Disney asks guests in a recent survey if Harmonious is worse than Reflections of Earth

Feb 07, 2022 in "Harmonious"

Posted: Monday February 7, 2022 8:51am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has been sending out surveys to recent EPCOT visitors, and in one of the questions, guests are asked about their experience with the new nighttime show Harmonious.

The question asks, "How would you rate your overall experience with Harmonious compared to your overall experience with Illuminations: Reflections of Earth? Would you say that Harmonious was...

Better
About the same
Worse"

Disney frequently sends out surveys, but they typically don't make direct comparisons to previous attractions and offer a rating option of "worse."

It is no secret that Harmonious has had a very lukewarm reception from EPCOT visitors since its debut in late 2021.

Like the doomed Rivers of Light before it, Harmonious was years in the making, resulting in very high expectations that for many were not met. Critics of the show point to the reliance on existing IP, the daytime intrusion into the lagoon sightlines, and no cohesive story.

Disney is well known for using survey results to support a particular direction being pushed internally. What isn't clear is if Disney is looking to support Harmonious or perhaps make a case for a rework of the show.

It wouldn't be the first time a Walt Disney World nighttime show had a rework shortly after opening. IllumiNations 25 at EPCOT had a disastrous debut, resulting in a rapid rework that saw a new soundtrack and pyro design. Coincidentally, the original IllumiNations 25 used music from the Lion King, and the replacement saw a return of classical, non-movie music.

Rivers of Light at Disney's Animal Kingdom also had a rework less than two years after debuting, with more movie IP brought in to try to boost guest ratings. That ultimately did not appear to work, and the show was soon canceled.

EPCOT's nighttime spectacular is one of Walt Disney World's most important shows. It serves as an anchor to keep guests in a park that is light on attractions and where evening dining is a huge revenue driver for the company. 

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Tom MorrowJun 30, 2023

A clip show, where all the segments are disjointed and interchangeable to boot. That is unfortunately the modern nighttime show design style.

Cmdr_CrimsonJun 30, 2023

Sorry, but I'm glad they removed it off of Disney+. it was the most "Rose Colored" piece of blech if I'd ever seen...The Disney Parks live streams they used to do on their YouTube channel were done way better than this..

Inspired FigmentJun 30, 2023

Not even a castle park, Fantasyland, period. A poorly executed version of Universal Studios attractions I’d argue, actually.

MaryJanePJun 30, 2023

Once upon a time, what you felt was what really mattered, and what WDW aimed for. Now, they seem to think it is what you see that matters. Even though it may be harder to monetize emotions, perhaps it generates repeat business that brute commercialism never will. Oh well.

donaldfanJun 30, 2023

My thoughts exactly. Stop trying to make every park a “castle park” but that ship has seem to have sailed …

ThelazerJun 30, 2023

Here is the problem in a nut shell. It was a clip show, nothing more. As clip shows go, if I'm going to watch clips of Disney movies. I'm doing it at MK. Followed by Fantasmic. All the wiz bang tech, new fireworks, lasers, barges etc. (While they had there own visual problems) Could never overcome the clip show aspect of it.

BocabearJun 21, 2023

To me, the show equipment produced wonderful effects... The show itself was just not good or engaging...Poorly paced, too much video content, it all felt like a commercial, not an actual show...the visible equipment exacerbated the issues... Perhaps if they had built vaults that the units could have descended into during the day, it could have worked better... The lake is not built like California Adventure's concrete bottomed lake, so Vaults may not have even been plausible. I noticed that the new expansion at Disneyland Paris has a lake...which is all concrete...perhaps they will try this type equipment in a place like that... If the Animal Kingdom lake had been built like the California Adventure lake they could have done a complete World Of Color type spectacular...but sadly it is not, and their show suffered from the same problems as Harmonious... Too much video, poor show pacing, not enough elements to create an engaging show...Which is sad...I was very excited about that one.

lordsigmaJun 21, 2023

I actually liked the show and thought it was pretty cool and I observed a mostly positive response from the crowd the times I saw it and don't regret seeing it during the short time of its existence and I feel bad for the creative efforts that went into it to have something not go well - but I guess that's entertainment. I think there are many of us that were never going to like this kind of show as a replacement for RoE regardless of whether it was any good or not when you take the combination of the ugly barges and the issue of IP content at Epcot. I'm personally not a purist when it comes to the Epcot/IP issue and I thought the show kind of attempted to use the music in a manner appropriate to Epcot I didn't see it as just Disney Enchantment at Epcot and I quite liked the soundtrack. But just my two cents on it take it or leave it. Having said all that....was the show worth the impact to the lagoon and world showcase as a whole with the large barges sitting there all the time? No it wasn't and I think that was really the demise of this show far more so than the show's content. If they had designed the same show in a way where the show equipment could have been concealed and the lagoon look presentable during the day it would likely still be playing. At the end of the day they made the right decision to discontinue it with the conclusion of the 50th all things considered.

skimbobMay 19, 2023

Sorry not sorry to see the tacos go. 🎉🎈🎉🎈

TTA94May 19, 2023

No surprise there.

DCBakerMay 19, 2023

Harmonious Live! is reportedly part of the content that will be removed from Disney+. https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/disney-plus-hulu-content-removed-willow-dollface-1235618280/

FigmentFan82May 18, 2023

Glad the view is back. Saw Harmonious 2 times. Did nothing for me. I'm ok with a simple new show to start. If anything it can hopefully be something they could "plus" down the line.

Horizons '83May 18, 2023

I am still incredibility shocked that Disney actually realized a mistake and acted on it, wasting millions in the process. I realized that we will never have a show like RoE again, but still elated that we now have our lagoon back.

marni1971May 18, 2023

🎉 🎉 🎉