Disney test fires improved version of 'EPCOT Forever' ahead of the return of fireworks to Disney World in July

Jun 17, 2021 in "Epcot Forever"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Gallery / 7 Photos
EPCOT Forever 2021 edition test - June 16 2021

See all 7

Posted: Thursday June 17, 2021 1:24am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Hot on the heels of this week's announcement by Disney that it will resume Walt Disney World firework shows on July 1, Disney's fireworks team just carried out an overnight full show test of the new version of 'EPCOT Forever.'

EPCOT Forever 2021 edition test - June 16 2021

Late into the night, the team brought out the fireworks platforms into position on World Showcase Lagoon ready for the test which took place just before 1am.

EPCOT Forever 2021 edition test - June 16 2021

As with the recent full test of Harmonious, guests at the BoardWalk got to see and hear a preview of the new version of the show, which includes more pyrotechnics in place of the now retired kites. You can see some of the kite replacement firework sections in the video below.

Although the low level parts of the show can't be seen over the tree line, it was apparent that some elements of the Harmonious show platforms were in use, including the fountains during the pre-show announcements.

With 'EPCOT Forever' being mostly a firework show, the majority of the pyrotechnics are fired from the 8 smaller midi barges, seawall perimeter launchers, and 2 large 'World War III' firework platforms - all of which are also used for Harmonious in addition to its 5 main video display and water fountain barges.

Here is a video of the 'EPCOT Forever' test in full from early this morning.

'EPCOT Forever' was originally designed as a limited-time interim show debuting in October 2019, and only played for a few months before the parks were closed due to the pandemic.

EPCOT Forever show

EPCOT'S all-new nighttime spectacular, Harmonious, will debut later this year - likely in the fall as part of the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebrations.

Here is a look at the original 'EPCOT Forever' show from opening night on 2019.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

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.