Celebration Dates & New Details for Disney100 at EPCOT in September 2023
Disney’s 100th Anniversary officially starts in September 2023 at Walt Disney World, and EPCOT will be the center of the celebration in Florida. The company has now shared new details & dates for the 100 Years of Wonder Celebration, and this covers those–plus commentary about what WDW has not announced for Disney100.
In case you’ve missed it, we have a Guide to the Disney100 Anniversary Celebration at Walt Disney World that covers everything previously announced and anticipated. That includes new Beacons of Magic on Spaceship Earth, the new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT, character costumes, CommuniCore Hall, merchandise, and more.
Walt Disney World has now shared that the Disney100 celebration will “ramp up” beginning in late September 2023. According to the company, they’ve already been “celebrating the fans and storytellers who have sparked the joy that is Disney over the last century” with special surprises, while helping fans and families relive beloved Disney memories and experience new, heartwarming stories.
EPCOT will be the center of the Disney100 celebration at Walt Disney World, marking not only a century of magic and innovation, but also ushering in the future as the multi-year transformation of the park wraps up. Here’s what’s in store for the limited-time celebration at EPCOT, which will start on September 22, 2023!
Disney100 backdrops are already out at all four theme parks and Disney Springs. Beginning on September 22, you’ll also be able to snap a selfie with a new platinum Mickey Mouse sculpture in World Celebration with Spaceship Earth in the background. (They got the quote right on this version. Great work, team!)
In addition, you’ll be able to check out the all-new mural at the heart of World Celebration to see how many of the 100 Disney characters you can find in the scene. This mural located along the walkway to World Showcase will feature fan-favorite characters hidden throughout the various neighborhoods of EPCOT. The rest of World Celebration will also be decked out in Disney100 platinum banners and décor.
Mark your calendars because you’ll be able to meet, hug, high-five, and snap a photo with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in their platinum best in the Imagination pavilion.
They won’t be the only ones sparkling in honor of the celebration. Spaceship Earth will light up each night with special colors and lights accompanied by the Disney100 anthem, a unique rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Sip and savor the tastes of the Disney100 celebration with limited-time food & beverage locations during both the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.
That’s not the only exclusive food and beverage you’ll be able to enjoy during the Disney100 celebration at EPCOT. Among other things, there will be a purple metallic Mickey Balloon Premium Popcorn Bucket available only at EPCOT during Disney100.
Finally, Walt Disney World has shared that the Disney100 celebration will happen at Walt Disney World from September 22 to December 31, 2023.
That’s it. That’s all of the details shared today. Frankly, you might be wondering why this warranted a blog post rather than just an update to our existing guide. We do owe you an explanation, so let’s turn to the commentary for that…
In our full guide to Disney100, we predicted that the 100 Years of Wonder Celebration would be relatively short-lived at Walt Disney World. Our main reasons for this prediction were a mix of ‘anniversary fatigue’ and that Disney100 seems like an afterthought at EPCOT. Kind of like a way to put a bow on the overhaul and filling in the Giant Dirt Pit, but that’s really about it.
That guide was published a few months ago, and we’ve also since noticed just how much interest in Disney100 at Disneyland has absolutely fallen off a cliff. Even at the home park of the event, fans are ready to move on–and have been for a while.
Despite that, I never would’ve guessed that Disney100 would only be a ~3 month celebration at Walt Disney World. (Maybe it still won’t…I guess they could extend “by popular demand” into early next year? I’m guessing that will not happen here, though.)
That really underscores just how much of an afterthought Disney100 is at Walt Disney World, and it probably also speaks to disinterest at Disneyland in the event. If it were hugely popular in California, it wouldn’t be 3 months long in Florida. For those who are upset about “missing” Disney100 at Walt Disney World, let me assure you that you are not missing anything.
Honestly, I’m pleased to hear that Disney100 will be put out of its misery after only 3 months. Better than having a substantively-hollow anniversary event that drags on for 18 months, with banners serving as a bitter reminder of what we didn’t get and what could’ve been. (Not that that just happened or anything!)
The Disney100 merchandise has already rolled out, so people could stock up on purple and platinum stuff (and will likely be able to continue that well into 2024). That’s probably the ‘highlight’ for a lot of Walt Disney World fans who are excited about this. Otherwise, 3 months is about the right duration for the Disney100 event. There’s no there there to justify anything longer.
More importantly, this allows Disney to close one chapter at the end of 2023–wrapping up Disney100 and the EPCOT overhaul–before starting another in 2024. With “revenge travel” finished and a slowdown on both coasts, my hope and expectation is that Walt Disney World and Disneyland get actual, substantive special events starting in spring or early summer of next year. In order for that to happen, there needs to first be a brief pause and reset. Turning Disney100 into a stop-gap event and ending it relatively early allows for that.
It’s premature to make predictions about the potential special event that Walt Disney World and Disneyland debut in 2024, but my bet is that they pull a page from the Summer Nightastic playbook. I’ve been bringing that Great Recession event up more and more recently, which is because I think the current circumstances are starting to mirror those. (Albeit to a far lesser degree–attendance is still way up as compared to then, and will remain so barring an absolute disaster.)
Right now is the first time in a while that neither coast has any major new additions under construction. Yes, there’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and we remain optimistic that ride reimagining will be fantastic. However, that isn’t coming until late 2024 (hopefully!) at the earliest, and it’s unclear whether it’ll move the needle on vacation bookings to the same degree as an all-new attraction.
Even so, there’s a whole spring and summer season before it debuts, not to mention at least 2 years after it opens with no major marketable new attractions. Given Disney construction speeds, there’s a whole lotta nothing outside of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure between now and 2026 (the earliest a new land or attraction could conceivably open if announced today).
The solution will likely be entertainment. After years of rumors and wishful thinking, perhaps 2024 will finally be the year that a night parade returns to Walt Disney World. I’d be inclined to bet on at least one coast getting a night parade–both Paint the Night and Main Street Electrical Parade are sitting in storage in California.
In addition or alternative to that, other spectaculars are possible. This is post is about Disney100 at EPCOT, but Disneyland still hasn’t said anything about the return of Fantasmic and whether it’ll actually happen by this Labor Day. My bet is that it either will not or, if it does, will be an interim production, with a fully reimagined Fantasmic in 2024.
At Walt Disney World, it’s conceivable that as-yet unannounced entertainment comes to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and/or Magic Kingdom. That could mean a parade, parades (plural), or a parade and a projections/fireworks show.
Then there’s the new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT. That was a conspicuous omission from today’s press release about Disney100. It wasn’t even teased or hinted at. That could’ve been purely coincidental, but my guess is that’s not coming by late 2024, as previously announced.
We currently know almost zero details about EPCOT’s new nighttime spectacular, not even its name! The above piece of concept art is really the only thing of substance we have for it. For reference, the original announcement for Harmonious (then unnamed) came at D23’s Destination D in November 2018. The first concept art and show name were revealed at D23 Expo in August 2019, with the nighttime spectacular slated to debut in 2020 at that time. (Harmonious ended up opening in October 2021, partially due to COVID and partially due to it being strategically advantageous to hold it back.)
Walt Disney World normally opts for a slow-trickle approach, and by now, they would’ve typically shared the name–several months ago–followed by behind the scenes recording session videos and various pieces of concept art. I guess it’s possible they’re opting for a different approach after hyping up Harmonious and Enchantment only to have them fall on their faces, but I doubt it.
This announcement also doesn’t say anything about Moana’s Journey of Water or CommuniCore Hall & Plaza. We know that Moana’s Journey of Water is done and ready to open, with Cast Member previews starting next week and running through late August.
After that, it seems safe to assume there will be Annual Pass and Disney Vacation Club previews throughout September. That would set the stage perfectly for an official opening date of October 1, 2023. After today’s news, it wouldn’t surprise me if that moves forward to September 22 to coincide with the start of Disney100. (If so, it’s a smart move–get locals out to EPCOT at least twice before the always-popular October 1 merchandise day!)
Moana’s Journey of Water is “big” enough that it’ll get a standalone announcement for its opening date, so it not being mentioned today is hardly a red flag. Unlike the upcoming EPCOT nighttime spectacular, Walt Disney World has offered a slow trickle of updates on this walkthrough trail already. It also was not previously “attached” to the Disney100 celebration at EPCOT, whereas the nighttime spectacular was prior to the radio silence about it.
Then there’s CommuniCore Hall & Plaza. Nothing was mentioned about this in the Disney100 press release, but there is some indirect news. Minnie & Mickey Mouse are coming to the Imagination pavilion in their Disney100 outfits in September 2023, which is notable since CommuniCore Hall has a “Mickey & Friends” meet & greet space.
Progress has been moving fast on CommuniCore Hall in the last several months, but this announcement would strongly suggest that Walt Disney World is not confident that space will not be finished by fall. If CommuniCore Hall were ready to open on October 1, why debut the meet & greet a week earlier in the Imagination pavilion? They wouldn’t.
It’s difficult to gauge how much work still needs to be done in the Giant EPCOT Dirt Pit and how long it’ll take. From the monorail, it still looks like a mess, but as we’ve seen before, landscaping and placemaking can come together pretty quickly. So there’s still hope that the outdoor portion–CommuniCore Plaza–will be ready by September 22, and some walls will be down. But we wouldn’t count on it.
Ultimately, my bet is that Disney100 serves as a time of transition for EPCOT, with the front of the park overhaul wrapping up and walls coming down over the course of the celebration, but no longer in time for the start of it. Nevertheless, the 3-month stop-gap will be used as a way to celebrate the new-look front of EPCOT while also moving on from it.
Frankly, I think this is the right approach. It’s not like what’s behind those construction walls is anything special that will generate much sincere excitement or enthusiasm from most Walt Disney World fans. Outside of the diehards who get excited about everything, I think most normal people will feel a sense of relief that the walls are finally down. Not exactly the ideal reaction after 4 years of construction, but they’ve managed to exhaust us with this one.
Nevertheless, ending the EPCOT overhaul and concluding Disney100 quickly also allows the opening of a new chapter in 2024. Saving the new EPCOT nighttime spectacular for that is also the smart move (regardless of whether it’s on purpose or because it’s delayed). Personally, my hope is that 2024 kicks off phase 2 of the EPCOT overhaul, with the overdue Spaceship Earth reimagining getting underway after the Disney100 celebration ends. I’d also love to finally have the also-overdue Journey into Imagination overhaul start, another new country in World Showcase and/or another new attraction in one of the existing pavilions. Perhaps all will be revealed at Destination D23 in September!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you looking forward to the 100 Years of Wonder Celebration at Walt Disney World? What excites you the most? Surprised that this will only be a 3-month celebration, or do you agree with our assessment that this is basically just a stop-gap celebration? Looking forward to the new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT? What about the Giant Dirt Pit being filled in and CommuniCore Hall & Plaza debuting? Planning a trip specifically for the new entertainment or Disney100 offerings? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Disappointing to hear that the 100th celebration is only 3 mo. I was trying to get there this fall, but it looks more like Feb 2024. I thought for sure they would go into 2024 like any other celebration, but thanks for saying we’re not missing much. With all the hub bub Disney did in the beginning-even a moving museum-it’s hard to believe they have dropped the ball again. The company just doesn’t have passion anymore. The ‘Magic’ is gone and the prices go up.
My feeling about the lack of enthusiasm for Disney 100 at Walt Disney World is that the 50th Anniversary was so lackluster. So they brought out a bunch of gold statues…big whoop. It really wasn’t the kind of celebration I would have expected, so I can’t imagine Disney 100 will be anything much. Could it be my bad memory or were Walt’s 100th and the 25th WDW more exciting?
Agreed. The Disneyland 50th was so over the top exciting (at least the day itself when I was there), and the WDW 50th day of was a great disappointment. There was more done after the actual birthday which made it even more disappointing for those of us who made the early trip.
If we have a trip like a week before the 22nd do you think there’s any chance of “soft openings” or AP previews for anything? I’ve heard of things like that in the past, but we’ve never gone to WDW close to a time of new openings so I’ve never fully paid attention to what types of things have previews/soft openings.
I already have a Epcot Park Reservation for the 22nd, do you think this will draw a crowd? Should I rethink my plans? We are 60 days out and still don’t have Park hours for the week of the 18th. I’m making ADRs and plans without knowing when the parks open and close! I want to reserve an umbrella in typhoon Lagoon but it doesn’t show hours after the 16th either! Any word on if they are flipping to Blizzard Beach and that’s why? Disney is driving me crazy! I love going in September but hate missing all the October 1st openings, the price I pay for low crowds!
It’ll draw bloggers/vloggers/influencers and some hardcore fans, but there’s nothing to suggest this will be a big event or anything that’ll draw normal people. The longest lines will be for exclusive merchandise, if any, released that day and the 4 new food booths. It should not meaningfully increase wait times.
Thanks Tom, I wouldn’t be able to plan my trips without you. Ha
“If it were hugely popular in California, it wouldn’t be 3 months long in Florida.”
I know the past six to twelve months has seen a change, but after 15-20 years of WDW refusing free entertainment from DL (including parades!), I could totally see Florida opting out.
I’d love an Alice’s Wonderland or a Disney Brothers Studio topiary as well. After all, they’re celebrating that it was all started five years before a mouse.
Tom – My feelings about the whole Disney 100 celebration are similar to yours. This whole thing feels “meh” and I don’t even believe that Disney itself really cares to celebrate it.
I am hoping that 2024 brings a reinvigorated Disney, with newer and better entertainment. Nothing cheap and no shortcuts.
Considering the 50th Anniversary Bash was no big deal, we left the parks on September 30, 2021 and have not been back since. The magic is definitely gone for now. There is no point going back for a long while. Prices are astronomical and paying per ride is even worse. What does general admission now include besides some attractions and being allowed to walk around in the park? Almost all the rides are extra. So for a minimum of $109.00, I get crowds and guests with bad behaviors. Many of the visitors are from other countries although I know that Disney has Parks in other countries. At least when we last went, masks were required and crowds were down making it almost worth the money. I remember going on a weekday in years past where almost all rides were walk-ons. Now, Hershey Park and Great Adventure are better Parks.
This is not true. Every single ride can be ridden for free.
You can most definitely ride every ride for free. If you dont want to stand in lines, then you pay. You can either pay for genie + or for just one ride to skip the lines, when available.
I am still holding out hope for a Mt Fuji rollercoaster in the Japan Pavilion. It would look amazing to see it across the Lagoon
Hi Tom – thank you for your amazing newsletters. We will be at WDW starting Oct. 1 – 5 – any chance there will be a another ticket discount offered (we will just miss the $99 promo) or should we purchase ticket right away?
It really depends upon how soft bookings and attendance projections are for fall. Ticket deals for October through December are exceedingly rare, though.
The other thing to be mindful of is that price increases often occur before the start of the new fiscal year (on October 1). If it were me, I’d probably buy now…but I won’t pretend to know how this is going to play out. A new discount could drop, and prices may not increase.
Sorry–I know that’s not particularly helpful!
Thanks Tom – actually you confirmed our hunch. The lack of any promos might keep the crowds down anyway. Keep up the good work. Your observations are comprehensive, clear and balanced.
My wife & I will be staying at the Dolphin for Food and Wine Sep 17-23. We planned on visiting Epcot Monday to take advantage of deluxe hours. Tom, would you recommend waiting for Friday the 22nd instead so we can see the park construction wall free?
I do not think you will experience EPCOT construction wall free on September 22. Just a hunch, though.
I assume this means you don’t have Park Hopper tickets? I’d go on 9/22 for the 4 new food booths–those sound awesome to me–but I would not sacrifice Extended Evening Hours for that. If you can do both, that’s my recommendation. If not, stick with your current plan.
I really appreciate the prompt reply as well as your excellent blog Tom.
No tickets have been purchased yet but we were leaning towards ending our trip Friday at Magic Kingdom on a party day and leaving after 4 so maybe a hopper?
I sincerely hope that Walt Disney World, and specifically Magic Kingdom finally gets a night parade again. I’m not a fireworks guy, so I’ve always used those as cover to try to score a ride on something with a shorter wait. But SpectroMagic was always something that had my attention, and because it seemed so uniquely Disney I never thought it would simply disappear the way it did. I grew up in California so the infrequent appearances of Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom never really moved me but (sadly) this is yet another case of “well, it’s better than nothing” that seems to creep into ALL of my memories of Walt Disney World these days. I try not be be “that guy” but it is sad to think back to the days of SpectroMagic, Lights of Winter, Castle Dream Lights, Osborne Lights, etc. and realize just how much less there is at Walt Disney World right now.
Totally agree with you.
If WDW does get a night parade, there’s no guarantee it’ll go to Magic Kingdom. I think that’s the safest bet, but DHS is a dark horse contender (unless they get a daytime parade).
Jared W, I’m with you. I miss Spectro Magic a lot. The night time at the Magic Kingdom is just not anywhere close to being as good as it once was. Regarding HS getting one, it’s an interesting thought but they also have something the MK does not, Fantasmic.
I really hope you’re right about a “new” parade or parades coming in 2024. A nighttime parade in particular is something that strikes me as distinctly “Disney” that you can’t really find anywhere else; it is incredibly disappointing to me that there hasn’t been one since the 212th stopover of the Main Street Electric Parade’s Farewell Tour.
We’ll see what actually happens parade-wise. There have been recent rumblings about Paint the Night returning to Disneyland and MSEP to Walt Disney World, but this has happened many, many times in the past 5+ years. Every prior time, the DLR half of the rumor ended up being accurate, but nothing happened at WDW.
I’m not holding my breath this time, but I do think there’s a greater sense of urgency than the last time the plans fell through.
Oh, I’m not holding my breath either. But I still really *hope* something happens 🙂
When we were there July 3rd, even the Festival of Fantasy Parade had been shortened from its previous version. Nighttime parades are surely missed, but my favorite of all time was the Tapestry of Nations Parade at Epcot!
I think they should let things wind down for now on new rides and focus on restoring service to the parks. Then in 2028 when it is Mickey’s 100th have a really super blow out like they used to. You know with give-sways like life-time passes, stays in the Castle and free gifts that really get people excited and anxious to visit. That is if they are still around in 2028! My “friend” who works for them says that the AI issue is going to kill the studios.
I very much agree that Disney needs to ‘get back to basics’ and fix service, maintenance, and a bunch of other underlying issues. The problem is that none of that’s marketable. They can’t exactly run ads saying, “we aren’t nickel and diming guests anymore, and rides don’t break down nearly as much!” That’d be a bad look…and not particularly effective.
There needs to be a hook that gets people to the parks the next few years. Once there, Disney needs to demonstrate that they’ve gotten back to the basics. That’ll result in more positive word of mouth, etc.
As for AI, no one really knows what’s going to happen with that. There’s a ton of understandable fear, uncertainty and doubt…but also a lot of unfounded doom & gloom. This wouldn’t be the first, second, third, etc. time in the last several decades that robots/computers were going to take away our jobs.
I thought they announced the new nighttime spectacular was temporary because it was part of the Disney100 celebration. They’ve been putting in those weird poles, so the infrastructure seems more costly and fixed than I would have expected for a temporary show. Could it also be that they’re removing it from the Disney100 celebration because they decided to scale up the project and make it a permanent instead of transitional show?
The new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT is intended to be permanent…but then again, so was Harmonious!
I suspect the delay is due to marketing strategy and/or unexpected delays with the infrastructure for the new nighttime spectacular.
I was surprised that it was only a 3 month celebration at World considering how it appears to be a much bigger deal at Disneyland. I went in June and loved the decorations and character outfits. I found it all a lot more appealing than world’s 50th, which we took part in March of 2022. I even got my magicband+ with the Disney100 design. Not sure that beyond decorations, outfits, and merchandise the celebrations really change my visit or push the needle one way or the other. I am glad I got to experience it at Disneyland, but not too upset that it won’t still be going on in May of 24 when I go back to World.