Will IllumiNations Return

[Winter]

So, Epcot's Harmonious was a complete bust. Kind of a shame that it's coming to an end as the show itself wasn't terrible but wasn't as good as what came before. There were MANY problems with the show, the most notable ones being the Eye Sore that was the barges that ruined the view of the Lake in the day and the mismatched show that seemed to just take a bunch of random Disney Songs and threw them together with no rhyme or reason or Rhythm to any of this.

The show at night was BEAUTIFUL... So long as you were at the right angle because of the Disk Barge that replaced the Sphere which meant that you might see little to nothing of the show depending on where you were around the lake. I was lucky enough to be in Japan at the time which was a good angle but places like the Bridge between England and France meant that you couldn't get a good look at the show.

There a LOT of other problems I could go into like how the songs start off in English only to switch to the native language the song is set in, or how the barges look terribly incomplete, or how the fact that this show cost millions of dollars and was just wasted because no one making the show actually thought this through before they just got rid of it after one Year but I'm more interested in what is going to replace Harmonious.

As of right now Epcot Forever, which ironically was only ever envisioned as a Temporary Show, will be returning to yet again serve as the Night Show until the next show is ready and as the title gave away, I wonder if that new show will be the return of an Old Show, the Iconic IllumiNations and more specifically Reflections of Earth.

Funnily enough IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth was only ever envisioned as a Temporary Show, with no real plans to keep it past the end of 2000. However, the show was such a hit that it ended up staying for 20 years making it one of, if not The, Longest Running Night Shows in all of Disney Theme Park History and it made a brief return for Epcot's 40th Anniversary last year.


youtu.be/1Ti9B3l1yas

As you saw the return of "We Go On" was met with Cheers from the parkgoers and with the announcement of Harmonious ending just One Month before this I have to wonder if Disney will bring back the Iconic shows.

However, I've also heard rumors that Epcot is planning a new show with drones similar to the one that was used in Disneyland Paris a while back.

Personally I would rather have a new show BUT for it to still be named IllumiNations as IllumiNations has been a big part of Epcot's history since the Park first opened and has changed over the years. I would also love to see the return of the Sphere as it really is for the show as it not only represents Space Ship Earth but allows for all guests at the park to get a good view no matter where they are in the Park.

I also would like to see a Drone Show WITH Fireworks. There was this great show released a year or so ago that did just that it was for the 4th of July and it was AMAZING and I would love to see that for the new Night Show. But if there was only one option and I had to pick only one I would go with Fireworks as Drones just seem a little to tame and slow by comparison. Again, I would rather have both as combined they can make a great show.

I also would like to see the fountains remain for the show as the effects used for Harmonious were amazing just have it where they can be moved. Also I'm not against the idea of the Disks but I would make it smaller and have more of them (3 in total) as the effect for the show again WAS Amazing and, if placed properly, shouldn't ruin anyone's view of the show itself.

Also, I would return what made IllumiNations specially in that it was a show with few to no sung songs. Instrumental Music is universal across the world and the point of IllumiNations and Harmonious is how Music and Stories can bring us together around the campfire. Harmonious failed this by having all the music sung and in Different Languages which made it a little harder to enjoy.

While Reflections of Earth did have songs they were few and far between and since most people seeing the show are English speakers it works a bit better.

But what do you all think? Should Epcot make a new IllumiNations, bring back Reflections of Earth, have drones, use only Fireworks, a combination of both? Is Cereal a Soup? Let me know?