NEW World Celebration Gardens at EPCOT

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Via DisneyLists.com

Since 2019, EPCOT has been undergoing a historical transformation; thankfully, it is almost complete. On December 5, 2023, World Celebration Gardens, including the sure-to-be popular Dreamers Point, opened to guests. The new area is a gorgeous spot to sit, relax, and enjoy the views of Spaceship Earth.

World Celebration Gardens

In the middle of EPCOT, you’ll now find World Celebration Gardens. This area features beautiful greenspaces for guests to explore. In the center, there is a large planter based on the five rings of the iconic EPCOT logo.

The gardens feature ample seating and shade. Guests are invited to connect with one another and the nature around them in this lush new area. When we visited, we found lots of different kinds of seating areas. From tables and chairs, benches, and Adirondack-type chairs. This area will be a fantastic spot to take a rest or eat a meal.

The area also includes many different charging stations where guests can charge their devices while sitting there.

Dreamer’s Point

Found within World Celebration Gardens is Dreamers Point, where guests can visit the new “Walt the Dreamer” statue. The statue shows Walt later in his life when he was dreaming up the initial concepts for the park and the overall Florida Project. His relaxed and reflective demeanor was important to the design of this statue, a nod to the pure optimism he felt for the future and the magic of possibility that was the basis for the dream he never saw come to life.

Below, you can see the entire area. Guests can sit on either side of Walt for a special photo. So far, we’ve seen a Disney PhotoPass photographer posted there regularly.

As you can see from the photos, guests will need to step up to sit next to Walt. One criticism we’ve heard is that guests who cannot transfer from a mobility device will have trouble getting close to Walt. However, as seen below, there is a spot to the left of Walt where a wheelchair could be backed in for a photo.

We’ve visited both during the day and at night. Do note that the lightning is quite blinding in the evening, and you’ll need to be extra careful stepping down after your photo.

Overall, we’re very pleased with the statue. We’ve seen some really tender moments from guests. We’ve seen children hug Walt and some adults getting a bit teary. Like Roy Disney’s statue with Minnie at Magic Kingdom, the ability to sit next to Walt and have some interaction makes the experience more meaningful.

New Character Greeting Spaces

Also, in the new gardens are a few new character greeting spaces. We’ve seen Pluto and Daisy greeting guests. Check the My Disney Experience app for greeting times.

Communicore Plaza

The last section still yet to be completed is Communicore Plaza, which was also supposed to open in December 2023. However, Disney pushed back the opening until sometime in 2024. Communicore Hall will be a place to meet Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

Communicore Plaza will be the new home for festivals. See the concept art below for an idea of what it will be like inside.

World Celebration Gardens is a fantastic new addition to EPCOT. The beautiful gardens offer guests a great place to rest and meet. Guests will also not want to miss the Walt the Dreamer statue. Be sure to check out the gardens on your next visit to EPCOT.

Disney Releases New Details on Upcoming Projects at EPCOT

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Walt Disney once said EPCOT “would always be in a state of becoming” as a place that changes with the times. The theme park is delivering on that promise in a whole new way as it continues the biggest transformation in its history. As we near the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in the World Discovery neighborhood, we can now look forward to the next stage of the transformation of EPCOT, the new projects yet to come in World Celebration and World Nature. Disney has released new concept art and details on what’s to come.

From a Disney Cast Member;

As international festivals continue to become more of an integral part of the EPCOT experience, Disney Imagineers are creating new spaces that will bring these events into the heart of the park in the new World Celebration neighborhood. In several new artist concept renderings released today, you can see how the transformation of EPCOT will take shape as you walk past Spaceship Earth and begin your journey through the park.

World Celebration will offer a beautiful hub divided into several different gardens, with a central planter based on the five-ring EPCOT logo. Filled with ample seating and shade, you’ll be invited to connect with one another and the nature around you in this lush new area. Each of these gardens will have their own identities, and they’ll change along with the festivals throughout the year.

At night, the gardens will take on a whole new life, as you can see here. They’re designed to be enjoyed in the round, where lighting immerses you in the nighttime experience that will evolve through the seasons.

This all surrounds CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza, a multi-use facility and outdoor event space, respectively, that bring the park’s international festivals to the center of EPCOT. CommuniCore Plaza will have the flexibility to host intimate musical performances that extend out into the nearby gardens, as you can see in the rendering above, as well as large-scale concerts.

CommuniCore Hall will be a flexible exhibition and gallery space, offering a wide variety of experiences that highlight art, live music, food – complete with a demonstration kitchen – and more. In addition, adjacent to CommuniCore Hall will be a new Mickey & Friends location where you can meet some of your favorite Disney pals.

This new facility, which you can see in the upper-right side of this rendering, is inspired by the original EPCOT aesthetic apparent throughout the park’s transformation, including the timeless triangular geometry most prominently featured in Spaceship Earth. Even the CommuniCore name reaches back to the origins of EPCOT while also emphasizing the park’s central idea of community.

We’ll have much more to share on the transformation of EPCOT here on the Disney Parks Blog as the center of the park continues to develop, so be sure to keep checking back to learn more. And also head over to Instagram where Imagineer Zach Riddley @thezachriddley provides more insight into the work Walt Disney Imagineering is doing at this park we love.

Imagineer Shares Look at World Celebration Construction

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Via wdwnt.com

Imagineer Zach Riddley has taken to Instagram once again to share a behind the scenes look at the ongoing construction in the new World Celebration neighborhood, including the Creations Shop.

A photo behind the construction walls offers a close-up look at the ongoing construction that we’ve been following.

zach-riddley-creations-shop-area-behind-the-scenes-4-8239541

In another photo, Riddley shows off the CommuniCore-style skylights with multicolored lighting.

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Riddley also shared a peek at the new World Celebration popcorn kiosk.

Disney Announces Changes to World Celebration Plans for EPCOT, Multi-Level Festival Pavilion May Be Cancelled

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Yesterday was a big day for Walt Disney World, not just because all four of their theme parks have finally reopened to the public, but because major plans are shifting for EPCOT as critical decisions are made for the park’s interrupted reimagining. So far, we’ve learned that the planned Spaceship Earth refurbishment, as well as the announced Mary Poppins-inspired attraction in World Showcase, have been officially postponed. Now, it seems another major project is also being reworked, namely the park’s new Festival Center, in “World Celebration”, part of the redesigned neighborhoods of the park.

Initially, Disney Parks announced the new pavilion as a massive, three-level structure for various events and festivals:

This new pavilion will be the perfect place for live events, and the home base for Epcot’s signature festivals. It will provide a stunning elevated view of the entire park and an ideal spot to witness Epcot’s nighttime spectacular. This beautiful three-level structure will have one of the most remarkable architectural designs at any Disney park, featuring a plaza level, a middle expo level, and a park that sits in the sky on the top level.

Walt Disney World has announced that work will resume on the new neighborhood of World Celebration, which will bring new dining, retail, and entertainment to the center of the park. However, Disney has now stated that it will be taking a different approach to the previously-announced festival location.

What exactly this “different approach” entails is unknown, but given decreased spending and lowered revenue as the parks begin the first phase of reopening, it may well be that the scale of the project will be downsized. It’s also worth noting that the maquette of the multi-story Festival Center has also been removed, among other elements from the Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story and Cherry Tree Lane projects at the EPCOT Experience. Given the timing of these announcements, it’s unlikely that it was “just” to allow for social distancing within the already-expansive Odyssey pavilion.

Epcot to Be Divided Into 4 Neighborhoods

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Dining, Disney Parks, Epcot

Epcot will be unified with four neighborhoods that each speak to important aspects of the world and its people: World Showcase, World Celebration, World Nature and World Discovery. These neighborhoods will be filled with new experiences rooted in authenticity and innovation that take you to new destinations, where the real is made fantastic in a celebration of curiosity, hands-on wonder and the magic of possibility.

World Showcase

  • World Showcase will continue to be a celebration of culture, cuisine, architecture and traditions – infused with new magic.
  • The United Kingdom pavilion will welcome the first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins. You will step in time down Cherry Tree Lane past Admiral Boom’s house, then enter Number 17, home of the Banks family, where your adventure will begin.
  • In 2020, following the limited-time run of “Epcot Forever,” the new “HarmonioUS” will debut as the largest nighttime spectacular ever created for a Disney park. It will celebrate how the music of Disney inspires people the world over, carrying you away harmoniously on a stream of familiar Disney tunes reinterpreted by a diverse group of artists from around the globe. “HarmonioUS” will feature massive floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics, lasers and more.
  • In summer 2020, the France pavilion will offer even more for you to discover, including the much-anticipated attraction Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, where you’ll shrink to the size of Chef Remy and race through Gusteau’s restaurant on a wild adventure. Summer 2020 will also see the debut of a delicious new restaurant in the France pavilion, La Crêperie de Paris, offering both table- and quick-service options featuring a menu from celebrity chef Jérôme Bocuse.
  • Also in the France pavilion, the classic Impressions de France film will be joined by the new “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along,” debuting in January 2020 and directed by Don Hahn, producer of both the animated and live-action versions of this tale as old as time.
  • “Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” will debut in January 2020 in the Canada pavilion with new scenes and a new story.
  • In the China pavilion, “Wondrous China” will take guests on a spectacular journey across the country, filmed and presented in a completely seamless 360-degree digital format.

World Celebration

  • World Celebration will offer new experiences that connect us to one another and the world around us.
  • The iconic Spaceship Earth will remain a voyage through time as the journey transforms to reflect the power of storytelling to unite the human experience. New narration and an entirely new musical score will focus on the moments and ideas that define our story. You will follow a magical “story light” that brings the entire experience to life in dynamic ways, giving each scene energy and beauty that ties the entire journey together.
  • As you exit Spaceship Earth, you’ll discover a breathtaking new view of World Showcase from Dreamers Point. World Celebration will also feature a new statue celebrating the legacy of the original dreamer, Walt Disney, plus beautiful natural environments and global design elements filled with Disney magic and surprises, including a wishing tree in an enchanted forest and a story fountain celebrating the power and music of iconic Disney storytelling.
  • A new pavilion will be the perfect place for live events, and the home base for Epcot’s signature festivals. It will provide a stunning elevated view of the entire park and an ideal spot to witness Epcot’s nighttime spectacular. This beautiful three-level structure will have one of the most remarkable architectural designs at any Disney park, featuring a plaza level, a middle expo level, and a park that sits in the sky on the top level.
  • Epcot’s entrance plaza will be transformed with new experiences that connect us with the world, welcoming you with a reimagined fountain, new pathways and sweeping green spaces that beautify the entryway. The design will pay homage to the origins of Epcot.

World Nature

  • World Nature is dedicated to understanding and preserving the beauty, awe and balance of the natural world. It will include The Land and The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilions.
  • Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana” will be the first experience inspired by the hit Walt Disney Animation Studios film. This lush exploration trail will invite you to meet and play with magical, living water. The water will have a life of its own – just like Moana’s friend, the ocean – and you’ll learn about the importance of the natural water cycle.
  • The Land pavilion’s new film, “Awesome Planet,” which showcases the beauty, diversity and dynamic story of the planet, will debut in January 2020.

World Discovery

  • In World Discovery, stories about science, technology and intergalactic adventure come to life.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be the first “other-world” showcase pavilion at Epcot. The adventure starts in the “Galaxarium,” a planetarium-like exhibition that explores the similarities and mysteries of the formation of Earth’s galaxy and Xandar. You will be invited to learn more about the treasures Xandar has to share – until the moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, and adventures across the cosmos ensue. The attraction will feature a new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering – a storytelling coaster that rotates 360 degrees to focus your attention on the action, including the first reverse launch on a Disney coaster.
  • An expansion of the Mission: SPACE pavilion, the new restaurant Space 220 will be a culinary experience featuring the celestial panorama of a space station, including daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles up. You’ll board a special elevator for a journey to a space station that is home to an incredible dining experience. Along the way, viewports will give you a real-time perspective as you travel high above the planet. Once you arrive, you’ll enjoy fantastic meals and drinks while taking in views that are truly out of this world. Opening this winter, Space 220 will be operated by the Patina Group.
  • The PLAY! pavilion will open in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. In this digital metropolis, you’ll discover an interactive city bursting with games, activities and experiences that connect you with friends, family and beloved Disney characters – both real and virtual – like never before. As part of this new pavilion, you’ll have the chance to help legendary fashion icon Edna Mode on her quest to rid the world of uninspired style, or make a splash competing in a water-balloon fight hosted by Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby.

You’ll be able to visualize these exciting plans for Epcot when doors open Oct. 1, 2019, for Walt Disney Imagineering presents the Epcot Experience in the Odyssey Events Pavilion. You’ll discover engaging and interactive exhibits that showcase the relentless innovation, energy and excitement driving the park’s future throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.

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