The date was August 29th, the plans were ambitious, and the opinions were flying across social media. Over a year ago, Disney announced plans for an EPCOT overhaul that would include elements that paid homage to the park’s past, as well as introducing some new elements that would change the landscape of the park forever. In this post, we’ll take a look at EPCOT World Celebration plans (updated April 2021).
As you can see in the photo below, EPCOT will be comprised of four “neighborhoods” where guests will be able to enjoy culture and cuisine, while discovering the wonders of nature and celebrating the magic of possibility. For this post, we’ll focus on the central spine of the park, titled World Celebration.
Little did Disney know at the time of their ambitious announcement that a sweeping global pandemic would freeze budgets, halt construction, and potentially lead to them looking for the eraser for some of the previously released concept art. While Disney has been very light on details about the EPCOT plans going forward, we wanted to provide a detailed look at the current state of the World Celebration plans.
As it stands today, World Celebration is a demolition site. Temporary pathways that route guests around the center of Future World have felt more permanent of late, with demolition work only recently picking up, and at a pace that is much slower than what we saw before the closures.
While the future of World Celebration may be in question due to the hit The Walt Disney Company took due to COVID-19, here’s what Disney has announced.
World Celebration Festival Center
Perhaps the biggest question mark right now in terms of World Celebration is the Festival Center. Disney removed the model seen below from the EPCOT Experience preview center when the parks reopened. Disney also said that they would be “taking a different approach” to the festival center than what was previously announced. While we don’t yet know what this new approach will be, here’s a look back at what was previously announced.
As you can see in the concept art below, the World Celebration Festival Center was designed to be a three-story structure that would support live events and more.
Maybe the most exciting aspect of the Festival Center from the concept art was a rooftop viewing experience for the upcoming Harmonious nighttime spectacular. This viewing platform would have given guests amazing views of World Showcase Lagoon and would be a likely candidate for dessert or dinner parties either for guests or convention guests. The Magic of Possibility™ for Disney on this one was untold revenue.
Other aspects of the Festival Center were less concrete but perhaps self explanatory in the name. There looked to be a space for concerts, and more. The space was likely going to be quite flexible based on the season.
The World Celebration Festival Center would sit where the old Club Cool location was, and is the only plot of land currently completely cleared in the World Celebration neighborhood. You can see the plot of land in the photo below where the southwest CommuniCore building has been leveled.
As of publish time, Disney has not shared their current plans for the World Celebration Festival Center.
Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana
Another question mark is the Moana-inspired attraction titled “Journey of Water”. This new experience will let guests interact with magical, living water in a beautiful and inspiring setting. The water will have a life of its own – just like Moana’s friend, the ocean – and guests will learn about the importance of the natural water cycle. Bob Chapek described the experience as an “exploration trail”.
Journey of Water is slated to sit on the site of the northwest CommuniCore building that is still standing. This interactive water exploration trail can be seen in the concept art below on the east (left) side of the monorail track, and north (below) the World Celebration Festival Center.
The positioning of the experience inside of the monorail beam technically places it in World Celebration according to Disney’s art, though it’s possible that Disney might expand the World Nature neighborhood to bring Journey of Water into a space where it might fit better, thematically.
We can also see it in the bottom right of the concept art seen below.
Not too much is known about Journey of Water, although it looks to be positioned to be more of a beautiful area than anything that would be considered an attraction by a typical definition of the word, although Disney is rather liberal with what they consider an “attraction”.
Dreamers Point
While the vision that Walt Disney had for E.P.C.O.T. is different than the EPCOT that was actually built, Disney will be creating a space called Dreamers Point that will be anchored by a statue of Walt Disney himself.
Dreamers Point will be located behind Spaceship Earth and feature lush gardens, a wishing tree, an interactive new fountain and a new statue celebrating the legacy of the original dreamer, Walt Disney. Here is some of the concept art released for the Dreamers Point area. Keep in mind that this area is essentially from the back of Spaceship Earth to the Festival Center, Creations Shop to Journey of Water.
There will even be a “wishing tree”.
Here’s a look at the interactive fountain.
Spaceship Earth
One of the few EPCOT projects that Disney has commented on is the Spaceship Earth refresh. Disney has stated that the planned refurbishment has been “paused” and guests can continue to experience the attraction in its current state. Disney has not given a new closure date for the attraction, but notes that it is postponed – just like the planned Mary Poppins attraction. Disney commented on both of the attractions together because we had noticed that both projects were cut from the EPCOT Experience when the park reopened in July.
So, what were Disney’s plans for Spaceship Earth? The storyline of “inventions and technology” was going to be replaced by the story of humanity. Spaceship Earth will remain a voyage through time, with a new focus on how storytelling binds humanity together.
Zach Riddley, Walt Disney World Site Portfolio Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, said that Spaceship Earth will follow our long journey from prehistoric humans to today, brought to life with magic and depth that only Disney can deliver.
Many scenes would be changing as seen in the concept art released below. Projections and new lighting create a much more striking scene, and it looks like we’ll see some adjusted animatronics.
There will be “fresh narration” and a Story Light guide that will play a central role in the experience and tie each scene together. The Story Light will come to life in dynamic ways in each scene, bringing more “energy and beauty” to the attraction.
Perhaps the biggest change we’d see is to the rear of the attraction. The current Project Tomorrow exhibit will be gutted and a queue of some sort will be installed. It remains to be seen whether the queue seen in the concept art is an entry point, or an exit point.
Creations Shop (Formerly MouseGear)
A refreshed version of MouseGear is planned for EPCOT called Creations Shop. Disney has already gutted the former location as part of the transformation, as work pushes forward for a Summer 2021 opening.
Creations Shop will take over the former MouseGear space, and feature a brand new aesthetic. Here’s a look at the concept art that Disney released.
Club Cool Hosted by Coca-Cola
Disney has also announced that Club Cool will be returning and will be hosted by Coca-Cola! The new Club Cool will celebrate Coca-Cola in a fresh new way, while keeping the fan-favorite experience that invites you to explore tasty drinks from around the world. This space will also have some new magic to bring the global experience of Coca-Cola to life for you.
No concept art has been released for the reimagined Club Cool.
Unnamed Restaurant
While we will never be graced with the neon showers of Electric Umbrella again, Disney has said that they will be replacing the former quick service restaurant with another eatery. Here’s the only concept art released so far for the new venue. Looks like guests will be able to get some pizza while enjoying the same “clean” architecture that Creations Shop will be receiving.
Arrival Experience Overhaul
The project that is the furthest along in the World Celebration overhaul is the arrival experience reimagining. While we’re still waiting for the fountain to be completed, the rest of the project is out from behind construction walls and looks pretty good! Here’s a look at the concept art, which shows more green spaces, new hardscape, and the prism pylon fountain that pays homage to the ’82 version of the fountain.
Disney unveiled the new fountain in December 2020, but work still continues in the area as of April 2021.
As part of the entrance overhaul, Disney debuted new pavilion flags and a new nighttime lighting package as well!
We’ll continue to bring you the latest from EPCOT as we watch the World Celebration construction and hope that not too many of the projects we took a look at end up being left on the cutting room floor.