New Epcot Forever Fireworks in 2019 & 2020
We have details about the Epcot Forever fireworks show for 2019 and its replacement in 2020 following the previous announcement that IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth will be retired at the end of Summer 2019. Walt Disney World has shared details as to how these new nighttime spectaculars will fit into plans for Epcot’s multi-year transformation. (Last updated April 9, 2019.)
As previously announced, the first new fireworks show will begin immediately after IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth concludes its ‘farewell run.’ This limited-time experience will be called “Epcot Forever” and will debut in fall 2019. It will feature pyro, classic Epcot tunes, and who knows what else.
April 9, 2019 Update: Walt Disney World announced during the IllumiNations live-stream that the current show will conclude its run on September 30, 2019 and Epcot Forever will begin on October 1, 2019 (the park’s anniversary). Additionally, a new video showcasing test footage from Epcot Forever and new concept art confirms rumors of illuminated kites and jet skis featuring in Epcot Forever.
Following the one-year run of Epcot Forever, the main new nighttime spectacular will debut in 2020. This fireworks show will chronicle how Disney music inspires people around the globe, and will feature large floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics, lasers, and more.
Additionally, Chapek announced that a new Circle-Vision 360° film is coming to replace O Canada!, and further reiterated that the new Circle-Vision 360° film for China (announced last summer at the D23 Expo but not mentioned since) is still on the way. Finally–at least in terms of Epcot news–he announced that a brand new Beauty and the Beast sing-along created by Don Hahn, producer of the animated and live-action Beauty and the Beast films, is set to debut in the France pavilion.
Now, for our commentary on these announcements…
In our previous posts about the rumor of a replacement for IllumiNations and then in our official announcement commentary, we had discussed an interim, stop-gap show between IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth and the new, permanent show.
Originally, we were pretty confident that there would be a temporary show, for a couple reasons. First and foremost, because infrastructure work would need to be done between the two shows and a full-scale fireworks ‘spectacular’ could not be shown during that time.
Second, from a marketing perspective. In this scenario, Epcot would get three surges of guests: longtime fans of IllumiNations would come to bid the show adieu between now and Summer 2019, the same group would come again to see the interim Epcot Forever show, and “everyone” would come to see the new show. It’s no secret that Epcot attendance has been lagging during the park’s Diet Epcot months, and this would give it a needed boost.
The interim Epcot Forever show will likely be a smaller scale nighttime spectacular than what’s introduced in 2020, and will allow work to occur on the World Showcase Lagoon infrastructure during its one-year run.
Think of this situation as akin to when Disneyland ran ‘Fantasy in the Sky’ for a few months while updating its tech after ‘Remember… Dreams Come True’ ended and before debuting ‘Disneyland Forever,’ the 60th Anniversary show.
That proved to be a savvy move, as Fantasy in the Sky has a long legacy in California (versions of it date back to 1958). Even though the show had a brief runtime (I swear it felt less than 5 minutes long) and a disappointment as compared to ‘Remember… Dreams Come True’ and ‘Disneyland Forever,’ it proved a draw among locals.
Same idea applies here. We don’t need to tell you that the original EPCOT Center has a strong and passionate fanbase, and offering up some fan service in the form of ‘Epcot Forever’ for 6 months or so–and announcing it fairly far in advance–will get those hardcore fans to plan trips.
We wouldn’t necessarily caution you against doing that, as ‘Epcot Forever’ could surprise us all with some strong pyro, cool effects, and a great soundtrack. Just as likely, though, is that it’s a condensed show with limited pyro and a short medley of EPCOT Center tunes. We would bet against it being as good as the 25th and 30th Anniversary tags.
As for the permanent show, color us disappointed but unsurprised. This show sounds like it’s World of Color-inspired, and we’d expect it to be similar to that show, but adapted for the unique 360-degree viewing area of World Showcase Lagoon. Expect the soundtrack and imagery to be character-laden.
In fairness, World of Color is an exceptional show and if it’s on par with that in quality, the new Epcot lagoon show will be a huge hit among casual guests of the park. Our concern lies more with how a show focused on Disney characters and music fits thematically with World Showcase, and the mission of Epcot.
At his speech during the last Destination D event, Chapek indicated that the bold plans for Epcot entailed making it ‘more Disney, more relevant, timeless, more family-friendly, and true to the original vision of the park,’ which he reiterated again at the D23 Expo.
Making Epcot more Disney and staying true to the park’s original vision are not necessarily at odds with one another. However, anyone who has paid even passing attention to how the company makes things “more Disney” these days would know that the two ideas are pretty much mutually exclusive.
More Disney is not-so-secret code for more intellectual property from films, which was the antithesis of EPCOT Center. There are ways the two could coexist, but Disney long ago gave up on Epcot as an ‘edutainment’ experience, and there’s no credible reason to believe they’ll alter course now.
We don’t doubt that Disney will pay lip service to Epcot’s mission, offer tenuous ways coming additions are ‘on-theme’, and even throw fans some bones here and there. The ‘Peter Quill visited Epcot’ line is one example of a tenuous connections. You’ll probably also be able to find hidden logos of the original EPCOT Center Future World pavilions, and other superficial attempts to placate fans, but don’t expect anything that substantively evokes the Future World of EPCOT Center going forward. (Unless you count LE merchandise.)
The Circle-Vision films should be one such way Disney throws a bone to Epcot fans. By several accounts, the China film is at the behest of (and co-funded by) Disney’s partner in Shanghai Disneyland, which is an arm of the government. We don’t know any details about that film, but expect it to be a travelogue showcasing China’s beauty, rather than anything involving Mulan or other characters. It should be good, and we’d likewise expect the new Canada film to be a solid upgrade over the current film.
We don’t really have an opinion on the Beauty and the Beast sing-along news. World Showcase unquestionably needs more for kids, even with the addition of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. (Oh yeah, they also announced that as the official name…guess there’s a fear guests won’t recognize what the ride is based upon unless the film title is in the name!)
Sing-alongs are definitely not for us, but there’s appeal, and Disney went out of its way to indicate that this would be in addition to Impressions de France, rather than replacing it, so…whatever. It’ll probably be just as good or bad as other sing-alongs, depending upon your perspective.
We’re expecting more news today out of the Destination D event, and possibly confirmation of some rumors that have been swirling for the last couple months, so stay tuned throughout the day…
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Your Thoughts
What do you think about the ‘Epcot Forever’ and the World of Color-esque permanent lagoon show? Disappointed or excited? Surprised or unsurprised? Will you plan a trip to say goodbye to Illuminations or hello to Epcot Forever? Other thoughts? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m truly concerned about the direction they’re going with Epcot. They already have MK and DHS to fill to the brim with their IP. Why do we need to ruin the beautiful and inspiring vision of Epcot too? Do we need another water projection show with characters like every other park already has? If all of your theme parks are basically the same, then really: what’s the draw? Once you’ve checked off all the rides and attractions from your list, there’s no need to go back.
I’m okay with the occasional bit of culturally-appropriate IP like Ratatouille… but if they want Epcot to really speak to a new generation, they should double-down on it’s mission instead of selling it out. An up-to-date version of Epcot could be a huge hit. On the bright side, I do love the concept art for the new Epcot entrance. That seems like a better, more up-to-date vision of the future. Green spaces are part of how we imagine our future now.
It seems to me that IP is a short term way of generating cash, at the expense of long-term attendance. Give me an inspiring replacement for Illuminations that will teach younger generations about the international community and inspire them the way that Illuminations did when was a teenager. Give people a reason to bring their kids… make people feel like they *have* to find the money for the sake of their education and future. A theme park trip that’s expensive is easy to cancel. A culturally enriching, educational experience is different.
Went to epcot twenty years ago and had a blast. Returned aday after Xmas with my family.
$169.00 per ticket. The place honestly sucks. Bathrooms up at German town don’t flush . Shit flowing over bowls. No people to assist . Understaffed. What the hell happened here? Stairways , walkways stained.
Better yet blow up the hole Park. Filthy dirty .
Needs to power sprayed and deodorize the whole place. Where’s the supervisors? Old and retired. This is no Universal park.
Disney lost. If they paid me I won’t go back. Lesion leaned 4 x &169.00
Keep the money deodorizer the place.
Upon first thoughts . Epcot was suppose to be futuristic.
Over the years they lost that thought. It’s behind the times.
Dirty , smelly and disgusting. Don’t even go if it’s free.
It’s close to having homeless sleep within the supposed world around the dirty water lake.
Get real and close this dump. I guess Disney dumped all their budget into Disney Springs parking garage. No money left for poor out dated Epcot.
Dating myself for sure- it I LOVED the huge “puppets” that came out with the original Reflextion show. I k ow they cancelled them due to the challenge of high winds, but they were amazing. Wish they could bring back something like those that showcase world wide culture and diversity- then If the Reflections replacement is Disney movie themed, maybe I could deal with it.
why i think Disney is going to throw me a bone, i don’t know. first it was pushing up star wars to interfere with our labor day week trip, then not opening mickey and minnie at HS when we were hoping we might hit soft opening for that. now, hoping we might get to see the interim epcot nighttime show but will miss it by several weeks. not likely to head back just to see it, will wait for someone to put it on youtube,
My husband and I frequently sit on our front porch in Austin, TX to watch the sunset accompanied by the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth soundtrack. We’re booked at the Swan in late August and plan to attend multiple viewings of it since it will be our final opportunity to see it live. And we’re apparently soulmates with Nancy S. who commented that she would miss the fire/torches…last night as my husband snuffed the last tiki torch in our back yard as we were heading in for the night, he blew an audible “pffff” like you hear on the speakers as the show begins. To say we will miss IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth doesn’t even begin to describe it!
Is there any news on how the change will impact the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party?
I am really not lookingforward to the replacement of fire/torches, fireworks etc with floating set pieces, LED panels, fountains, lights, and lasers. It sounds way too close to Rivers of Light, which I know some enjoy, but I don’t feel we need another one. The more and more WDW uses blacklights on rides, the more it seems things are headed this garish way..
Rivers of Lights. I saw that once. I am in Orlando and go weekly to the parks. Same page!
We are going in November, and I am cautiously optimistic the family will dig the interim show.
To me it looks like a greater investment than I was expecting for something that is temporary. Here’s hoping.
I thought the new nighttime show was going to have a swarm of drones.
That was the rumor previously; I don’t know if things have changed, or if Disney is just waiting for a later ‘big reveal’ on that since it would be a pretty splashy stand-alone announcement.
I believe they ran into some tech issues with the holiday drone show. I can’t remember, but something was a barrier.
Well, when the latest box office offering is telling the upcoming generation to break free of everything that makes a princess a princess and change with the times, do you think Disney is going to hold onto its original vision?
On a brighter note, in keeping with Walt’s vision that his parks would be affordable for the common man, I just priced out a week in early June for our family at Art of Animation and with Park Hoppers and a regular meal plan it came in at a bargain of $9996. That didn’t include the parking fees or oxygen surcharge.
I’m surprised that they have not figured out a way to charge us for the humidity and claim it as an added feature. Although, that may be the idea with the gondolas not having A/C.
During our trip in October we made a last minute change in plans to abandon our fast pass + for Fantasmic and grab a boat back to Epcot for a 2nd viewing of Illuminations… it was honestly one of my favorite moments of the trip to watch it again. To change it so drastically does not sit well with me. Despite many of the attractions being outdated, we loved Epcot. AK was relatively relaxing. MK was frantic and watching Wishes was *insanely crowded.* Maybe we aren’t the target audience for Disney (couple in our late 30’s) but I don’t want Epcot to become “more Disney.”
EPCOT is dead. Every park must be a version of the MK, with characters and IP and cupcakes. There was no good news whatsoever that came out of Chappie’s little chat with the addicts in the swamps. It’s like they killed your little sister and want to rape the corpse in front of you. Sorry if that’s harsh. It’s also true.
I’m more interested in your take on the Bleeding Control boxes that have appeared backstage all over in prominent areas. Is Disney readying itself for a mass casualty situation? Should they be giving money to NRA-A rated politicians while Iger tweets about gun violence?
And do you really think there is any middle of the road position here? I, obviously, don’t.
WDW1974 is on fire!!!! Killing your little sister… doing things to corpses… Bleeding Control Boxes… mass casualty situation… Nothing screams “Disney” like those four topics! Who can follow that?!?!?!
I’d drop the mic, but I broke it on another post.
Blerg – that concept art looks suspiciously mist screen heavy. I hated that from Rivers of Light–maybe we went on a windy night, but getting sprayed by sketchy misted florida pond water and seeing only half-vaguely discernible shapes in the screens is not my idea of “spectacular”
It’s hard to not feel overwhelmingly sad about the nighttime spectacular announcement. Illuminations was one of the last pieces of Epcot that still felt like EPCOT. I feel like we are losing so much with the loss of this show. Not that I expected it to stay forever, but replacing the original score and concept with existing IP is just so disappointing. I guess we just go on hoping that it won’t be a ridiculous display of characters with a sewn together score of themes from the movies. The next generation needs and deserves to hear the message that Illuminations heralded.
Hear hear
If “Epcot Forever” incorporates these songs: One Little Spark (Dreamfinder/Figment version), Kitchen Kabaret medley, Its Fun to be Free, Tommorow’s Child, and New Horizons, then the shows get a 10 out of 10 even there is no pyros or elaborate show effects. I hope Epcot Forever will be ready for my fall 2019 trip.
I’ve never experiences any Sing-a-longs so I am also indifferent to this announcement. The diehard EPCOT Center community seems to loathe this announcement because they figure its the slow end to Impression de France and possibly end of the Beauty & Beast show at DHS. I am glad they updating Canada’s Circe-vision because Martin Short is really irritating.
I always sweat these announcement because I am afraid Figment or Three Caballeros will be removed and replaced by some dreaded modern IP. Phew – this time around.
You forgot: “Living with the Land”. 🙂
nice catch Kevin 🙂
I wonder if a Beauty and the Beast sing a long means Beauty and the Beast in Hollywood Studios could go away? Or perhaps a change to reflect the live action movie? I would be okay to see a change happen over there. Although I’d be happy to see something not related to Beauty and the Beast, even updating to the live action would be something fresh.
I’m glad Impressions de France will not be removed. I love just sitting there listening to Debussy and watching that movie
I was mildly surprised when it debuted, but I really enjoy the Frozen Sing-along so I hope this works in France. My first fear was that this would replace IdF, which would be a tragedy. I’m glad to hear it is not! But where will they put it? France seems pretty cramped.
Ah, I see – Same theater, but different times. I’m still not sure how that works with the existing arrangement unless it’s just projected movie screens. I don’t think that’s great as the historians are what makes the Frozen show good. (But part of me hopes this show isn’t great so that IdF sticks around.)