Harmonious Barges Are A Bit Much
It feels like forever ago when Disney made the announcement that Illuminations: Reflections of Earth would be stepping down as Epcot’s nighttime spectacular. Timeless as the show might have been, it wasn’t immune to the desire for change. To take its place, Epcot would be getting one of the biggest shows ever designed for a Disney park; Harmonious. The show, which would feature Disney music and images, was originally set to debut in 2020. . . . . and we all know how the rest of that story goes.
Then, one day with seemingly no warning, it happened. We saw a sign that progress was being made in the form of a giant, taco shaped, black barge in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon. The barge is a massive 30 feet wide and 75 feet long. It also has a large upper portion which, as I mentioned, resembles a taco. And the best part. . . . this is only one of 5 barges that will have a permanent home in the middle of the World Showcase Lagoon.
Now, in the interest of being as fair as possible, I think it’s important to make note of a few things before I move on to my opinion. First and foremost, the way we see the barge today is not the intended presentation for the barge. The biggest, and most important, thing to note is that it is just one of 5 barges that will be in place in World Showcase Lagoon. The barges house moving fountains, lights, screens and pyrotechnics for us during Harmonious, but during the day they will serve as fountains. In other words, they’re not just being plopped down with the intention that they’ll only be used for 20 minutes every night. . . . . at least it’s not the plan.
So what’s the problem? No matter how many times I look at these barges I find myself having the same two thoughts in my head: why’d they block the view and what happens when it’s not working?
One of my favorite things about Epcot’s World Showcase was being able to look out over the World Showcase Lagoon and see all the way around the world. It was not only beautiful, but it also gave me this “the world is at your fingertips” feeling. I loved that. Especially as a kid who dreamed of traveling. Adding a massive fountain in the middle of the Lagoon creates a division and, at least personally, I feel like that will take something away from the general feel of World Showcase. Of course, that’s a matter of opinion. Not everyone will have the same feelings about the view as I will.
Something I think most of us can agree on is the question of what happens when the fountains/barges are not working? If there’s one thing that Disney fans know well, it’s that things break and don’t always work the way they might have been intended to. In some cases, such as the Yeti on Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the change that comes from something not working isn’t that big a deal. Sure, it might not be as awesome as it was when things were working, but the ride’s still great. I’m not sure that the same type of thing can be said for these barges-turned-daytime-fountains at Epcot. This raises the question, at least in my mind, what is going to happen when they aren’t working properly and will they experience extended down time because they can’t be floated out of the Lagoon like other barges? Though I remain optimistic that technology and planning will make it so that these elements are less likely to break, I can’t help but wonder. . . .
Of course, there’s still quite a long road ahead of us until we see anything that resembles a finished product. Disney has yet to announce a new date for Harmonious and there has yet to be any testing of what the daytime fountain element of these barges. . . . at least that has been seen by the public. Until then, I’m personally going to remain optimistic!
What do you think of the barges? Are you looking forward to seeing the finished product or are you disappointed by the size of the now permanent fixtures in World Showcase Lagoon? Let us know!