UPDATE: The theory presented below has been disproven by the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival map. Who knows when Disney World will finally open The Pit. Our original article continues below.
Are we out of the woods yet? Not quite, but EPCOT Food & Wine Festival dates could offer a hint of when the World Celebration construction could finally wrap up. This year, there will be four all-new Global Marketplace food kiosks as part of the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, but they won’t open until later this year – September 22, 2023, to be exact. In this article, we’ll investigate where these kiosks could be, and why their potential location could provide a hint as to when World Celebration will need to be open.
The concept art above doesn’t offer many hints as to when the area will open, but if we take a closer look and combine it with a previously released site plan, we might get a hint as to where you’ll find at least three of the all-new Global Marketplace kiosks. In the site plan below, you’ll want to focus on the CommuniCore Plaza area to possibly get a hint of where we’ll find these Global Marketplace kiosks come September 22nd.
In this closer look, we’ll want to focus on the rectangles with an ‘X’ through them. To the right, you’ll notice a rectangle with an ‘X’ through it, denoting the spot where the World Celebration popcorn kiosk is installed. Interestingly, there are three more similarly designated areas near CommuniCore Plaza. The thinking is that each of those will represent a permanently installed, or semi-permanently installed Festival kiosk. The kiosks would be easily accessible to guests enjoying the CommuniCore Plaza festival party area who are looking for a quick bite or a drink.
Going back to the concept art, we can see open areas where we think the kiosks will be near CommuniCore Plaza. It’s possible that the kiosks will only be in place for Disney’s bigger festivals, or that the artist was not given the full picture (or trying to hide the future use of the area).
If the theory is correct, and these spaces are for three of the four all-new Global Marketplace kiosks, then we can expect World Celebration to be open by early-to-mid September. Given that the CommuniCore Hall construction appears to require the most work to open, we anticipate that the entirety of World Celebration will be open when CommuniCore Plaza opens. The rest of World Celebration is hardscape and lighting – something that shouldn’t take very long, to be honest.
Disney World has not announced an opening date for World Celebration beyond “Fall 2023”.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
So freaking underwhelming. Pretty much decades of work, for this? Jeebus.
Only place with all the food and drink to buy but no place to sit down and enjoy.