Everything You Need to Know about EPCOT’s New Show Harmonious
MickeyBlog just had the privilege of watching the latest nighttime presentation at EPCOT.
So, what do you need to about EPCOT’s new show, Harmonious? Let’s talk about why you’ll love it…
What Is Harmonious
Harmonious is the de facto successor to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, the award-winning show at World Showcase Lagoon.
Two years ago, on September 30th, 2019, IllumiNations performed its final show. The following evening, park officials replaced it with EPCOT Forever.
At the time, everyone expected EPCOT Forever to last for less than a year, as Disney had already announced Harmonious at the 2019 D23 Expo.
Disney even played the new theme song from Harmonious at the event:
Now, two years later, we’re finally getting Harmonious. But, unfortunately, the pandemic forced Disney to delay its construction.
If you have walked by World Showcase Lagoon lately, you know that the show includes giant barges that took a while to put together.
Now, Disney is finally ready to turn Harmonious into a nightly part of your EPCOT visit.
This isn’t an interim or transitional show like EPCOT Forever. Instead, you can safely expect Harmonious performances for many years to come.
The Visuals of Harmonious?
Seriously, have you looked at these barges?
Imagineers constructed five of these massive floating stages, each of which serves a purpose.
Harmonious will mirror some of the water effects from the former Animal Kingdom show, Rivers of Light, and the current one, World of Color at Disney California Adventure.
Disney has modernized the effects, and one of the key reasons is that the barges utilize giant moving arms.
These devices include a dizzying array of lights, but they also project water into the air. This projection is integral to the performance of Harmonious.
At times, the middle barge becomes a focal point as a center ring, again providing memories of Rivers of Light.
You’ll notice splashy red colors during songs from Mulan and a veritable rainbow for the Coco songs.
The other stages look like half-moons throughout the show, augmenting the main stage for the most part.
As for that barge, it kinda looks like the center of a Ferris wheel akin to the one at Disney California Adventure.
The whole effect of the mini-stages and the main one may feel somewhat familiar. This is because it’s a modified version of the viewing technique at Mickey’s PhilharMagic.
The action on the sides accentuates but rarely distracts from the main stage.
Perhaps the biggest surprise comes from the sky. You may barely notice the fireworks, which are minimal anyway.
Harmonious seems to rely more on visuals instead of constant fireworks.
The Music of Harmonious
Then again, so is the music. During the show, you’ll hear the following classic Disney songs:
- Circle of Life – The Lion King
- How Far I’ll Go – Moana
- Go the Distance — Hercules
- Arabian Nights — Aladdin
- I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song) – Jungle Book
- Reflection – Mulan
- Hakuna Matata – The Lion King
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight – The Lion King
- Prologue — Beauty and the Beast
- Out There – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Touch the Sky – Brave
- Remember Me – Coco
- The World Es Mi Familia – Coco
- Dig a Little Deeper – The Princess and the Frog
- Someday — Hunchback of Notre Dame
You’ll hear snippets of other Disney soundtracks like Frozen as well.
Notably, the performances are multilingual, as they should be at the World Showcase.
In fact, Reflection starts in Mandarin, and The World Es Mi Familia is mainly in Spanish.
These lovely touches demonstrate how much thought and detail Imagineers have put into Harmonious.
In fact, having an extra year to create it may have turned Harmonious into a better overall presentation.
You can watch the full performance here: