Crews have finished the first section of replacement pavement where the in-ground lighting once sat at EPCOT’s World Celebration Gardens. Light-colored paving now fills the trough that held the lighting strips, and it (once again) confirms that Disney is abandoning the effect. Work on the next section has already started, with rolling planters blocking it off from guests. Here’s the latest.
In-Ground Lighting Replacement Pavement Revealed at EPCOT’s World Celebration Gardens
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- The first section of replacement pavement is finished, with reflective flecks embedded in it
- Crews are working on the next section behind rolling planters
- The planters cut off the walkway to World Nature, though easy routes around remain
We made it out to EPCOT to see the first finished section in person. The pale paving now fills the curved channels that once held the lighting strips behind Spaceship Earth. Crews started pulling the lighting strips in August, and they soon filled the empty channels with concrete.
The new strips trace the same overlapping curves the lighting followed, and they are light lines against the dark pavers. A dark border of grout outlines each one. The layout survives even though the lighting does not.
Reflective Flecks Replace the Glow
Disney embedded reflective flecks in the new pavement, which appear designed to pick up ambient lighting after sunset.
We photographed the section in daylight, so how the flecks look after dark remains to be seen. They can only reflect light from other sources, but the pillars of light remain in place. That makes the effect quieter than the in-ground strips, which lit up on their own and synchronized with Spaceship Earth’s exterior lighting when they worked.
Next Section Underway Behind Rolling Planters
Crews are now working on the next section, and rolling planters block it from guest traffic. The movable hedge walls cut off the walkway to World Nature here, though there are easy routes around. A peek over the hedges showed that the lighting is gone from this section and that crews are installing new concrete.
The planters are the same movable style we first saw in August, when Disney installed rolling barriers around roughly half of the central planter.
In parts of the walkway crews haven’t reached, original lighting strips still sit in the channels, and some carry blue-headed screws that date back to Disney’s stopgap repair in June 2025. At one seam, the new pavement meets an original strip with what appears to be a wood spacer between them. Near a stanchion base, a few wire ends peek out where one strip ends.
Story So Far
- December 2024: The lighting briefly returned to full working order after nearly a year of stops and starts.
- January 2025: Strips separated from the ground again, and the mortar beneath them kept deteriorating.
- June 2025: Disney blocked off a large portion of the planter, then screwed the loosened strips back into the ground.
- August 11: Disney installed rolling construction barriers around roughly half of the central planter.
- August 18: Crews removed the lighting strips and left empty channels in the pavers.
- August 18: Photos of the opposite side of the gardens showed crews replacing the lighting with concrete, our first visual confirmation that Disney was abandoning the effect.
- August 22: Crews continued filling the channels with concrete in additional sections.
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!