EPCOT Is Transforming & This Is What It MIGHT Look Like

There has been a lot of news coming out of Walt Disney World in the past 24 hours! From new merchandise coming to the parks to updates around the Walt Disney World Resort, if you’ve got an interest connection and the tiniest interest in Disney, you’ve probably heard something about what the people working for the mouse have been up to.

On that very long list, which included the return of Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the new MagicBand+ release this summer, we also got a look at what might be happening behind the construction walls at EPCOT.

Concept art for EPCOT update as released in 2019. Credit: Disney

As anyone who has visited EPCOT any time in the past few years will know, construction walls have been what feels very much like a permanent addition to the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. The walls went up in preparation for what was to be a complete overhaul of the park. At the time, back in 2019, this included updates to both “Future World” and an expansion of 2 “World Showcase” pavilions; France and the United Kingdom. This update would also include a new nighttime spectacular in the World Showcase Lagoon known as Harmonious.

This update to EPCOT, as it was announced, was clearly going to be a massive undertaking. I mean. . . expanding 2 pavilions, adding 2 major attractions, updating Spaceship Earth, redoing the former “Wonders Of Life” pavilion, an new nighttime spectacular and rebuilding a sizable chunk of “Future World”. If that doesn’t sound like the definition of ambition, I don’t know what does!

Of course, all of this conversation happened in 2019. . . . just prior to the historic year that would be 2020.

Many things came to a crashing halt in 2020 and due to a number of what can only be described as unforeseen circumstances, Disney had to reevaluate and regroup. While some projects continued to push forward, others quietly made their way onto the back burner. . . . . then onto the counter top. . . . then wrapped in foil. . . . . then shoved to the very back of the freezer.

@2foolishmortals Looks like construction walls are blocking off more as work continues at #EPCOT. #constructionupdate #wdwnews #Moana #fyp #disney #disneyworld ♬ original sound - 2 Foolish Mortals

While a lot of projects were put on hold [or tossed out completely] over the past couple of years, Disney has still managed to deliver some of what they originally promised. The expansion of the France Pavilion, including Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, was completed as was the nighttime spectacular Harmonious. The new Connections Cafe & Eatery have just recently opened as well and Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is right around the corner too. Despite all of this, there are still quite a few construction walls in place at EPCOT. In fact, we noticed that the walls have been expanded out to cover even more of the pathway from “Future World” to “World Showcase” just this past week.

We knew that there was still quite a bit of work to be done at EPCOT, so moving the construction walls made sense. However, we still had a lot of questions about what exactly they were doing; especially with so much still up in the air. That is, until we got another look at what they have been working on and what’s coming in the future. . . . . hopefully.

Thanks to newly released information by Disney, along with all new concept art, we now have another look at what we could be expecting to see once the construction walls come down.

The area featured in this Disney Parks Blog post focuses on what is being described as the “heart of the park” just behind Spaceship Earth in what is being called the “World Celebration” neighborhood. This new hub will feature gardens, plenty of seating with shade and touches that call back to original EPCOT concepts and logos.

This area will also be designed with festivals in mind, with multi-use buildings that will “bring the park’s international festivals to the center of EPCOT”. This will presumably include galleries, potentially classes and live entertainment. There will also be a new area to meet Mickey & Friends in the central part of the park, according to the post. This is something similar to what was once at the park before and would being an indoor meet and greet area to the park; something that is much needed and would likely be appreciated by families with younger travelers.

Credit: Disney

Exciting as this news might be, there are a lot of Disney and EPCOT fans who are a bit skeptical about the actual results that we might see and when we might see them. As is often the case when concept art is released to the general public, Disney was not clear on timelines and didn’t so much as hint as to when we might see this “transformation” wrap up. While a few dates have been tossed around by unofficial sources, it’s hard to see a construction-wall-free EPCOT anywhere on the horizon.

There’s also the matter of what we can really expect to see when the walls come down. As is often the case with concept art, we’re looking at concepts here and whether or not those turn out to be anywhere close to reality is very much up in the air. This is something that many of us try to keep in mind when looking at concept art released by Disney. However, there are many EPCOT fans [ourselves included] who are still a bit sore about the realities that can come out of larger than life concept art. [Yes. We are referring to the Harmonious barges which turned out to be very much NOT what they were in the concept art.]

While this is a major concern that some have, I think it’s safe to say that we’re not looking at another Harmonious barge situation in this car. However, the skepticism is healthy and understandable given the circumstances. We do feel it too! Of course, only time will tell what we can expect from this transformation and it seems like we’ll have quite a bit of it to spare. Until then, we’ll have to wait for more updates and keep our eyes open when we’re at the parks.