First Impressions Watching the New Harmonious Fireworks Show at Epcot

Disney fans around the world huddled around at home in eager anticipation of EPCOT’S brand new nighttime spectacular. Join me as I share with you my personal first impressions of Harmonious. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me and why!

Harmonious Timeline

It was during the Parks and Resorts presentation at the 2019 D23 Expo, that Bob Chapek, announced that a brand new fireworks show was set to debut in 2020 at Epcot.

The name of the show would be Harmonious. The release date was proposed for Spring 2020. Well, we know how that panned out due to the pandemic that began in March of 2020.

On December 11, 2020,  Imagineer Zach Riddley posted a photo to Instagram of one of the Harmonious barges being brought out to the World Showcase lagoon. By the middle of January 2021, the second barge arrived.

By April, all five barges were situated and located on the World Showcase lagoon. It was also announced that the barges would remain in plain sight during the day.

On June 22, 2021 the Disney Parks Blog announced that Harmonious would debut on October 1, 2021 in anticipation for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.

This new show will bring the globe together at World Showcase Lagoon in a celebration of Disney music that inspires people worldwide. It’s a grand, powerful tribute to the stories and songs that unite us, embracing new technical magic that incorporates pyrotechnics, choreographed moving fountains, lighting and media in new ways. “Harmonious” will invite you to travel the globe through new interpretations of classic Disney songs as you’ve never heard them before, reimagined in more than a dozen languages by a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world.

In late July, Disney announced that the last viewing of EPCOT Forever would take place on September 28, 2021.

Which brings us to the present day when the Disney Parks Blog announced on September 24, 2021 that a live stream for Harmonious would debut on September 29, 2021 9:00 EST prior to the shows official debut on October 1, 2021.

Details of the Show

Disney did not reveal too much about the new night time spectacular other than providing fans with a couple of details and some footage.

It was announced that the show will feature music from Moana, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Mulan, Brave, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and more.

This new show will bring the globe together at World Showcase Lagoon in a celebration of Disney music that inspires people worldwide. It’s a grand, powerful tribute to the stories and songs that unite us, embracing new technical magic that incorporates pyrotechnics, choreographed moving fountains, lighting and media in new ways. “Harmonious” will invite you to travel the globe through new interpretations of classic Disney songs as you’ve never heard them before, reimagined in more than a dozen languages by a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world.

First Impressions

I (Marisol) made it home after a long day of work and Ubering my kids around town to their after school activities with ten minutes to spare before the live stream began.

The time had finally come! I have to admit that I first noticed and loved Disney songs being sung in different languages.

According to Disney, Disney songs hop from language to language as the show brings people from different parts of the world together to unlock the magic of possibility.

Harmonious is meant to celebrate languages, music and art styles from around the world, specifically from some countries located within the World Showcase.

We could see this throughout the show as the Paris Pavilion was represented by both Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan representing China, Coco with Mexico and Aladdin with Morocco.

Even though not all the World Showcase countries were represented, other animated Disney films such as The Princess and the Frog for the United States and Brave represents the United Kingdom, although the movie is set in a fictional country.

My Overall Thoughts

Two of my favorite composers are Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean, among many other compositions) and Gavin Greenaway which composed the score for the Tapestry of Nations parade as well as my personal favorite, IllumniNations: Reflections of Earth.

IlumiNations told the story of Earth and was divided into three movements titled “Chaos,” “Order,” and “Meaning”, emphasizing the idea of humanity as a single unified tribe on this planet. 

Personally, I felt whereas IllumiNations beautifully showcased the world as one, Harmounious showcased Disney movies with references to certain World Showcase countries.

As I watched the show I felt that it very much resonated with Happily Ever After as many of the songs are included in both shows. It was a show that fit in perfectly at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park in my opinion.

I know that many Disney fans enjoy the Disney nostalgia of particular films, and don’t get me wrong as I do myself, however, I think I was secretly hoping that “underated” songs from other Disney animated films that are not often represented would be included in the show.

For example, I (Marisol) would have loved to hear music from Disney films such as, Enchanted, Tarzan, A Whale of a Tale from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Brother Bear.

The musical score and arrangements throughout the Harmonious are very nostalgic.

My two favorite parts of the show were the Coco and the Aladdin segments. I very much enjoyed the musical score in both and the accompanying visuals as they represented Mexico and Morocco.

The technology of the barges, the water show and its visuals were so clear that it made it hard to differentiate that the show was casted on water rather than on a screen itself. Beautiful visuals throughout the show and as we know Disney knows how to put on quite the extravagant fireworks spectacular.

The aerial shots from above was majestic and mesmerizing.

I also really enjoyed the ending of the show which featured the lead single, “Someday” from the 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Ending with the song “Someday,” gave me the same emotions that I felt while watching the IllumiNations firework finale.

I look forward to viewing Harmonious in real life as opposed to watching it on a live stream online.

There are many instances where film and images can in no way shape or form capture the essence and exquisiteness than viewing it face to face.

What were your initial thoughts of watching Epcot’s brand new night time spectacular, Harmonious? Let us know on Kenny the Pirate’s Facebook page, or join our crew and continue the discussion!