The first barge for Epcot’s new nighttime spectacular, Harmonious, was recently installed in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon. It was immediately apparent that the large barges will dramatically alter the sight lines around World Showcase.
New aerial photos show the first barge in position, which allows us to imagine what the lagoon will look like once all five barges are in place.
Aerial overview of World Showcase Lagoon. First show barge placed for the new Harmonious show. In daytime 4 of these barges and a center water screen will be a large fountain. pic.twitter.com/0XumSi2c4Z
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) December 12, 2020
Zooming in a bit closer, we can see the general positions the other barges will assume based on their docks. The four taco-shaped barges will point in four unique directions while the primary circular barge (the one that looks like a Stargate) will sit in the middle.
Aerial look at staging so far for Harmonious. EPCOT'S new night show. In daytime the 4 barges and center water screen will perform as a very large fountain. pic.twitter.com/ld8jcsXbj7
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) December 11, 2020
Shifting to a wider angle, we can get a better perspective of the first barge’s position.
Aerial look at World Showcase Lagoon. First barge of the new Harmonious show was placed today. There will be 4 of these and a center water screen. To be a very large fountain in daytime. pic.twitter.com/frZapYNrHf
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) December 11, 2020
Epcot’s sight lines will be quite different when all of the barges are in position. Even the first barge completely blocks the view across the lagoon from certain angles. After all five are installed, we’d wager that seeing pavilions directly across the lagoon will be near impossible.
Thankfully, the large barges won’t just sit idle throughout the day. Disney announced they will act as fountains during the day before becoming Harmonious‘ show elements at night. That should hide some of the “ugly” aspects of the barges, but it remains to be seen how the running fountains will further limit views across the lagoon. It’ll also be interesting to hear how loud the fountains are when walking around World Showcase.
Harmonious has changed World Showcase in a big way during the day. Will the nighttime spectacular be worth these changes?
