One of the biggest surprises following the conclusion of the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration was the closing of EPCOT’s Harmonious nighttime spectacular. Though the show received mixed reactions from guests during its run at the park, Disney invested millions in building up the needed infrastructure in the park to support the new show, including installing several multimedia barges and a multi-story water feature that some fans had nicknamed “The Stargate.”
Unfortunately, after the show was scrapped, most of this infrastructure was quickly dismantled and removed, while EPCOT Forever returned as the interim fireworks show. However, Disney has promised that this isn’t a long-term solution, and another nighttime spectacular is going to come to EPCOT before the end of the year. And though details remain scarce, here’s what we know so far.
It will tie into the larger Disney100 celebration
Disney has announced that the 100th anniversary of Disney (known as the Disney100 Celebration) will largely take place at EPCOT, and this new nighttime spectacular will kick off the celebration when it debuts this fall. Though information has been scarce about this upcoming show, Disney seems committed to premiering it before the end of the year, and the end of the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival could provide a natural starting point for this new show,
Disney songs will be a part of the show
A frequent criticism of recent nighttime entertainment shows at EPCOT has been their over-reliance on songs from Disney films, with many wishing that Disney would return to creating shows with original concepts like the erstwhile IllumiNations. However, it looks like this new show won’t be breaking Disney’s recent reliance on songs from its classic films any time soon.
Earlier this year it was confirmed that this new nighttime spectacular will feature an original composition and evocative selections from the Disney songbook, all woven together to “remind us that we are more alike than different.”
Raised platforms likely tied to the new show are being constructed around the World Showcase lagoon
Over the past several weeks, a number of raised platforms and pilings have begun appearing around the World Showcase lagoon, in front of what remains of the Harmonious projection screens. There aren’t any shows or other entertainment that would use these platforms, and it is very likely that they will be used in some capacity for this new show. However, exactly how they will be used remains to be seen.
Due to their shape, they seem like they would be a great spot for live performers during the show. However, there’s nothing in the single piece of concept art that has been released to explicitly suggest this. You can see images of the ongoing construction related to this show at WDWMagic.
Though this show is still shrouded in mystery, we will almost certainly be learning more soon as the end of the year fast approaches. Hopefully, this one will be more of a hit than Harmonious and will stick around for years to come.
