And then there's the music. Other than the original Tapestry of Nations music, the music that accompanies Illuminations is the BEST piece of music to accompany a fireworks show in all of WDW/DL. Period. Even the "slow" part gives you something to ponder and allows you to concentrate on the revolving Earth. And then when it hits the crescendo, there's just nothing like it. I still remember the hairs on the back of my neck stood up the first time I saw it, and that's when I immediately fell in love with it.
So this is my tribute to "Illuminations - Reflections of Earth".
The best place to view this, in my opinion, is right at the plaza by the entrance to World Showcase. Here, you get to view the show in its proper symmetry. But the "show" itself started between 20 to 30 minutes before when they started playing a compilation of world music and the lighting of the torches around the World Showcase lagoon. Be sure to stake your place 1/2 hour to an hour before 9:00 pm.
And then it starts....
"Good Evening. We are gathered here tonight, around the fire...... "
And then, "poof!", the fire on all the torches are snuffed out, and the beating of the drums goes faster and faster. A screaming sound accompanies a lone until it explodes into a glorious fireworks just at the perfect timing with the music.
That's when all hell breaks loose, and it certainly feels that way temperature wise. With fireworks going on and the inferno barge spewing out copious amount of fire, one can get quite toasted especially towards the front.
The music then slows down and this is where the complex and fascinating globe appears. As it gets closer, one notices that the land masses on the earth are actually video screens showing various people of the earth, various lands, cultures, etc. It continues to rotate, changing scenes with the musics, while on the 4 corners surrounding the globe, various water displays appear, with changing colors with the music as well.
At a point during this slow part, the outline of the World Showcase buildings are lighted. This shows the silhouette of each building. Every time this happens, you can see flash bulbs going off in all directions as the guests tries to capture this amazing sight.
Then the music picks up again and the fireworks comes back.
We are now heading towards our first crescendo. The sky is filled with laser lights and fireworks coming from different directions. The fireworks shown high in this pictures creates a loud, deep "boom" that reverberates throughout the lagoon.
And this is the infamous "screamers", which adds to the live sound.
We are heading towards our first ending of the music, reaching its peak at the very end.
... and the crowd goes wild!!
But wait, that's not the end! The earth is still spinning, and then another piece of music starts. This time, there's a vocal accompaniment. The Earth continues to show various scenes, and the water displays continues to change shape and color.
But then, the Earth opens up!
In fact, at the precise moment in the music, a tall stream of fireworks shoots out from it.
And at the moment the song goes "We go on.......", a gazillion fireworks shoot out from all over the lagoon, producing the a light so bright, it feels like it is daylight around the lagoon. It is an amazing and spectacular sight, sound, and feel!
And then, it is all over.
But none of these pictures do justice if you can't hear the show accompanied by the music. So why don't you see it for yourself? This is the video we took in 2006, and I've replaced the live sound with the actual music. While this makes the music clearer, it unfortunately takes away from the live sounds, and you won't hear the screamers.
Zz.
2 comments:
I agree entirely! Not only is the Illuminations music the best piece of music for a Disney fireworks show... I think it rivals a lot of the other orchestral/symphonic pieces of music in history.
And I certainly miss Tapesty of Nations! I remember seeing that parade as well as Illuminations in 1999 and I was spellbound. I was fortunate to buy a CD of the original configuration (Tapestry of Nations parade and Illuminations).
When they changed to Tapestry of Dreams, it was such a downgrade :-(
I get teary-eyed every time I'm at EPCOT and view it in person (or on video, for that matter!).
I have that CD as well, and play it very often in my car while I commute 45 minutes each way to and from work. I never bought the new version with Tapestry of Nations. The voices of the children speaking over the music were very annoying.
Zz.
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