Walt Disney Imagineers are sharing an overview of what fans can expect when Harmonious debuts on Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon this fall.
Harmonious replaces the current Epcot Forever (and the long-running IllumiNations) as Epcot's nighttime spectacular. Guests have been watching the production's enormous show platforms taking space on the lagoon over the past months. Fountains eventually are supposed to hide the platforms during the day, but at night they will become the center stage for a musical trip around the world.
Disney Live Entertainment Executive Creative Director Steven Davison explained the show in this highlight video from Disney.
"The show is built in a three-act structure," Davison said. "The first act is entitled 'Gather.' It's where we gather everyone around the World Showcase Lagoon and make them part of our world family. The opening is so wonderful because you have all these international languages, and I keep waiting to hear myself within it. And when I do I feel a part of it. That's really what we want our guests to feel - to feel like they are part of Harmonious. The way the characters are represented - a lot of times they are silhouettes. And we did that on purpose, so you could put yourself into that role of the character.
"Act two is titled 'Celebrate.' Basically, it goes into the World Showcase pavilions, [becoming] as a wonderful trip around the world, as we're going from continent to continent in a celebration of the world, but through Disney. [It's] something that everyone here I think will really enjoy.
"So we enter the last act of our show which is 'Unite.' It takes you and it takes this spirit of what Epcot is about - about how the world can be one united place - and it really puts it front and center in the lagoon. Then you, as our united family, can come together and see that with your united family."
"When we do these shows, I look at them as how are we, as artists, able to come together and give you inspiration," Davison said. "That's what's special. You can go and inspire anybody. These shows can inspire. Our music can inspire. Our films can inspire and really light the way for the future, because that's what Epcot is all about. It's not about just staying where we are. It's about looking to the future as a global community."
Harmonious debuts October 1 as the Walt Disney World Resort kicks off its 50th anniversary "The World’s Most Magical Celebration." Also on that day at Epcot, the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure dark ride will open officially in the park's expanded France pavilion.
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EPCOT attendance is gonna jump! Between the night show, Guardians and Ratatouille the park is going to be packed.
It certainly looks good, but those barges are still a shocking blot on the Epcot landscape. I was there today, and they have not improved with time … LOL.
I have a reservation for October 2nd, so I’ll see it first hand, and maybe, if the fountains are working thru the daytime, I might even change my mind about the ‘blots’ …. :)
Hoping Ratatouille will be a virtual line like ROTR, but I won’t hold my breath.
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Inspiration was very much at the center of Epcot when it first opened. It’s great for Epcot to get back to its roots with Harmonius. It’s also nice to hear about a focus on the inclusion and acceptance of the global community, as long as the good ole USA is represented. Remember, America first.