EPCOT Expansion Continues

It’s hard to believe that a huge EPCOT overhaul has been going on since 2019, but it’s easy to understand once you set foot inside. The entire park has been a construction zone recently, but this remodel is going to prepare EPCOT to finally step into the 21st century.

So what new attractions are currently being built and what’s new and open already at EPCOT?

World Celebration is the first area you will enter as you pass the EPCOT entrance plaza, and it starts with Spaceship Earth. It covers the entire center section of what used to be Future World and it will include a totally new Festival Center.

Disney describes World Celebration as having “experiences that connect us to one another in the world.”

EPCOT Gardens

Estimated Opening Date – Late 2023

As we know, Disney has made a strong effort to make EPCOT more nature-friendly filling the park with as much green as possible and World Celebration is where we see the most of this. Right in the very center of World Celebration is a vast network of lush gardens.

The hub here divides the area into different gardens, and in the middle of that is a planter inspired by the five-ring EPCOT logo. This area will be filled with plenty of seating for guests, and shade (something EPCOT is currently missing).

Disney is bringing back embedded lights to EPCOT in the pavement. This was a fan favorite and a classic feature of the old Future World, and it looks like it’s going to be a hit here too.

Festival Center (CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza)

Estimated Opening Date – Late 2023

Communicore Plaza & Hall is essentially just Innoventions rebuilt. This will be an area to watch music and other entertainment, with areas to sit, eat, relax, and more. In other words, it’s most landscaping and true park elements–not a single ride will be built here.

This area also includes Moana’s Journey of Water, an interactive area with fountains and water features. That should be a fun walk-through that’s enjoyable for families with small children, but it’ll be better characterized as a diversion than an actual attraction.

Construction on Moana’s Journey of Water is nearing completion and it could be done within the coming weeks or 1-2 months, at most. However, Walt Disney World’s official debut timeline for this walkthrough is “Late 2023.” It’s likely that Moana’s Journey of Water cannot or will not open until the rest of Communicore Plaza & Hall are finished–and construction on all of that is further behind.

The good news is that progress is being made at the front of Epcot, and guests are already seeing the fruits of this overhaul. The reimagined park entrance project is finished and looks fantastic. Redesigned landscaping, flags, topiaries, and an iconic prismatic pylon fountain in front of Spaceship Earth have all been installed.

These are further enhanced at night by an upgraded lighting package, including the Beacons of Magic. This is an all-new lighting effect on the outside of the geodesic sphere that debuted for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. It seems like a minor thing, but it’s absolutely mesmerizing.

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