Disney begins preparing for the return of 'EPCOT Forever' with a firework test

Jan 25, 2023 in "Epcot Forever"

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EPCOT Forever 2.0 preview show

Posted: Wednesday January 25, 2023 3:!5pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney's pyro team is preparing for the return of EPCOT Forever at Walt Disney World and will conduct some firework testing overnight on January 25, 2023.

EPCOT Forever will return for the third time to EPCOT

Disney has advised guests in the EPCOT area resorts that the test will occur after the park close at around midnight, and will include lasers, smoke and fireworks.

"EPCOT Forever" will return to Walt Disney World as an interim show on April 3 2023, following the final performance of Harmonious on April 2.

EPCOT Forever

The first version of EPCOT Forever which debuted on October 1 2019 featured fireworks and stunt kites. and played until Walt Disney World's closure in 2020. The show resumed on July 1 2021, as fireworks shows returned to Walt Disney World after the pandemic shutdown. The second version dropped the stunt kites but added more fireworks in their place. Its last performance was September 28, 2021, making way for Harmonious on September 29.

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Epcot82Guy15 hours ago

It will be the shape of a large wine glass, beer stein and martini glass... ...Barmonious...

SoFloMagic18 hours ago

Giant crunch wrap and world's largest Danish

bcoachable19 hours ago

But the projections would be so hard for us all to see… I’ve got it! Maybe they we could just project on screens that are spread out in the lagoon? Maybe the screens should be some geometric tear drop shape to create a vibe? We could add big fountains to waterfall from the top to help hide them during the day… ;)

aladdin200722 hours ago

They use to with IlluminNations, remember when Germany was turned into a gingerbread castle? No reason why they cant do this kind of thing again, it was ahead of its time back in the 90s. But I would worry all they would do is project giant in your face characters on the pavilions and nothing to do with the country itself....they even had pop up lit lighting effects that rose up off the roofs, moulin rouge for France, a clock for Germany, dragon for China, etc.

Rich Brownn22 hours ago

One of my favorite moments was when "Illuminations" premiered without the lights in place for England. The music played, but the pavilion was dark. Someoneone yelled out 'Insert England Here!' and the crowd roared.

Epcot82Guy1 day ago

I always thought an immersive section during I:ROE's globe section could have done wonders. It would have been one time where people looking at the globe, at the buildings across and the buildings near them could have worked. Then you pull attention back to the center with the fireworks. I realize this would never happen with modern Disney, but repurposing the ROL Lotuses (in a much larger area now where they could have had their own "zones" and projection mapping the buildings to better explain the "globe's story" could have been a pretty cool upgrade IMHO.

jrhwdw1 day ago

My point is....Disney never thought about Norway Lights until Harm??? Norway was opened 6 Months into 1988 IllumiNations!

marni19711 day ago

Disney - not a sponsor -wouldn’t do it for Harmonious. IMHO yes. But they were large, simple projections. Not the bling-fest video you’ll see during HEA.

pdude811 day ago

I assume they wouldn't want to since too much money into a preshow, but a drone pre-show to warm people up while getting ready for fireworks would be a great add. In the spirit of the limited OUAT we used to have in MK. And if there were wind or technical issues, it's just a warm up and could be cut. No refund on the dessert party if the drones don't fly

Squishy1 day ago

Thousands of drones forming both 3D models & a 2D content screen surrounding the outer perimeter of world showcase above backstage roads & buildings would be the most impressive & immersive option but Disney accounting is not ready for discussing such a thing. But I guess it would also lead to disappointment during decent wind gusts.

ToTBellHop1 day ago

A more immersive show would help mitigate the fact that, with year-round festivals, great views of the center of the lagoon are rather limited, especially if you are shorter than 5 feet tall. They attempted giant tacos and the world’s largest donut and we balked. So they’ll need to try something(s) else. And whatever they try will need unobtrusive infrastructure.

Squishy1 day ago

Ehh, did they really from across the lagoon?. IMO they should just stick to the floodlights and make the popcorn lights RGBW instead of making it seem like another generic projection show, but then again they need to find a way to showcase the Disney+ content with fireworks. One water screen in the center of the lake won't cut it for them.