IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is Epcot's night time firework show, held over the World Showcase Lagoon. This is an extremely well planned and beautiful show. The show received Amusement Today's 2006 Golden Ticket Award for being the top evening show in any American theme park.

The show is 12 and a half minutes long, and features a large globe that comes out into the middle of the lake. Each country on the globe is actually a screen, which shows pictures and videos from around the world while music, fireworks and water fountains all work together in time, to create an emotional, epic performance.

Towards the end of the show, the globe opens up and fire is shot from a torch that raises from the inside, again in time to the fireworks.

The show is a celebration of life on earth, and the globe is used to represent the cultures and people from different countries.

We highly recommend watching Illuminations as there simply is no show of comparable excellence. You can watch from anywhere around the world showcase, but some of the best locations are:

• Japan - A balcony is located around the main building (where the restaurants are) and it doesn't usually get very busy.
• Italy has a paved area out on the lagoon, just walk over a small bridge and there is loads of room to watch the show.
• World Showcase Plaza - This area gets very busy as it overlooks the entire lake, however it is most certainly the best place to watch from, if you can get a good spot before everyone else arrives!