Harmonious: how would you rate it?

[mom2rtk]

I’m wondering how all those mechanical elements will stand up to the wear and tear of being out in the Florida weather all day? Just thinking about all the problems malfunctions on rides what will they do if lets say one of the satellite barges goes down or an arm gets stuck?

Probably about as well as World of Color.

 

[DianaMB333]

Ok… second round.. I watched today from the esplanade -front and center to the main screen- and the experience is so much better! (Say 8/10)

(Yesterday I was at Italy)

 

[cjlong88]

Watched the live stream and thought it was great. Loved the musical arrangements and the mixture of familiar with not-so-familiar tunes in numerous languages. Super excited to see it live! Does everyone really look across the lake that often during the day? I'm usually too busy looking at everything within each country I often forget that we are even walking around a lake.

 

[ipianomantanner]

Watched the live stream and thought it was great. Loved the musical arrangements and the mixture of familiar with not-so-familiar tunes in numerous languages. Super excited to see it live! Does everyone really look across the lake that often during the day? I'm usually too busy looking at everything within each country I often forget that we are even walking around a lake.

Id give anything to have this low of a standard.

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

In my opinion, and I only saw a live stream that I ended up tuning out, I am more excited to see the beacons of light than I am the nighttime show. We go in less than 60 days, and I am not sure that I will make it a point to see the show at Epcot - I’ll leave it up to the family, but I don’t think I’d be upset to miss it, or want to battle Skyliner crowds because I stayed.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I only watched the live stream, and I was disappointed. We’re going to WDW next week and we have the Rose and Crown dinner viewing. I want to see it again and hope what I read here about the difference between live stream and in person is as great as people indicate.

However, some of my disappointment is with the content. It doesn’t do justice to what I think Epcot’s show should be.

 

[catnik]

I only watched the live stream, and I was disappointed. We’re going to WDW next week and we have the Rose and Crown dinner viewing. I want to see it again and hope what I read here about the difference between live stream and in person is as great as people indicate.

However, some of my disappointment is with the content. It doesn’t do justice to what I think Epcot’s show should be.

Please post your thoughts after you return. We also go next week and I am not sure I want to camp out 3+ hours ahead of time to get a decent viewing area near the US/Japan pavilions

 

[crazymomof4]

Does everyone really look across the lake that often during the day? I'm usually too busy looking at everything within each country I often forget that we are even walking around a lake.

This proves how different people appreciate different things in WDW.
I can't speak for "everyone" but the view was HUGE for me!! Pre- StarGate & TacoBarges, I used to have to talk myself out of taking MORE pix across the lagoon. I have sooo many over the years! The view was a serene and lovely thing to enjoy even when the park was hot and crowded. But then I'm a big fan of any "water view"- lakes, rivers, oceans. To me these Epcot structures are the equivalent of putting oil rigs directly off of a beautiful white, sandy beach, enjoyed by tourists.

 

[Ginger03]

Speaking of ratings, can anyone who has seen it (or will see it over the next few days/weeks) be able to rate where they stood and watched from? Unlike Illuminations it doesn't appear that just anywhere around the lake is a good spot. I'm really interesting in knowing where people watched from and what they thought of their view. Thanks to OP for already giving some suggestions!

I am lucky enough to have watched both nights in different locations. First, I refuse to crowd in with people or wait with crowds for hours. Last night I watched from Morocco and was pretty disappointed. You could barley see the visuals, particularly the ones inside the big circle.

Tonight i watched from the Epcot ball side of the lagoon, right in front of the noodle stand. There’s a cut out in the trees that allows for a pretty good view and there was almost no one around me. In the area directly in front of me there were so many people and I just could not deal with that kind of crowd. I enjoyed the show much more, and could see the big circle wells, but not so much the side barges. If anyone else is looking for a last minute not crowded pace, try right by the noodle stand.

 

[gharter]

On a scale of 1-10, having seen 2 videos of it, I'd give it a 4, being very generous. Seeing it live might increase or decrease my score. I'll find out next month, but not real hopeful of it suddenly being amazing.

 

[Lisa P.]

Tonight's performance of Disney Enchantment was absolutely fabulous! Epic success, IMO. There must have been completely different teams working on those two shows because the DE team scored a touchdown while the Harmonious team fumbled big time! Epic fail, IMO. So sad!

 

[SteveMouse]

I didn’t feel much cohesion between segments and didn’t feel any emotion at the end. We Go On and the visuals on the g,one always made me think of the diversity of mankind, our history, the mistakes and errors we’ve made, a steadfast commit to come together, explore new frontiers in science, space, and underwater, and develop a society that will survive into the future.

HarmoniUS left me feeling flat and wanting something non-commercial. Disney could have done a lot more, ebem With a warm handoff between characters, either visually or with voice. A transition from Moana’s world of water to the plains.of Africa, perhaps? Or some character helping link things together?

Were any of the Moana lyrics presented in Hawaiian?

 

[Marionnette]

I’m wondering how all those mechanical elements will stand up to the wear and tear of being out in the Florida weather all day? Just thinking about all the problems malfunctions on rides what will they do if lets say one of the satellite barges goes down or an arm gets stuck?

Like the Yeti? First timers won't know the difference so why fix a malfunctioning prop. Just add some strobe lights and it's good to go.

 

[kathi]

I am lucky enough to have watched both nights in different locations. First, I refuse to crowd in with people or wait with crowds for hours. Last night I watched from Morocco and was pretty disappointed. You could barley see the visuals, particularly the ones inside the big circle.

Tonight i watched from the Epcot ball side of the lagoon, right in front of the noodle stand. There’s a cut out in the trees that allows for a pretty good view and there was almost no one around me. In the area directly in front of me there were so many people and I just could not deal with that kind of crowd. I enjoyed the show much more, and could see the big circle wells, but not so much the side barges. If anyone else is looking for a last minute not crowded pace, try right by the noodle stand.

Tiki Torch 13 between Morocco and France was our Illuminations viewing spot since New Year's Eve 2001.

 

[bsmcneil]

I’m wondering how all those mechanical elements will stand up to the wear and tear of being out in the Florida weather all day? Just thinking about all the problems malfunctions on rides what will they do if lets say one of the satellite barges goes down or an arm gets stuck?

My guess is that this is the main reason they aren't submerged/moved regularly as folks have requested.

 

[bsmcneil]

In my opinion, and I only saw a live stream that I ended up tuning out, I am more excited to see the beacons of light than I am the nighttime show. We go in less than 60 days, and I am not sure that I will make it a point to see the show at Epcot - I’ll leave it up to the family, but I don’t think I’d be upset to miss it, or want to battle Skyliner crowds because I stayed.

The Twitter-verse had HIGH recommendations of BoL esp compared to Harmonious.

 

[bsmcneil]

Were any of the Moana lyrics presented in Hawaiian?

What do you mean?

I ask, in part, because there are different forms of Hawaiian language, Hawaii isn't a part of the World Showcase beyond any inclusion in the American Adventure (other than F&W), and Moana isn't set in Hawaii. And yes, this sort of thing sort of grabs my attention ...

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

not having a cohesive story from a company that prides itself on story telling..is not a silly criticism. the show lacked emotion.

The music was a mess. Visually strimulating but that was about it…

Watched stream only. I agree the STORY is missing. It "felt" more like a video/music mix...and those FEELS were once the hallmark of Disney. Walt said every story needs a smile AND a tear. The music has always expressed the story.

I understand time & tastes change. But IMO, the emphasis on technical craft over story is too prominent these days.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

What was the last weird statement?

Something about taking a song with you? It was the closing words, but it just seemed the timing was off (plus the words themselves were odd I thought).

 

[Geoff_M]

On a scale of 1 to 10, based on the live-stream, I'd give it a 4.

Pros:
Visually cool to look at.

Cons:
Zero emotional pull
No real plot
Musical selection and transitions disjointed
New musical arrangements made it hard at times to tell what IP was being presented (sometimes I had to rely on visual clues from the video barges)
Serious pyro cost-cutting in level of fireworks
Ended with a "whimper."

My family and I were big Illuminations fans, but we understood that it was on borrowed time. I honestly wanted to like this replacement show, but this seems more like RoL, only "bigger" and without the nature theme. Overall, I'd give it an "OK" rating. Nothing to get excited about seeing or recommending to others.