I’m sure everyone else talked about this while I was busy but I just found out that Harmonious ended. What? I’m peeved that I didn’t get a chance to see it. I expected it to last a long time like Illuminations.
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It was a really great show! You can watch it on Disney+ and the production value in that program is quite good. Unfortunately, the eyesores in the lagoon were a turnoff for a lot of people so most seem to be glad it’s gone. Hopefully whatever new show is being concocted is just as good without the obstructions.
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I was just there in March and still didn’t get to see Harmonious. I have seen the video so it’s fine. I really don’t how cluttered the lake looks during the day.
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Yeah, about that ……
What I’m hearing is that the replacement has changed from being quite impressive sounding to a pretty simple. 
I’m actually hoping Epcot Forever sticks around, would like to see it. But as long as the views are restored I’ll be happy.
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Personally I found the show pretty meh. It wasn’t bad, but overall did very little for me. Add in the eyesores that were the “Giant Water Tacos” during the day and overall I thought Harmonious was a net negative. Frankly the replacement almost has to be better if the show adds any value with the demise of the water tacos…
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We stood in Norway, right on the lake to watch EPCOT Forever and really enjoyed it.
I thought it was a pretty great show.
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I enjoyed the show. I think they should figure out how to do a show like DisneySea. That one is really good.
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This. We watched it not long ago, and now was sorry we never saw it live. I don’t think the projections did much, but the music itself was really perfect. The way they weaved together Disney music with a taste of the sounds of the nations was spot on. Glad to get to see the D+ show…although Idina Menzel made for an annoying host. She was the one weak spot of the presentation.
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Overall I adored Illuminations and expected Harmonious to be at that level. I guess not? Hopefully I will like whatever they come up with later. I have no current plans to return to WDW. I’ve liked all the shows I’ve seen there except the AK show from 2019, which seemed like they weren’t sure what they were doing with it.
(I thought Harmonious was better than Illuminations. 
)
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Right?! I usually like her, but she turned up the “Happy!” a little bit too high for this particular gig.
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I really liked the show - music, projections and fireworks, but it was super hard to see from most places and almost impossible to see for children. So you could have a good spot and as soon as the show starts kids gonup on shoulders and now you can’t see.
In Disneyland, there are a lot of shows with poor sitelines, but Disneyland seems much more tolerant of that.
And then there was the daytime view.
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I loved Illuminations. I liked Harmonius too, but hated the tacos etc. We watched Epcot Forever on Monday and it was a good show, simple but nice. I guess I’m easy to please with fireworks lol,
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I find this to be a universal problem with all shows at all parks. The nice thing about Harmonious was there were duplicate projections on multiple, very large objects (hence the whole eyesore problem) and lots of pyrotechnics etc. above the ground so at least there’s something to see regardless of where you are around the lagoon.
It’s much worse for Illuminations and HEA, for example, where the projections are only visible if you stake out a spot for an hour.
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Illuminations used a globe for that very reason though, so it could be seen from all vantage points.
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I was a major evangelist for Harmonious. Distance from HEA may have dulled my memory, but I think Harmonious is my all-time favourite nighttime show. And that’s coming from someone who loves projections above all else.
The genius of Harmonious was threefold.
First, the music was fantastic. I loved the re-recordings in authentic voices. It was so appropriate for Epcot.
Second, the fireworks were flawlessly timed to work with the music. They added real value. No other nighttime show does this as effectively. Other shows make me feel like the music team and the fireworks team were working independently half the time. The finale was breathtaking, with the lagoon filled with light and the incredible power of the firework launches really apparent as you heard them explode across the lagoon only a few metres away from you.
Finally, there was a very clear and appropriate narrative: we travel the world (showcase) to hear voices and sounds and imagery from across the globe.
What I did notice — having seen the show many times — is that location was absolutely key. My favoured spot was to the right of front of house and — crucially — right by a speaker, so that I was immersed in sound. I had a square on view of the Stargate and two tacos and so saw everything the designers wanted me to see. When I saw the show from different locations — even the VIP viewing area — the effect was much diminished.
I tended to think the talk of the Stargate and tacos ruining sightlines in the lagoon was overblown. It never bothered me. If you want pretty vistas there are plenty of other places in WDW to go to.
I never got Illuminations. It was never essential viewing for me in the way that Harmonious absolutely was. With the exception of the Christmas extended version: I will remember the ending for the rest of my life — every firework in the world set off simultaneously completely filling the sky with light. I thought I would have a heart-attack it was so overwhelming.
My love of HEA was much more about the emotional resonance of it. And the projections. I do love me some projections. Especially the one where the towers turn into rockets and blast off. Oh, and Tinkerbell was always breathtaking. Well, whenever she could be bothered to fly.
I remember little of Epcot Forever. I think it struck me as kinda amateurish. Jet skis and illuminated kites are not a sophisticated look. See also: Kitetails. Lame.
I will generously not comment on Enchantment, which was trash and will be missed by no-one. But, OMG, the Castle sure does look pretty with projections.
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I’ll pick up on this. According to those in the know, this is what the Disney execs thought would be the case. That the show was so awesome that people would overlook the daytime look of the lagoon.
They also believed that the daytime fountain effects would wow guests so much that they would even forget the lack of “vistas”.
That proved not to be the case. The fountain effects didn’t work, itbwas so bad they gave up even turning them on. Maybe they didn’t realise that water was transparent…. dunno.
But guest complaints about the barges were off the scale. Irate guests, irate emails, the lot.
Plus the show didn’t get the rave reviews they anticipated, quite possibly because as you say location was key. The show itself was fine, the music was liked.
But the complaints about the views plus the fountain effects that sucked doomed the show. When they announced it’s demise they just wanted rid of it.
To you those complaints may have been over-stated. But the Guest Satisfaction survey results were worse than anything seen before. And the number of complaints dwarfed any previous subject.
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There is also likely a problem of order of events. People show up first in the day time dismayed at how ugly the barges were, etc. They haven’t yet seen the show. So judgments are formed early on. If they stay for the show in the evening, it becomes much more difficult to overcome the already formed negative feelings, even if they otherwise loved the show.
On the other hand if people saw the show first, then when they later look at the barges, they might be less inclined to be bothered by them because they already formed fond memories of the show.
As for me, I hated the barges. And I never saw the show (other than on D+ a few weeks ago). I am glad to see them go. But while we watched the D+ show, I think they could actually keep all the music and just come up with a new way to do the projections. Project on Spaceship Earth, or install arrays of fountains that would create walls of water to project onto…fountains that would be barely visible during the day, if at all.
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I’m with @sanstitre_has_left_the_building on this one. I barely remember IllumiNations. It was not bad but I preferred Harmonius and I never even saw it from the angle you were supposed to. Yes the barges were bad. They should found a way to boat em in or something but the show was great.
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Mousematt, your descriptions of Harmonious are the reason I wanted to see it. I will see it on Disney + at some point now, I know that won’t be the same though. Hopefully whatever they come up with next can take some of the good points of Harmonious and make something new…
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