We made it out to Epcot today and found that work on the arrival experience project has progressed nicely since our last visit.
To recap, the front of Epcot is currently a construction zone, with parking lot tram service modified to allow for the construction of a new tram drop off point and arrival experience. Much like what we saw with Disney’s Hollywood Studios and continue to see at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, Epcot is getting a new tram lane, wider walkways, improved bag check, and more in an effort to streamline the arrival experience. Let’s take a look around at the latest work.
We’ll progress through this update as we walk around the Epcot monorail station, which provides the best possible vantage points of the work. In the photo below, you can see newly installed railings along what will likely be a main entrance or exit. The current west side bag check area would be to the left of this photo.
Surprisingly enough, the new parking lot tram loop isn’t the most exciting part of this update, but here’s a look at it anyway.
The most exciting progress, to us, was the installation of landscaping along the pathways. If the railings weren’t enough of a signal that the project is nearing an end, the installation of new foliage typically means that any new or heavy construction in the area is unlikely.
As we make our way down the west side of the monorail station, we can see a reverse view of the pathway we saw in the first photo above.
If you’ve been to Epcot in the past, you’ll likely recognize the next photo is that of what use to be the old parking lot tram drop off. With the new drop off further away from the entrance, this space appears to be for pedestrian use only. It remains to be seen what Disney does with this space.
Continuing down the monorail station platform, we get a glimpse of some finishing work going on where the old parking lot tram load/unload area was.
Disney has said that the Epcot entrance work will be completed by early 2020, but that also includes work taking place inside the park as well. We’d imagine that Disney wants this work to be completed by the holiday season.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to cover the Epcot overhaul project.