How Disney created ‘Luminous The Symphony of Us,’ now open at Epcot

Epcot debuted “Luminous The Symphony of Us” on Dec. 5, 2023, the same day the park opened its new central plaza, World Celebration Gardens, complete with “Walt the Dreamer,” a statue of Walt Disney.

Epcot’s “Luminous” Celebrates “Each of Our Unique Melodies”

“Luminous” utilizes World Showcase Lagoon as its stage — or, in this case, its metaphorical orchestra pit. The power of music is the show’s central theme.

Joey McElroy, communications manager at Disney Live Entertainment, described “Luminous” on the Disney Parks Blog last month in this way:

“Featuring dazzling fireworks, fountains, lights and music to connect us all through commonalities of the heart, this all-new show shines a light on how each of our unique melodies comes together to form a great symphony — the symphony of us.”

Original Music for “Luminous” Intended to “Feel Like Epcot”

Hundreds of musicians recorded the soundtrack of “Luminous” across multiple continents. Among them were members of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the London Voices. Stateside, music was recorded in New York, Nashville, and Orlando.

During a behind-the-scenes panel on opening night, creatives from Disney Live Entertainment shared insight about making “Luminous” with gathered media.

The “Luminous” team was tasked with leveraging music to tell a story about global unity. While plenty of familiar Disney songs contribute to this goal, the show also incorporates original music. Stef Fink, music producer at Disney Live Entertainment, said the new sounds were a natural expression of developing the show’s music-driven story.

“We really felt like we needed to tell the story more,” Fink shared, “and we didn’t want to turn back just to the Disney IP to do that. We wanted to bring something to Epcot that was wholly Epcot and our own.” Fink called the music in the show “very Epcotian.” “We wanted it to feel like Epcot and live in its own world,” she said.

“Luminous” introduces two new songs. “Heartbeat Symphony,” which opens the show, was written by A.J. Sealy, Grammy-winning Scott Hoying, and Grammy-nominated Sheléa Frazier (the latter of whom also performed the song for the soundtrack). The finale song, “Beating of Our Hearts,” was written by The Heavyweights, a Grammy-nominated producing team.

“Epcot Gamma Theme,” Pinar Toprak’s Epcot Anthem

At D23 Expo 2019, composer Pinar Toprak (“Captain Marvel,” “Us Again”) debuted a new instrumental anthem for Epcot. Since then, guests have heard the theme playing near Spaceship Earth, as well as in “Harmonious,” a predecessor of “Luminous” (more on that later). Toprak’s Epcot anthem, which Fink referred to as “Epcot Gamma Theme,” is integral to “Luminous.”

Steven Davison, executive creative director at Disney Live Entertainment, previously led the creation of “Wishes,” “World of Color,” and “Harmonious,” among other Disney nighttime spectaculars, and now “Luminous.” Speaking of Toprak’s theme, Davison said, “If you think of it like a river … it really is the base of the show. You’ll hear it moving throughout.”

Toprak prefaced a live performance of the anthem at D23 by saying:

“Music has a unique superpower — the ability to make you feel, to inspire both optimism and possibility. Those are the ideas Epcot was founded on, and I’m honored to contribute to the long legacy of original music that has defined this park. Join me as we usher in the next era of Epcot’s musical journey.”

The Set List of “Luminous”

The “Luminous” team strategically selected and ordered the show’s songs to present the connection between music and different stages of human relationships.

Bookended by the original songs, “Heartbeat Symphony” and “Beating of Our Hearts,” Davison used the following bolded words to describe the show’s flow. We’ve placed the show’s songs within where we think they align with Davison’s segments.

Family

• “You’ll Be In My Heart” from “Tarzan” (1999)
• “Proud Corazón” from “Coco” (2017)

Friendship

• “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story” (1995)
• “Friend Like Me” from “Aladdin” (1992)

Love

• “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King” (1994)
• “So Close” from “Enchanted” (2007)

Challenges

• “When She Loved Me” from “Toy Story 2” (1999)
• “Remember Me” from “Coco” (2017)
• “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen 2” (2019)

For the build-up to the finale, Katharine McPhee Foster recorded a new version of “I See the Light” from “Tangled” (2010). This penultimate segment is “really about never giving up,” Davison said. “Sing out so others can hear you … because together, we illuminate the world.” He continued, “If we all look and see the light, like ‘Luminous’ says, we can really come together and be that symphony.”

The Story Behind “Luminous”

“Luminous” ditches screen-based visuals that are common in many modern theme park productions. Instead, the fireworks and the music speak for themselves.

“We purposefully didn’t put visuals in this,” Davison said, “and that’s because we wanted you, the audience, to basically look into it. It’s an old thing we used to do with fireworks. We didn’t have projections. We just basically did a story in the sky, and that’s what we’re doing here. We’re doing color and texture and light to really have people go, ‘Wow, I can find something in my life to really bring to that.’”

“We wanted to be able to tell a story,” said Tom Williams, executive producer at Disney Live Entertainment, “but we wanted that story to be emotionally connected to our audience. We wanted everybody to make the story their own story.” Williams continued, saying the show “does have story to it, but you get to put your version of the story together.”

“There’s a Vibe Here at Epcot”

“Luminous” follows a long lineage of Epcot nighttime spectaculars.

“There’s a vibe here at Epcot,” Fink said. She continued, “We’re able to deliver a different message when we create shows here. I think the message of ‘Luminous The Symphony of Us’ fits perfectly in this park.”

“Epcot has a very rich legacy of wonderful shows out at the lagoon, so it’s a privilege to bring a new show to life here,” said Stacey Simons, producer at Disney Live Entertainment.

From “Harmonious” to “Luminous”

Following a nearly two-decade run as Epcot’s signature nighttime spectacular, “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” closed in 2019. In its place came “Epcot Forever,” a tribute to the park’s history that Disney openly communicated was an interim show.

“Harmonious” succeeded “Epcot Forever.” While Disney doesn’t seem to have used the word “permanent” in describing “Harmonious,” the company generally communicated that this would be Epcot’s long-term nighttime spectacular for a generation or so.

Disney shared concept art and temp music for “Harmonious” in November 2018, nearly three years before the show ultimately premiered. The show was originally punctuated as “HarmonioUS.” By August 2019, Disney was calling it “the largest nighttime spectacular ever created for a Disney park” (though by January 2020, the lingo changed to being “one of” the company’s largest nighttimes spectaculars).

“Epcot is going through a monumental transformation,” Imagineer Zach Riddley said in a February 2021 YouTube video, “and ‘Harmonious’ is one of the centerpieces of this transformation of the park.”

This perspectivel was seemingly still in tact in October 2021, when Thomas Smith, editorial content director of Disney Parks, called “Harmonious” a “key milestone in the historic transformation of Epcot.” The show debuted at that time with the onset of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.

In June 2022, Disney put significant effort into mounting a professional, live broadcast of “Harmonious” on Disney+, hosted by Disney Legend Idina Menzel and featuring live musicians and vocalists.

Three months later at D23 Expo 2022, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, announced “Harmonious” would conclude its run at the end of the 50th celebration. “Epcot Forever” again took over as an openly-temporary substitute in April 2023, Disney announced the name and details of “Luminous” later in the year, and here we are.

“Luminous” Showtimes and Fireworks Dining Packages

“Luminous The Symphony of Us” performs nightly at Epcot.

Disney’s calendar currently displays “Luminous” showtimes 60 days out. At the time of this writing, its schedule is:

• Now through Dec. 30, 2023: 9:30 p.m.
• Dec. 31, 2023: 6:30 p.m.
• Jan. 1 – Feb. 4, 2024: 9 p.m.

Consult the My Disney Experience App for the day of your visit to confirm the showtime.

Guests can watch “Luminous” from anywhere around World Showcase Lagoon. Some moments of the show are in sync with the lighting effects Disney installed on Spaceship Earth in 2021. If this interests you, make sure Spaceship Earth is visible from your vantage point.

Visitors can opt for reserved viewing by purchasing a “Luminous” fireworks dinner package at the following locations:

To make a reservation, click the restaurant names above, or call 407-939-7529. Disney Vacation Club members can call 800-800-9800. “Luminous” fireworks dinner packages are not eligible for the Disney Dining Plan.

Watch the Premiere Performance of “Luminous”

On social media, some of the first guests to see “Luminous” said of the show:

• “… is weird… but beautiful. Exactly like Epcot.” –Expedition Theme Park
• “… has lots of impressive pyro and the colors are top-notch. The opening sequence and finale are the highlights with the middle dragging a bit – but overall, I think it’s a good show. It also feels like a show that will grow on people over time.” –Scott Gustin

On our YouTube video of the show’s theme song, user ImaJENationMenagerie commented, “Sheléa and Pinar Toprak are the reasons I’m in a puddle of tears right now. Well done, ladies! I hope Disney releases the song soon.”

“Luminous” is here, and you can watch the full show in our video below.