So long to the Harmonious barges in EPCOT World Showcase lagoon

When Disney World first announced the “Harmonious” nighttime show at EPCOT in they touted how this would be one of the largest shows ever created for a Disney park. The should would have five giant barges to be used for projections, pyrotechnics and water screens at night.

During the day the barges would be used as large water fountains to provide entertainemnt for the middle of the World Showcase lagoon.

But this never took place. During the day, the barges were nothing more than an eyesore in the middle of water. At night, while the barges were good for pyrotechnics, water fountains and some projections, there was one major deficiency. It’s mockingly called the “Stargate,” the centerpiece of the barges that is a large round space with water curtains in the middle where large projections take place.

The issue with this barge is that there are only two locations around the lagoon where you can actually see the projections and many times those places are taken up by premium services such as dessert parties or rented out for parties. Unlike the previous Illuminations, where the globe was in the center of the lagoon and visible from anywhere around the lagoon, this structure only allows for two places to see the big projections. This is not a good experience.

At D23 Expo in September, Disney announced that an all-new nighttime spectacular will deut at EPCOT later this year. The new who will not be using the barges, according to Disney.

“EPCOT Forever” will be returning to the lagoon, this was the space filler show between “Illuminations” and “Harmonious.” According to Disney, thisi”s the perfect offering while our Entertainment team preps the Lagoon, including a phased removal of fireworks platforms following the final ‘Harmonious’ performance on April 2.”

In some ways this is too bad. While the barges were an eyesore during the day, the show itself and the music had grown on me during the past year. The message of “Harmonious” is similar to that of its long-time predecessor” Illuminations:” We are “a single unified tribe.” Harmonious is intended to get the message across in music with 15 songs.

While this show is also supposed to be in three acts as well – “Gathering,” where everyone is gathered around the World Showcase Lagoon, “Celebration,” a trip around the world and “Unite” how the world can unite. These themes don’t come through. 

Unless you are told about the the themes, there does not to appear any specific structure to “Harmonious”—no unifying thread weaving all those beautiful parts together. Each individual piece of music with accompanying pyrotechnics, projections, fireworks, water fountains and lasers is stunning. But how they connect to “finding each other in song” is missing.