EPCOT 2025 Preview: Reimagined Ride, New Lounge(s), Festivals Return

As we kick off 2025, we wanted to compile a series of articles looking at the year ahead to get an overview of what to expect. In this article, we’ll take a look at what Walt Disney World has officially announced for EPCOT, along with some of our own predictions on what 2025 has in store for Disney World’s festival park. This will be a living article, updated as we learn more about what’s planned for EPCOT in 2025! (Updated Jan. 1, 2025)

EPCOT 2025 Preview

As you may know, EPCOT just wrapped up a multi-year construction cycle. That means that things should be a little bit more quiet in 2025 than it was over the past 5 or 6 years. Our list of things to look forward to will be a little bit shorter than over in Magic Kingdom or other parks. Let’s jump right in.

Test Track 3.0 Opens | Summer

The big opening at EPCOT will happen next summer when the third version of Test Track opens in the World Discovery neighborhood. Test Track closed on June 17th, so a Summer 2025 opening could signal a turnaround time of less than a year. That’s pretty impressive, but it also calls into question how much meat is on the bone when it comes to a new theme.

Imagineers are collaborating with teams at General Motors to “push innovation forward and celebrate humanity’s enduring drive on the thrilling road to a brighter tomorrow”. Disney says that Imagineers are reaching back into history for inspiration, including from the original World of Motion attraction, to bring a spirit of optimism to the next iteration of Test Track.

The new queue will feature six distinct exhibits. Each room will celebrate the vehicles, and people behind those vehicles, that pushed the envelope to advance the journey of human motion.

New show scenes will be added that will showcase technological advances and how our lifestyles and relationships to mobility connect everyone. Some of the scenes will focus on onboard technology, customization, and personalization. Then, guests will take a trip “through a scenic outdoor route” that will remind us of the joys of driving, taking in the world around us, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Disney says that guests should start to see some vehicle testing in early 2025 as crews work toward a Summer opening.

Spaceship Earth Lounge | Late Spring

Spaceship Earth will be home to a new lounge starting in late Spring. The lounge takes over the former corporate space for Siemens, which dropped its sponsorship of Spaceship Earth back in October 2017. The new lounge will be an “elevated” experience, and it will honor the intertwined history of Spaceship Earth and EPCOT. Disney says that the lounge will celebrate the legacy of the icon’s past while admiring its future.

Walt Disney World says that guests will find “created delicious culinary creations to complement the elegance of this extraordinary, intimate setting”. The lounge will offer a view into the World Celebration Gardens in the foreground and World Showcase in the distance.

Outdated concept art for former plans for Spaceship Earth updates

Turning to commentary, two things come to mind with the announcement of this lounge. The first is logistics – I don’t think that it’ll be an easy seat to grab. Some of the language that Disney has used makes me think that there will be some sort of exclusivity to the lounge, but the hope is that it will be a bookable ADR with some walkup availability. Worst case scenario is that Disney leverages the lounge for a fireworks dessert party of some sort. Either way, we don’t expect that it’ll be easy to belly up to the bar and grab drinks in between rides on Spaceship Earth, however lovely that may sound.

The second thing that comes to mind is the canceled Spaceship Earth reimagining. As you may remember, Walt Disney World had actually announced a closing date for Spaceship Earth before COVID-19 closed the entire theme park complex. I think that Spaceship Earth deserves some serious capital in the coming years, but I have to wonder if the lounge is a result of most of the capital being reallocated with only a small chunk retained for the lounge as a small upgrade to the building.

Hopefully, the Spaceship Earth lounge is just the start of things to come for EPCOT’s iconic structure. The Points of Light exterior upgrade has been an overwhelming success and I’m eager to see what Disney can do next with the attraction.

Gran Fiesta Tour Extended Refurbishment | Early 2025

As we noted in our Magic Kingdom 2025 preview article, this isn’t the spot to track every refurbishment happening at the park next year, we have a dedicated page for that, but we do want to include notable downtimes and the Gran Fiesta Tour qualifies.

Walt Disney World has announced that the Gran Fiesta Tour will be closed from January 6th to March 15th. This is a rather extensive refurbishment for the attraction, but not nearly long enough for a retheming…I think. Officially, Walt Disney World says that the downtime is due to a refurbishment, and no retheme has been announced, I believe that. If there were to even be a soft retheming, I’d expect the ride to be closed for at least 6-8 months. A complete reimagining such as creating a Coco-themed ride in this space would certainly take more than a year and maybe up to two years.

In short, we expect that there will be some touchups done for the ride, including a new coat of paint. Disney will probably take some time to ensure that all of the animated figures and audio-animatronics are in good working order as well. Perhaps some of the screens will be updated as well to ensure a better guest experience. I wouldn’t expect much more beyond that, but I’m always happy to be pleasantly surprised.

New Canada Pavilion Lounge | Sometime in 2025

While we have already covered the highly publicized Spaceship Earth lounge, there is (allegedly) another lounge under construction in the Canada Pavilion. The second-level floor of the Hotel du Canada structure has been under construction for some time now, and we believe that there will be a new lounge once the dust settles.

Walt Disney World has not officially announced anything yet for this new project, but it’s coming and 2025 will very likely be the year that we find out what’s (officially) happening.

Guardians of the Galaxy Standby Queue | Not Placing Bets

Before we get to some of the more standard fodder, let’s take a moment to discuss the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Virtual Queue. I won’t make you read too much (you can if you’d like), but the short answer is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel for this Virtual Queue.

This article isn’t a place for a wish list, but I figured Cosmic Rewind was worth mentioning so that you can plan on utilizing a Virtual Queue in 2025.

Unlike Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which could drop its Virtual Queue in 2025, Guardians isn’t struggling with attraction reliability. At this point, we have to assume that operating with a Virtual Queue is simply how Disney wants to operate the attraction.

For those who’d like to “celebrate”, February 20, 2025 will be the 1,000th day that Cosmic Rewind operates with a Virtual Queue. I think keeping an attraction on Virtual Queue that long should be considered a failure, and I hope that we don’t hit that milestone.

Festivals & Disney After Hours Return

EPCOT is not EPCOT without a Festival. As of publish time, EPCOT has officially announced dates for the first two festivals of the year:

We can also expect the return of the ever-popular Food & Wine Festival in the Fall and the Festival of the Holidays to carry EPCOT from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. EPCOT has done a pretty good job of creating a festival experience that is consistent from year to year (read: not many changes), so there really isn’t much more that we can say that would provide a great deal of insight.

The only “prediction” that we have is that EPCOT will continue to be Festival-less over the hot summer months. The operation of a Festival during the hottest part of the year doesn’t seem to be very easy for the park, even though they’ve tried it in the recent past.

Additionally, the Disney After Hours event will return to EPCOT starting February 27th and run on select nights through September 25th. For more on Disney After Hours, including our reviews, check out our Disney After Hours page below!

Disney After Hours (Info, Pricing & Reviews)
Learn more about the Disney After Hours events at Walt Disney World including pricing, dates, characters, attractions, and reviews!
blogmickey.com

Early Entry & Extended Evening Hours Return

This has less to do with EPCOT specifically, but the Early Entry perk that began in 2021 has been confirmed to return through the end of 2025. The perk allows guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels (and other qualifying hotels) early access into each of the four Walt Disney World theme parks before they open. The perk is only available for 30 minutes before park open, but it does offer a small head start on the day.

Additionally, the Extended Evening Hours perk is also going to be available in 2025, and EPCOT is one of two theme parks that traditionally participate in the Deluxe Resort perk. We expect that these Extra Magic Hours replacement offerings will continue beyond 2025 as Walt Disney World balances staffing costs with guest perks.

Recent Additions

Before we close out this article, we’ll take a minute to look at the recent additions at EPCOT that might be new to you if you’re visiting in 2025!


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!

Have a Story Tip? Contact Us!

Kingdom Destinations Quote

Vacation Planning Assistance

We're excited to partner with Kingdom Destinations to help you plan your next trip to Disney parks and experiences around the world. Kingdom Destinations is a full service travel agency, specializing in Disney destinations. Fill out the form below to schedule a free consultation with one of their professional travel advisors today!

1 COMMENT

  1. I don’t understand the animus against virtual queues. Why would anybody prefer to wait for an hour and half in a standby line? What is the anti-vq argument?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related Articles

Related articles

Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2025 Preview: New Shows, Some Permanent Closures and…Bluey?

As we kick off 2025, we wanted to compile a series of articles looking at the year ahead...

Walt Disney World 2025 Merchandise (Photos & Prices)

It's almost the new year, which means that Walt Disney World is rolling out 2025 branded merchandise at...

Animal Kingdom 2025 Preview: A New Construction Cycle Begins

As kick off 2025, we wanted to compile a series of articles looking at the year ahead to...

New “Walt Disney Worlds” Ad Campaign Showcases Breadth of Experiences

2025 is going to be a big year for Walt Disney World as the entertainment giant faces new...