IllumiNations was a series of nightly fireworks shows at Epcot

Epcot

Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...

 before IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is an award-winning night time show performed nightly at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The show utilizes fireworks, pyrotechnics, laser lights, fountains, and fire to create a visual production on the park's World Showcase Lagoon...

 was created in 1999 for the Millennium Celebration. Little is known about Carnival de Lumiere.

Carnival de Lumiere

The first evening presentation, Carnival de Lumiere, premiered on October 23, 1982. It celebrated world festivals with fountains, film, music, and other effects. The show used rear projection screens on barges floating on the World Showcase Lagoon. Between the projection barges were fountain/fireworks barges controlled by Apple computers. The show could be viewed only from points between the Mexican and Canadian pavilions.

A New World Fantasy

This show used most of the arrangements for "A New World Fantasy" and "Laserphonic Fantasy," but instead of being arranged solely with synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s, the resulting arrangements were rescored for full orchestra, mostly using the original orchestration by the composers. New music was created for the show's theme by Don Dorsey and Bruce Healey. The "Great Parades and Pageants" section used in the previous installments was omitted and replaced with a celebration of all the individual countries of World Showcase (except Norway, which had just opened by the show's premiere). This installment of IllumiNations began a radical new use for effects in fireworks shows. To add to the Pichel lights, fountains, laser barges, and laser graphics projected behind the fountains, the directors made the lights representing the different interact with the music and the rest of the show. In another strange turn of events, they decided not to use fireworks until the very end of the second act, and then the third act would show the fireworks off at their best.

Opening

Act I

1. Symphony #5 Movement #1

• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

2. "Flight of the Bumblebee" from Tale Of The Tsar Sultan

• Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

3. Zampa Overture first theme

• Composer: Ferdinand Herold

4. Italian Concerto Movement # 3, first theme

• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

5. William Tell Overture second theme

• Composer: Giachhino Rossini

Act II: World Showcase

6. Schedherezade (Morocco)

• Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

7. La Vie Parisienne (France)

• Composer: Jacques Offenbach

8. Days of Emancipation (China)

• Composer: Zhu Jian'er

9. Rule Brittania (United Kingdom)

• Composer: Thomas Augustine Arne
  Thomas Augustine Arne
  Thomas Augustine Arne was a British composer, best known for the patriotic song Rule, Britannia!. He also wrote a version of God Save the King, which was to become the British national anthem, and the song A-Hunting We Will Go...
  
  

10. Tales of the Vienna Woods (Germany)

• Composer: Johann Strauss

11. Sakura (Japan)

• Composer: Unknown

12. Espana Cani (Mexico)

• Composer: Marquina

13. French Canadian Jig Traditional (Canada)

• Composer: Unknown

14. Funiculi, Funicula (Italy)

• Composer: Luigi Denza
  Luigi Denza
  Luigi Denza , was an Italian composer.Denza was born at Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples. He studied music under Saverio Mercadante and Paolo Serrao at the Naples Conservatory. Later, he moved to London and became a professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music in 1898...
  
  

15. Rhapsody in Blue (United States)

• Composer: George Gershwin
  George Gershwin
  George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
  
  

Act III: Finale

16. Carnival Overture Opus 92, first theme

• Composer: Antonín Dvořák

17. "March of the Toreadors" from Carmen, Prelude to Act 1

• Composer: Georges Bizet

18. Alla Hornpipe from Water Music Suite, Movement #13

• Composer: George F. Handel

19. Titan Symphony Symphony #1 in D Major, Movement #1

• Composer: Gustav Mahler

20. "Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy

"Ode to Joy" is an ode written in 1785 by the German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller, enthusiastically celebrating the brotherhood and unity of all mankind...

" Symphony #9

Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...

 in D Minor (Choral), Movement #4

• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

21. Prelude to Act III "Lohengrin

Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...

"

• Composer: Richard Wagner

22. Firebird Suite

The Firebird

The Firebird is a 1910 ballet created by the composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor....

Finale

• Composer: Igor Stravinsky

23. "Great Gate of Kiev" from Pictures at an Exhibition

• Composer: Modest Mussorgsky

24. "Promenade" from Pictures at an Exhibition

• Composer: Modest Mussorgsky

25. 1812 Festival Overture second theme

• Composer: Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky

Music produced by Don Dorsey

New Year's Eve 1993

For the New Year's Eve finale in 1993, a version of "We've Just Begun To Dream" was played during the countdown, then a version of "Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...

" followed by a short reprise of "We've Just Begun To Dream". Finally, a selection from Around the World with Mickey Mouse, that normally would be played at the Fountain of Nations, was played.

Holiday IllumiNations

Holiday IllumiNations played during the holiday season instead of the regular show. Starting in 2005, the "Let There Be Peace on Earth" segment of Holiday IllumiNations is played after IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth during the holiday season.

Opening

1. Opening Medley
   • "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
     Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
     “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. This is not the version widely known today. A sombre man, Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the...
     
     "
   • "O Come All Ye Faithful
     Adeste Fideles
     "Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...
     
     "
   • "Joy to the World
     Joy to the World
     "Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
     
     "
   • "Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly"
   • "Angels We Have Heard on High
     Angels We Have Heard on High
     "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
     
     "
2. Nutcracker Medley
   • "Marches"
   • "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies"
   • "Russian Dance (Trepak)"
3. O Holy Night
   O Holy Night
   "O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
   
   
4. Chanukah Medley
   • "S'Vivon"
   • "The Trees in the Field"
5. Let There Be Peace on Earth

Closing

Production

Narration

• Walter Cronkite
  Walter Cronkite
  Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
  
  

All Instrumentals

• Czech Symphonic Orchestra

All Chorus Parts

• The Sarah Moore Singers

O Holy Night

• Vocals by Sandi Patti

Let There Be Peace on Earth

• Vocals by The Boys Choir of Harlem
  Boys Choir of Harlem
  The Boys Choir of Harlem was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its last performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, a large budget deficit, and the death of its founder.Founded in 1968 by Dr...
  
  

Show facts

• Opening date:1994
• Closing date: 1998
• Duration: 12 minutes
• Sponsor: General Electric

Opening

1. "Remember The Magic" - World Showcase Salute

• Canada
• Europe (Italy)
• France
• Germany
• United Kingdom (British Isles)
• Scandinavia (Norway)
• Africa (Morocco)
• China
• Japan
• Mexico
• United States

Act 1: World Showcase

2. "A Worldwide Celebration" (by Gregory Rians Smith)

3. Mascleta

• Calypso

4. "International Fantasy"

• Movements:
  • Asian
  • African
  • South American
  • British
  • Flamenco
  • Eastern European
  • Middle Eastern
  • Polka

5. Mascleta

• Calypso

Act 2: Future World

6. "Discovery Suite"

• Theme and Variations:
  • Life
    Horizons (Epcot attraction)
    Horizons was the name of a dark ride attraction at Epcot , a theme park at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida USA. Located on the eastern side of the "Future World" section of Epcot, the attraction used Disney's Omnimover conveyance system, which took guests past show scenes depicting...
    
    
  • Innoventions
    Innoventions
    Innoventions is the name of two technology-oriented Disney attractions:* Innoventions , at Walt Disney World in Florida* Innoventions , in California...
    
    
  • Imagination
    Journey Into Imagination
    Journey Into Imagination With Figment is an attraction which is contained within The Imagination! Pavilion at the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World and opened on March 5, 1983. It has been through three incarnations over the years, two of them featuring Figment, a small purple dragon, as a...
    
    
  • Seas
  • Land
    The Land (Disney)
    The Land is the name of a pavilion that sits on the western side of "Future World", one of two themed areas of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida USA. It opened on October 1, 1982 as part of the Phase I features for the grand opening of what was then...
    
    
  • Energy
    Universe of Energy
    The Universe of Energy is a pavilion located in the eastern half of Future World at Epcot. The pavilion contains one attraction, its second since its 1982 opening, entitled Ellen's Energy Adventure, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy...
    
    
  • Motion
    World of Motion
    World of Motion , sponsored by General Motors, was the former tenant of the Transportation pavilion at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort...
    
    
  • Communication
    Spaceship Earth (Disney)
    Spaceship Earth is the iconic and symbolic structure of Epcot, a theme park that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. One of the most recognizable structures at the Walt Disney World Resort, it is not only the centerpiece and main focal point of Epcot, but also the name of the attraction housed...
    
    

Closing

Production

1. "Remember The Magic" - World Showcase Salute
   • Based on the Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary tune
   • Lyricist: Cheryl Berman
   • Composer: Ira Antelis
   • Arranger & Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
2. "A Worldwide Celebration"
   • Composer & Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
3. Mascleta
   • Composer & Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
4. "International Fantasy"
   • Composer & Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
5. "Discovery Suite"
   • Based on "We've Just Begun to Dream" the Epcot
     Epcot
     Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
     
      fanfare by Steve Skorija, Gregory Smith, and Jack Eskew
     Jack Eskew
     Jack Eskew is a musical arranger/orchestrator based in Los Angeles, California. He studied music at the University of Southern California before beginning his career by touring the United States with various bands....
     
     
   • Composer & Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
6. "Circle of Life"
   • Lyricist: Tim Rice
     Tim Rice
     Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
     
     
   • Composer: Elton John
     Elton John
     Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
     
     
   • Arrangers: Gregory Smith & Oliver Wells
   • Orchestrator: Gregory Smith

Production From CD

• Music produced by Steve Skorija
• Music supervision by Dan Savant
• All songs except "Circle of Life" arranged by Gregory Smith
• "Circle of Life" arranged by Oliver Wells
• Vocals recorded by Andy de Ganahl at Starke Lake Studios, Orlando, Florida
  Orlando, Florida
  Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
  
  
• Mixed by Eric Shilling at Starke Lake Studios, Orlando, Florida
• Digital editing by Michael Atwell
• Vocal solo in "Circle of Life" by John Madgett
• Special thanks to: The Florida Mass Choir under the direction of Arthur Jones, Taz Morosi, and Keith Dyer
• Chorus:
  • Sarah Moore (leader)
  • Amy Martin-Cole
  • Michelle Amato-Hann
  • Greg Whipple
  • Randy Nichols
  • Scott Harell

Show facts

• Opening date: September 21, 1996
• Closing date: May 18, 1997
• Duration: 12 minutes
• Sponsor: General Electric
• Soundtrack: Disneyland/Walt Disney World Music Vacation
  Disneyland/Walt Disney World Music Vacation
  Disneyland/Walt Disney World Music Vacation was a 2-CD set only released in Japan in 1997. Out of print.-Disc one:# "Light Magic" – 16:06#*; DREAM OUR DREAMS FANFARE / OPENING / PLAY ON#:* Dream Our Dreams Fanfare#:* Dream Our Dreams Opening Play On...
  
  
• The selections "A Worldwide Celebration", Mascleta, "International Fantasy" & "Discovery Suite" can be found on Disney's Music From The Park (1996 CD)
  Disney's Music From The Park (1996 CD)
  Disney's Music from the Park was a compilation of celebrities singing Disney theme park songs. Out of print.-Track listing:# "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" - Splash Mountain#* Performed by Patti Austin# "Yo Ho " - Pirates of the Caribbean...
  
  .

IllumiNations 25 (B)

Still celebrating the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...

, but the classical music returns.

Show program

1. "Remember The Magic" - World Showcase Salute (Based on the Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary tune) [1996]

• Lyricist: Cheryl Berman
• Composer: Ira Antelis
• Arranger: Gregory Smith
• Orchestrator: Gregory Smith
• Singer: Brian McKnight
  Brian McKnight
  Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....
  
  

2. "IllumiNations Fanfare" [1997]

• Arranger: John Debney
  John Debney
  John C. Debney is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...
  
  
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

Act I: World Showcase

3. Russian Dance - "Trepak" from The Nutcracker Ballet [1892]

• Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaichovsky
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

4. "Die Meistersinger Overture" from Dir Meistersinger von Nürnberg [1862-67]

• Composer: Richard Wagner
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

5. "Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas" from "Ma Mére l'Oye" (Mother Goose Suite) [1910]

• Composer: Maurice Ravel
  Maurice Ravel
  Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

6. "Barber of Seville Overture" from Il barbiere de Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) [1816]

• Composer: Gioacchino Rossini
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

7. "Overture" to Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé Ballet [1912]

• Composer: Maurice Ravel
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

8. "Seventeen Come Sunday" March from English Folk Song Suite [1924]

• Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams
  Ralph Vaughan Williams
  Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

9. "El Salòn México" [1936]

• Composer: Aaron Copland
  Aaron Copland
  Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

10. "Hoedown" from Rodeo Ballet [1942]

• Composer: Aaron Copland
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

Act II: Future World

11. "Pini di Villa Borghese" from The Pines of Rome Symphonic Poem [1919]

• Composer: Ottorino Respighi
  Ottorino Respighi
  Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

12. "The Aquarium" from Le Carnival des Animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) [1907]

• Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns
  Camille Saint-Saëns
  Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

13. "Hornpipe" from Water Music Suite [1717]

• Composer Frederick Handel
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

14. "A Night on Bald Mountain" [1886]

• Composer: Modest Mussorgsky
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

15. "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from The Planets Suite [1914-16]

• Composer: Gustav Holst
  Gustav Holst
  Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

16. "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" from The Three-Cornered Hat Ballet [1917]

• Composer: Manuel de Falla
  Manuel de Falla
  Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
  
  
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

17. "Ode To Joy" Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Choral), Fourth Movement [1824]

• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Arranger: John Debney
• Orchestrator: Brad Dechter

Post Show

"A Worldwide Celebration" [1996]

• Composer: Gregory Smith
• Orchestrator: Gregory Smith

Show facts

• Opening date: May 19, 1997
• Closing date: January 31, 1998
• Duration: 13 minutes
• Sponsor: General Electric
• Soundtrack: Disneyland/Walt Disney World: The Official Album (1997 CD)
  Disneyland/Walt Disney World: The Official Album (1997 CD)
  Disneyland/Walt Disney World: The Official Album was the official album for Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 1997. Out of print.-Track listing:#"Fantasyland Castle Medley" - Fantasyland Castle – 5:48#*When You Wish Upon a Star#*Once Upon a Dream...
  
  

IllumiNations (98)

Same soundtrack as IllumiNations 25 (B) but without the 25th anniversary announcement.

Opening

See also

• Epcot attraction and entertainment history
  Epcot attraction and entertainment history
  Epcot is a theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The term "attractions" is used by Disney as a catch-all term for rides, shows, and exhibits.-Current Future World attractions:...
  
  
• IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
  IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
  IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is an award-winning night time show performed nightly at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The show utilizes fireworks, pyrotechnics, laser lights, fountains, and fire to create a visual production on the park's World Showcase Lagoon...