terminator 3-D, and Earthquake all were cases of perfect use of pacing.

Sure, rides like The Simpsons Ride and Transformers are "balls-to-the-wall" in terms of pacing but they make close to an equal balance to the more standard paced rides that I mentioned above.

To say that Universal's attractions besides Spider-Man have no pacing is a extreme deliberate oversight on the same level as "Universal only builds screenz rides".

 

[DisneyGentlemanV2.0]

7) I mean, we all feared it.. but my lord what kind of mess does this have to look like from anywhere not head on from the stargate? I'll watch more videos.. but this this seems even worse than feared.

You came up with a perfect name for this show...

Lord of the Mess

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Magic Kingdom with all my heart and soul. I WANT to see Mickey, Mini, Donald, Chip&Dale and the whole gang at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I'm specifically looking for fun movie properties in these parks.

With that said and fully understood,...I always felt that Epcot was our "safe space" away from all those things. It was a place to "learn" something, and even be amazed about what the future could possibly be. This Epcot "safe space" was our only "escape" from all the fantasy that we love in the other parks. Epcot was different, unique, smart and made us actually "think" a bit more about the world around us....in a REAL way!

Does "Jungle Book" really help us understand India's culture better? No.
Does "Beauty and the Beast" make us see French culture more accurately? No.
Does "Brave" represent the United Kingdom's culture properly? No.
Is "Mulan" the ambassador for China that helps us understand it in ANY better way? No.

I could list every animated property that was forced into HarmonioUS and NONE of them help us understand the culture of the country they are "supposed" to represent! They are completely WORTHLESS for "that" purpose.

Again,...I LOVE the Magic Kingdom DEARLY...but I fear that we are losing our ONLY "safe space" away from it.

There is NOTHING cultural or educational about HarmonioUS. It's just a hollow shell of colors and cartoons that does nothing to make us any better people after seeing it.

Reflections of Earth?,...the 100% perfect OPPOSITE of everything I just said......RIP

We just came back from the World a week ago. 4 days one at each park, and 2 days at Uni one at each park. Even though I'm writing trip reports for my blog, I'll spill one thing early. In its current state, Epcot moved from my favorite Disney park in Florida to last place- and I was there two years ago. How the once mighty have fallen and so quickly.

 

[Cliff]

We just came back from the World a week ago. 4 days one at each park, and 2 days at Uni one at each park. Even though I'm writing trip reports for my blog, I'll spill one thing early. In its current state, Epcot moved from my favorite Disney park in Florida to last place- and I was there two years ago. How the once mighty have fallen and so quickly.

This is soo sad to say....but you are right. I dont know how our beloved Epcot will look in 2 or 3 more years but Im pretty sure that for top executives, only it's profit/loss metrics will be what matters.

It's a calculated gamble on Disney's part. Will saturating Epcot with movie properties boost its sales numbers? Will Disney be justified in throwing away one group of fans in order to replace them with a new group of fans?

This is the risk that Disney is willing to take and the are right in the middle of that operation as we speak.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

It's a calculated gamble on Disney's part. Will saturating Epcot with movie properties boost its sales numbers? Will Disney be justified in throwing away one group of fans in order to replace them with a new group of fans?

Judging by the masses of humanity I saw waiting in line for Ratatouille/50th merch, as well as the fact that there’s now a booze-pumping festival more often than not, the answer is yes.

 

[Cliff]

Judging by the masses of humanity I saw waiting in line for Ratatouille/50th merch, as well as the fact that there’s now a booze-pumping festival more often than not, the answer is yes.

Yes,...the stark and cold truth is that traditional Epcot "purist" fans like me are potentially 100% replaceable. This is a true profit/loss reality and there is nothing we can say or do about it.

They could put an Aladdin figure flying on a magic carpet on a motorized pole turning round and round all day over a Morocco building. You and I would say that was cheesy and does NOT represent the culture of Morocco.

Meanwhile, hoards of other guests would LOVE it and take photos of it every day and say how cute it was.

 

[MaximumEd]

Finally broke down and watched the video of the show. Some cool tech going on, no doubt, but the barges should have been movable and the weird arm appendages seem like an afterthought. I’ll reserve final judgment on that side of the show until I see it in person this week. Pyro was ok, I guess. Main problem I have with the infrastructure and tech is that it shows its entire hand from the jump. No buildup. No surprises. The message and music is where things really took a wrong turn. ROE was hopeful, aspirational, and inspiring. Ending with We Go On and walking out to Promise was a moving experience that would bring tears to your eye. This was just another Disney clip show, no heart, no soul. What an epic disappointment.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Finally broke down and watched the video of the show. Some cool tech going on, no doubt, but the barges should have been movable and the weird arm appendages seem like an afterthought. I’ll reserve final judgment on that side of the show until I see it in person this week. Pyro was ok, I guess. Main problem I have with the infrastructure and tech is that it shows its entire hand from the jump. No buildup. No surprises. The message and music is where things really took a wrong turn. ROE was hopeful, aspirational, and inspiring. Ending with We Go On and walking out to Promise was a moving experience that would bring tears to your eye. This was just another Disney clip show, no heart, no soul. What an epic disappointment.

The arms are really a head-scratcher. I think if we have to have them, they might be better without the edge lighting...so you don't see the arms themselves, but can see the water/lighting/effects that they create. (Trying to picture this in my head and unsure whether I like it or hate it.)

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

This is soo sad to say....but you are right. I dont know how our beloved Epcot will look in 2 or 3 more years but Im pretty sure that for top executives, only it's profit/loss metrics will be what matters.

It's a calculated gamble on Disney's part. Will saturating Epcot with movie properties boost its sales numbers? Will Disney be justified in throwing away one group of fans in order to replace them with a new group of fans?

This is the risk that Disney is willing to take and the are right in the middle of that operation as we speak.

I feel you could say this for WDW as a whole. There have been decisions made for rides, shows, and the hotels in the last ~5 years that, for lack of a better word, feel "alien" to a lot of long time WDW fans. So many new things are clones and/or character IP focused, the constant up charges for park events, the perceived loss of value and perks for staying on-site...

It feels like a very different WDW now. I guess there are enough folks out there who love the changes but I can't say I'm one of them.

 

[MaximumEd]

The arms are really a head-scratcher. I think if we have to have them, they might be better without the edge lighting...so you don't see the arms themselves, but can see the water/lighting/effects that they create. (Trying to picture this in my head and unsure whether I like it or hate it.)

I don’t even mind the edge lighting and there are a couple of instances where the arms work, but I think they’d be better just stationary and let the water nozzles and lights do all the movement. From certain angles they block a good portion of the Stargate as they aimlessly wave back and forth.

 

[George]

I can't wait to write an unbiased review for the Mistake on the Lake (look I'm at work and I can't think of anything appropriate that rhymes with lagoon, but Buffoon on the Lagoon makes me laugh).

Also, I've heard reports that the new show disturbs Worldy, the long time resident of WS lagoon and a rampage might be forthcoming. Even though Worldy is notoriously shy, she does make an appearance from time to time and can get agitated. Sometimes her reclusive nature can lead to doubt about her existence, but if you look through posts made on these boards you will see that Worldy has been discussed for years

I should note that the mistake I made was lifeguarding at EPCOT and not the EPCOT resorts. The one time someone fell into WS lagoon, I too was scared to jump into that toxic sludge. Luckily, Worldy, the WS lagoon monster of legend, made a surprise appearance and rescued the scared and confused tourist.